River flow indexing using British benthic macroinvertebrates: a framework for setting hydroecological objectives

A method linking qualitative and semi‐quantitative change in riverine benthic macroinvertebrate communities to prevailing flow regimes is proposed. The Lotic‐invertebrate Index for Flow Evaluation (LIFE) technique is based on data derived from established survey methods, that incorporate sampling strategies considered highly appropriate for assessing the impact of variable flows on benthic populations. Hydroecological links have been investigated in a number of English rivers, after correlating LIFE scores obtained over a number of years with several hundred different flow variables. This process identifies the most significant relationships between flow and LIFE which, in turn, enables those features of flow that are of critical importance in influencing community structure in different rivers to be defined. Summer flow variables are thus highlighted as being most influential in predicting community structure in most chalk and limestone streams, whereas invertebrate communities colonizing rivers draining impermeable catchments are much more influenced by short‐term hydrological events. Biota present in rivers with regulated or augmented flows tend to be most strongly affected by non‐seasonal, interannual flow variation. These responses provide opportunities for analysing and elucidating hydroecological relationships in some detail, and it should ultimately be possible to use these data to set highly relevant, cost‐effective hydroecological objectives. An example is presented to show how this might be accomplished. Key areas of further work include the need to provide robust procedures for setting hydroecological objectives, investigation of habitat quality and LIFE score relationships in natural and degraded river reaches and evaluation of potential links with other biological modelling methods such as RIVPACS. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How freshwater biomonitoring tools vary sub‐seasonally reflects temporary river flow regimes

Characterizing temporary river ecosystem responses to flow regimes is vital for conserving their biodiversity and the services they provide to society. However, freshwater biomonitoring tools rarely reflect community responses to hydrological variations or flow cessation events, and those available have not been widely tested within temporary rivers. This study examines two invertebrate biomonitoring tools characterizing community responses to different flow‐related properties: the “Drought Effect of Habitat Loss on Invertebrates” (DEHLI) and “Lotic‐invertebrate Index for Flow Evaluation” (LIFE), which, respectively reflect community responses to habitat and hydraulic properties associated with changing flow conditions. Sub‐seasonal (monthly) variations of LIFE and DEHLI were explored within two groundwater‐fed intermittent rivers, one dries sporadically (a flashy, karstic hydrology—River Lathkill) and the other dries seasonally (a highly buffered flow regime—South Winterbourne). Biomonitoring tools were highly sensitive to channel drying and also responded to reduced discharges in permanently flowing reaches. Biomonitoring tools captured ecological recovery patterns in the Lathkill following a supra‐seasonal drought. Some unexpected results were observed in the South Winterbourne where LIFE and DEHLI indicated relatively high‐flow conditions despite low discharges occurring during some summer months. This probably reflected macrophyte encroachment, which benefitted certain invertebrates (e.g., marginal‐dwelling taxa) and highlights the importance of considering instream habitat conditions when interpreting flow regime influences on biomonitoring tools. Although LIFE and DEHLI were positively correlated, the latter responded more clearly to drying events, highlighting that communities respond strongly to the disconnection of instream habitats as flows recede. The results highlighted short‐term ecological responses to hydrological variations and the value in adopting sub‐seasonal sampling strategies within temporary rivers. Findings from this study indicate the importance of establishing flow response guilds which group taxa that respond comparably to flow cessation events. Such information could be adopted within biomonitoring practices to better characterize temporary river ecosystem responses to hydrological variations.     

Macro‐invertebrate Community Response to Multi‐annual Hydrological Indicators

Flow is widely considered one of the primary drivers of instream ecological response. Increasingly, hydroecological models form the basis of integrated and sustainable approaches to river management, linking flow to ecological response. In doing so, the most ecologically relevant hydrological variables should be selected. Some studies have observed a delayed macro‐invertebrate (ecological) response to these variables (i.e. a cumulative inter‐annual effect, referred to as multi‐annual) in groundwater‐fed rivers. To date, only limited research has been performed investigating this phenomenon. This paper examines the ecological response to multi‐annual flow indicators for a groundwater‐fed river. Relationships between instream ecology and flow were investigated by means of a novel methodological framework developed by integrating statistical data analysis and modelling techniques, such as principal component analysis and multistep regression approaches. Results demonstrated a strong multi‐annual multi‐seasonal effect. Inclusion of additional antecedent flows indicators appears to enhance overall model performance (in some cases, goodness of fit statistics such as the adjusted R‐squared value exceeded 0.6). These results strongly suggest that, in order to understand potential changes to instream ecology arising from changing flow regimes, multi‐annual and multi‐seasonal relationships should be considered in hydroecological modelling. © 2017 The Authors River Research and Applications Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

河流生态水文学研究现状

生态水文学是一门新兴的边缘交叉学科,是生态保护的重要理论基础和技术支撑。河流生态水文学作为其一个重要分支,在河流生态恢复中被寄予厚望,以协调河流开发与河流生态系统保护之间的矛盾。本文简要回顾了生态水文学研究的发展历程,并从河流生态学理论、河流水文情势生态效应评价方法、河流生态流量及河流生态修复等方面重点介绍了河流生态水文学领域的研究进展。     

Hydrological changes and ecological impacts associated with water resource development in large floodplain rivers in the Australian tropics

The majority of rivers in the Australian tropics possess near‐natural flow regimes and are an ecological asset of global significance. We examined flow variability in large floodplain rivers in the Gulf of Carpentaria, northern Australia, and the potential ecological impacts of future water resource development (WRD). Flow metrics based on long‐term records were used to classify flow regimes and predict hydrological drivers of ecological function. Flow regimes of selected rivers were then compared with those simulated for pre‐ and post‐WRD flows in the Darling River, a highly modified river in Australia's south‐east. Generally, rivers were classified as typically ‘tropical’ (more permanent, regular flows) or ‘dryland’ (more ephemeral, with greater flow variability). In addition, all rivers displayed wet–dry seasonality associated with changes in flow magnitude or number of zero‐flow days. We propose that these features (flow permanence and regularity; flow variability and absence; wet–dry seasonality) are the key hydrological drivers of biodiversity and ecological function in the floodplain rivers of Australia's north. In terms of WRD, inter‐annual flow variability was predicted to increase or decrease depending on rivers' natural flow regimes, specifically their tendency toward lower or higher flow magnitudes. Either outcome is expected to have adverse effects on the biodiversity and ecological function of these relatively pristine rivers and floodplain habitats. In particular, reduced and homogenized habitat, loss of life‐history cues, inhibited dispersal and shifts in community composition, as a result of WRD, threaten the ecological integrity of rivers adapted to the three hydrological drivers above. These findings serve as a caution for careful consideration of WRD options for rivers in the Australian tropics and for those with similar flow regimes the world over. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A dynamic corridor‐searching algorithm to seek time‐varying instream flow releases for optimal weir operation: comparing three indices of overall hydrologic alteration

A full range of natural flow regime has been widely recognized as a primary driving force for sustaining the integrity of a riverine ecosystem. Existing instream flow methods strive to assure a constant minimum flow but not the natural flow variability. We present in this paper a dynamic corridor‐searching algorithm to seek the optimal time‐varying scheme for instream flow releases. A compromise programming (CP) is employed to search the optimal solution of an objective function aggregating the ecosystem and human needs objectives. The ecosystem need objective is represented by an overall index of hydrologic alteration, which integrates 32 indicators of hydrologic alteration (IHA) derived from the range of variability approach (RVA). The human need objectives are expressed by shortage ratios for the agricultural and municipal water supplies. The proposed method is applied to a weir operation in Taiwan. Three approaches to evaluating the overall degree of hydrologic alteration (i.e., the three‐class, fuzzy‐based, and overall‐mean approaches) are compared here. The results show that the time‐varying schemes improve the human need objective, but only slightly deteriorate the ecosystem need objective. Such advantages increase with the time‐varying frequency. For the wet periods, smaller flow releases may be prescribed; for the dry periods, however, greater releases must be specified to secure a lower degree of overall hydrologic alteration. It is also revealed that use of the three‐class approach to evaluate the overall hydrologic alteration facilitates to eliminate highly altered IHA and maintain those low‐flow characteristics subtle to flow diversions. However, such outcomes are achieved at the cost of greater deficits for human water demands. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

随机流量历时曲线及其在生态流量计算中的应用

河流生态流量是生态水文研究的重要部分,其相关理论和计算方法一直是当前国内外学者研究的热点。尝试基于随机流量历时曲线计算河流系统的生态流量,给出了维持河流生态系统健康各等级流量的历时或频率,并进而估算生态需水,为流域水资源的合理配置提供参考。以松花江干流8个断面为例,研究结果表明,在随机流量历时曲线上基于Q97,10估算得到的最小生态需水量与7Q10法所得到的需水量数值接近且相关性好,而基于保证率P=75%的随机流量历时曲线可求得河道的适宜生态需水量。研究区内嫩江流域大赉断面以上河段最小生态需水量、适宜生态需水量分别为4.6亿m3和99.1亿m3,约占总水资源量的2.6%和56.2%;松花江下游佳木斯控制断面以上河道最小生态需水量、适宜生态需水量分别为79.1亿m3和388.9亿m3,约占总水资源量的13.4%和65.7%。     

SELECTING HYDROLOGIC INDICES FOR THE PRAIRIE PROVINCES

The large and accumulating body of evidence for both the controlling effect of the flow regime on river ecology and for the dependence of river health on the natural flow regime has led to the increasing use of hydrologic indices in instream flow studies. The myriad of collinear hydrologic indices present a daunting challenge to water managers trying to select a manageable number of indices for use in a hydrology‐based environmental flow framework. In this study, a large number of hydrologic indices were calculated from gauging sites in the prairie provinces of Canada. Principal component analysis (PCA) and two rank‐based non‐parametric techniques are compared in their ability to select a small number of statistically informative indices. Despite the data being skewed and far from normal, PCA and the non‐parametric technique called BioEnv + stepwise (BEST) both led to similar interpretations and could identify a small number of indices that capture a majority of the statistical variability. BEST selected indices more evenly from among conceptual categories of flow than PCA. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

资料短缺平原河流的生态需水量计算——以通顺河武汉段为例

各类计算生态需水量的方法多需要长序列实测的水文或生境资料,无法直接适用于资料短缺的河流。在实测资料短缺的平原河流通顺河武汉段上布置10个典型断面,利用人为设定的多级试算流量来替代长序列实测流量,利用MIKE11软件模拟推求河道典型断面水力参数(河宽、水深、流速和湿周等)随流量的变化关系;在此基础上,依据平原河流滩槽明显的特点,选用水力学法中基于水力参数与流量间相关关系的湿周法和生态水力学法分别计算研究河段的生态需水量。计算结果表明,通顺河武汉段的河道基本形态得以维持和生物基本栖息地得以保障时的生态需水量应为26 m³/s。所提出的计算方案能较好地推求资料短缺地区平原河流的生态需水量,也可为类似河流的生态需水计算提供一定的参考。     

EFFECTS OF FLOW DYNAMICS ON THE AQUATIC‐TERRESTRIAL TRANSITION ZONE (ATTZ) OF LOWER MISSOURI RIVER SANDBARS WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR SELECTED BIOTA

Sandbars are an important aquatic terrestrial transition zone (ATTZ) in the active channel of rivers that provide a variety of habitat conditions for riverine biota. Channelization and flow regulation in many large rivers have diminished sandbar habitats and their rehabilitation is a priority. We developed sandbar‐specific models of discharge‐area relationships to determine how changes in flow regime affect the area of different habitat types within the submerged sandbar ATTZ (depth) and exposed sandbar ATTZ (elevation) for a representative sample of Lower Missouri River sandbars. We defined six different structural habitat types within the sandbar ATTZ based on depth or exposed elevation ranges that are important to different biota during at least part of their annual cycle for either survival or reproduction. Scenarios included the modelled natural flow regime, current managed flow regime and two environmental flow options, all modelled within the contemporary river active channel. Thirteen point and wing‐dike sandbars were evaluated under four different flow scenarios to explore the effects of flow regime on seasonal habitat availability for foraging of migratory shorebirds and wading birds, nesting of softshell turtles and nursery of riverine fishes. Managed flows provided more foraging habitat for shorebirds and wading birds and more nursery habitat for riverine fishes within the channelized reach sandbar ATTZ than the natural flow regime or modelled environmental flows. Reduced summer flows occurring under natural and environmental flow alternatives increased exposed sandbar nesting habitat for softshell turtle hatchling emergence. Results reveal how management of channelized and flow regulated large rivers could benefit from a modelling framework that couples hydrologic and geomorphic characteristics to predict habitat conditions for a variety of biota. Published in 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

辽河中下游水文生态完整性模糊综合评价

从水文角度,提出了包括最小生态基流满足率、断流指数、环境适宜指数、含沙量指数及输沙平衡程度指数5大要素构成的指标体系及评价标准,采用模糊综合评价模型,得出辽河中下游河段水文生态完整性评价结果,为日后辽河中下游河段的保护、修复与管理提供了决策依据。     

FISH ASSEMBLAGES IN NON‐REGULATED AND REGULATED RIVERS FROM PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY IBERIAN SYSTEMS

The effects of river regulation on the hydrological cycle of a river and on the respective fish assemblage may differ according to dam operation purpose and type of river analysed. To assess the spatial and temporal variation of fish assemblages and their response to the hydrological changes caused by two different types of flow regulation, we selected three sampling sites in four rivers with different levels of regulation, two in a permanent river system and another two on a temporary one, which we sampled in four different annual seasons. In the permanent system, hydroelectrical regulation decreased hydrological variability, which affected fluvial specialist species, benefitting the generalist ones, and created a more homogeneous community that presented less intra‐annual variation. In the temporary system, agricultural regulation caused an inversion of the hydrological cycle, maintaining a moderate flow volume throughout the drought period that benefited the introduced, generalist and more tolerant species. Monthly volume was recognized, in a temporal scale, as the most important hydrological feature for assemblages’ structure, predicting the intra‐annual variation of several ecological guilds. This study provides important considerations for dam management and riverine ecosystems conservation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Habitat loss as the main cause of the slow recovery of fish faunas of regulated large rivers in Europe: the transversal floodplain gradient

In large European rivers the chemical water quality has improved markedly in recent decades, yet the recovery of the fish fauna is not proceeding accordingly. Important causes are the loss of habitats in the main river channels and their floodplains, and the diminished hydrological connectivity between them. In this study we investigate how river regulation has affected fish community structure in floodplain waterbodies of the rivers Rhône (France), Danube (Austria), Rhine and Meuse (The Netherlands). A typology of natural and man‐made aquatic habitats was constructed based on geomorphology, inundation frequency and ecological connectivity, along the transversal river–floodplain gradient, i.e. perpendicular to the main stream of the river. Fish species were classified in ecological guilds based on their flow preference, reproduction ecology and diet, and their status on national red lists was used to analyse the present state of the guilds and habitats. Ecological fish guilds appear to be good indicators of ecological integrity and functioning of river–floodplain systems. A transversal successional gradient in fish community structure that bears some resemblance to the gradient found in natural rivers can still be discerned in heavily regulated rivers. It resembles the longitudinal river gradient; even some predictions of the River Continuum Concept are applicable. Overall, richness and diversity of species and ecological guilds decrease with decreasing hydrological connectivity of floodplain waterbodies. Anthropogenic disturbances have affected fish species unevenly: guilds of specialized species that are highly adapted to specifically riverine conditions have declined far more than generalist species. Fish habitats in the main and secondary channels have suffered most from regulation and contain the highest percentage of threatened species. Rheophilic fishes have become rare because their lotic reproductive habitats are severely degraded, fragmented, absent or unreachable. Limnophilic fishes have become rare too, mainly as a result of eutrophication. Eurytopic fishes have become dominant everywhere. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

MULTISTAGE ANALYSIS OF HYDROLOGIC ALTERATIONS IN THE YELLOW RIVER,CHINA

Natural river flow regimes provide an array of ecological and social functions by sustaining the health of riverine ecosystems. To identify the hydrologic alterations in the lower Yellow River basin caused by natural factors and human activities, we developed multistage hydrologic analysis to investigate the temporal variability of the river's flow regimes. We used a cumulative departure curve and Mann–Whitney–Pettitt nonparametric tests to determine possible change points based on hydrologic data from 1950 to 2006. We then used the range of variability approach to characterize and to quantify the temporal variability of the hydrologic regimes that were associated with perturbations such as dam operation, flow diversions or intensive conversion of land use within the watershed. In the case study, three stages in hydrologic alterations of the flow regime were found: a stage without human impacts, a stage with excessive human impacts and a reservoir‐regulation stage. Our results indicated that (i) after 1997, dam operation efficiently achieved flood control using sediment regulation activities; (ii) although effective in flood control, the Xiaolangdi Reservoir could not handle situations with extremely low flow, such as during droughts; and (iii) under the arid climate of the Yellow River basin, water consumption by agriculture was the main cause of water shortages. The current study shows that multistage hydrologic analysis can greatly assist regional water resources management and the restoration of riparian eco‐environmental systems affected by dam construction under a changing environment. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Quantitative Framework to Derive Robust Characterization of Hydrological Gradients

If ecological management of river ecosystems is to keep pace with increasing pressure to abstract, divert and dam, we must develop general flow–ecology relationships to predict the impacts of these hydrologic alterations. Regional flow gradient analyses are a promising tool to quickly reveal these functional relationships, but there are considerable uncertainties in this method because of variability in the historical extent of flow data across different rivers, combined with multiple indices characterizing the ecological attributes of flow regimes. In response, we outline an objective framework for analysing spatial hydrologic gradients that addresses three major sources of uncertainty: robust estimation of flow indices, the potential for temporal trends to confound spatial variation in flow regimes and the statistical robustness to detect underlying hydrological gradients. The utility of our framework was examined in relation to flow regimes across multiple braided river catchments in Canterbury, New Zealand. We found that a subset of flow indices could be robustly estimated using only 10 years of flow data, although indices that captured flow ‘timing’ required longer time series. Temporal trends were unlikely to confound conclusions from a spatial hydrologic gradient analysis, and there were three statistically supported hydrologic gradients related to flow magnitude, flow variability and low flow events. The widespread application of robust spatial flow gradient analyses has the potential to further our understanding of how altered flow regimes affect the ecology of freshwater and riparian ecosystems, thereby providing the evidence base to inform river management. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterizing Sub‐Daily Flow Regimes: Implications of Hydrologic Resolution on Ecohydrology Studies

Natural variability in flow is a primary factor controlling geomorphic and ecological processes in riverine ecosystems. Within the hydropower industry, there is growing pressure from environmental groups and natural resource managers to change reservoir releases from daily peaking to run‐of‐river operations on the basis of the assumption that downstream biological communities will improve under a more natural flow regime. In this paper, we discuss the importance of assessing sub‐daily flows for understanding the physical and ecological dynamics within river systems. We present a variety of metrics for characterizing sub‐daily flow variation and use these metrics to evaluate general trends among streams affected by peaking hydroelectric projects, run‐of‐river projects and streams that are largely unaffected by flow altering activities. Univariate and multivariate techniques were used to assess similarity among different stream types on the basis of these sub‐daily metrics. For comparison, similar analyses were performed using analogous metrics calculated with mean daily flow values. Our results confirm that sub‐daily flow metrics reveal variation among and within streams that are not captured by daily flow statistics. Using sub‐daily flow statistics, we were able to quantify the degree of difference between unaltered and peaking streams and the amount of similarity between unaltered and run‐of‐river streams. The sub‐daily statistics were largely uncorrelated with daily statistics of similar scope. On short temporal scales, sub‐daily statistics reveal the relatively constant nature of unaltered stream reaches and the highly variable nature of hydropower‐affected streams, whereas daily statistics show just the opposite over longer temporal scales. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.     

The calculation of riverine ecological instream flows and runoff profit‐loss analysis in a coal mining area of northern China

The northern Shaanxi province of China has severe water shortages, especially in coal mining areas, and it is very important to calculate the riverine ecological instream flows (EIFs) and analyse the runoff profit‐loss situation. Using the Kuye River as a case study, the EIF was calculated for different years and seasons using the instream flows rate (IFR) method and compared with the Tennant and the minimum monthly average flow (MAF) methods. The recommended value of the Kuye River EIF was obtained by an analysis of the results of these three methods. The river runoff profit‐loss situation associated with the EIF was also calculated and the main reason for the loss explained. The Kuye River EIF was calculated to be 1.69 to 11.14 m³/s by the IFR method, 1.94 to 8.50 m³/s by the Tennant method, and 3.81 to 10.87 m³/s by the MAF method. Based on these results, the EIF annual recommended value of the Kuye River was 4.00 m³/s for the 1961–2010 period. The wet season (July–October), average season (March–June), and dry season (November–following Feb) EIFs were 6.50, 3.50, and 2.00 m³/s, respectively. The Kuye River had a large surplus runoff within the EIF prior to1999, but from 1999 to 2010, the runoff and EIF were very close and the April to June average runoff did not meet the EIF. The main factors that affected the river runoff were rainfall, temperature, water and soil conservation, coal mining, and water consumption for industry and domestic use, with coal mining becoming a more important factor since 1999. This case study provides important technical support and guidance for the ecological restoration of the Kuye River basin, and the concept can be applied to other similar coal mining areas.