Big data challenges in overcoming China’s water and air pollution: relevant data and indicators

Zhang, Bo; Hughes, Robert M.; Davis, William P.; Cao, Cong

doi:10.1007/s42452-021-04448-0

Cited by 8 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 65 publications

(76 reference statements)

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“…Our data were also spatially restricted in Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Laos, Mexico, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam, so national assessments of those nations' rivers were impossible as well. In addition, biological assessment data for many countries was lacking or existing studies failed to meet our criteria for sampling sites to cover a large region/basin, having already well‐established indices adapted to local conditions and following RCA, and quality classification systems for macroinvertebrates and/or fish (see Materials and Methods; Feio, Hughes, et al, 2021 , Zhang et al, 2021 ). This lack of information limits our global conclusions and often results from insufficient concern of governments for aquatic bioassessments and water resource conservation or too few resources to implement such programs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fish and macroinvertebrate assemblages reveal extensive degradation of the world's rivers

Feio

Hughes

Serra

et al. 2022

Global Change Biology

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Rivers suffer from multiple stressors acting simultaneously on their biota, but the consequences are poorly quantified at the global scale. We evaluated the biological condition of rivers globally, including the largest proportion of countries from the Global South published to date. We gathered macroinvertebrate‐ and fish‐based assessments from 72,275 and 37,676 sites, respectively, from 64 study regions across six continents and 45 nations. Because assessments were based on differing methods, different systems were consolidated into a 3‐class system: Good, Impaired, or Severely Impaired, following common guidelines. The proportion of sites in each class by study area was calculated and each region was assigned a Köppen‐Geiger climate type, Human Footprint score (addressing landscape alterations), Human Development Index (HDI) score (addressing social welfare), % rivers with good ambient water quality, % protected freshwater key biodiversity areas; and % of forest area net change rate. We found that 50% of macroinvertebrate sites and 42% of fish sites were in Good condition, whereas 21% and 29% were Severely Impaired, respectively. The poorest biological conditions occurred in Arid and Equatorial climates and the best conditions occurred in Snow climates. Severely Impaired conditions were associated (Pearson correlation coefficient) with higher HDI scores, poorer physico‐chemical water quality, and lower proportions of protected freshwater areas. Good biological conditions were associated with good water quality and increased forested areas. It is essential to implement statutory bioassessment programs in Asian, African, and South American countries, and continue them in Oceania, Europe, and North America. There is a need to invest in assessments based on fish, as there is less information globally and fish were strong indicators of degradation. Our study highlights a need to increase the extent and number of protected river catchments, preserve and restore natural forested areas in the catchments, treat wastewater discharges, and improve river connectivity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%