Eco-bioengineering Tools in Ecohydrological Assessment of Eutrophic Water Bodies

Abstract

Eutrophication of water bodies and deterioration of water quality is an emerging environmental crisis. The root causes, pathways and consequences of eutrophication are multidirectional and provide a huge scope of risk-analysis and risk-assessment in the domain of remediation studies. However, a deep insight on restoration studies shows a global transitional trend of evolution of traditional restoration methods to advanced innovative techniques with pioneering development in the field of science and technology. This study introduces a novel approach of considering ecohydrological assessment of eutrophication emphasizing classical biomanipulation practices and their evolution into innovative methods coined as ‘eco-bioengineering’ method. The main objective of this study is to critically analyse and recognize the research gaps in classical biomanipulations and appreciate the reproducibility and efficacy of eco-bioengineering methods at micro- and macrolevel aquatic ecosystems. Comprehensive literature review was conducted in offline and online planforms, and our survey revealed continuation of a historical trend in classical biomanipulation practices (75.36%) and an ascending drift in eco-bioengineering research (24.64%) in the immediate decade (2010–2020). At a global scale, recent biomanipulation research is skewedly distributed in Europe (43.48%), East Asia (34.78%), North America (8.70%), South America (2.90%), South Africa (4.35%), Oceania (1.45%), Middle East (1.45%) and non-specific regions (2.90%). Finally, this study revealed the comprehensiveness of eco-bioengineering methods and their strong ecological resilience to recurrence of eutrophication and fluctuating environmental flows in the future. Therefore, this study reinforces eco-bioengineering methods a cost-effective green technologies that will sustainable solutions for restoration of eutrophic waters at a global scale.