Evaluation of ecological flows in highly regulated rivers using the mesohabitat approach: A case study on the Nestos River, N. Greece

Koutrakis, E. T.; Triantafillidis, S.; Sapounidis, A.; Vezza, Paolo; Kamidis, Nikolaos; Sylaïos, Georgios; Comoglio, Claudio

doi:10.1016/j.ecohyd.2018.01.002

Cited by 20 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Overall, our results from the trends of the vegetation indices during the 27 years of the study period, support the idea that the current suggested environmental flows and water management plan for the Nestos Basin and Delta, need to be revised in order to be able maintain the high ecological standards of the Natura 2000 and Ramsar riparian sites, as suggested by other studies about the Delta (Koutrakis et al, 2018).…”

Section: Effect Of Dams On Riparian and Deltaic Vegetationsupporting

confidence: 85%

Assessing the impact of dams on riparian and deltaic vegetation using remotely-sensed vegetation indices and Random Forests modelling

Zaimes

Gounaridis

Symenonakis

2019

Ecological Indicators

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Riparian and deltaic areas exhibit a high biodiversity and offer a number of ecosystem services but are often degraded by human activities. Dams, for example, alter the hydrologic and sediment regimes of rivers and can negatively affect riparian areas and deltas. In order to sustainably manage these ecosystems, it is, therefore, essential to assess and monitor the impacts of dams. To this end, site-assessments and in-situ measurements have commonly been used in the past, but these can be laborious, resource demanding and time consuming. Here, we investigated the impact of three dams on the riparian forest of the Nestos River Delta in Greece by employing multi-temporal satellite data. We assessed the evolution in the values of eight vegetation indices over 27 years, derived from 14 dates of Landsat data. We also employed a modelling approach, using a machine learning Random Forests model, to investigate potential linkages between the observed changes in the indices and a host of climatic and topoedaphic parameters. Our results show that low density vegetation (0-25%) is more affected by the construction of the dams due to its proximity to anthropogenic influences and the effects of hydrologic regime alteration. In contrast, higher density vegetation cover (50-75%) appears to be largely unaffected, or even improving, due to its proximity to the river, while vegetation with intermediate coverage (25-49%) exhibits no clear trend in the Landsat-derived indices. The Random Forests model found that the most important parameters for the riparian vegetation (based on the Mean Decrease Gini and the Mean Decrease Accuracy) were the distance to the dams, the sea 2 and the river. Our results suggest that management plans of riparian and deltaic areas need to incorporate and take into consideration new innovative management practices and monitoring studies that employ multi-temporal satellite data archives.

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Section: Effect Of Dams On Riparian and Deltaic Vegetationsupporting

confidence: 85%

Assessing the impact of dams on riparian and deltaic vegetation using remotely-sensed vegetation indices and Random Forests modelling

Zaimes

Gounaridis

Symenonakis

2019

Ecological Indicators

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“…Vezza, Parasiewicz, Calles, Spairani, and Comoglio (2014) adapted the MesoHABSIM approach to high‐gradient streams, using the habitat classification according to Montgomery and Buffington (1997). Other applications of MesoHABSIM have involved restoration measures (Parasiewicz, 2008; Parasiewicz, Legros, Rodgers, & Wirth, 2007) and ecological flow studies (Koutrakis et al., 2018; Vezza et al., 2012). Recently, MesoHABSIM has been combined with a hydrodynamic model to improve the management of endangered freshwater mussels (Parasiewicz, Castelli, Rogers, & Plunkett, 2012; Parasiewicz, Castelli, Rogers, Vezza, & Kaupsta, 2017).…”

Section: Mesohabitat Modelling Platformsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mesohabitat modelling in fish ecology: A global synthesis

2020

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Modelling the linkage between physical habitat and aquatic organisms on multiple spatial scales has become an important tool in the management of rivers. The mesoscale (100–102 m) represents an intermediate resolution in modelling that bridges the gap between available resources and conservation efforts for riverine species. However, existing mesohabitat classification schemes for lotic systems vary significantly in the definition of habitat types as well as in their application in the field. This article aims to provide an overview of current attempts to model the mesoscale pattern of physical habitats with a focus on fish. First, we outline descriptive, qualitative as well as objective, quantitative classification methods that are available in the literature. Next, the ecological relevance of the mesohabitat concept is being discussed, using single‐species and community‐level approaches as examples. Different modelling approaches that describe and quantify riverine mesohabitats are presented, and finally, limitations and uncertainties in the modelling process are discussed, followed by an outline of future perspectives in mesohabitat modelling.

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“…Numerous case studies have proved that, to restore different natural ecological processes, the ecological flow is not constant but changing over time (Fanaian, Graas, Jiang, & van der Zaag, ; Bruckerhoff, Leasure, & Magoulick, ). It has been long and widely accepted that the ecological flow needs to incorporate natural variability rather than simply allocating a minimum flow to maintain the ecological integrity of rivers (Haghighi & Kløve, ; Koutrakis et al, ; McKenna, Reeves, & Seelbach, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incorporating fish habitat requirements of the complete life cycle into ecological flow regime estimation of rivers

et al. 2020

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Maintenance of ecological flow regime for aquatic biota is essential to river ecosystem health. To estimate ecological flow, habitat simulation methods have been widely applied because of their combination of hydrological regime and species hydraulic preference. However, few methods are available to provide a flow regime that varies over time due to time-specific habitat requirements from different target species or from one target species at its different life stages. This paper described a novel approach for evaluating the ecological flow regime that was a time series of discharge considering different life stages of target species. First, an ecohydraulic model that combined multivariable habitat suitability curve of target species with a hydraulic module was developed to establish the relationship between habitat status and hydrological conditions. Then, the habitat connectivity index was adopted to assess the spatial patterns of habitat patches. Finally, the ecological flow regime considering the complete life cycle of target species was derived. The developed approach was applied to the middle reach of Huaihe River, where the flow is highly regulated by dams and sluices. The Chinese bream (Parabramis pekinensis) was chosen as the target species for ecological flow calculation. The ecological flow regime in the Lutaizi was provided for the river management. The study provided a promising method to support ecological friendly operations of hydraulic structures for river ecosystem restoration and management. K E Y W O R D S ecohydraulic model, ecological flow regime, full life cycle, habitat connectivity

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Evaluation of ecological flows in highly regulated rivers using the mesohabitat approach: A case study on the Nestos River, N. Greece

Cited by 20 publications

References 26 publications

Assessing the impact of dams on riparian and deltaic vegetation using remotely-sensed vegetation indices and Random Forests modelling

Assessing the impact of dams on riparian and deltaic vegetation using remotely-sensed vegetation indices and Random Forests modelling

Mesohabitat modelling in fish ecology: A global synthesis

Incorporating fish habitat requirements of the complete life cycle into ecological flow regime estimation of rivers

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