Geomorphic status of regulated rivers in the Iberian Peninsula

Lobera, Gemma; Besne, P.; Vericat, Damià; López‐Tarazón, José A.; Tena, Álvaro; Aristi, Ibon; Díez, José Ramón; Ibisate, Askoa; Larrañaga, Aitor; Batalla, Ramón J.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.10.058

Cited by 54 publications

(36 citation statements)

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“…Aunque existen diversos métodos para el estudio del estado hidro-sedimentario en sistemas fluviales (por ej. Richter et al, 1996;Raven et al, 1997;Mathews y Richter, 2007;Ollero et al, 2008;Alber y Piégay, 2011;Rinaldi et al, 2013;Lobera et al, 2015), la integración que se ha realizado en este artículo se considera como novedosa y de gran interés en el campo de la geomorfología fluvial.…”

Section: Discussionunclassified

Evolución morfo-sedimentaria del tramo medio del río Segre

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Vericat

Batalla

2015

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Section: Discussionunclassified

Evolución morfo-sedimentaria del tramo medio del río Segre

Tuset

Vericat

Batalla

2015

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“…2) were used to map the morphological units (according to Montgomery & Buffington, 1997) of the reaches and to calculate the extension of sandy and gravel areas in u/s (in d/s sand and gravel were absent in the surface). Furthermore, two morphological indices were applied to each reach: (i) the River Habitat Index (IHF; Pardo et al, 2002) and (ii) the Geomorphic Status index (GS; Lobera et al, 2015).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of flow regulation on river bed dynamics and invertebrate communities in a Mediterranean river

et al. 2016

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Mediterranean rivers are hotspots for biodiversity, and riverine species are adapted to regular physical perturbations that affect channel morphology during flashy rainfall-runoff events. Dams alter flow regimes, changing flood magnitude and frequency; they also interrupt the continuity of sediment transport. Changes in both flood and sediment transport regimes affect downstream channel dynamics and the ecological functioning of fluvial systems. This paper examines the effects of flow regulation on bed disturbance, invertebrate assemblages and their biological traits in a Mediterranean river (the Siurana, NE Iberian Peninsula). Results are put in the broader context of the whole Ebro river catchment. The Siurana Reservoir causes a complete inversion of the seasonal flow regime and reduces flood magnitude notably. Upstream from the reservoir, torrential floods mobilize surface and subsurface bed materials, regularly disturbing the physical habitat; downstream, geomorphological activity in the channel is almost nonexistent. Altogether, damming causes significant differences in taxonomic composition of the benthic invertebrate communities; density and biomass increase notably below the dam although diversity decreases. At the broader scale taxa with active aerial dispersal traits dominate unregulated reaches in areas with marked Mediterranean hydro-climatic regimes, whereas reaches with more stable regimes are characterized by fully aquatic detritivore species.Handling editor: Marcelo S. Moretti Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (

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“…This vegetation encroachment stabilizes the new channel, even within extraordinary floods. Prevention of vegetation encroachment could be a basic objective of effective e-Flows, particularly in Mediterranean streams, where common irrigation reservoirs release high summer flows, thus supporting maximum plant growth potential as the normal summer drought is eliminated (Magdaleno & Fernández, 2011;Stella et al, 2013;González del Tánago et al, 2015;Lobera et al, 2015). Ultimately, regulated river dimensions are so reduced that they develop into a small remnant: a 'Bonsai river'.…”

Section: The E-flows In Mediterranean Streams: the Bonsai River Syndromementioning

confidence: 99%

Linking environmental flows to sediment dynamics

et al. 2016

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This is a policy discussion paper aimed at addressing possible alternative approaches for environmental flows (eFlows) assessment and identification within the context of best strategies for fluvial restoration. We focus on dammed rivers in Mediterranean regions. Fluvial species and their ecological integrity are the result of their evolutionary adaptation to river habitats. Flowing water is the main driver for development and maintenance of these habitats, which is why e-Flows are needed where societal demands are depleting water resources. Fluvial habitats are also shaped by the combined interaction of water, sediments, woody/organic material, and riparian vegetation. Water abstraction, flow regulation by dams, gravel pits or siltation by fine sediments eroded from hillslopes are pressures that can disturb interactions among water, sediments, and other constituents that create the habitats needed by fluvial communities. Present e-Flow design criteria are based only on water flow requirements. Here we argue that sediment dynamics need to be considered when specifying instream flows, thereby expanding the environmental objectives and definition of e-Flows to include sediments (extended e-Flows). To this aim, a hydromorphological framework for e-Flows assessment and identification of best strategies for fluvial restoration, including the context of rivers regulated by large dams, is presented.Keywords: Ecological status; Environmental flows (e-Flows); Flow regulation; Hydromorphology (HYMO); Large dam; River management; Sediments This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), which permits copying, adaptation and redistribution for non-commercial purposes, provided the contribution is distributed under the same licence as the original, and the original work is properly cited

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Geomorphic status of regulated rivers in the Iberian Peninsula

Cited by 54 publications

References 40 publications

Evolución morfo-sedimentaria del tramo medio del río Segre

Evolución morfo-sedimentaria del tramo medio del río Segre

Effects of flow regulation on river bed dynamics and invertebrate communities in a Mediterranean river

Linking environmental flows to sediment dynamics

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