Monitoring and Management of Inland Waters: Insights from the Most Inhabited Italian Region

Abstract

Monitoring of freshwaters allows the detection of the impacts of multiple anthropic uses and activities on aquatic ecosystems, and an eco-sustainable management of natural resources could limit these impacts. In this work, we highlighted two main issues affecting inland waters, referring to findings from the most inhabited Italian region (Lombardy, approximately 10 M inhabitants): the first issue is lake pollution by old generation pesticides, the second is river development for hydropower. In both cases, some management strategies reducing the anthropic impacts on freshwaters were discussed: organic farming and biocontrol as an alternative to diffuse pollution by agrochemicals; environmental flows and controlled sediment flushing operations to limit the hydropower impact on rivers. Although the two mentioned issues were discussed separately in this paper, the management of water resources should be carried out in a comprehensive way, accounting for the multiple impacts affecting freshwater ecosystems, including those related to the climate changes.

Overview of policy and market dynamics for the deployment of renewable energy sources in Italy: Current status and future prospects

“…Hydroelectric power is one of the main sources of electricity production in Italy's energy mix [ 36 ]. According to recent data presented in Table 2 despite a reduction in gross hydropower production from 2018, when it amounted to 48,786 GW h, it remains the largest source of renewable energy in the country, with a total gross production of 44.740 GW h (41%) in 2021 [ 37 ].…”

“…In recent years, there has been a shift towards the modernization of existing hydropower plants to improve their efficiency and environmental sustainability. This has included the installation of new turbines and other equipment, as well as the implementation of measures to reduce the impact of dams on local ecosystems and water resources [ 36 ]. Thus, hydroelectric power remains a key component of Italy's energy mix, playing a significant role in the country's transition to a more sustainable and low-carbon energy system.…”

Incorporating Industrial and Climatic Covariates into Analyses of Fish Health Indicators Measured in a Stream in Canada’s Oil Sands Region

“…Documenting and assessing the status of biological populations and communities and identifying sources of variation is a priority for ecological monitoring and management programs [1][2][3][4], including those in Canada's Oil Sands Region (OSR) [5]. Among the studies performed in the OSR to understand the effects of industrial developments, analyses of fish health indicators have been undertaken in streams in the minable sub-region since the late 1990s [6][7][8].…”

Monitoring and Management of Inland Waters

“…Finally, two methodologies commonly used for the detection of hydrological alterations were coupled by Greco et al [6] in order to define the ecological flow of the Agri River (Italy). The Special Issue also includes a review summarizing state-of-the-art methods for the assessment of hydropeaking impacts on benthic macroinvertebrate communities [7] and a perspective paper highlighting two main issues affecting inland waters, i.e., lake pollution by old generation pesticides and river development for hydropower [8].…”

“…The results presented in this Special Issue should be taken into account for improving both the monitoring and management of freshwater resources: (i) the wide distribution of potential harmful bacteria from river runoff or direct sewage dumping has an impact on human health that should be urgently reduced [1], (ii) a critical requirement for the success of programs for the reintroduction of locally extinct species is the knowledge of the genetic diversity of the selected broodstocks to ensure self-sustainability of the reintroduced populations [2], (iii) taxon richness of benthic macroinvertebrates could be used as a surrogate indicator to assess the water quality when consolidate biomonitoring methods are not available [3], (iv) the presence of endangered diatomic species of particular conservational interest in temporary basins affected by extended drought periods triggers the need for conservation strategies for vulnerable and unstable environments strongly threatened by climate changes [4], (v) long-term monitoring of ecosystem metabolism is required to assess alterations in the function of streams affected by hydrological and temperature alterations exacerbated by the climate change [5], (vi) common operative tools should be implemented for ecological flow assessment in order to make water resource management more sustainable [6], (vii) organic farming and biocontrol could be an alternative to diffuse pollution by agrochemicals, while environmental flows and controlled sediment flushing operations could limit the hydropower impact on rivers [8]. Moreover, the review by Salmaso et al [7] could support the proper design of monitoring plans aimed at assessing the ecological impacts of hydropeaking and the effects of possible mitigation strategies.…”