Research Priorities to Improve Future Environmental Water Outcomes

Horne, Avril; Webb, J. Angus; O’Donnell, Erin; Arthington, Angela; McClain, Michael E.; Bond, Nick; Acreman, Mike; Hart, BT; Stewardson, Michael J.; Richter, Brian; Poff, N. Le Roy

doi:10.3389/fenvs.2017.00089

Cited by 41 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 74 publications

(93 reference statements)

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“…As well as Harwood et al (2017), these include the recent book "Water for the Environment" , synthesis papers from several special journal issues devoted to environmental flows science and management (Acreman et al, 2014a;Bunn, 2016;Arthington et al, 2018;Kennen et al, 2018;Webb et al, 2018), and a paper setting out the results of a survey of important research priorities to inform future environmental water outcomes (Horne et al, 2017b). The summary of actions in Appendix 1 is less detailed but consistent with the main recommendations of these works.…”

Section: Actionable Recommendations On Environmental Flowsmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…A programme highlight was the celebration of progress with environmental flows since The Brisbane Declaration (2007), and renewal of this influential document to reflect recent developments and emerging challenges. Whilst progress with environmental flows science and water management since 2007 has been immense, major challenges remain in protecting and restoring the integrity of freshwater ecosystems and the ecological services that sustain human cultures, economies, livelihoods, and well-being (e.g., Arthington, 2012;Rockström et al, 2014;Hart and Doolan, 2017;Horne et al, 2017b;Kennen et al, 2018). Environmental flow requirements have still not been adequately assessed for most aquatic ecosystems and have been implemented in even fewer (Moore, 2004;Le Quesne et al, 2010;Gillespie et al, 2015;Harwood et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Brisbane Declaration and Global Action Agenda on Environmental Flows (2018)

Arthington

Bhaduri

Bunn

et al. 2018

Front. Environ. Sci.

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314

225

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Section: Actionable Recommendations On Environmental Flowsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Brisbane Declaration and Global Action Agenda on Environmental Flows (2018)

Arthington

Bhaduri

Bunn

et al. 2018

Front. Environ. Sci.

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314

225

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“…Opportunities abound to advance scientific understanding of complex ecohydrological relationships to improve models that predict changes in these relationships over varying spatial and temporal scales, and to account for and quantify the inherent uncertainty associated with prediction in stochastic systems. Major scientific challenges and opportunities include the following: Advanced understanding and quantification of ecological processes and social–ecological outcomes from delivery of environmental flows: Recent reviews have stressed the need for advances in theoretical, empirical, experimental and modelling approaches to advance scientific understanding of river functioning and guide future management of environmental of flow regimes (Davies et al., ; Downes, ; Gillespie, Desmet, Kay, Tillotson, & Brown, ; Horne, Webb, O'Donnell, et al., ; Horne, Webb, Stewardson, et al., ; Palmer, Menninger, & Bernhardt, ). As one approach, controlled environmental water management experiments designed and monitored in collaboration with dam operators and stakeholders yield deep insights (Horne, Webb, O'Donnell, et al., ; Horne, Webb, Stewardson, et al., ; Olden et al., ; Poff et al., ) and could be required as standard practice.…”

Section: Scientific Challenges and Areas For Further Explorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A capacity to separate the relative effects of flow alterations from other stressors on riverine ecosystems (e.g. land‐use change, water quality, alien species) is essential to guide management decisions that should be integrated at basin scale (Gillespie et al., ; Horne, Webb, O'Donnell, et al., ; Palmer et al., ). More effort is warranted to quantify flow–ecosystem and social–ecological outcomes at basin and regional scales in diverse river types, climates and governance contexts (Jackson, ; McCluney et al., ; Olden et al., ; Stewardson & Guarino, ).…”

Section: Scientific Challenges and Areas For Further Explorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent advances in environmental flows science and water management—Innovation in the Anthropocene

et al. 2018

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The implementation of environmental flow regimes offers a promising means to protect and restore riverine, wetland and estuarine ecosystems, their critical environmental services and cultural/societal values. This Special Issue expands the scope of environmental flows and water science in theory and practice, offering 20 papers from academics, agency researchers and non‐governmental organisations, each with fresh perspectives on the science and management of environmental water allocations. Contributions confront the grand challenge for environmental flows and water management in the Anthropocene—the urgent need for innovations that will help to sustain the innate resilience of social–ecological systems under dynamic and uncertain environmental and societal futures. Basin‐scale and regional assessments of flow requirements mark a necessary advance in environmental water science in the face of rapid changes in water‐resource management activities worldwide (e.g. increases in dams, diversions, retention and reuse). Techniques for regional‐scale hydrological and ecohydrological modelling support ecological risk assessment and identification of priority flow management and river restoration actions. Changing flood–drought cycles, long‐term climatic shifts and associated effects on hydrological, thermal and water quality regimes add enormous uncertainty to the prediction of future ecological outcomes, regardless of environmental water allocations. An improved capacity to predict the trajectories of ecological change in rivers degraded by legacies of past impact interacting with current conditions and future climate change is essential. Otherwise, we risk unrealistic expectations from restoration of river and estuarine flow regimes. A more robust, dynamic and predictive approach to environmental water science is emerging. It encourages the measurement of process rates (e.g. birth rate, colonisation rate) and species traits (e.g. physiological requirements, morphological adaptations) as well as ecosystem states (e.g. species richness, assemblage structure), as the variables representing ecological responses to flow variability and environmental water allocations. Another necessary development is the incorporation of other environmental variables such as water temperature and sedimentary processes in flow–ecological response models. Based on contributions to this Special Issue, several recent compilations and the wider literature, we identify six major scientific challenges for further exploration, and seven themes for advancing the management of environmental water. We see the emerging frontier of environmental flows and water science as urgent and challenging, with numerous opportunities for reinvigorated science and methodological innovation in the expanding enterprise of environmental water linked to ecological sustainability and social well‐being.

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“…Bice et al 2014;Koehn et al 2014b,c;NSW DPI 2014, 2015a,b, Ellis et al 2015 and directions for management (e.g. The need for knowledge to be incorporated into management objectives and decisions is a priority, yet the effective transfer of such knowledge is also a current constraint (Koehn et al 2014c;Horne et al 2017). The need for knowledge to be incorporated into management objectives and decisions is a priority, yet the effective transfer of such knowledge is also a current constraint (Koehn et al 2014c;Horne et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fish and flow management in the Murray–Darling Basin: Directions for research

Koehn¹,

Balcombe²,

Zampatti³

2019

Eco Management Restoration

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Summary Effective natural resource management requires knowledge exchange between researchers and managers to support evidence‐based decision‐making. To achieve this, there is a need to align research with management and policy needs. This project aimed to identify the flow‐related ecological knowledge needs for freshwater fish to better inform environmental water management in the Murray–Darling Basin, south‐eastern Australia. Our major objective was to provide an up‐to‐date assessment of scientific research and integrate this with the knowledge requirements of relevant managers to guide future research. We reviewed the contemporary scientific literature and engaged managers specifically responsible for delivering flows for fish outcomes via a questionnaire and workshop. Research on fishes of the MDB has generally evolved from single locations and/or times to larger spatio‐temporal scales, including multiple sites, rivers and catchments. There has also been a trend from single life stage studies to incorporation of multiple life stages and population processes. There remain, however, significant deficiencies in knowledge for most native species, many of which are threatened. Four agreed key knowledge gaps were derived from the literature review and managers’ suggestions: (i) population dynamics, (ii) movement, dispersal and connectivity, (iii) survival and recruitment to adults and (iv) recruitment drivers. To inform policy and management, managers desired timely advice, based on robust research and monitoring. Fish species of most relevance to managers were those highly regarded by community stakeholders and whose life histories and population dynamics are potentially influenced by flow. Populations of these mostly large‐bodied, angling species (e.g. Murray Cod, Golden Perch and Silver Perch) have declined, often due to river regulation and, in conjunction with managers’ priorities, are relevant candidates for research to support the management of flow to rehabilitate fish populations in the MDB.

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Research Priorities to Improve Future Environmental Water Outcomes

Cited by 41 publications

References 74 publications

The Brisbane Declaration and Global Action Agenda on Environmental Flows (2018)

The Brisbane Declaration and Global Action Agenda on Environmental Flows (2018)

Recent advances in environmental flows science and water management—Innovation in the Anthropocene

Fish and flow management in the Murray–Darling Basin: Directions for research

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