DHRAM: a method for classifying river flow regime alterations for the EC Water Framework Directive

• 1. A method has been developed for assessing the degree of human alteration of river flow regimes relative to near‐natural or reference conditions.
• 2. The Dundee Hydrological Regime Alteration Method (DHRAM) utilizes the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration approach of the US Nature Conservancy to classify the risk of damage to in‐stream ecology using a five‐class scheme compatible with the requirements of the EC Water Framework Directive.
• 3. Separate methods have been developed for rivers and lakes, though only the former are considered in this paper.
• 4. DHRAM uses daily mean flow time‐series data, representing un‐impacted and impacted situations for the site of interest, in relation to any type of anthropogenic hydrological impact such as impoundments, abstractions or flow augmentation.
• 5. Procedures for coping with different levels of data availability are outlined, utilizing the Micro Low Flows computer package to generate synthetic series of daily mean flows, supplemented by flow alteration data as appropriate.
• 6. The utility of DHRAM is demonstrated through a pair of Scottish case studies illustrating its ability in classifying regime alteration and supporting mapping, which will be of value to river basin managers.
• 7. Finally, present and future issues relating to the calibration of DHRAM scores to levels of ecological damage are discussed.

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of a technique for Lake Habitat Survey (LHS) with applications for the European Union Water Framework Directive

• 1. In the absence of a standard procedure for characterizing the physical habitat of lakes in Europe, this paper describes the development of a multi‐purpose Lake Habitat Survey (LHS). The technique has been designed to meet the hydromorphological assessment needs of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), as well as to assist in monitoring the condition of designated sites in the UK and for wider application in environmental impact assessments and restoration programmes.
• 2. LHS involves detailed recording of shoreline features at a number of plots (Hab‐Plots), complemented by a meso‐scale survey of the entire lake, including shoreline characteristics and pressures, and modifications to the hydrological regime. A temperature and dissolved oxygen profile is also compiled at the deepest point of the lake (Index Site). Existing databases are exploited where possible, and remote sensing data (e.g. aerial photographs) are used to assist field‐based observations.
• 3. Initial field trials demonstrated that the consistency of the method, whether conducted by boat or on foot, was high. More than 250 surveys were carried out across the UK in 2004 through collaboration with the statutory environment and conservation agencies.
• 4. Two levels of complexity were tested — a full version requiring 10 Hab‐Plots and an abridged version, LHS_core, involving four plots and omitting the Index Site. While 8–10 plots were required to capture the full diversity of features at complex sites, LHS_core data were sufficient to generate metrics for classification purposes.
• 5. A Lake Habitat Modification Score (LHMS) may be calculated from LHS data. This synthesizes a wide array of hydromorphological and human pressures and has direct applications for assessment of ecological status under the WFD. Preliminary analysis illustrates a spectrum of hydromorphological alteration of 82 lakes in the UK.
• 6. Further considerations are discussed, including the prospect that the LHS protocol might form the basis of a European standard developed through CEN (Comité Européen de Normalisation).

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparison of environmental and biological site classifications for the prediction of macroinvertebrate communities of lakes in Northern Ireland

• 1. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires member states to establish ‘type‐specific biological reference conditions’ for the assessment of surface waters and describes a method for establishing such biological targets. The methodology described in the Directive is based on geographic and physical characteristics and similar to the ‘multimetric’ approach used widely in North America, but contrasts with the biological classification of the ‘multivariate’ approach which is commonly used in Europe.
• 2. An investigation was made of the relative efficiency of the multimetric and multivariate classification approaches in partitioning the observed biological variation of the macroinvertebrate communities of 22 minimally disturbed lakes in Northern Ireland. Furthermore, the accuracy of predictive models based on the two approaches was compared.
• 3. The WFD environmental typologies partitioned the observed biological variation poorly with a maximum ANOSIM R‐value of 0.216 compared with 0.609 for a multivariate biological site classification. The WFD System B approach partitioned more variation than the System A approach.
• 4. The use of a predictive model, based on any of the site classification approaches, resulted in more accurate faunal predictions than a null model. However, the biological model produced the most accurate predictions.
• 5. Canonical correspondence analysis showed that the environmental variables used in the biological classification model explained more variation (28%) than the best‐performing environmental classification model (24%). The most important variable was pH, followed by surface area and altitude. The variables used in all approaches explained more variation when used as continuous rather than categorized parameters.
• 6. The results of this work, the first such comparative study of predictive models in lakes, concur with similar studies in streams. It may be concluded that large‐scale environmental classifications are unreliable as a method for setting type‐specific reference targets for the ecological assessment of fresh waters.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Designing contracts for irrigation water under asymmetric information: Are simple pricing mechanisms enough?

A fertile discussion is developing in the EU regarding the application of the Water Framework Directive (60/2000) (WFD), the legislative act that provides the framework for water regulation in Europe and emphasises the role of economic instruments in water policy. The objective of this paper is to provide an evaluation of different instruments designed to deal with the management of water for agriculture, in the perspective of WFD implementation and agricultural price scenarios. The paper focuses on the regulation of mixed source unmetered water and carries out a comparison of flat rate versus differentiated contracts as the policy instrument. The analysis is based on a combination of linear programming and a Principal-Agent model. The empirical model is applied in an agricultural area of Northern Italy. The results show the feasibility of incentive-oriented policy instruments, even in the less sophisticated form of flat rate area payments. They also show the relevance of agricultural market scenarios and policy scenarios in the design of the optimal policy instruments. The adoption of such instruments, however, could require a revision of the role of different institutions involved in water management.     

An empirical framework for scaling-out of water system innovations: Lessons from diffusion of water system innovations in the Makanya catchment in Northern Tanzania

Scaling-out of water system innovations such as soil and water conservation is important for increased and sustainable agricultural production. A wealth of upgraded soil and water conservation technologies such as terraces has not been widely adopted in places vulnerable to land degradation and agricultural water stress. Much focus should be on rethinking approaches for scaling-out of well-proved innovations rather than on generation of new technologies. This paper presents an empirical framework for scaling-out water system innovations at catchment level. The framework is built based on findings from studies that were conducted in the Makanya catchment in Northern Tanzania. The empirical data and information were collected through inter-related research methods entailing farmers’ questionnaire surveys and consultations with key NGOs involved in the promotion of agricultural land and water management technologies. The data collection involved 234 and 294 farmers in the first and second rounds, respectively. The framework has four stages, which are technology and community strength evaluation, partnership building, scaling-out process and uptake evaluation. Stage 1 evaluates the technology efficacy in conserving soil and water and increasing benefits, and community strength mainly in terms of social capital. Stage 2 entails partnering with the target community and change agents to champion the scaling-out process in the target community. Stage 3 is concerned with the actual innovation scaling-out process through effective pathways such as field demonstration, lead farmers and appropriate channels of communication. Stage 4 evaluates the outcome of the innovation scaling-out process. Though the framework is developed using field evidences related to scaling-out of terraces, it could be adapted to enhance scaling-out of other water system innovations.     

The potential impact of projected change in farming by 2015 on the importance of the agricultural sector as a sediment source in England and Wales

In association with a major initiative aimed at identifying policy packages for inclusion in the Programmes of Measures (POM's) comprising EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) River Basin Management Plans (RBMP's), recent work has evaluated the gap between current and compliant suspended sediment losses due to farming across England and Wales. The work required national scale sediment source apportionment to assess the current contributions of diffuse agricultural and urban sector losses, channel bank erosion and point source discharges to the total suspended sediment loads delivered to all rivers. Results suggested that the agricultural sector dominates present day (year 2000) sediment inputs to rivers (1929 kt = 76%) compared to eroding channel banks (394 kt = 15%), diffuse urban sources (147 kt = 6%) and point source discharges (76 kt = 3%). Projected change in farming by 2015, represented by the Business as Usual forecast of structural developments and predicted uptake of sediment mitigation methods, suggested an overall 9% reduction in sediment loss from the agricultural sector across England and Wales. The projected reduction is unlikely to deliver sediment compliance in all catchments. Key limitations of the integrated modelling approach are discussed.     

Macroalgae in the intertidal zone of Cantabrian Sea: richness,cover of characteristic and opportunistic species

• 1. Macroalgae are one of the biological parameters considered in the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) for establishing the ecological status of coastal water bodies. In order to test the metric used to assess this element in the Cantabrian coast, the quality of rocky bottoms (CFR) index was applied to 164 transects at 28 sites on the coast of Asturias (northern Spain) in the summers of 2007 and 2008.
• 2. At each sampling point, three variables were measured: species richness, cover of characteristic and opportunistic macroalgae, and in 2008 the percentage of the area occupied by each characteristic species was also estimated.
• 3. Application of the Shapiro–Wilk test to the variables ‘cover of characteristic macroalgae’ and ‘cover of opportunistic algae’ revealed that the data were not normally distributed (P<0.001). A Kolmogorov–Smirnov test revealed: (a) significant differences (P<0.01) between the exposed and semi‐exposed sites, for the three variables studied; (b) significant differences in cover, for six species depending on the type of exposure; and (c) significant differences (P<0.01) in opportunistic macroalgal cover in relation to the two subtypes of water bodies in the study area. However, no significant differences were observed for overall macroalgal cover or species richness.
• 4. According to the results obtained, new reference conditions and class boundaries are proposed for the implementation of the CFR index in Asturian coastal waters. The ranges proposed for the CFR index in the present study provide better discrimination for evaluating the ecological status of the studied area.
• 5. The results of SIMPER and MDS analyses reinforced the conclusion that the type of exposure and the degree of human impact are the factors that best explain the degree of similarity between the sites sampled. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

     

Integrating ecology with hydromorphology: a priority for river science and management

• 1. The assessment of links between ecology and physical habitat has become a major issue in river research and management. Key drivers include concerns about the conservation implications of human modifications (e.g. abstraction, climate change) and the explicit need to understand the ecological importance of hydromorphology as prescribed by the EU's Water Framework Directive. Efforts are focusing on the need to develop ‘eco‐hydromorphology’ at the interface between ecology, hydrology and fluvial geomorphology. Here, the scope of this emerging field is defined, some research and development issues are suggested, and a path for development is sketched out.
• 2. In the short term, major research priorities are to use existing literature or data better to identify patterns among organisms, ecological functions and river hydromorphological character. Another early priority is to identify model systems or organisms to act as research foci. In the medium term, the investigation of pattern–processes linkages, spatial structuring, scaling relationships and system dynamics will advance mechanistic understanding. The effects of climate change, abstraction and river regulation, eco‐hydromorphic resistance/resilience, and responses to environmental disturbances are likely to be management priorities. Large‐scale catchment projects, in both rural and urban locations, should be promoted to concentrate collaborative efforts, to attract financial support and to raise the profile of eco‐hydromorphology.
• 3. Eco‐hydromorphological expertise is currently fragmented across the main contributory disciplines (ecology, hydrology, geomorphology, flood risk management, civil engineering), potentially restricting research and development. This is paradoxical given the shared vision across these fields for effective river management based on good science with social impact. A range of approaches is advocated to build sufficient, integrated capacity that will deliver science of real management value over the coming decades.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Large-scale ecological restoration of high-diversity tropical forests in SE Brazil

The complex interactions among endangered ecosystems, landowners’ interests, and different models of land tenure and use, constitute an important series of challenges for those seeking to maintain and restore biodiversity and augment the flow of ecosystem services. Over the past 10 years, we have developed a data-based approach to address these challenges and to achieve medium and large-scale ecological restoration of riparian areas on private lands in the state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. Given varying motivations for ecological restoration, the location of riparian areas within landholdings, environmental zoning of different riparian areas, and best-practice restoration methods were developed for each situation. A total of 32 ongoing projects, covering 527,982 ha, were evaluated in large sugarcane farms and small mixed farms, and six different restoration techniques have been developed to help upscale the effort. Small mixed farms had higher portions of land requiring protection as riparian areas (13.3%), and lower forest cover of riparian areas (18.3%), than large sugarcane farms (10.0% and 36.9%, respectively for riparian areas and forest cover values). In both types of farms, forest fragments required some degree of restoration. Historical anthropogenic degradation has compromised forest ecosystem structure and functioning, despite their high-diversity of native tree and shrub species. Notably, land use patterns in riparian areas differed markedly. Large sugarcane farms had higher portions of riparian areas occupied by highly mechanized agriculture, abandoned fields, and anthropogenic wet fields created by siltation in water courses. In contrast, in small mixed crop farms, low or non-mechanized agriculture and pasturelands were predominant. Despite these differences, plantations of native tree species covering the entire area was by far the main restoration method needed both by large sugarcane farms (76.0%) and small mixed farms (92.4%), in view of the low resilience of target sites, reduced forest cover, and high fragmentation, all of which limit the potential for autogenic restoration. We propose that plantations should be carried out with a high-diversity of native species in order to create biologically viable restored forests, and to assist long-term biodiversity persistence at the landscape scale. Finally, we propose strategies to integrate the political, socio-economic and methodological aspects needed to upscale restoration efforts in tropical forest regions throughout Latin America and elsewhere.     

生态系统管理的概念·框架与建议

在介绍生态系统管理概念的基础上,列出了生态系统管理的框架,并为改善我国生态系统管理状况提出了一些合理的建议。