Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

The unprecedented rates of warming observed during recent decades exceed natural variability to such an extent that it is widely recognized as a major environmental problem not only among scientists. The role of our economy in driving such change has made it an economic and political issue. There is ample evidence that climate characteristics are changing due to greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activities. As a source of extreme, unpredictable environmental variation, climate change represents one of the most important threats for freshwater biodiversity (Dudgeon et al. 2006; Woodward et al. 2010).

Toxicants still represent a relevant stressor in river ecosystems. We describe the entry paths of toxicants into rivers and discuss the processes that determine the levels of exposure. Subsequently, the impacts of chemical toxicants on different levels of biological organisation, ranging from individuals to meta-communities, are portrayed with a special emphasis on the propogation of effects through biotic interactions and the modulation of effects through environmental conditions and potentially co-occurring stressors. We outline mitigation measures for different input paths that may reduce the concentrations of chemical toxicants, and consequently their risks to organisms, in river ecosystems. Finally, we discuss challenges and promising tools for a more realistic assessment of risks, which is the first step to an efficient management of chemicals in river ecosystems

Dendritic stream-river networks are the backbone of most landscapes on earth’s surface and determine linkages between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. These networks are hierarchically organized from microhabitats to the scale of whole catchments (Frissell et al. 1986). Accordingly, many processes of lotic freshwater ecosystems are determined by this hierarchically nested structure of river networks and their interlinkages. Hynes (1975) emphasized the importance of the linkage between the conditions within a river catchment and the flows of energy, materials, and organisms in the river as a dynamic ecosystem. These flows are interwoven in complex, cross-linked relationships of ecosystem functioning. Up to now, it is a prime challenge to understand these functions in detail and to robustly manage riverine landscapes in a sustainable manner. Starting with the work of Hynes (1975), the scale of riverine management was understood to occur over entire river catchments or even river basins with several concepts that integrated this perception (Vannote et al. 1980; Frissell et al. 1986; Ward 1989; Poff 1997; Fausch et al. 2002; Ward et al. 2002; Burcher et al. 2007). These theoretical frameworks seek to understand and to quantify interactions between landscape conditions over large spatial extents and instream responses. Ultimately, the catchment approach was even implemented into legal frameworks, such as the Water Framework Directive (WFD), which recognizes the river basin as relevant management scale (European Parliament 2000).

Fishing is an ancient practice in the acquisition of natural resources dating back to the Middle Stone Age. The principal reasons why humans visit waters to catch fish underwent a substantial transition in many countries throughout the preceding decades. While fishing to gain food still is an important factor in tropical areas of the world, especially in Africa and Asia, it is mostly for sport in inland waters of economically higher developed countries, as in major parts of Europe and North America (Welcomme 2016). There, the majority of fishermen nowadays fish solely to obtain recreation or to experience the aesthetics of nature.

The European Water Framework Directive (WFD; European Commission 2000) introduced a new focus in river management by putting the protection and restoration of the aquatic environment as a key issue on the water policy agenda. This expanded emphasis on restoration activities reflects global efforts to make river management more sustainable by better integrating policy and science to harmonize engineering, ecological, and social concerns in governing river basins. Over the last 20–30 years, several management frameworks such as Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) or adaptive management (AM) have been developed in a series of separate, parallel experiments to achieve these goals. While specific details may vary, most of these management lineages converged on broadly common ways to sustainably manage natural resources and human activities in river basins in an integrated, interdisciplinary approach. The need to put restoration and conservation activities in a social context is increasingly considered mandatory in recent management programs (see Chap. ).

If ongoing change in ecosystems and society can render inflexible policies obsolete, then management must dynamically adapt as a counter to perennial uncertainty. This chapter describes a general synthesis of how to make decision-making more adaptive and then explores the barriers to learning in management. We then describe how one such process, known as adaptive management (AM), has been applied in different river basins, on which basis we discuss AM’s strengths and limitations in various resource management contexts.

Modern water legislation strives to build the institutional foundation for sustainable water resource management and protection of important habitats and species. This chapter provides an overview of the most important legislative framework for river ecosystem management on the international and European levels, profoundly influencing and guiding national water legislation.

Water resources are the basis for human well-being and development all over the world. At the same time, in their use and protection, they face numerous challenges stemming from different interests of different actors. Meeting these challenges requires integrated management that reconciles different interests in the use and protection of water resources and ensures the sustainable development of a river or lake basin as a whole. As soon as rivers and lakes cross international borders and transboundary basins emerge, these challenges and the need to address them in a coordinated manner become even more complex. The links between interests in the use of their resources and the interests of nation-states add an international political dimension to the previously rather technical challenge of water resources management.

The water that we use, the air that we breathe, and the energy that we consume are limited resources. Among these, “water issues are one of the major problems that humanity must solve for its survival.” This maxim was a key conclusion reached by top-level decision-makers at the first Asia Pacific Water Summit in December 2007, marking the first time in history that all Asian states met to discuss water issues. This statement does more than characterize the Asian situation. It applies to our entire globe. Water managers and scientists are aware that sustainably managing a fundamental resource like water requires rigorous scientific data and analysis to understand aquatic ecosystem functioning. Proper sustainable management requires that we know the “quantity” and “quality” of a water source. This chapter describes the basics of the “qualitative aspects” of water monitoring and management, namely, the biomonitoring and the assessment of “river quality.”

Species observed in freshwaters are typically good indicators of the health/status of these ecosystems and are therefore frequently analyzed as part of ecological monitoring programs. The biodiversity data generated during such monitoring routines, in combination with data from other ecological studies in freshwaters, can form an invaluable source of information to support sustainable management and conservation of aquatic ecosystems. Pressured by funding agencies such as the EU, the call for open access to data, which enables the reuse of data for addressing large-scale and/or transdisciplinary research problems, is becoming increasingly important. In this chapter we discuss the importance of documenting and describing data and making these metadata available to improve the understanding and discoverability of datasets and specifically examine different facets of biodiversity data. We provide an overview of existing freshwater (biodiversity) information systems that enable data holders to adequately publish their data and find appropriate data for their research.