Effects of a Large Irrigation Reservoir on Aquatic and Riparian Plants: A History of Survival and Loss
| Autor: | Maria Rosário Fernandes, Maria Teresa Ferreira, Maria João Martins, Francisca C. Aguiar |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences Geography Planning and Development Fluvial Land cover Guadiana river Aquatic Science 01 natural sciences Biochemistry Novel ecosystem diversity Alqueva Dam Ecosystem impacts 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Water Science and Technology Riparian zone Hydrology geography geography.geographical_feature_category Land use Mediterranean rivers species composition 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology Guadiana River endemic species Biota riparian trees and shrubs riverscape change Alqueva dam Habitat Environmental science |
| Zdroj: | Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP) instacron:RCAAP Water Volume 11 Issue 11 |
| ISSN: | 2073-4441 |
| DOI: | 10.3390/w11112379 |
| Popis: | Dammed rivers have unnatural stream flows, disrupted sediment dynamics, and rearranged geomorphologic settings. Consequently, fluvial biota experiences disturbed functioning in the novel ecosystems. The case study is the large irrigation reservoir Alqueva in Guadiana River, Southern Iberia. The study area was divided into three zones: upstream and downstream of the dam and reservoir. For each zone, species composition and land use and land cover (LULC) were compared before and after the Alqueva Dam implementation. Data consist of aquatic and riparian flora composition obtained from 46 surveys and the area (%) of 12 classes of LULC obtained in 90 riverine sampling units through the analysis of historical and contemporary imagery. There was an overall decrease of several endemic species and on the riparian shrublands and aquatic stands, although differences in the proportion of functional groups were not significant. Nevertheless, compositional diversity shows a significant decline in the upstream zone while landscape diversity shows an accentuated reduction in the reservoir area and downstream of the dam, which is likely related to the loss of the rocky habitats of the &lsquo old&rsquo Guadiana River and the homogenization of the riverscape due to the irrigation intensification. The mitigation of these critical changes should be site-specific and should rely on the knowledge of the interactions between surrounding lands, ecological, biogeomorphologic, and hydrological components of the fluvial ecosystems. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|