bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Impact of flood alleviation schemes on aquatic macrophytes
Authors: Hey R. D. , Heritage G. L. , Patteson M. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractGeomorphological, engineering and ecological surveys were carried out at 18 flood alleviation schemes in the UK to evaluate their environmental performance. As no pre‐scheme river corridor surveys had been carried out at any of the sites to enable the environmental impact to be directly assessed, controls were established in natural sections adjacent to five of the engineered reaches. A space–time substitution enables the pre‐scheme conditions to be estimated for comparison with the engineered reach.The physical characteristics of the channel at bankfull conditions exert a strong influence on plant community composition. Paired assessments were carried out for engineered/control reaches on five rivers and this revealed which species and habitats were most affected by various engineering treatments. The general conclusion was that dredging, widening and straightening rivers reduces the number of desirable species, whereas two‐stage channels and schemes involving the construction of flood banks at the edge of the meander belt maintained the richness and preserved and enhanced the occurrence of key species.Data from every cross‐section, engineered and control reaches, enabled a model to be developed relating species occurrence to physical habitat features. This can be used to predict, at the stage of appraisal or design of a project, the likely response of the river to any particular engineering works. Given information on the existing condition in the river, it enables the environmental impact of the scheme, in terms of its effect on river bed plant species, to be assessed.
Geomorphological approach to stream stabilization and restoration: Case study of the Mimmshall brook, hertfordshire, UK
Authors: Sear D. A. , Darby S. E. , Thorne C. R. , Brookes A. B. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThe management of unstable river systems is conventionally costly in both financial and ecological terms. Traditional river engineering seeks to stabilize the instability through structural means rather than treating the cause of the symptom. The geomorphological approach to stream stabilization and restoration is considered with a view to providing practical recommendations for the long‐term management of the system. Historical and documentary evidence are coupled with field surveys and sediment modelling to provide a comprehensive picture of fluvial processes with the Mimmshall Brook catchment. A simple sediment budget is calculated and the results used to develop practical management options that address the causes of the instability and associated ecological and flooding problems.
Ichthyoplankton abundance and variance in a large river system concerns for long‐term monitoring
Authors: Holland‐Bartels Leslie E. , Dewey Michael R. , Zigler Steven J. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractSystem‐wide spatial patterns of ichthyoplankton abundance and variability were assessed in the upper Mississippi and lower Illinois rivers to address the experimental design and statistical confidence in density estimates. Ichthyoplankton was sampled from June to August 1989 in primary milieus (vegetated and non‐vegated backwaters and impounded areas, main channels and main channel borders) in three navigation pools (8, 13 and 26) of the upper Mississippi River and in a downstream reach of the Illinois River. Ichthyoplankton densities varied among stations of similar aquatic landscapes (milieus) more than among subsamples within a station. An analysis of sampling effort indicated that the collection of single samples at many stations in a given milieu type is statistically and economically preferable to the collection of multiple subsamples at fewer stations. Cluster analyses also revealed that stations only generally grouped by their preassigned milieu types. Pilot studies such as this can define station groupings and sources of variation beyond an a priori habitat classification. Thus the minimum intensity of sampling required to achieve a desired statistical confidence can be identified before implementing monitoring efforts.
Effect of channelization and regulation on fish recruitment in a flood plain river
Authors: Jurajda Pavel 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThe recruitment of 0+ fishes was investigated in the River Morava (a tributary of the Danube), the main channel of which has now been totally isolated by channelization from its flood plain and regulated by weirs between the town of Hodonín and the river's confluence with the River Dyje (Czech Republic). Young of the year fish (YOY), collected by electrofishing, were used as an indicator of the reproduction potential of ichthyocenoses 10 years after the end of channelization and regulation works. Species richness and the structure of 0+ fish assemblages depend mainly on the spawning places and potential nurseries available. In the absence of areas with lentic backwaters or side‐arms with aquatic vegetation in the channelized river, the fish could only use the stabilized banks of stony rip‐rap or rare shallow‐slope gravel shorelines. The dominant species of 0+ juvenile fishes more or less corresponded with the structure of the adult population. Bitterling Rhodeus sericeus (Pallas), gudgeon Gobio gobio (L.), chub Leuciscus cephalus (L.), bleak Alburnus alburnus (L.) and roach Rutilus rutilus (L.) were the most abundant species in all sections of the modified main channel. However, YOY of phytophilous species (pike Esox lucius L., rudd Scardinius erythrophthalmus (L), silver bream Blicca bjoerkna (L), tench Tinea tinca (L), carp Cyprinus carpio (L.) had almost disappeared, and a decline in density was also found for rheophils, such as vimba Vimba vimba (L.), barbel Barbus barbus (L.) and nase Chondrostoma nasus (L.), previously dominant species in the river.
Distribution and abundance of river Lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis) ammocoetes in the regulated river Perhonjoki
Authors: Ojutkangas Esa , Aronen Kimmo , Laukkanen Eero 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThe Kaitfors hydroelectric power plant was built, and subsequent short‐term regulation was started, in the River Perhonjoki at the beginning of the 1980s. Nine kilometres of the river were impounded and, in addition to this, regulation measures made below and above the reservoir. The effects of regulation and transplantations of mature lampreys in the areas above the dam on the distribution and abundance of ammocoetes were studied. An area suitable for ammocoete habitat and the total number of 1+ and older ammocoetes were also estimated. An inventory was performed in 1982 before the power plant was completed and then again in 1985 and 1993. Over the 11 year period ammocoete densities and suitable habitats for ammocoetes decreased markedly. In 1982 the total number of 1+ and older ammocoetes was estimated to be 1.4 million. In 1985 the estimate was 439000 individuals and in 1993 only 155000 individuals. As the result of the short‐term regulation, an ice cover was formed on the most important production sites of the river banks below the dam, making them even more uninhabitable for ammocoetes during the winter. The thick, mobile ice cover and sudden fluctuations in water flow increased erosion and therefore the quality and quantity of the production sites decreased. The embankment of the area above the reservoir caused erosion and nearly all suitable habitats for ammocoetes disappeared. As a result of regulation measures, the number of spawning habitats has decreased and their quality has worsened.
A new tool to interpret magnitude and duration of fish habitat variations
Authors: Capra Herve , Breil Pascal , Souchon Yves 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThe main result of habitat simulation procedures is a static relationship between an index of potential habitat, e.g. weighted usable area (WUA), versus discharge in a study reach representative of a stream. A new methodology was developed to analyse the timing and magnitude of physical habitat variations. Three options are presented: (i) the habitat time series; (ii) the habitat duration curves; and (iii) the continuous under threshold habitat duration curves. The last option is a new procedure to interpret habitat chronicles. It determines continuous durations during which the total WUA in a study reach was lower than a given threshold. The assumption according to which some durations/threshold values could represent limiting events for fish population dynamics is illustrated with surveys of two wild brown trout populations. The relationship between spawning habitat conditions and the relative density of 0 + the year after was studied. A continuous duration of more than 20 days with spawning habitat conditions lower than 80% of the optimum conditions seemed to limit the number of 0 + trout. This procedure is presented as a tool to interpret natural discharge time series for management.
Floristic differences between riparian corridors of regulated and free‐flowing boreal rivers
Authors: Nilsson Christer , Jansson Roland 
Published: February 2007

AbstractRiparian ecosystems are central elements in many landscapes because of their shape, diversity and function as filters and corridors. They are also among the environments most disturbed and threatened by humans. Human‐induced changes in riparian vegetation and flora were assessed by comparing free‐flowing and regulated rivers in northern Sweden. Although riparian vegetation structure is rather uniform along free‐flowing rivers, it varies distinctly along regulated rivers because of different water‐level fluctuations in storage reservoirs, run of the river impoundments and unimpounded but regulated reaches. The total species richness of vascular plants per river in the riparian zone was similar between four free‐flowing and four regulated rivers in northern Sweden. However, species richness per 200 m long site was considerably lower, and almost all groups of species were more species‐poor per site in the regulated rivers due to perturbations caused by regulation. Both free‐flowing and regulated rivers showed an increase in the species richness of ruderal plants towards the coast. In contrast, the species richness of natural plants showed different longitudinal patterns in the two types of rivers, and differences were largest along the middle reaches of the rivers. The reasons why responses in vegetation and flora to human perturbation varied downstream along regulated rivers are not known, but factors such as different disturbance patterns, irregular distribution of remnants of former riparian soils and vegetation and differences in regional plant species richness and plant dispersal along the river corridor may be important.
Habitat associations of upper Volga river fishes: Effects of reservoirs
Authors: Poddubny Arthur G. , Galat David L. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractHabitat associations of upper Volga river fishes are defined within a cycle of spawning, feeding and overwintering migrations. The migration cycles of resident riverine fishes are categorized as obligate rheophils, limno‐rheophils and limnophils. Forty‐four fish species in 14 families occurred in the upper Volga River before regulation. Four mainstem reservoirs were constructed on the upper Volga between 1937 and 1957: Ivankovo, Uglich, Rybinsk and Gorky. They are maintained in a stage of delayed and sustained annual flood pulse. Additional impacts of reservoir construction include the creation of a new pelagic habitat, replacement of floodplains by lacustrine littoral and sublittoral habitats, creation of a complex bathyal habitat from former river channels and replacement of riverine flow patterns by pelagic water mass circulations. Populations of rheophilic species declined, while a new pelagophilic fish guild developed. Forty‐six fish species are now present; seven species were lost and nine introduced after impoundment. Spawning, feeding and wintering habitats are outlined for reservoir guilds. Ichthyomass increased three to four times following reservoir construction and commercial fish harvest from Rybinsk Reservoir between 1945 and 1992 ranged from 2220 to 4304 t/y. Reservoirs of the upper Volga have limited bioproductivity due to a deficiency and uneven distribution of reproductive habitats, decreasing bottom irregularity, seasonal anomalies of flooding and draining of the littoral and sublittoral and underestimating the importance of tributaries. Lack of littoral reproductive habitat can be remedied by increasing the area of protected littoral through the construction of chains of small islands, diking and reclamation of bogged areas. Improved reproduction of migrating local stocks can be achieved by removing sand bars across tributary mouths, construction of artificial spawning grounds and restoration and preservation of preferred habitats in the main channel.
Palp to gill area ratio of bivalves: A sensitive indicator of elevated suspended solids
Authors: Payne Barry S. , Miller Andrew C. , Lei Jin 
Published: February 2007

AbstractArea measurements were made of the gills and labial palps of several freshwater bivalve species from sites with distinctly different suspended solids concentrations. Without exception, the palp to gill area ratio (PA:GA) was markedly higher for populations from sites with high versus low suspended solids concentrations. The average PA:GA (expressed as a percentage) ranged from 9·3 to 11·5 for bivalves from high suspended solids concentration sites and from 2.5 to 4.8 for bivalves from low suspended solids concentration sites. Such interpopulation differences were observed for two introduced species, Dreissena polymorpha and Corbicula fluminea, despite extremely brief residence times in an evolutionary sense. At any particular location, different species of native unionids had similar PA:GA. These results suggest that PA:GA is a sensitive biological indicator of suspended solids concentration, with interpopulation differences probably reflecting ecophenotypic rather than genetic variation.
Biological monitoring of fish assemblages in Tennessee Valley reservoirs
Authors: Jennings Martin J. , Fore Leska S. , Karr James R. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractReservoirs comprise an expanding proportion of global freshwater resources. New multimetric approaches to biological monitoring, such as the index of biological integrity, have been useful in streams; similar approaches in reservoirs might aid managers concerned about the reservoirs they manage. Electrofishing data from Tennessee Valley Authority reservoirs were used to evaluate the applicability of biomonitoring to those reservoirs. Individual metrics and overall index scores exhibited substantial annual variation. Within‐year variation in scores from a supplemental data set suggests that annual changes in scores may not represent real fluctuations in resource condition. Species accumulation curves demonstrate that standard samples consisting of ten timed runs were not adequate; the sample error was high. Some metrics are useful, but they require more testing; other metrics are clearly not appropriate for use in a integrative multimetric index. Finally, the reservoirs included in this study may be similarly degraded; independent data from separate regions and watersheds are needed to resolve this and other issues. Although attaching qualitative judgements (e.g. excellent to poor) is premature, the concept of a reservoir biomonitoring index deserves more study, especially the development of more comprehensive and systematic sampling programmes designed to resolve sample adequacy and sources of variation in sample data.
Modification and assessment of an index of biotic integrity to quantify water resource quality in great rivers
Authors: Simon Thomas P. , Emery Erich B. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractA measure of stream quality, the index of biotic integrity (IBI), was adapted to great rivers (>3226 km2) and calibrated using a variety of spatial scales. Fish fauna was sampled at 60 localities within 15 impoundments of the Ohio River drainage, eastern Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, with boat electroshocker methods during the summers and autumns of 1990–1993 to provide biological information for the IBI. Significant correlation was not found between ecoregion or differing reservoirs; however, the IBI was sensitive to differences in land use and variable industrial and municipal loadings. Species richness, the percentage large river faunal group, the proportion of round‐bodied sucker species, the number of centrarchid species, the number of sensitive taxa and the proportion of simple lithophilous spawning species showed the greatest change between riverine and lacustrine habitats within an impoundment. The percentage large river faunal group metric was not significantly different between riverine, transitional and lacustrine habitats; however, the metric reflected significant differences when evaluated with habitat information. The number of centrarchid species was higher in lacustrine habitats, whereas round‐bodied sucker species were highest in transitional habitats. The inherent variation of proportional metrics was significantly reduced with the removal of gizzard shad. This modification of the IBI will enhance assessment sensitivity over the original approach designed for wadable streams and rivers.
A centralised approach to environmental management: The case of Singapore
Authors: Ooi Giok Ling 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThe dynamic economies of Asian countries including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea have economic as well as environmental lessons to share. More attention however has been paid to the economic rather than environmental lessons. This paper examines Singapore's experience with balancing economic and environmental needs. It has been relatively successful at achieving this balance and this is evident in the two case‐studies which are discussed. The discussion highlights the centralised approach to policy decision‐making on both development and environment in Singapore and provides evidence in support of the argument that the success of such an approach to policy‐making must be attributed to the close coordination of state agencies that are implementing development programmes.
Australian forests: Resource security or national heritage
Authors: Thompson Herb , Tracy Julie 
Published: February 2007

AbstractIn Australia, the debate has intensified with respect to the continued logging of old‐growth forests and export of woodchips. This has developed into antagonism between conservationist groups on one side, and a coalition of trade unions and business enterprises on the other. Much of the antagonism has been played out in the political arena around the issue of ‘resource security’ legislation.The specific legislation was defeated in 1992, but it is argued herein that this has not and will not conclude an on‐going debate around similar issues. The material consequences of economic recession have provided an interdependency between agents of the working class and capital to exploit native forests for the full value of the existing timber. This coalition of interests is having an effect not only on political discourse and policy determination but even the valuation of forest ecology itself. This paper examines the economic, technical and ethical parameters of that debate and concludes that the material interests of labour and capital will be pertinent to long‐term outcomes.The first man who, having enclosed a piece of land, thought of saying ‘this is mine’ and found people simple enough to believe him, was the real founder of civil society. How many crimes, wars, murders; how much misery and horror the human race would have been spared if someone had pulled up the stakes and filled in the ditch and cried out to his fellow men: Beware of listening to this imposter. You are lost if you forget that the fruits of the earth belong to everyone and that the earth itself belongs to no onel (Rousseau 1984; p. 109).
An inquiry into prospects for sustainability in mineral planning
Authors: Hammersley Richard 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThe relationship of planning for minerals development with notions of sustainability is explored. Environmental planning control cannot hope to resolve issues of global resource usage, but should address issues of the efficient use of the resources at local and national levels, the minimization of environmental damage and the effective reuse of sites. Market‐led central government policy generally avoids issues of resource management, but some new policy guidance does aim at alternative depletion strategies. The operational phases of mineral extraction can be made more sustainable if there is the political will to enforce high standards of environmental protection. The restoration of worked out sites presents major opportunities for sustainable development ideas. A major current problem lies in old, inadequate mineral permissions; their updating is an urgent priority. The relationship between mineral extraction and sustainability as a model of planned resource use and replacement is redefined.The Sustainability Research Centre at the University of Central England (UCE) has been established, with pump‐priming finance, to provide a framework for a focused research effort into the theory and practice of sustainability as a fundamental criterion for the planning and implementation of land development proposals. It has been formed by a team of lecturers from the Schools of Planning, Architecture, Housing and Estate Management at UCE; it is intended to promote an interdisciplinary approach to the research. Immediate objectives include: publication of the proceedings of the recent conference entitled ‘Struggling with Sustainability’; the establishment of a sustainability database; and extending support for an established research project into policy–action relationships in minerals planning. This current paper is one product of the latter initiative.
Effectiveness of environmental performance measures in ensuring sustainable development: The water and agricultural industries highlighted
Authors: Johnston A. R. , Lewis K. A. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractIf businesses are to contribute to green sustainable development, then a method of measuring progress is essential. Accounting methods need to be used that indicate to the organization and the general public the progress of the business towards sustainability. Sustainability, by some definitions, refers to the degradation or depletion of natural resources, i.e. direct and indirect environmental effects. For example, consider the effect of pesticides contaminating water. Sustainability would reflect the degradation of the water quality and the disturbance of the water's aquatic ecosystem, the damage to aquatic life and the possible human and animal health effects. Consequently, by this definition, sustainability is equivalent to the environmental effects. The considerations required to identify environmental performance measures (EPMs) which reflect the progress towards sustainable development and which measure environmental performance are discussed. Environmental performance measures can be used in a wide variety of ways and this is illustrated with respect to two research projects currently being carried out at the University of Hertfordshire. The first discusses the use of corporate EPMs with the water industry of England and Wales by examining company environmental reports. The second uses EPMs to measure environmental performance and the goal of both business and green sustainability within arable agriculture.