Biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctioning in rivers with modified flow regimes

流态改变的河流中的生物多样性和生态系统多功能性

• 批准号: 2743377
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Leeds
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2743377
• 关键词: Biodiversity; ecosystem; multifunctioning; rivers; modified

"The regulation of river flows is one of the biggest stressors affecting river ecosystems across the world. In many westernised countries, major legislative efforts are therefore underpinning the development of new approaches to mitigate the impacts of river flow regulation. These approaches are based on optimising the management of river flows to maintain services to humans (e.g. water supply, hydropower) whilst protecting and/or rejuvenating the aquatic environment with water of adequate quantity and quality in space and time (i.e. environmental flows). In this context, a field of applied aquatic science has developed to generate the evidence base for identifying the best ways to manage the quantity, quality and patterns of environmental flows to sustain river ecosystems. The importance of the field is best exemplified by environmental flows being the number 1 option put forward recently as a way to halt and reverse global freshwater biodiversity declines.Despite numerous recent research advances, there are still significant knowledge gaps that prevent a full understanding of how river flow dynamics drive ecological processes. For example, many studies have focused on individual groups of organisms (e.g. fish, invertebrates) but relatively few have factored in the important role of species interactions within and between these groups. Other biotic groups such as microbes and primary producers have received comparatively less attention. Similarly, less research has been undertaken on ecosystem functional processes such as organic matter and nutrient cycling. These research gaps offer the potential for multiple lines of enquiry, with the specific focus of the study being tailored to suit the skills and interests of the successful candidate. The main aim of the PhD will be to increase understanding of how river management by regulation of flow regimes influence the structure (e.g. algae/macroinvertebrate biodiversity) and/or multifunctioning (e.g. production, decomposition, carbon cycling) of river ecosystems. The paucity of knowledge in this field is creating problems for river managers who are under pressure to identify and implement management measures (including environmental flows) as a way of improving river quality and in reaching biodiversity goals. Therefore, findings will have the potential to inform conservation targets for rivers through collaboration with businesses such as water companies and hydropower, and regulators such as environmental protection agencies. Specifically, the project will examine the extent to which environmental flows can be used to enhance river ecosystems, for example comparing 'control' sites (with either no regulation or sites with reservoirs but no variable environmental flows) against rivers in which reservoir operators are undertaking experiments through approaches such as reinstating seasonal flood flows, and/or introducing seasonally variable compensation releases."

“河流流量调节是影响世界各地河流生态系统的最大压力源之一。因此，在许多西方化国家，重大立法工作正在支持开发新方法来减轻河流流量调节的影响。这些方法基于优化对河流流量进行管理，以维持对人类的服务（例如供水、水力发电），同时在空间和时间上利用足够数量和质量的水来保护和/或恢复水生环境（即环境流量）。应用水产科学已经发展起来，为确定管理环境流量的数量、质量和模式以维持河流生态系统的最佳方法提供了证据基础。环境流量是最近提出的第一个选项，这最好地说明了该领域的重要性。阻止和扭转全球淡水生物多样性下降的方法。尽管最近取得了许多研究进展，但仍然存在重大知识差距，无法充分理解河流水流动力学如何驱动生态过程。例如，许多研究都集中在单个生物体群体（例如鱼类、无脊椎动物）上，但相对较少的研究考虑了这些群体内部和之间物种相互作用的重要作用。其他生物群体，如微生物和初级生产者，受到的关注相对较少。同样，对有机质和养分循环等生态系统功能过程的研究也较少。这些研究空白提供了多方面调查的潜力，研究的具体重点是根据成功候选人的技能和兴趣量身定制的。该博士学位的主要目的是加深对通过调节水流状态进行河流管理如何影响河流生态系统的结构（例如藻类/大型无脊椎动物生物多样性）和/或多功能（例如生产、分解、碳循环）的了解。该领域知识的缺乏给河流管理者带来了问题，他们面临着确定和实施管理措施（包括环境流量）的压力，以此作为改善河流质量和实现生物多样性目标的一种方式。因此，通过与自来水公司和水电等企业以及环境保护机构等监管机构的合作，研究结果将有可能为河流保护目标提供信息。具体来说，该项目将审查环境流量可用于增强河流生态系统的程度，例如将“控制”地点（没有监管或有水库但没有可变环境流量的地点）与水库运营商正在开展的河流进行比较通过恢复季节性洪水流量和/或引入季节性可变补偿释放等方法进行实验。”