Streams and rivers are the lifeblood of our planet, the most popular biodiversity and essential for human life: It provides drinking water, protects it from flooding and is used to irrigate agricultural areas. But people have an impact on freshwater and its natural functions through actions such as changing the structure of water resources, agriculture or discharging wastewater. “Of course this leads to a variety of adverse environmental effects,” said Drs. Mario Brauns, a scientist in the UFZ Department of Rivers Ecology. “Many studies talk about the biological effects of biodiversity, but this may only be part of the problem.
An important service for the ecosystem of streams and rivers is their natural self-cleaning service. These can be tested based on environmental activities such as nutrient retention or leaf rot. But how do human pressures affect these ecological functions that are important for the natural capacity to clean themselves in a river or stream? “In this meta-analysis, we have combined the current state of the study with this question,” Brauns said. An international team of researchers has examined published literature in the study of the effects of human stress on the natural activities of rivers and streams. “We reviewed the research available worldwide and found a total of 125 studies – which are not considered internationally,” Brauns said. “This also underscores how little research has been done so far in this area. Also: The research found is mostly in Europe or North America. Almost nothing is known so far about Asia or Africa and we see an urgent need for research and practice in these geographical areas. “
Data analysis reveals that efficiency where nitrate storage streams are about five times lower than in freshwater streams of agricultural reservoirs than streams in freshwater reservoirs. “This is amazing,” says Brauns, and explains: “The rivers and streams affected by agriculture are affected by high levels of nutrients and degraded structure and are unable to adequately fulfill their natural function and lose much of their cleaning service.” Another important result to compare stress analysis: What pressures have a major impact on all natural functions? Wastewater is the leading cause and is followed by farming and urban migration. “These stressful situations are areas where we have to take urgent action,” Brauns said. “The natural activities of rivers and streams are reliable indicators that allow for the evaluation of the performance of rivers and streams and the implementation of appropriate management strategies, as indicated in our study. and rivers and ecosystem services that are vital to humanity. “
Agriculture, habitat loss or wastewater pollution – human stress is having a devastating effect on biodiversity in rivers and streams. Very little is known about the extent to which their self-cleaning capacity and other important ecosystem resources are also affected. An international team of researchers led by the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ) conducted an international study on this topic in a recent meta-analysis of Global Change Biology. This study provides new systems for improved water management.
Source Journal Reference: Mario Brauns, Daniel C. Allen, Iola G. Boëchat, Wyatt F. Cross, Verónica Ferreira, Daniel Graeber, Christopher J. Patrick, Marc Peipoch, Daniel Schiller, BjörnGücker. A global synthesis of human impacts on the multifunctionality of streams and rivers. Global Change Biology, 2022; DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16210
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