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DatoValore
TitleIn-stream microhabitat mosaic depicts the success of mitigation measures and controls the Ecological Potential of benthic communities in heavily modified rivers
AbstractThe positive effect of mitigation measures on in-stream habitat conditions and the benthic community is recognised. In heavily modified rivers, though, the response of aquatic invertebrates to mitigation measures and habitat mosaic changes is scarcely documented. We used non-metric multidimensional scaling to explore the benthic community of leveed rivers in the agricultural lowlands of Northern Italy. The relevance of in-stream substrate microhabitat for the benthic community was assessed, together with the impact of mitigation measures. We proposed a straightforward approach to quantify similarity of microhabitat mosaic between sites testing its statistical significance based on Bayesian statistics. We hypothesised that changes of microhabitat mosaic would reflect the level of implementation of mitigation measures and benthic invertebrates would respond accordingly. Alpha, beta diversity and benthic metrics used to classify ecological status/potential were considered and their variation tested against different levels of measure implementation. Lastly, ecological potential classification was paralleled to both the level of measure implementation and habitat attributes. The microhabitats found at sites where measures were fully implemented differed from those observed elsewhere and they clearly mirrored morphological alteration and mitigation measures. Moreover, alongside morphological alteration, microhabitat diversity and mosaic were the main factors for benthic community structure. While benthic beta diversity strictly reflected microhabitat diversity, alpha diversity and ecological status metrics copied the mosaic gradient. Microhabitat attributes and most benthic metrics showed significant changes following measure implementation and they were accompanied by a gradual shift in ecological potential classes. We demonstrated the importance of in-stream substrate microhabitats as a bridge between mitigation measures and the benthic community. Particularly when ecological classification is under focus, microhabitat mosaic should be evaluated for achieving a better understanding of biological responses. The huge amount of data available worldwide could support a straightforward use of river mosaic information for river management.
SourceScience of the total environment 673, pp. 489–501
KeywordsWFDPassive restorationHMWBInvertebratesItalySTAR_ICMi
JournalScience of the total environment
EditorElsevier, Lausanne ;, Paesi Bassi
Year2019
TypeArticolo in rivista
DOI10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.04.124
AuthorsBuffagni, Andrea; Barca, Emanuele; Erba, Stefania; Balestrini, Raffaella
Text420767 2019 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.04.124 ISI Web of Science WOS 000466418300051 Scopus 2 s2.0 85064201688 WFD Passive restoration HMWB Invertebrates Italy STAR_ICMi In stream microhabitat mosaic depicts the success of mitigation measures and controls the Ecological Potential of benthic communities in heavily modified rivers Buffagni, Andrea; Barca, Emanuele; Erba, Stefania; Balestrini, Raffaella Natl Res Council CNR IRSA; Univ Tuscia; Natl Res Council CNR IRSA The positive effect of mitigation measures on in stream habitat conditions and the benthic community is recognised. In heavily modified rivers, though, the response of aquatic invertebrates to mitigation measures and habitat mosaic changes is scarcely documented. We used non metric multidimensional scaling to explore the benthic community of leveed rivers in the agricultural lowlands of Northern Italy. The relevance of in stream substrate microhabitat for the benthic community was assessed, together with the impact of mitigation measures. We proposed a straightforward approach to quantify similarity of microhabitat mosaic between sites testing its statistical significance based on Bayesian statistics. We hypothesised that changes of microhabitat mosaic would reflect the level of implementation of mitigation measures and benthic invertebrates would respond accordingly. Alpha, beta diversity and benthic metrics used to classify ecological status/potential were considered and their variation tested against different levels of measure implementation. Lastly, ecological potential classification was paralleled to both the level of measure implementation and habitat attributes. The microhabitats found at sites where measures were fully implemented differed from those observed elsewhere and they clearly mirrored morphological alteration and mitigation measures. Moreover, alongside morphological alteration, microhabitat diversity and mosaic were the main factors for benthic community structure. While benthic beta diversity strictly reflected microhabitat diversity, alpha diversity and ecological status metrics copied the mosaic gradient. Microhabitat attributes and most benthic metrics showed significant changes following measure implementation and they were accompanied by a gradual shift in ecological potential classes. We demonstrated the importance of in stream substrate microhabitats as a bridge between mitigation measures and the benthic community. Particularly when ecological classification is under focus, microhabitat mosaic should be evaluated for achieving a better understanding of biological responses. The huge amount of data available worldwide could support a straightforward use of river mosaic information for river management. 673 Published version https //doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.04.124 09/04/2019 In stream microhabitat mosaic depicts the success of mitigation measures Buffagni_HF_STOTEN_2019.pdf Articolo in rivista Elsevier 0048 9697 Science of the total environment Science of the total environment Sci. total environ. raffaella.balestrini BALESTRINI RAFFAELLA andreastefano.buffagni BUFFAGNI ANDREA STEFANO stefania.erba ERBA STEFANIA emanuele.barca BARCA EMANUELE