Effects of Hydrologic Alterations on the Ecological Quality of River Ecosystems

Abstract

In most of the world’s watercourses, dramatic modifications have occurred as a consequence of intensive use by human societies. The simplification of the channel network and the alteration of water fluxes have an impact upon the capacity of fluvial systems to recover from disturbances, because of their irreversible consequences. However, human impacts on river hydrology, such as those that derive from regulating their flow or by affecting their channel geomorphology, affect the functional organisation of streams, as well as the ecosystem services that derive from them, and lead to the simplification and impoverishment of these ecosystems.