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The role of floods and droughts on riverine ecosystems under a changing climate
Author(s) -
Parasiewicz Piotr,
King Elise L.,
Webb J. Angus,
Piniewski Mikołaj,
Comoglio Claudio,
Wolter Christian,
Buijse Anthonie D.,
Bjerklie David,
Vezza Paolo,
Melcher Andreas,
Suska Katarzyna
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
fisheries management and ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1365-2400
pISSN - 0969-997X
DOI - 10.1111/fme.12388
Subject(s) - climate change , ecosystem , flood myth , predictability , disturbance (geology) , environmental science , habitat , biodiversity , ecology , aquatic ecosystem , river ecosystem , environmental resource management , geography , biology , paleontology , physics , archaeology , quantum mechanics
Floods and droughts are key driving forces shaping aquatic ecosystems. Climate change may alter key attributes of these events and consequently health and distribution of aquatic species. Improved knowledge of biological responses to different types of floods and droughts in rivers should allow the better prediction of the ecological consequences of climate change‐induced flow alterations. This review highlights that in unmodified ecosystems, the intensity and direction of biological impacts of floods and droughts vary, but the overall consequence is an increase in biological diversity and ecosystem health. To predict the impact of climate change, metrics that allow the quantitative linking of physical disturbance attributes to the directions and intensities of biological impacts are needed. The link between habitat change and the character of biological response is provided by the frequency of occurrence of the river wave characteristic—that is the event's predictability. The severity of impacts of floods is largely related to the river wave amplitude (flood magnitude), while the impact of droughts is related to river wavelength (drought duration).