Better Safe Than Sorry: A Model to Assess Anthropic Impacts on a River System in Order to Take Care of the Landscape

Eleonora Rivieccio, Domenico Fulgione (), Gabriele de Filippo, Antonino De Natale, Vincenzo Paturzo, Claudio Mineo, Stefania Passaretti, Anna Varriale and Maria Buglione
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Eleonora Rivieccio: Department of Humanities Studies, University of Naples Federico II, 80133 Naples, Italy
Domenico Fulgione: Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, Italy
Gabriele de Filippo: Istituto Di Gestione Della Fauna (IGF), Via Michelangelo da Caravaggio 143, 80126 Naples, Italy
Antonino De Natale: Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, Italy
Vincenzo Paturzo: Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, Italy
Claudio Mineo: Department of Water Resource Protection, ACEA ATO2 S.p.A., 00154 Rome, Italy
Stefania Passaretti: Department of Water Resource Protection, ACEA ATO2 S.p.A., 00154 Rome, Italy
Anna Varriale: Department of Water Resource Protection, ACEA ATO2 S.p.A., 00154 Rome, Italy
Maria Buglione: Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, Italy

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-14

Abstract: The need to find a trade-off between protecting water-related ecosystems and increasing safe water-use for human society is recognized in the 2030 Agenda of the European Union. We assess the ecological status of a riverine system in order to mitigate human impacts, considering its importance for supplying drinking water to more than 4 million users in Rome. We used an integrated approach, analyzing animal and plant communities at riverbanks and the riverbed. A macrobenthos analysis revealed a well-structured community with a good ecology for all sampling stations. The highest value was found immediately upstream and downstream of the springs collection system, while the lowest richness value was where the river collects urban wastewater. A floristic inventory showed Hemicryptophytes composing almost 45% of all species, and prevalence of Euroasiatic (35%) and Orophilous (34%) chorotypes. A positive correlation between riverbed vegetation and the quality of the benthic community was revealed, while tree height seems to have a negative trend. Our data suggest a river stretch affected by resurgence and water abstraction did not highlight irreversible alterations to the landscape. Indeed, the composition of vegetation and correlated animal communities mirrored a clinal gradient expected for an Apennine river system. Our study has the potential to improve the approach used to monitor the impacts of humans on freshwater ecosystems, aiming at preserving the integrity of the water-related landscape.

Keywords: freshwater landscape; human impact; sustainable water management; freshwater quality; landscape preservation; macrobenthos; riparian vegetation; water use (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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