Over 200,000 kilometers of free-flowing river habitat in Europe is altered due to impoundments

Piotr Parasiewicz (), Kamila Belka (), Małgorzata Łapińska, Karol Ławniczak, Paweł Prus, Mikołaj Adamczyk, Paweł Buras, Jacek Szlakowski, Zbigniew Kaczkowski, Kinga Krauze, Joanna O’Keeffe, Katarzyna Suska, Janusz Ligięza, Andreas Melcher, Jesse O’Hanley, Kim Birnie-Gauvin, Kim Aarestrup, Peter E. Jones, Joshua Jones, Carlos Garcia de Leaniz, Jeroen S. Tummers, Sofia Consuegra, Paul Kemp, Hannah Schwedhelm, Zbigniew Popek, Gilles Segura, Sergio Vallesi, Maciej Zalewski and Wiesław Wiśniewolski
Additional contact information
Piotr Parasiewicz: National Inland Fisheries Research Institute
Kamila Belka: National Inland Fisheries Research Institute
Małgorzata Łapińska: European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Karol Ławniczak: European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Paweł Prus: National Inland Fisheries Research Institute
Mikołaj Adamczyk: National Inland Fisheries Research Institute
Paweł Buras: National Inland Fisheries Research Institute
Jacek Szlakowski: National Inland Fisheries Research Institute
Zbigniew Kaczkowski: European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Kinga Krauze: European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Joanna O’Keeffe: National Inland Fisheries Research Institute
Katarzyna Suska: National Inland Fisheries Research Institute
Janusz Ligięza: National Inland Fisheries Research Institute
Andreas Melcher: University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences
Jesse O’Hanley: University of Kent
Kim Birnie-Gauvin: Technical University of Denmark
Kim Aarestrup: Technical University of Denmark
Peter E. Jones: Swansea University
Joshua Jones: Swansea University
Carlos Garcia de Leaniz: Swansea University
Jeroen S. Tummers: Durham University
Sofia Consuegra: Swansea University
Paul Kemp: University of Southampton
Hannah Schwedhelm: Technical University of Munich
Zbigniew Popek: Warsaw University of Life Sciences
Gilles Segura: IS Environnement
Sergio Vallesi: Durham University
Maciej Zalewski: European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Wiesław Wiśniewolski: National Inland Fisheries Research Institute

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Abstract European rivers are disconnected by more than one million man-made barriers that physically limit aquatic species migration and contribute to modification of freshwater habitats. Here, a Conceptual Habitat Alteration Model for Ponding is developed to aid in evaluating the effects of impoundments on fish habitats. Fish communities present in rivers with low human impact and their broad environmental settings enable classification of European rivers into 15 macrohabitat types. These classifications, together with the estimated fish sensitivity to alteration of their habitat are used for assessing the impacts of six main barrier types (dams, weirs, sluices, culverts, fords, and ramps). Our results indicate that over 200,000 km or 10% of previously free-flowing river habitat has been altered due to impoundments. Although they appear less frequently, dams, weirs and sluices cause much more habitat alteration than the other types. Their impact is regionally diverse, which is a function of barrier height, type and density, as well as biogeographical location. This work allows us to foresee what potential environmental gain or loss can be expected with planned barrier management actions in rivers, and to prioritize management actions.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40922-6

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