Impact of urbanization-driven changes of the riverbeds on its ecological status evidenced by diatom communities – The negative side of the Anthropocene
Hydromorphological transformations, which are characteristic of the Anthropocene epoch display a strong negative impact on urban water ecosystems. Therefore, there is a need to take action to minimize their negative effect when planning spatial development of urban areas. Interference in the natural...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X24001638 |
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| author | Ewelina Szczepocka Joanna Żelazna-Wieczorek Piotr K. Zakrzewski |
| author_facet | Ewelina Szczepocka Joanna Żelazna-Wieczorek Piotr K. Zakrzewski |
| author_sort | Ewelina Szczepocka |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Hydromorphological transformations, which are characteristic of the Anthropocene epoch display a strong negative impact on urban water ecosystems. Therefore, there is a need to take action to minimize their negative effect when planning spatial development of urban areas. Interference in the natural course of a river alters its conditions and harming aquatic organisms. Our study concerned the assessment of differences in the structure of diatom communities between transformed streams and the river located outside the city, with unaltered hydromorphological conditions. The analysis of physicochemical parameters of studied streams revealed that the reference river located outside the urban area is characterized by stable physicochemical parameters along its flow, whilst urban streams display moderate differences related to the degree of transformation. The biodiversity assessed by the Shannon and Simpson indices of transformed rivers displayed significantly lower values when compared with the river located outside the city. Furthermore, the nMDS analysis showed differences in diatom communities related to the degree of stream transformation, but PCA analysis identified additionally pH reaction, DOC, and N-NO3- concentration as the main factors responsible for the discrimination of compared diatom communities. On the other hand, two-factor PERMANOVA on combined environmental data, i.e., sampling location and degree of hydromorphological transformation confirmed statistically significant differences between analyzed samples. Hydromorphological modifications influenced diatom biodiversity, what reflected in the ecological status of streams. The negative impact of anthropogenic changes on aquatic ecosystems was best assessed by the IPS index, which assigned urban streams' ecological status from poor to bad level. The assessment of the negative impact of hydromorphological transformations of urban streams on their ecological status is visible by comparing them with the reference ecosystem. This allows us to determine the direction for the regeneration of urban streams. Restoration procedures will not return a heavily degraded river to its natural state immediately but knowing the degree of difference from the reference state can minimize them. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T21:53:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-89ce68fdf44248acb7e16d5d24db32a3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T21:53:25Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj.art-89ce68fdf44248acb7e16d5d24db32a32024-02-25T04:35:16ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2024-02-01159111706Impact of urbanization-driven changes of the riverbeds on its ecological status evidenced by diatom communities – The negative side of the AnthropoceneEwelina Szczepocka0Joanna Żelazna-Wieczorek1Piotr K. Zakrzewski2University of Lodz, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, Department of Algology and Mycology, 12/16 Banacha Str, 90-237 Lodz, Poland; Corresponding author.University of Lodz, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, Department of Algology and Mycology, 12/16 Banacha Str, 90-237 Lodz, PolandUniversity of Lodz, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, Department of Cytobiochemistry, 141/143 Pomorska Str, 90-236 Lodz, PolandHydromorphological transformations, which are characteristic of the Anthropocene epoch display a strong negative impact on urban water ecosystems. Therefore, there is a need to take action to minimize their negative effect when planning spatial development of urban areas. Interference in the natural course of a river alters its conditions and harming aquatic organisms. Our study concerned the assessment of differences in the structure of diatom communities between transformed streams and the river located outside the city, with unaltered hydromorphological conditions. The analysis of physicochemical parameters of studied streams revealed that the reference river located outside the urban area is characterized by stable physicochemical parameters along its flow, whilst urban streams display moderate differences related to the degree of transformation. The biodiversity assessed by the Shannon and Simpson indices of transformed rivers displayed significantly lower values when compared with the river located outside the city. Furthermore, the nMDS analysis showed differences in diatom communities related to the degree of stream transformation, but PCA analysis identified additionally pH reaction, DOC, and N-NO3- concentration as the main factors responsible for the discrimination of compared diatom communities. On the other hand, two-factor PERMANOVA on combined environmental data, i.e., sampling location and degree of hydromorphological transformation confirmed statistically significant differences between analyzed samples. Hydromorphological modifications influenced diatom biodiversity, what reflected in the ecological status of streams. The negative impact of anthropogenic changes on aquatic ecosystems was best assessed by the IPS index, which assigned urban streams' ecological status from poor to bad level. The assessment of the negative impact of hydromorphological transformations of urban streams on their ecological status is visible by comparing them with the reference ecosystem. This allows us to determine the direction for the regeneration of urban streams. Restoration procedures will not return a heavily degraded river to its natural state immediately but knowing the degree of difference from the reference state can minimize them.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X24001638AnthropoceneHydromorphological transformationUrban areaDiatomsBioassessment |
| spellingShingle | Ewelina Szczepocka Joanna Żelazna-Wieczorek Piotr K. Zakrzewski Impact of urbanization-driven changes of the riverbeds on its ecological status evidenced by diatom communities – The negative side of the Anthropocene Ecological Indicators Anthropocene Hydromorphological transformation Urban area Diatoms Bioassessment |
| title | Impact of urbanization-driven changes of the riverbeds on its ecological status evidenced by diatom communities – The negative side of the Anthropocene |
| title_full | Impact of urbanization-driven changes of the riverbeds on its ecological status evidenced by diatom communities – The negative side of the Anthropocene |
| title_fullStr | Impact of urbanization-driven changes of the riverbeds on its ecological status evidenced by diatom communities – The negative side of the Anthropocene |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of urbanization-driven changes of the riverbeds on its ecological status evidenced by diatom communities – The negative side of the Anthropocene |
| title_short | Impact of urbanization-driven changes of the riverbeds on its ecological status evidenced by diatom communities – The negative side of the Anthropocene |
| title_sort | impact of urbanization driven changes of the riverbeds on its ecological status evidenced by diatom communities the negative side of the anthropocene |
| topic | Anthropocene Hydromorphological transformation Urban area Diatoms Bioassessment |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X24001638 |
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