Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, University of Insubria, Via JH Dunant 3, Varese 21100, Italy.
Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, University of Insubria, Via JH Dunant 3, Varese 21100, Italy.
Sci Total Environ. 2017 Dec 31;609:484-496. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.07.099. Epub 2017 Jul 26.
The present work focuses on evaluating the ecological effects of hydropower-induced streamflow alteration within four catchments in the central Italian Alps. Downstream from the water diversions, minimum flows are released as an environmental protection measure, ranging approximately from 5 to 10% of the mean annual natural flow estimated at the intake section. Benthic macroinvertebrates as well as daily averaged streamflow were monitored for five years at twenty regulated stream reaches, and possible relationships between benthos-based stream quality metrics and environmental variables were investigated. Despite the non-negligible inter-site differences in basic streamflow metrics, benthic macroinvertebrate communities were generally dominated by few highly resilient taxa. The highest level of diversity was detected at sites where upstream minimum flow exceedance is higher and further anthropogenic pressures (other than hydropower) are lower. However, according to the current Italian normative index, the ecological quality was good/high on average at all of the investigated reaches, thus complying the Water Framework Directive standards.
本研究聚焦于评估意大利中部阿尔卑斯山四个流域内由水力发电引起的河流流量变化的生态影响。在引水段，为了保护环境，将以大约 5%至 10%的年均天然流量作为最小下泄流量进行放水。五年来，在二十个受管制的溪流河段监测了底栖大型无脊椎动物和每日平均流量，并研究了底栖生物为基础的溪流水质指标与环境变量之间的可能关系。尽管基本溪流流量指标在各站点之间存在不可忽视的差异，但底栖大型无脊椎动物群落通常主要由少数高弹性类群组成。在最小上游流量超过且受其他人为压力（而非水力发电）影响较小的站点，检测到了最高水平的多样性。然而，根据当前的意大利规范指数，在所调查的所有河段，平均而言生态质量良好/高，符合水框架指令标准。
