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Water management in mediterranean river basins: a comparison of management frameworks, physical impacts, and ecological responses

  • MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE STREAMS
  • Review Paper
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Abstract

Rivers in mediterranean climates have been extensively modified by water management infrastructure and practices, yet patterns of development and consequent effects on freshwater ecosystems have not been compared across multiple regions. To evaluate the influence of water management on mediterranean-climate rivers, we compare the historic progression of management policies, institutions, and ecosystem impacts in the Sacramento River (California, USA), Ebro River (Spain), and Biobío River (Chile) basins. There are broad similarities in patterns of ecosystem alterations related to the extensive development of dams and water management infrastructure in the three study basins. Flow regimes have been altered by the reduction of winter peak flows and increased summer baseflows. There are also common patterns of disturbance from sediment transport alteration, water quality degradation, and declines in freshwater biodiversity. Current approaches are inadequate for addressing the formidable water management challenges in California, Spain, and Chile, yet the dramatic evolution of water policies and institutions over the past 150 years suggests that further adaptation is possible. Advances toward integrated and sustainable water management models are likely to occur through incremental change, driven by growing awareness of climate change effects and public demands for water-use efficiency and improved environmental quality.

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Acknowledgments

We thank V. Resh and N. Bonada for inviting us to contribute to this special issue. A. Merenlender and P. Moyle and two anonymous reviewers provided valuable feedback on earlier versions of this manuscript. T.G. was supported by a U.S. Scholar Fulbright Grant.

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  1. Grup de Recerca Freshwater Ecology and Management (FEM), Departament d’Ecologia, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Diagonal 645, 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    Theodore E. Grantham & Narcís Prat

  2. Center of Environmental Sciences EULA-Chile, University of Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción, Chile

    Ricardo Figueroa

  3. Center for Watershed Sciences, University of California, 1 Shields Ave, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Theodore E. Grantham

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  1. Theodore E. Grantham
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Correspondence to Theodore E. Grantham.

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Guest editors: N. Bonada & V. H. Resh / Streams in Mediterranean climate regions: lessons learned from the last decade

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Grantham, T.E., Figueroa, R. & Prat, N. Water management in mediterranean river basins: a comparison of management frameworks, physical impacts, and ecological responses. Hydrobiologia 719, 451–482 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-012-1289-4

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