Abstract
The process of development has led to the modification of river landscapes. This has created imbalances between ecological, economic, and socio-cultural uses of ecosystem services (ESs), threatening the biotic and social integrity of rivers. Anthropogenic modifications influence river landscapes on multiple scales, which impact river-flow regimes and thus the production of river ESs. Despite progress in developing approaches for the valuation ecosystem goods and services, the ecosystem service research fails to acknowledge the biophysical structure of river landscape where ecosystem services are generated. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to synthesize the literature to develop the understanding of the biocomplexity of river landscapes and its importance in ecosystem service research. The review is limited to anthropogenic modifications from catchment to reach scale which includes inter-basin water transfer, change in land-use pattern, sub-surface modifications, groundwater abstractions, stream channelization, dams, and sand mining. Using 86 studies, the paper demonstrates that river ESs largely depend on the effective functioning of biophysical processes, which are linked with the geomorphological, ecological, and hydrological characteristics of river landscapes. Further, the ESs are linked with the economic, ecological, and socio-cultural aspect. The papers show that almost all anthropogenic modifications have positive impact on economic value of ESs. The ecological and socio-cultural values are negatively impacted by anthropogenic modifications such as dams, inter-basin water transfer, change in land-use pattern, and sand mining. The socio-cultural impact of ground-water abstraction and sub-surface modifications are not found in the literature examined here. Further, the ecological and socio-cultural aspects of ecosystem services from stakeholders’ perspective are discussed. We advocate for linking ecosystem service assessment with landscape signatures considering the socio-ecological interactions.
Highlights
River landscapes are interconnected, complex, dynamic, interacting social–ecological systems [1,2].From headwaters to deltas, healthy rivers provide all the basic necessities for the survival and developmental needs of mankind [3]
We provide an overview of anthropogenic modifications and their influence on economic, ecological, and socio-cultural aspects of ecosystem services (Section 5)
Human interventions in the landscape are evident across river basins
Summary
Complex, dynamic, interacting social–ecological systems [1,2]. Anthropogenic use of land and water, while benefiting human development, has damaged the delivery of ecosystem services (ESs) [5,6,7,8,9,10] These modifications either directly impact ecosystem functions or accelerate natural processes that affect river-flow. Land-use and land-management decisions [23], which are sometimes dependent on water needs of associated activities [22], often lead to alterations of the river flow, evaporation, and transpiration regimes [23], thereby altering diverse ecosystem services within the basin and beyond. This will help to better understand the role of spatiotemporal connections of the river landscape in ecosystem service assessment and to develop long-run strategies to promote the resilience and sustainable management of river-basin resources
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
