Evaluation of the Methodology to Assess the Influence of Hydraulic Characteristics on Habitat Quality

Zuzana Štefunková,Gréta Doláková,Viliam Macura,Martina Majorošová,Peter Halaj,Timea Petrová,Andrej Škrinár

doi:10.3390/w12041131

Zuzana Štefunková, Gréta Doláková + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/w12041131

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Abstract

The article aims at assessing the impact of hydraulic characteristics on the habitat quality of mountain and piedmont watercourses. The solution results from the Riverine Habitat Simulation model, where the quality of the aquatic habitat is represented by the weighted usable area (WUA), which is determined using brown trout as the bioindicator. Flow velocity and water depth are basic abiotic characteristics that determine the ratio of suitability of the instream habitat represented by the weighted usable area. The influence of these parameters on the objective evaluation of the habitat quality is the essence of the paper. The measurements were carried out during the summer period at minimum discharges for 17 mountain and piedmont streams in Slovakia. Three methods for assessing the habitat quality were tested, and differences in the results were found to be significant. The evaluation shows the optimum design methods for calculating the weighted usable area.

Highlights

The Riverine HABitat SIMulation (RHABSIM) model that fits within the ecohydraulic principles was used to gather the results presented in this study
The weighted usable area (WUA) had been evaluated for all 18 reference reaches given in Figure 2, separately for flow velocity and water depth and as a combined suitability
The analysis of the results suggests that, when the degree of suitability for water depth is high, the combined suitability is almost zero due to a low flow velocity suitability

Summary

Introduction

River systems are significantly related to the development of relief when creating a river network and to the riverbed morphology [1]. An aquatic ecosystem in a good condition can serve numerous of functions, such as production, regulation, and flood protection, as well as a positive cultural impact [2]. It is important to know the impact of the hydromorphological characteristics of the stream on the aquatic ecosystem [3,4]. Together with habitat quality, form the basis for assessing the habitat availability [5,6]. The set of these relationships is the basis for a comprehensive environmental assessment. A variety of landscape-planning methods and landscape ecology methods are available to predict and assess these impacts [7,8,9,10]

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Discussion

Conclusion