20.12.2020 Europe’s rivers fragmented by one million barriers
A study published in the scientific journal “Nature” with the participation of IGB shows: Europe has some of the most fragmented rivers in the world.
On average, there is about one barrier per 1.4 kilometres of stream, in Germany even two barriers per kilometre. Small transverse structures with an impoundment height of less than two metres account for the lion’s share. The study also shows opportunities for reconnecting streams and rivers.
The study, led by researchers at Swansea University’s Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research (CSAR) in the UK, reveals that Europe’s rivers as a whole include at least 1.2 million transverse structures within their course, including large dams, but mainly a large number of low-head structures such as weirs, culverts, fords, sluices and ramps. Using barrier modelling and extensive field ground-truthing, the research team showed that, on averag
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European rivers are fragmented by over one million barriers
Healthy rivers are flowing rivers, say researchers.
Europe’s main rivers coloured by basins. Thickness is proportional to stream order. Credit: EEA, Copenhagen, 2012.
Free-flowing rivers are crucial harbingers and guardians of life. They not only provide humans with clean water for drinking, agriculture, and other economic activities, they also house around 40% of the world’s species of fish. However, Europe’s rivers have become increasingly constricted due to dams, as well as many smaller, less visible barriers that, nevertheless, have a great impact due to their numbers.
According to a new study that surveyed more than 2,700 kilometers of rivers in Europe, there are 1.2 million in-stream barriers across 36 European countries 60% more than previously believed.