A study with the participation of the Group of Stream Ecology of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) concludes that in the 1990s and 2000s biodiversity increased but that in the 2010s this increase followed a downward trend. Researchers are calling for efforts to be ramped up to revive freshwater biodiversity recovery processes. The data for the Basque Autonomous Community have been obtained thanks to the sampling carried out over the years by the Charter Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, the Basque Water Authority Ura and the UPV/EHU.
Freshwater ecosystems are among the most vulnerable to biodiversity loss due to human pressures exerted on them throughout history. The measures that have been taken to improve this situation –installation of sewage treatment plants, removal of obstacles, etc.– have improved environmental quality and boosted the recovery of freshwater biodiversity.
Want more breaking news?
Subscribe to Technology Networks’ daily newsletter, delivering breaking science news straight to your inbox every day.
Subscribe for FREEEcologists from 22 European countries collaborating in various initiatives, including the UPV/EHU’s Group of Stream Ecology, sought to investigate, over time, the trend relating to the diversity and organisation of invertebrates in rivers and how they have responded to environmental pressures and changes. To do this, they used 1,816 time-series data on invertebrates subjected to sampling in the river systems of these countries between 1968 and 2020. “Samples were taken from 1,816 points across Europe over many years, and from them we deduced the evolution of these rivers and streams during 40 years” said Aitor Larrañaga, a UPV/EHU researcher and lecturer.
The study concludes that, “in general, the biodiversity of rivers and streams improved up until the 2000s with increases in both species and populations. And that is a good sign. But since then the improvement in biodiversity has stagnated: we no longer see the increases that used to take place,” he said. “This improvement observed in the 1990s and 2000s reveals the effectiveness of measures implemented to improve water quality, as well as work for recovery purposes, but the fact that in the 2010s this improvement trend slowed down suggests that the effectiveness of the measures currently in place diminished,” Larrañaga pointed out.
