Interaction between benthic invertebrates and riparian vegetation – the linkage between terrestrial and aquatic environment
Subproject of:
Potential of riparian vegetation to mitigate effects of climate change on biological assemblages of small and medium sized running waters (BIO_CLIC)
- Project Leader
- Graf Wolfram, BOKU Project Leader
- Contact person:
-
Schwarzinger Ilse
- Duration:
- 01.03.2012-31.03.2015
- Programme:
- Austrian Climate Research Programme (ACRP) - Individual Project
- Type of Research
- Applied Research
- Staff
- Janecek Berthold, Project Staff (bis 28.02.2019)
- Schwarzinger Ilse, Project Staff
- Leitner Patrick, Project Staff
- Huber Thomas, Project Staff
- Dossi Florian, Project Staff (bis 31.10.2021)
- BOKU Research Units
-
Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management (IHG)
-
Institute of Meteorology and Climatology
-
Institute of Soil Bioengineering and Landscape Construction
- Funded by
-
Klima- und Energiefonds, Leopold-Ungar-Platz 2 / Stiege 1 / 4.OG / Top 142, 1190 Wien, Austria
- Abstract
- The objectives of BIO_CLIC are (1) to identify and understand the potential of riparian vegetation mitigating climate change effects on water temperature and following the impacts on benthic invertebrates and fish assemblages and (2) to support river managers in implementing an integrative guideline for sustainable river restoration towards climate change adaptation, ecological services and socio-economic consequences.
Focus will be laid on the follwoing main research questions:
1.Is riparian vegetation essential in aquatic and terrestrial environments for vital populations of selected indicator species?
2. Does reduced riparian vegetation cause a change in river energy balance and thereby a change in distribution and species assemblage of benthic invertebrates and fish?
3. How much will the water temperature alter due to climate change and thus affect the structureof fish communities and benthic invertebrates?
4. Which benthic invertebrates and fish species (life stages) are most sensitive to increasing water temperature and will be mainly endangered? Are benthic invertebrates and fish suitable indicators to identify the effects of climate change onto river systems?
5. Can adequate planning of landscape measures (riparian vegetation and related input of deadwood) influence the energy balance of rivers and consequently mitigate climate change
effects?
for further details please consider the main project
- Keywords
-
water pollution control;
hydrobiology;
-
shading ;
catchment area;
climate change;
benthic invertebrates;
riparian vegetation;
