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River Dove Report

The document analyzes the ecosystem services and fluvial features along the River Dove in the UK. It finds that Reach 24 has the highest ecosystem service score due to its abundant biodiversity, fisheries, flood mitigation, carbon sequestration, and water quality. These services are supported by features including dense forestry, river tributaries, sinuosity, hydraulic complexity, riparian woodland, and floodplain forest. Habitat fragmentation along the river is also examined, with significant fragmentation found due to agricultural activities, woodland plantations, and urban development. Conservation measures are recommended to protect ecological diversity.

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37 views3 pages

River Dove Report

The document analyzes the ecosystem services and fluvial features along the River Dove in the UK. It finds that Reach 24 has the highest ecosystem service score due to its abundant biodiversity, fisheries, flood mitigation, carbon sequestration, and water quality. These services are supported by features including dense forestry, river tributaries, sinuosity, hydraulic complexity, riparian woodland, and floodplain forest. Habitat fragmentation along the river is also examined, with significant fragmentation found due to agricultural activities, woodland plantations, and urban development. Conservation measures are recommended to protect ecological diversity.

Uploaded by

cliffordleezy
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lee,C

ECOSYSTEMSERVICESVALUEANDFLUVIALFEATURESOFRIVERDOVE
WehavefoundconsiderablefluvialfeaturesalongRiverDovewhichareabletopotentiallysupport
variousecosystemservicesintheareasuchastheprovisionoffisheries,agricultureandtimber,
theregulationoffloods,qualitywaterandcarbonsequestration,aswellasthebiodiversitypotential
ofthearea.

Fig1.ReachEcosystemScoresalongRiverDove,UK

Fig2.EcosystemServicesalongRiverDove,UK

Figure1graphicallyillustratesthevariousecosystemservicesthroughouteachreachofourareaof
survey,whileFigure2segregatestheecosystemservicesintocultural,regulatingandprovisioning
attributes.Theresultshavebeengeneratedviaoursurveyoftheriverbasedonthepresenceof
specificfluvialfeatureswhichcontributetotheservicevalueofeachreach.

Lee,C

Someecosystemservicesaremorestraightforwardtodeterminesuchastheprovisionoftimber
whichisdeterminedbythepresencelandcoverfeaturesofwoodlandplantationssurroundingthe
river(Highconcentrationsalongreaches1920,3132,3536),aswellaslargepresenceof
agriculturalcropsinreaches59.Otherserviceslikefisheriesandwaterqualityhaveamorecomplex
determinationbasedonseveralfluvialandmorphologicalfeatures.

Reach24particularlystandsoutashavingthehighestecosystemservicescorebearinghigh
biodiversity,fisheries,floodmitigation,carbonsequestrationandwaterqualityinacomplexregion
withabundantdenseforestryandmanyrivertributariesattheendoftheuplandsarea,andshallbe
examinedforthefluvialfeaturesthatcontributedtoit.

Wherethecapacityforfisheriesareparticularlyhigh,riversinuosityandhydrauliccomplexityare
high,aswellasvastpresenceofriparianwoodlandandfloodplainforest.Theseareimportantas
theycontributetofactorswhichallowforfishestothrivesuchashavingattenuationtotheflow,
increasedchanneldynamismandwettedperimeter,aswellasenhancednutrientcyclingand
oxygenationofwateratturbulentareas.Otherfactorsthatwerenotpresentinthisreachsuchas
channelbraidingandpresenceoffloodplainlakescanalsocontributetothepotentialforthe
provisionoffisheriesbyprovidingfishwithanidealhabitattothrivein.

Anotherimportantservicethatalloftheabovefluvialfeaturessansfloodplainlakesistheprovision
offloodmitigationcharacteristicswhichisimportantconsiderationespeciallywhendetermining
urbansettlementareas(orfloodplainareasotherwiseforagriculturalpurposes).Inaddition,the
presenceoffloodplainforest,largerivercorridorwidthratio,braiding,andsteepelevationhelpsto
furtherattenuateflowandincreasehydraulicdiversityandwettedperimeterwhichcontributeto
floodmitigationinthesurroundingsofthereach.

Waterqualityisinferredtobehighestinlowslopesasitallowsremovalofsedimentsandpromotes
naturalbiogeochemicalprocessingofwater.Palaeochannels,wetlands,floodplainforestandlakes
alsohelpintheprovisionofcleanwater.

BelowisthesummaryoftheecosystemservicescoreofRiverDove.

Table1.EcosystemServicesalongRiverDove,UK

Lee,C

HABITATFRAGMENTATION
Habitatfragmentationoccurswhenlargecontiguousareasarebrokenintosmallerpatchesby
disruptionscausedbyhumanornaturalactivity/features,therebydamagingthequalityofthe
naturalhabitatconsistingofbothanimalandplantspecieswhenecosystemsaredisruptedviaaloss
inconnectivityaswellassizethusthreateningbiodiversity.Thisaffectsthemigrationofspeciesas
wellaspossiblelocalextirpationofforestspecieswhenhabitatsbecometoosmalltosupportthem
andadjoininghabitatsalltoofartooallowmigration.

Fig3.ForestandLakeFragmentationalongRiverDove,UK

Figure3graphicallyrepresentsthesegmentationofforestandlakehabitatsalongtheriver,withthe
unchartedwhitespaceseparatingthefragmentedareas.

Significantanthropogenicactivitiessuchasintensiveagriculturealongthebanksoftherivers1are
theprimaryfactorcontributingtohabitatfragmentationalongRiverDove;alongwithwoodland
plantations,aswellasurbansettlementstowardstheendofthereachindisjointingnaturalforest
andlakehabitats,therebysubjectingthehabitattoecosystemdisturbances.

Assuch,biologicalconservationmeasureshavetobeemployedtoprotectecologicaldiversitysuch
asthoughtheadditionofconnectionsandcorridorswhichcanbemadeinordertoincreasethe
connectivityofhabitats.Large,intactcontiguousareascanbesetasideasprotectednaturereserves
vialegislationinordertosupportlargerpopulationsandbiodiversity.Creatingbiodiversityrich
fluvialhabitatssuchaswetlandscanalsohelpbuildbiodiversity.

However,thiswillbedifficultduetoincreasingeconomicandpoliticalforcesthatpursue
industrialisation,urbanisationandexploitationofnaturallandsandresourcesinpursuitofeconomic
goals.Assuch,themeritsofbiodiversityalongwithsufficientpoliticalandsocialwillhastobe
consideredinordertopropelconservationefforts.

(WordCount:749Words)

TheaquaticecologicalstatusoftheriversoftheUpperDoveCatchmentin2009
http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/file/73039

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