Published November 1, 2017 | Version v1
Journal article Open

Science and Management of Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams (SMIRES)

Authors/Creators

  • 1. Irstea, UR MALY, Centre de Lyon-Villeurbanne, Villeurbanne Cedex, France
  • 2. Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Berlin, Germany
  • 3. Irstea, UR HHLY, Centre de Lyon-Villeurbanne, Villeurbanne Cedex, France
  • 4. Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), Girona, Spain
  • 5. University of the Basque Country, Stream Ecology Group, Vizcaya, Spain
  • 6. School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom
  • 7. French Agency for Biodiversity, Vincennes, France
  • 8. Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
  • 9. University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
  • 10. Portuguese Environment Agency/ Tagus and West River Basin District Administration, Lisbon, Portugal
  • 11. Landesamt für Landwirtschaft, Umwelt undländliche Räume des Landes Schleswig-Holstein Abteilung Gewässer Dezernat Fließgewässerökologie", Flintbek, Germany
  • 12. University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
  • 13. University of Pecs, Pecs, Hungary
  • 14. Environment Agency, Bristol, United Kingdom
  • 15. Wageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
  • 16. School of Economics, International center for research on the environment and the economy, ICRE8, Athens, Greece
  • 17. Integrative Freshwater Ecology Group, Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Blanes, Spain
  • 18. Universidade de Evora, Department of Biology, Evora, Portugal
  • 19. Catalan Water Agency, Barcelona, Spain
  • 20. Brandenburg University of Technology, Bad Saarow, Germany
  • 21. University of Montenegro, Podgorica, Montenegro
  • 22. Toulouse School of Economics, INRA, University of Toulouse Capitole, Toulouse, France
  • 23. Dept. of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag, Zurich, Switzerland
  • 24. School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
  • 25. Institute of Marine Biological Resources & Inland Waters, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Athens, Greece
  • 26. Agence de l'eau Rhône Méditerranée Corse, Lyon, France
  • 27. Unaffiliated, Brno, Czech Republic
  • 28. Water Research Institute (IRSA-CNR), Rome, Italy

Description

More than half of the global river network is composed of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES), which are expanding in response to climate change and increasing water demands. After years of obscurity, the science of IRES has bloomed recently and it is being recognised that IRES support a unique and high biodiversity, provide essential ecosystem services and are functionally part of river networks and groundwater systems. However, they still lack protective and adequate management, thereby jeopardizing water resources at the global scale. This Action brings together hydrologists, biogeochemists, ecologists, modellers, environmental economists, social researchers and stakeholders from 14 different countries to develop a research network for synthesising the fragmented, recent knowledge on IRES, improving our understanding of IRES and translating this into a science-based, sustainable management of river networks. Deliverables will be provided through i) research workshops synthesising and addressing key challenges in IRES science, supporting research exchange and educating young researchers, and ii) researcher-stakeholder workshops translating improved knowledge into tangible tools and guidelines for protecting IRES and raising awareness of their importance and value in societal and decision-maker spheres. This Action is organized within six Working Groups to address: (i) the occurrence, distribution and hydrological trends of IRES; (ii) the effects of flow alterations on IRES functions and services; (iii) the interaction of aquatic and terrestrial biogeochemical processes at catchment scale; (iv) the biomonitoring of the ecological status of IRES; (v) synergies in IRES research at the European scale, data assemblage and sharing; (vi) IRES management and advocacy training.

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