Aquatic-terrestrial and longitudinal linkages in stream networks are essential for sustaining biodiversity and key ecosystem services. They are however affected by human activities that degrade these coupled ecosystems. CROSSLINK aimed at improving the understanding of these areas and resulted in support for better management of the land-water interface.
Stream-riparian networks are key components of green and blue infrastructure (GBI) that underpin landscape integrity by transporting nutrients, regulating floods, buffering human impacts, and supplying fresh water. Unfortunately, stream-riparian networks are also subject to multiple human pressures (e.g. from hydropower and agriculture) that affect longitudinal and lateral connectivity, driving habitat and diversity losses, threatening ecosystem services, and causing stakeholder conflicts. Thus, understanding the importance of connectivity within these networks, and applying this understanding in managing stream-riparian GBI for both natural values and societal needs is essential.
This section of the river Dalälven in Färnebofjärdens nationalpark, Sweden shows the intimate link between coupled riparian and stream ecosystems. Photo: F. J. Burdon.
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Overhanging riparian vegetation provides habitat both for the adult stages of aquatic insects, and for terrestrial consumers of aquatic insects. Photo: Brendan Mckie
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Mosupsbäcken, Sweden: a linked forest-stream ecosystem in winter. Photo: Brendan Mckie
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Dams and weirs are a major cause of longitudinal (upstream-downstream) discontinuity in stream-riparian networks. Photo: Frauke Ecke.
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Dam removals are one type of management action that can improve longitudinal connectivity. Photo: Frauke Ecke
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Water-level fluctuations due to river regulation alter the hydrological relationship between rivers and their adjacent riparian zones. Photo: Frauke Ecke.
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Beaver dams and the associated impoundments and beaver meadows are natural drivers of altered longitudinal and later connectivity in stream-riparian networks. Photo: Frauke Ecke.
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CROSSLINK aimed to evaluate how the extent, spatial arrangement, and connectivity of riparian-stream GBI affects biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, ecosystem services, and resilience indicators in forested, urban and rural settings.
CROSSLINK was also aimed to produce an optimization framework capable of balancing multiple values, uses and needs with longer term adaptive capacity and resilience in riparian-stream GBI.
Feld studies was conducted in four case-study basins:
CROSSLINK analysed existing data and conducted extensive novel and spatially explicit field studies. A portfolio of key ecosystem assets for stream-riparian networks was constructed, comprising biodiversity, ecosystem processes and services, and flood protection and resilience properties.
Relationships between the portfolio elements, spatial connectivity, and human impacts were analysed and incorporated into an optimisation platform, which identified spatial configurations and strategies for GBI that minimize management trade-offs and maximize multifunctionality. CROSSLINK main findings were thus translated into a learning-based environment allowing stakeholder analysis of tradeoffs/synergies between multiple values/goals in the management and design of stream-riparian GBI.
List of publications on the research results (riparianbuffers.com)
A film from the Swedish EPA about Green infrastructure – The value of forested riparian zones. The film is in Swedish with English subtitles.
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences - Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment
Ghent University, Belgium - Applied Ecology and Environmental Biology
Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research, Germany - Computational Landscape Ecology
Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA)
University of Bucharest, Romania - Department of Systems Ecology and Sustainability
CROSSLINK is funded through BiodivERsA, under the Horizon 2020 ERA-NET COFUND scheme.
Full project title: CROSSLINK - Understanding cross-habitat linkages between blue and green infrastructure to optimize management of biodiversity, ecosystem services and multiple human uses
Keywords: Riparian-stream, green-blue infrastructure, biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, ecosystem services, resilience, ecological connectivity, optimal solutions, portfolio, learning environment