Can I read Ecosystem Measures of River Health and Their Response to Riparian and Catchment Degradation on EtoBox?

Ecosystem Measures of River Health and Their Response to Riparian and Catchment Degradation by S. E. Bunn; P. M. Davies; T. D. Mosisch is a Environmental Science article available to read on EtoBox.

What is Ecosystem Measures of River Health and Their Response to Riparian and Catchment Degradation about?

## Summary 1. Measurements of ecological patterns are often used as primary biological indicators of river health. However, these patterns provide little information about important stream ecosystem processes (e.g. the sources and fate of energy and nutrients). The direct measurement of these processes is considered fundamental to the determination of the health of stream and river ecosystems. 2. In this paper we used two basic approaches to assess stream ecosystem response to catchment disturbance and, particularly, to the loss of riparian vegetation in different forested biomes across Australia. Benthic gross primary production (GPP) and respiration (__R__~24~) provided measures of the amounts of organic carbon produced and consumed within the system, respectively. Stable isotope analysis was used to trace the fate of terrestrial and instream sources of organic matter in the aquatic food web. In a focal catchment in SE Queensland, additional measurements were taken of riparian attributes, catchment features and water quality. 3. Baseline measurements of GPP and __R__~24~ from undisturbed forest streams provided reference values for healthy streams for comparison with sites where

Who reads Ecosystem Measures of River Health and Their Response to Riparian and Catchment Degradation?

Author

S. E. Bunn; P. M. Davies; T. D. Mosisch

Publisher

John Wiley and Sons; Wiley (Blackwell Publishing); Blackwell Publishing Inc.; Wiley (ISSN 0046-5070)

Published

1999

Language

EN

Field

Environmental Science (Physical Sciences)