Conservation Management of Freshwater Habitats: Lakes, rivers and wetlands

233 Pages·1997·7.958 MB·English

by  P. S. Maitland, N. C. Morgan (auth.)

Conservation Management of
Freshwater Habitats
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY SERIES
Series Editors
Dr F.B. Goldsmith
Ecology and Conservation Unit, Department of Biology, University College
London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
Tel: [phone]x2671
Fax: [phone]. email:[email protected]
Dr E. Duffey OBE
Chez Gouillard, 87329 Bussiere Poitevine, France
The aim of this Series is to provide major summaries of important topics in
conservation. The books have the following features:
• original material
• readable and attractive format
• authoritative, comprehensive, thorough and well-referenced
• based on ecological science
• designed for specialists, students and naturalists
In the last twenty years conservation has been recognized as one of the most
important of all human goals and activities. Since the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development in Rio in June 1992,
biodiversity has been recognized as a major topic within nature conservation,
and each participating country is to prepare its biodiversity strategy. Those
scientists preparing these strategies recognise monitoring as an essential part
of any such strategy. Chapman & Hall have been prominent in publishing
key works on monitoring and biodiversity, and with this new Series aim to
cover subjects such as conservation management, conservation issues,
evaluation of wildlife and biodiversity.
The series contains texts that are scientific and authoritative and
present the reader with precise, reliable and succinct information. Each
volume is scientifically based, fully referenced and attractively illustrated.
They are readable and appealing to both advanced students and active
members of conservation organizations.
Further books for the Series are currently being commissioned and
those wishing to contribute, or who wish to know more about the Series, are
invited to contact one of the Editors.
Already Published
1. Monitoring Butterflies for Ecology and Conservation
E. Pollard and TJ. Yates (eds) (Hb 1993 o/p, Pb 1995) xiv+274pp.
ISBN 0-412-63460-0
2. Insect Conservation Biology
MJ. Samways (Hb 1994 o/p, Pb 1994) xv+358pp. ISBN 0-412-63450-3
3. Monitoring for Conservation and Ecology
F.B. Goldsmith (ed.) (HblPb 1991, Pb reprinted four times) 275pp.
ISBN 0-412-35600-7
4. Evaluation and Assessment for Conservation: Ecological
Guidelines for Determining Priorities for Nature Conservation
I.F. Spellerberg (Hb 1992 o/p, Pb 1994 reprinted three times) xvi+260pp.
ISBN 0-412-44280-9
5. Marine Protected Areas: Principles and Techniques for Management
S. Gubbay (ed.) (Hb 1995) xii+232pp. ISBN 0-412-59450-1
6. Conservation of Faunal Diversity in Forested Landscapes
R.M. DeGraaf and R.I. Miller (eds) (Hb 1995) xxi+633pp, with colour
plate section and colour foldout. ISBN 0-412-61890-7
7. Ecology and Conservation of Amphibians
TJ. Beebee (Hb 1996) viii+214pp. ISBN 0-412-62410-9
8. Conservation and the Use of Wildlife Resources
M. Bolton (Hb 1997) xviii + 278pp, with colour plate section.
ISBN 0-412-71350-0
9. Conservation Management of Freshwater Habitats
N.C.Morgan and P.S. Maitland (Hb 1997) ISBN 0-412-59412-0
10. Tropical Rain Forests: A Wider Perspective
F.B. Goldsmith (ed.) (HblPb 1998)
ISBN Hb 0-412-81510-9, Pb 0-412-81520-6
11. Grazing in Conservation Management
M.F. WallisDeVries, J.P. Bakker and S.E. van Wieren (Hb 1998)
ISBN 0-412-47520-0
12. Wildlife Conservation by Sustainable Use
H.H.T. Prins, J. Geu Grootenhuis and T.T. Dolan (Hb 2000)
ISBN 0-412-79730-5
13. Coastal Conservation and Management: An Ecological Perspective
J. Pat Doody (Hb 2000), ISBN 0-412-59470-6
Conservation Management of
Freshwater Habitats
Lakes, rivers and wetlands
P. S. Maitland
Fish Conservation Centre, G!adshot, Haddington, Scotland
and
N. C. Morgan
7 Route de !'Envers, 88290 Thiefosse, France
SPRINGER SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, LLC
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data available
ISBN 978-94-010-6475-0 ISBN 978-94-011-5858-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-011-5858-9
Catalog Card Number: 96-72121
Copyright «:> 1997 Springer Science+Business Media New York
Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 1997
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1997
This printing is a digital duplication of the original edition.
Ali rights reserved. No part of this publicat ion may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photo-copying, recording,
or otherwise, without the prior written permis sion of the publisher,
Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.
Printed an acid-free paper.
Contents
Foreword IX
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Freshwater habitats 1
1.2 Wetlands 3
1.3 Open waters 12
2 The value of fresh waters 25
2.1 Demands for fresh water 25
2.2 Manipulating fresh water 26
2.3 Using fresh water 29
2.4 The products of fresh waters 37
2.5 Other aspects 42
3 Human impacts 45
3.1 Threats to fresh waters 45
4 Evaluation of conservation interest 67
4.1 Introduction 67
4.2 Site selection 68
5 Protection and management 87
5.1 Establishment of reserves 87
5.2 Management plans 89
5.3 Monitoring 93
6 Wetland management 95
6.1 Introduction 95
6.2 Management techniques 96
6.3 Examples of management 108
7 Lake management 123
7.1 Introduction 123
7.2 Lake classification 127
7.3 Management techniques 130
7.4 Artificial waters 141
Contents
Vlll
7.5 Catchment management 142
7.6 Examples of management 143
8 River management 151
8.1 Introduction 151
8.2 Scientific basis for river management 154
8.3 River classification 155
8.4 Management objectives 157
8.5 Recreation 162
8.6 River restoration 163
8.7 Catchment management 164
8.8 Examples of management 165
8.9 Conclusions 167
9 Species conservation 171
9.1 Conservation options 171
9.2 Fish conservation 172
9.3 Bird conservation 181
9.4 Invertebrate conservation 187
9.5 Amphibian conservation 189
9.6 Mammal conservation 190
10 Future prospects 191
10.1 Introduction 191
10.2 People and education 192
10.3 Sustainable resource use 193
10.4 Catchment management 194
10.5 Integrated water use 194
10.6 Climate change 196
10.7 Legislation 198
10.8 Information 198
10.9 Conclusions 199
Appendix A: Glossary 203
References 207
Index 225
Foreword
There was a need for a book about the conservation management of fresh
waters. It can be argued that there already is a vast literature on the con
servation and management of virtually every kind of habitat in almost
every part of the world. Moreover, thanks to the computerization of infor
mation, this literature, or at least most of it, can be accessed easily and
quickly. However, digging out what is wanted from this mountain of
information is not so quick and easy. Further, what is accessed also has to
be assessed.
When two authors and old colleagues combine to write such a book, we
receive a more unified text than is found in the great majority of multi
authored works. Here, we have two authors with long experience of con
servation and its management in Britain and elsewhere. In a relatively short
handbook they have covered conservation management in such a way that
it will be of value to the wide variety of people who and organizations
which may play an essential part in one or more aspects of conservation
and its management.
Conservation is not simply preservation, like an exhibit in a bottle. It is
an active process, which has to continue for an indefinite time. Hence the
need for what might be called installation care and after care. The manage
ment of both forms a major part of this book.
Conservation management can be an unnatural activity when it holds the
natural evolution of a habitat at a certain stage of its development. A
common example is the prevention of a habitat from reaching the stage of
woodland. Protecting shallow waters, swamps and bogs from further devel
opment may be unnatural from the aspect of ecological evolution but what
is conserved is a natural habitat with its own specific flora and fauna, part
of which is not uncommonly in danger of extinction on a local or even
world scale. Many of the diverse aquatic or semi-aquatic habitats, the man
agement of which is described in this book, are indeed endangered habitats:
moreover, time is not on our side.
The authors give examples of the conservation management of a wide
variety of aquatic or semi-aquatic habitats, ranging from the greatest and
oldest lakes in the world to ponds, from great swamps to local marshy
areas and outline the skills needed to conserve and manage them. Every
case seems to have its own management problems, be it a major political
one or a matter of local pressures or prejudices. It is not always a matter of
x Foreword
management of a given area; where migrating birds are concerned it may be
the management of two or more separate, even widely separate, areas.
This welcome book gives us both the scientific bases for conservation
management and much about the art of management of little damaged or
even unspoiled, seriously damaged or threatened fresh waters, nor are pos
sibilities of reconstruction of habitats ignored. Along the way, we have
interesting examples of conservation management in action - and several
horror stories.
John W.G. Lund
- 1 - - - - - - -
Introduction
1.1 FRESHWATER HABITATS
Freshwater ecosystems represent a major group of habitats around the
world. Not only are the habitats themselves important, for a wide variety of
reasons, but the medium itself - fresh water - is of fundamental significance
to human welfare everywhere. Fresh water is essential to humans for
drinking water, transport, irrigation, energy and as a vehicle to eliminate
waste material; the biota provide important food resources and utilizable
materials. All freshwater bodies are dynamic systems: not only are their
organisms affected by the physicochemical conditions (and thus by human
activities), but also the plants and animals interact and may influence both
the habitat and one another. They have a major influence on the physical
and chemical conditions, while inter- and intraspecific relationships among
plants and animals may be of critical importance to both water quality and
the structure of communities (Maitland, 1990).
Although the fresh waters of the world seem unimportant compared on
an area basis to most land and sea surfaces (only 0.1% of the world's water
surface is occupied by fresh water), yet freshwater fishes form 25% of all
known vertebrate species. Some of the largest rivers (e.g. the River Amazon,
Figure 1.1) and lakes (e.g. Lakes Superior and Tanganyika, Figures 1.2, 1.3)
are of impressive dimensions and are of major importance in the general
ecology and cycling relationships of the regions in which they occur.
The Amazon discharges annually about one-fifth of the fresh water from
rivers entering all the oceans, and is 6500 km in length (Goulding, 1989).
Lake Tanganyika has a volume of 18.88 km3 and is 650 km in length
(Coulter, 1991). Such immense water bodies are also of great economic
importance to the surrounding regions, both in terms of communication and
resources. On the other hand, because of the relatively small size of many
wetland habitats, they are very vulnerable to human activities. They cannot
be protected completely without control of the whole catchment area. For-