Man and River Systems: The Functioning of River Systems at the Basin Scale

361 Pages·1999·10.954 MB·English

by  Th. Ietswaart, L. Breebaart, B. van Zanten, R. Bijkerk (auth.), Josette Garnier, Jean-Marie Mouchel (eds.)

Man and River Systems
Developments in Hydrobiology 146
Series editor
H. J. Dumont
Man and River Systems
The Functioning of River Systems at the Basin Scale
Edited by
J. Garnier and J.-M. Mouchel
Reprinted from Hydrobiologia, volume 410 (1999)
Springer-Science+Business Media, BV.
Libraryof Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-90481-5393-0 ISBN 978-94-017-2163-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-2163-9
Printed on acid-free paper
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© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 1999
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1999
No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced
or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
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retrieval system, without writlen permission from the copyright owner.
Hydrobiologia 410: v-vii, 2000.
1. Gamier & 1.-M. Mouchel (eds), Man and River Systems. v
Contents
Introduction
A basin scale framework for the study of Human pressure on river system functioning
by Josette Garnier & Jean-Marie Mouchel .................................... . ix-xii
List of reviewers ................................................................. . xiii-xvii
Part one: Biological communities
Plankton dynamics in the river Rhine during downstream transport as influenced by biotic
interactions and hydrological conditions
by Th. Ietswaart, L. Breebaart, B. van Zanten & R. Bijkerk ..................... . 1-10
Aquatic bryophyte assemblages along a gradient of regulation in the river Rhine
by A. Vanderpoorten & J.-P. Klein ........................................... . 11-16
A macrophyte communities sequence as an indicator of eutrophication and acidification
levels in weakly mineralised streams in north-eastern France
by Gabrielle Thiebaut & Serge Muller ........................................ . 17-24
Use of oligochaete communities for assessment of ecotoxicological risk in fine sediment of
rivers and canals of the Artois-Picardie water basin (France)
by J. Prygiel, A. Rosso-Darmet, M. Lafont, e. Lesniak, A. Durbec & B. Ouddane .. 25-37
Contribution of the macrobenthic compartment to the oxygen budget of a large regulated
river: the Mosel
by Vincent Bachmann & Philippe Usseglio-Polatera ........................... . 39-46
Contribution to the ecological quality of Aliakmon river (Macedonia, Greece): a multivari
ate approach
by M. Lazaridou-Dimitriadou, V. Artemiadou, G. Yfantis, S. Mourelatos &
Y. Mylopoulos ............................................................. . 47-58
Multiple human impacts by the City of Paris on fish communities in the Seine river basin,
France
by Philippe Boet, Jerome Belliard, Romuald Berrebi-dit-Thomas & Evelyne Tales . 59-68
Rehabilitation efforts for Atlantic salmon in the Meuse basin area: Synthesis 1983-1998
by C. Prignon, I.e. Micha, G. Rimbaud & J.e. Philippart ....................... . 69-77
Biophysical interactions and the structure and dynamics of riverine ecosystems: the import
ance of biotic feedbacks
by Robert I. Naiman, Scott R. Elliott, James M. Helfield & Thomas e. O'Keefe ... 79-86
VI
Part two: Eutrophication, nutrient dynamics and organic pollution
Biogeochemical nutrient cycles and nutrient management strategies
by Daniel J. Conley ......................................................... . 87-96
Application of the 'snapshot' methodology to a basin-wide analysis of phosphorus and
nitrogen at stable low flow
by M. Salvia, J.F. Iffly, P. Vander Borght, M. Sary & L. Hoffmann ............... . 97-102
Nutrient runoff and transfer from land and rivers to the Gulf of Riga
by Per StiUnacke, Nils Vagstad, Timo Tamminen, Paul Wassmann, Viesturs Jansons
& EnnLoigu ............................................................... . 103-110
Retention of nutrients in river systems: dependence on specific runoff and hydraulic load
by Horst Behrendt & Dieter Opitz ............................................ . 111-122
Modelling nutrient fluxes from source to river load: a macroscopic analysis applied to the
Rhine and Elbe basins
by Marcel de Wit ........................................................... . 123-130
Integrated modelling of hydrological processes and nutrient dynamics at the river basin
scale
by Valentina Krysanova & Alfred Becker ..................................... . 131-138
Nitrogen transfers through the Seine drainage network: a budget based on the application
of the 'Riverstrahler' model
by G. Billen & J. Garnier .................................................... . 139-150
Understanding the oxygen budget and related ecological processes in the river Mosel: the
RIVERSTRAHLER approach
by Josette Garnier, Gilles Billen & Laurent Palfner ............................. . 151-166
Model-based analysis of oxygen budget and biological processes in the regulated rivers
Moselle and Saar: modelling the influence of benthic filter feeders on phytoplankton
by Andreas SchOl, Volker Kirchesch, Tanja Bergfeld & Dieter Mi.iller ............ . 167-176
Optimal design and real time control of the integrated urban run-off system
by P. Harremoes & W. Rauch ................................................ . 177-184
Quantification of nitrate removal by a flooded alluvial zone in the III floodplain (Eastern
France)
by Jose Miguel Sanchez Perez, Michele Tremolieres, Naima Takatert, Philippe
Ackerer, Arianne Eichhorn & Gerard Maire ................................... . 185-193
The impact of hydrological fluctuations on shallow groundwater hydrochemistry under two
alluvial meadows
by L. Krebs, J. Corbonnois & S. Muller ....................................... . 195-206
Scenario analysis of nutrient management at the river basin scale
by B. Kronvang, L. M. Svendsen, J. P. Jensen & 1. D0rge ....................... . 207-212
Methodology for multifunctional assessment of riverine wetlands in the Seine river basin
by Eliane Fustec, Philippe Boet, Alcha Amezal & Nils Fauchon ................. . 213-221
vii
Part three: Erosion and sediment transport
Linking land use, erosion and sediment yields in river basins
by D. E. Walling ........................................................... . 223-240
High frequency variations of water flux and sediment discharge during the Little Ice Age
(1586-1725 AD) in the RhOne Delta (Mediterranean France). Relationship to the catchment
basin
by G. Arnaud-Fassetta & M. Provansal ....................................... . 241-250
Estimation of sediment yield and soil loss using suspended sediment load and 137Cs meas
urements on agricultural land, Brie Plateau, France
by S. Sogon, M.-J. Penven, P. Bonte & T. Muxart .............................. . 251-261
Assessment of soil erosion in a small agricultural basin of the St. Lawrence River watershed
by L. Mabit, C. Bernard, M. R. Laverdiere & S. Wicherek ...................... . 263-268
Challenges in relating land use to sediment yield in the Upper Yangtze
by D. L. Higgitt & X. X. Lu ................................................. . 269-277
Bank erosion in a Danish lowland stream system
by A. Laubel, L. M. Svendsen, B. Kronvang & S. E. Larsen ..................... . 279-285
Flood transport of dissolved and suspended matter in the EI Abid river basin (Morocco)
by O. Cherifi & M. Loudiki .................................................. . 287-294
Spatial and temporal variability of Total Suspended Solids in the Seine basin
by M. Meybeck, Z. Idlafkih, N. Fauchon & V. Andreassian ..................... . 295-306
Part four: Fate of micropollutants
Point and diffuse source analysis of heavy metals in the Elbe drainage area: Comparing
heavy metal emissions with transported river loads
by R.J. Vink, H. Behrendt & W. Salomons .................................... . 307-314
Annual emissions of pollutants from mine stone applications in drainage basins of Dutch
rivers
by R. S. E. W. Leuven, P. H. Nienhuis, J. M. A. Kesseleer & W. A. Zwart ........ . 315-323
Role of the dams on the River Lot on two types of pollution: point-sources (cadmium) and
non-point sources (phosphorus)
by Alain Dauta, Yvon Lapaquellerie & Noele Maillet .......................... . 325-329
A cadmium budget for the Lot-Garonne fluvial system (France)
by Gerard Blanc, Yvon Lapaquellerie, Noele Maillet & Pierre Anschutz ......... . 331-341
Contamination by Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in French and European
rivers
by M. B. Fernandes, M.-A. Sicre, I. Broyelle, A. Lorre & D. Pont ............... . 343-348
Variability of herbicides (triazines, phenylureas) and tentative mass balance as a function
of stream order, in the river Marne basin (France) Triazine and phenyl urea flux and stream
order
by M. Chevreuil, M. Garmouma & N. Fauchon ................................ . 349-355
Hydrobiologia 410: ix-xii, 1999. ix
1. Garnier & 1.-M. Mouchel (eds), Man and River Systems.
Introduction
A basin scale framework for the study of Human pressure
on river system functioning
The ecology of aquatic systems has developed most of its basic concepts and methods by studying small, homo
genous and well delimited natural systems. Lakes, in this respect, are ideal objects of ecological study, and this
is why the functioning of these systems has long been better understood than that of river systems. Moreover, the
problem of lake eutrophication was a matter of concern as early as the 1950s, and prompted numerous studies (e.g.
Vollenweider, 1968). Since then, there have been many cases of successful lake restoration. Understanding and
obviating river alteration by human pressures represent a much bigger challenge. In some cases, such as organic
pollution by point discharges of waste water, the alteration is local and concerns a limited stretch of river. As early
as in 1925, with the work of Streeter and Phelps, the basic knowledge was acquired to understand and manage
this kind of alteration. In most cases, however, the dimension of human impact on river systems is much greater.
Hydraulic management (for navigation or flood and drought regulation), diffuse pollution by changing agricultural
practices, landscape modifications, all alter the functioning of the whole drainage network in a way which is
much more difficult to investigate scientifically. The need for basin-scale management of water resources is now
recognized by most authorities. But, sometimes, the scientific basis is still insufficient to allow coherent actions to
be decided at the basin and landscape scale, in order to preserve or restore biodiversity and water quality.
This volume reflects the discussions along these lines that were held during the Symposium ("Man and River
Systems") in Champs-sur-Mame (Paris) in March 1998, as the joint initiative of three large interdisciplinary
Research Projects implemented on large river basins in Europe, namely the PIREN-Seine programme (CNRS,
Seine Basin, Meybeck et al. -eds-, 1998), BINOCULARS (CE-DGXII, Seine, Loire, ScheIdt, Rhine, Aliakmon,
Exe, Severn basins), the ICPMS project (ICPMS & CE-DGXI, Mosel basin). The purpose of all these projects
is to better describe the functioning of large river systems, by considering biological, chemical and hydrological
processes at the scale of the watersheds, and to evaluate the influence of humans on these processes. The knowledge
gained in the course of these projects and of other broad-scale investigations has now been collected and discussed
in 32 papers, grouped into four main topics.
1. Biological communities
The River Continuum concept (Vannote et ai., 1980) offered the first framework for the study of the structure
and function of a biological community along the whole gradient of environmental constraints within the drainage
network of large river systems. This concept led to a break with traditional approaches concentrated to small
stretches of rivers. Besides the longitudinal dimension that underlies the RCC, the concepts of ecotone and fluvial
corridors have also inspired a number of studies of the role played by the riparian zones and alluvial plains,
including wetlands and connected hydraulic annexes, essential for maintaining aquatic life within whole river
systems.
The structure and dynamics of the biological communities have traditionally been seen as a response by hier
archical physical and chemical controls, and are therefore considered as indicators of ecosystem perturbations.
Macrophyte sequences are thus used as indicator of trophic states by Thiebaut & Muller (this volume); Bryophyte
responses in a gradient of regulation is examined by Vanderpoorten & Klein (this volume); Oligochaetes distri
bution is proposed as an indicator for assessing ecotoxicological risks (Prygiel et ai., this volume). Nevertheless,
x
biotic feedback, as argued by Naiman et aI. (this volume), opens new perspectives for a deeper understanding of
the ecological functioning of rivers,
Planktonic communities are known to show immediate response to modifications of the environment. As
shown by Ietswaart et aI. (this volume), interannual discharge variability may greatly modify the level of the
zoo-phytoplankton biomass, as well as the situation of their maximums in the hydrographic network; biomass
oscillations due to water residence time and growth rate of the species, can be observed at a large spatial scale
(Garnier et aI., 1995). Fish community behaviour represents a long-term integration of several types of constraints.
At historical time-scales, navigation in large European rivers has led to great changes in the original fish community
composition (Boet et al., this volume; Petts et aI., 1989; Philippart, 1987). Water quality alteration, flow regula
tion by reservoirs, channelization are all factors that may affect fish community, sometimes leading to dramatic
situations. Several rehabilitation projects aimed at restoring noble species such as atlantic salmon and sea trout
(Prignon et aI., this volume), have symbolically important objectives. Although the macrobenthic compartment has
been studied from the point of view of water quality indexes (Prygiel et aI., this volume; Lazaridou-Dimitriadou,
this volume) or of its influence on planktonic communities (Ietswaart et ai, this volume; Bachman et aI, this volume;
Garnier et aI., this volume; Schol et aI., this volume), more studies are still needed to fully understand the role of
the benthic compartment in the fish diet as well as in sediment bioturbation and nutrient recycling.
2. Eutrophication, nutrient dynamics and organic pollution
Regarding eutrophication in river systems, it is now recognised that the phytoplankton biomass at any point in
the drainage network is the result of its development throughout the whole upstream network. Phosphorus is
often the limiting factor of algal growth in most watersheds because of excess of nitrogen, even in headwaters in
basins with intensive agriculture. Silica may become limiting for diatoms in the drainage network in eutrophication
cases (Garnier et aI., 1995; Billen & Garnier, 1997; Conley, this volume). Eutrophicated reservoirs in the river
basin, that trap silica through diatom sedimentation, have been shown to lead to silica limitation (Conley et aI.,
1993; Humborg et al., 1997; Conley, this volume). Beside nutrient limitation, water residence time and light
intensity are other major constraints on phytoplankton development. Clearly, the study of eutrophication in a river
requires to link our knowledge at the microscopic scale with constraints at the macroscopic scale of the drainage
network. As reported by Conley (this volume), larger-scale studies of coastal eutrophication and nutrient limitation
have focused on the variability of nutrient the load in the drainage network (StlUnacke et al., this volume). To
assess nutrient delivery to the coastal zone, it is imperative not only to properly quantify the source of nutrients
but also to investigate transformation and retention in the drainage basin and hydraulic annexes. Several lines of
investigation were presented during the symposium to arrive at an understanding of the ecological functioning
of river systems: typologies (Fustec et aI., this volume), material budgets (Salvia et aI. this volume, etc.) and
mathematical modelling. Whatever the types of the models (statistical, Behrendt & Opitz, this volume; calibrated
and spatially distributed, Krysanova & Becker, this volume, De Wit, this volume; deterministic and stream-order
based, Billen & Garnier, this volume; Garnier et aI., this volume; deterministic on a defined axis, Schol et aI., this
volume; combined models, Kronvang et aI., this volume), they all concern a large spatial scale or can be applied
to a whole drainage basin, or even extended to a multi-basin approach. In addition to providing a framework for
a quantitative description of the ecological functioning, models may be powerful tools to realistically explore the
effect of restoration measures being considered for the watershed (effects of phosphorus, or nitrogen abatement in
wastewater treatment plants on eutrophication or nutrient delivery to the coastal zone, etc.).
Although the lateral (flood plain) and vertical (groundwater) scales of the river system have been discussed
in relation to the ecological functioning of rivers, because of the complexity of interactions between surface, sub
surface and underground water, modelling studies of nutrient transformations are scarce or focus on a limited sector
of the basin (Sanchez Perez et aI., this volume). Whereas nutrient retention/elimination is an essential function
in fluvial corridors, we have to go further into process studies to distinguish the rate of uptake by the riparian
vegetation (see Krebs et aI., this volume) from bacterial transformation or chemical immobilisation ...
Urban areas are important sub-basins within river basins. They generally concentrate most of the inhabitants
and human activities and are major sources of many pollutants such as phosphorus, metals, hydrocarbons as well as
Xl
organic matter and ammonia. The traditional problem of pollution by point discharge of waste water, as addressed
by Streeter & Phelps (1925), is now changing into a more diffuse urban runoff problem. In their paper, Harremoes
& Rauch (this volume) describe problems encountered when all aspects of urban-runotI' systems are considered
together (including three main components: sewer systems, waste water treatment plants and receptor aquatic
ecosystems). Due to the development of on-line data acquisition, it is suggested that integrated simple and adaptive
models are best suited to real-time control of urban runoff impacts. At the river-basin scale, the sphere of influence
of one urbanised area overlaps that of neighbouring cities within the same basin and is probably of varying size
whatever type of pollution is considered (organic matter discharges, remanent pollutants, pathogen bacteria, etc.).
Such cross-influences are still insufficiently taken into account.
3. Erosion and sediment transport
The transfer of particulate matter inside whole river systems was discussed by D.E. Walling (Walling, this volume),
who emphasised the need for sediment budgets in catchments rather than simple output estimates. Rare surveys
of total suspended matter (TSS) over 30 years shows mUltiple trends related to land use in the river basins of the
world. In the absence of such records, the time frame of transfer processes in the last 100 years can be studied
with the help of environmental radionucleides such as Cesium-137 (137 Cs) and lead-21 0 elOPb) Both techniques
have been used in oceanography and limnology for 30 years and are now applied to flood plain deposits. The
delayed response of the river basins to environmental changes, where particulate matter is concerned is discussed
in many of the other studies in this field (Arnaud-Fassetta & Provansal, this volume). The variability of TSS has
been shown to be enormous (up to 250000 mg I-I during flash hydrological events in a dry environment, Cherifi
& Loudiki, this volume). Although such events are also noted in wet environments, they are rarely studied. In other
types of climate and topography, mechanical erosion and TSS levels have been shown to be smaller by orders of
magnitude. It is interesting to note that stream bank erosion may be responsible for 60% of the annual sediment
transport (Laubel et aI., this volume). The 137Cs method was also used on slow erosion conditions to provide
detailed spatialization of erosion processes at small geographical scales (Sogon et aI., this volume; Mabit et aI.,
this volume). Such studies can help to identify erosion risks and establish priorities for corrective action.
Whole basin studies of TSS transport are still uncommon. From the study on the Seine Basin, Meybeck et
a!. (this volume) demonstrate that although TSS levels are relatively low, significant differences can be attributed
to sub-basin lithology and urbanisation and to the stream orders. Compared to an earlier survey in 1862, TSS
are much lower today, probably because of navigation management. The records of the long-term evolution over
a hundred years have proved to be very informative when combined with alluvial sand analysis, and show that
changes can occur over periods of 40-50 years (Arnaud-Fassetta & Provansal, this volume). Land erosion in China
is probably the one according most attention through comparison between spatial patterns of sediment yields and
satellite imagery of land cover (Higgitt & Lu, this volume). As opposed to nutrients that are mostly dissolved and
for which the kinetics are relatively easy to formulate mathematically, no methods for modelling suspended solids
were presented.
4. Fate of micro pollutants
The impact of human on riverborne pollutants becomes manifest in two ways: i) an increase of natural levels and/or
fluxes of trace metals in water-suspended particles, sediments, biota, ii) the occurrence of xenobiotic substances
in the aquatic system. Both issues are illustrated in this volume of European case studies. A case study of the
long-term impact of a zinc mine, in operation since 1840 but strongly reduced in 1986, was fully documented in
two papers (Dauta et ai, this volume; Blanc et a!., this volume); as a result of a succession of 57 small dams, the
extensive contamination by cadmium of the river sediments, will remain for years after restoration measures have
been completed. Many similar examples are likely to be found in major mining regions where a low dilution of
contaminated particles by natural erosion is combined with a high sediment storage capacity. In large river systems
with multiple sources of trace metals, a source apportionment must be realized (Vink et a!., this volume): in the