Spatial and temporal variability of environmental flow indicators - developing the tools for an ecologically meaningful assessment of hydrological change

尽管水文学在维持河流生态系统中的作用已经被证实，但在充分理解河流水文学和水流动力学影响水生生态系统的方式方面仍然存在重大的科学挑战。因此，这种相互关系受到人类活动（如城市化或水库运行）影响的方式仍不清楚。为了对水文变化进行具有生态意义的评估，需要采取综合办法，将水文参数的时空变异性-其影响受河道的物理特性（水文形态学）的影响-与生态响应联系起来。拟议的项目将调查选定的水文参数的变化，在一系列的空间和时间尺度，在嵌套的研究chachments在苏格兰相对自然的河流系统。还将评估这种变化对水生生态系统的影响。除了对现有的大量排放和生物数据集进行全面的统计分析外，还将进行补充实验测量-包括排放和生态反应。此外，具有生态重要性的水文参数将应用于具有河流调节计划的流域，以进行水电生产。因此，将评估水文变化及其生态影响。拟议的项目将有助于检验有关河流系统生态功能与水文变化之间关系的现有假设。这项工作将大大有助于制定指导方针，按照欧盟水框架指令（WFD）的要求，保护和加强河流的生态状况。

Altfbough the role of hydrology in sustaining river ecosystems is recogised, there is still a major scientific challenge in fully understanding the way river hydrology and flow dynamics affect aquatic ecosystems. Consequently, the ways in which such interrelationships are influenced by human activities such as urbanisation or reservoir operation remain unclear. For an ecologically meaningful assessment of hydrological change, integrative approaches are needed that link the spatikal and temporal variability of hydrological parameters - whose effects are mediated by the physical characteristics of river channels (hydromorphology) - with ecological responses. The proposed project will investigate the variability of selected hydrological parameters, at a range of spatial and temporal scales, in nested research chatchments of relatively natural river systems in Scotland. The influence of such variability on aquatic ecosystems will also be assessed. In addition to a comprehensive statistical analysis of existing extensive discharge and biological data sets, complementary experimental measurements - both for discharge and ecological response - will also be conducted. Furthermore, the ecologically significant hydrological parameters will be applied in catchments with river regulation schemes for hydropower production. Thus hydrological changes and their ecological impacts will be assessed. The proposed project will contribute to the testing of existing hypotheses concerming the relationship between the ecological functioning of river systems and hydrological change. Such work will significantly contribute to the development of guidelines which are needed to protect and enhance the ecological status of rivers as required by the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD).