Environmental Flows: Saving Rivers in the Third Millennium Volume 4

and#147;Freshwaters worldwide continue to be severely degraded by human activities, and urgent government action is needed. Angela Arthington is perfectly equipped to advise how to design environmental flows that sustain the biodiversity and ecosystem services provided by our priceless rivers.and#8221;and#151;Colin Townsend, University of Otago, New Zealand

and#147;Professor Arthington is a widely respected and acknowledged leader on environmental flows. Her book is an exceptional compilation and state-of-the-science overview of the subject. Well-written and easy to understand, it is essential reading for educators, scientists, practitioners, and decision-makers addressing river-related flow issues.and#8221;and#151;Robert J. Naiman, author of /i/Riparia: Ecology, Conservation, and Management of Streamside Communities//i/

and#147;Environmental Flows is a great gift to rivers and to people striving to protect and restore them. Arthington provides a masterful synthesis of the science and practice of environmental flowsand#151;and why their implementation is so urgently needed. Environmental Flows is a must-read for all involved with river science and management, from hydrologists and ecologists to engineers and resource managers. Educators and students will find it invaluable.and#8221;and#151;Sandra Postel, co-author of /i/Rivers for Life: Managing Water for People and Nature//i/

"Arthingtonand#8217;s life work on understanding riverine ecosystems has produced this knowledgeable, accessible, and insightful book. It gives us hope that our 'enormous human adaptive capacity and the power of innovative science' will help us tackle the urgent and complex problems caused by climate change. /i/Environmental Flows//i/ is for scientists, students, policy-makers, and water managers; indeed, it is a book for all who work toward protecting healthy ecosystems for ourselves and future generations."--Poh-Ling Tan, International WaterCentre Professor of Water Law and Governance

"Managing water to balance direct human use (drinking supply, agriculture, power, and industry) and indirect use (water for river and wetland ecosystems) is a major challenge. Angela Arthington employed her exceptional knowledge and experience to guide us through a complex cross-disciplinary examination of environmental flows to create an indispensable text for people interested in managing and conserving our rivers."--Michael C. Acreman, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology

and#8220;Hangs together well and reads smoothly. . . . I wish that this book had been published when I started my research degree!and#8221;

"Highly recommended." River Research And Applications

Water is essential. Water is a compound central to all life and an integral part of all ecosystems. This book is about the flow of water and attempts to answer crucial questions about the flow of water. How much water is needed to sustain particular ecosystems? How does water move within and between different kinds of ecosystems? What happens when the flow of water or the availability of water is limited, modified, curtailed or diverted, either naturally or by human activity? How will climate change alter the abundance and availability of water? Environmental Flows addresses these and related questions by describing how the flow of water is assessed, how the need for water is evaluated and how water is managed at multiple spatial scales. The book is a must read for water managers and freshwater and estuarine ecologists contending with ever changing conditions influencing the flow of water.

Environmental Flows provides a synthesis of information on the quantity, timing and quality of water flows and regimes required to sustain freshwater and estuarine ecosystems and the human livelihoods and well-being that depend upon these ecosystems. How much water does each ecosystem type need? What happens when natural seasonal flow patterns or standing water regimes are radically altered by dams, hydropower generation or pumping to meet the needs of humans? Can damaged ecosystems be restored by the provision of environmental flows? How can human societies come to grips with the realities of climate change, less water for everyone, greater impacts on aquatic biodiversity and increasingly dysfunctional ecosystems? This book addresses these questions, describing each environmental flow method from the simplest hydrological formulae to ecosystem frameworks that seek to inform water management at multiple spatial scales. Implementation and monitoring are discussed as well as legislation and policy contexts. Arthington ends with an appeal to address the freshwater biodiversity crisis, and turn the third millennium into an era of transformation and restoration of Earth's natural resiliency and healing power for the benefit of ecosystems and people.

"Freshwaters worldwide continue to be severely degraded by human activities and urgent government action is needed. Angela Arthington is perfectly equipped to advise how to design environmental flows that sustain the biodiversity and ecosystem services provided by our priceless rivers."--Colin Townsend, University of Otago, New Zealand.

Environmental Flows describes the timing, quality, and quantity of water flows required to sustain freshwater and estuarine ecosystems and the human well-being and livelihoods that depend upon them. It answers crucial questions about the flow of water within and between different kinds of ecosystems. What happens when the flow or the availability of water is curtailed or diverted, either naturally or by human activity? How will climate change alter the availability of water and impact aquatic ecosystems? Methodological developments from the simplest hydrological formulas to large-scale frameworks that inform water management make this book a must-read for water managers and freshwater and estuarine ecologists contending with ever-changing conditions influencing the flow of water.

Angela Arthington is Emeritus Professor in the Faculty of Environmental Science at Griffith University in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. She is a senior Research Member of the Australian Rivers Institute and advisor to State and Commonwealth governments on environmental water management.

Preface and Acknowledgments

1. River Values and Threats

2. Global Hydrology, Climate, and River Flow Regimes

3. Catchments, Drainage Networks, and Resource Regimes

4. River Ecology, the Natural Flow Regime Paradigm, and Hydroecological Principles

5. Effects of Catchment Change and River-Corridor Engineering

6. History of Water Control and Dam Impacts

7. Effects of Dams on Sediment, Thermal, and Chemical Regimes

8. Effects of Dams on Habitat and Aquatic Biodiversity

9. Introduction to Environmental Flow Methods

10. Hydraulic Rating and Habitat Simulation Methods

11. Flow Protection Methods

12. Flow Restoration Methods

13. Ecological Limits of Hydrologic Alteration (ELOHA)

14. Environmental Flow Relationships, Models, and Applications

15. Groundwater-Dependent Ecosystems and Threats

16. Sustaining Groundwater-Dependent Ecosystems

17. Wetlands, Threats, and Water Requirements

18. Estuaries, Threats, and Flow Requirements

19. Setting Limits to Hydrologic Alteration

20. Implementing and Monitoring Environmental Flows

21. Legislation and Policy

22. Adapting to Climate Change

Appendix: The Brisbane Declaration (2007)

Literature Cited

Index