Occurrence and variability of River Habitat Survey features across Europe and the consequences for data collection and evaluation

Szoszkiewicz, Krzysztof; Buffagni, Andrea; Davy-Bowker, John; Lesny, Jacek; Chojnicki, Bogdan H.; Zbierska, Janina; Staniszewski, Ryszard; Zgola, Tomasz. 2006 Occurrence and variability of River Habitat Survey features across Europe and the consequences for data collection and evaluation. Hydrobiologia, 566. 267-280. 10.1007/s10750-006-0090-7

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Abstract/Summary

River Habitat Survey (RHS) data collected for the EU-funded STAR project was used to identify hydromorphological characteristic features of rivers in four European regions namely: lowlands; mountain; the Alps; and the Mediterranean. Using RHS attributes, Habitat Quality Assessment (HQA) – a measure of natural habitat diversity, and Habitat Modification Score (HMS) – a measure of anthropogenic modification, we identified considerable differences in frequency, diversity and evenness of features between the regions. A relatively small subset of features clearly distinguish the hydromorphological characters of lowland, Alpine and southern European rivers. It was more difficult to distinguish mountain rivers from Alpine rivers. The highest statistical differences are observed between Lowland and Mountain region. Within the four regions studied the RHS attributes that most strongly influence the HQA and HMS indices were identified. We conclude that specific effort should be made to ensure these are recorded properly as part of the quality control of RHS data. Electronic supplementary material Electronic supplementary material is available for this article at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10750-006-0090-7 and accessible for authorised users

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1007/s10750-006-0090-7
Programmes:	CEH Programmes pre-2009 publications > Water
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	_ River Ecology
ISSN:	0018-8158
Format Availability:	Electronic, Print
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com
Additional Keywords:	River Habitat Survey, hydromorphology, variability, data quality, river assessment
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment Hydrology Data and Information
Date made live:	29 Jun 2007 13:03 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/482

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