Study of the impact of the discharges of the Vila-Viçosa small hydroelectric development (Portugal) on the water quality and on the fish communities of the Ardena river

A study of the Vila-Viçosa small hydroelectric development, situated on the Ardena river (hydrographical basin of the river Douro, Portugal) was carried out for one year, with the purpose of evaluating the existence of differences in the fish communities found downstream and upstream of the development. A characterization of the system was made, bearing in mind morphological, hydrological and physical and chemical characteristics and studying the structure and dynamics of the fish communities. With the collected data on physical and chemical parameters a study of its space-time variation was made. Moreover, with the data relative to the fish communities a study of the space-time variation of some parameters was carried out. After the analysis of the data, it is possible to conclude that the Ardena river is a lotic system with water of good quality and that the functioning of the hydroelectric plant does not produce variations of the values of the parameters measured. The results obtained for the space-time variation of the fish community reveal some alterations in its distribution.Durante un año se ha estudiado la minicentral hidroeléctrica de Vila Viçosa en el río Ardena (cuenca del Duero, Portugal), con el objetivo de evaluar la existencia de diferencias en las comunidades de peces situadas abajo y arriba de la minicentral hidroeléctrica, caracterizando el sistema desde el punto de vista morfológico, hidrológico y físico-químico y estudiando la estructura y dinámica de las comunidades de peces. Con los datos relativos a los parámetros físico-químicos y los peces se ha hecho el estudio de la variación espacio-temporal. Además con los datos de los peces se ha estudiado la variación espacial y temporal de algunos parámetros. Después de analizados los datos, se puede decir que el río Ardena es un sistema lotico con agua de buena calidad y que el funcionamiento de la minicentral no provoca alteraciones de los valores encontrados. Los resultados de la variación espacial y temporal de la comunidad de peces reflejan alteraciones en su distribución

Fish-based groups for ecological assessment in rivers: the importance of environmental drivers on taxonomic and functional traits of fish Assemblages

The use of river-types is of practical value, serving as groups for which assessment procedures can be developed and applied. An abiotic typology was set by the Portuguese Water Agency, mainly based on 6 major morphoclimatic regions. However, to be biologically meaningful, this typology should fit the distribution patterns of the biological quality elements communities proposed in Water Framework Directive under the lowest possible human pressure. This study aimed to identify and characterize fish-based geographical groups for continental Portugal and their environmental and geographical discriptors, using taxonomic and functional traits. Sampling took place between 2004 and 2006 during Spring. Fish fauna from 155 reference sites was analysed using a multivariate approach. Cluster Analysis on fish composition identified 10 fish-groups, expressing a clear correspondence to the river basin level, due to the restrict basin distribution of many species. Groups showed a wider aggregation in 4 regions with a larger geographical correspondence, statistically supported by Similarity Analysis, both on fish composition and mostly on fish metrics/guilds. Principal Components Analysis revealed major environmental drivers associated to fish-groups and fish-regions. Fish-groups were hierarchically grouped over major and local regions, expressing a large-scale response to a North-South environmental gradient defined by temperature, precipitation, mineralization and altitude, and a regional scale response mainly to drainage area and flow discharge. From North to South, fish-regions were related to the morphoclimatic regions. Results contributed to reduce redundance in abiotic river-types and set the final typology for Portuguese rivers, constituting a fundamental tool for planning and managing water resources

Impact evaluation of the Vila Viçosa small hydroelectric power plant (Portugal) on the water quality and on the dynamics of the benthic macroinvertebrate communities of the Ardena river

Over a two-year period a study of the Vila Viçosa small hydroelectric development, located on the Ardena river (hydrographical basin of the Douro river, Portugal), was conducted, with the objective of evaluating the impact of its operation on the water quality and on the dynamics of the benthic macroinvertebrate community. A morphological, hydrologic and physico-chemical characterization of the system was done, an analysis of the benthic macroinvertebrate communities looking into their structure and dynamics, as well as ecological and physiological characteristics. With the physical and chemical data, a study of its spatial and temporal variation was performed. With the data related to the macroinvertebrate communities, an analysis of the spatial variation of some indexes and metrics and of the (non) similarity between the samples collected were done, bearing in mind the composition of the communities, through different techniques of multivariate analysis. After the analysis of the data, it is possible to say that the Ardena River is a lothic system, with good water quality, in which the working of the small hydroelectric power plant causes alterations on the macroinvertebrate community, due to the alteration of the "natural" hydrologic regime. The impact on the macroinvertebrate communities is lower upstream of the plant, where the flow is minimal throughout the whole year leading to a change in the structure of the community. Downstream of the plant, where the flow is extremely variable, there is an impoverishment of the communities, leading to the displacement of substrate and organisms.Durante dos años se ha estudiado la minicentral hidroeléctrica de Vila Viçosa en el río Ardena (cuenca del Duero, Portugal), con el objetivo de evaluar el impacto de su funcionamiento en la calidad del agua y en la dinámica de la comunidad de macroinvertebrados bentónicos, haciendo la caracterización del sistema desde el punto de vista morfológico, hidrológico y físico-químico y estudiando las comunidades de macroinvertebrados bentónicos, atendiendo a aspectos relacionados con su estructura, dinámica y características ecológicas y fisiológicas. Con los datos relativos a los parámetros físico-químicos se ha hecho el estudio de la variación espacio temporal; y con los datos relativos a la comunidad de macroinvertebrados, se ha hecho el estudio de la variación espacial de algunos índices y medidas y de la (dis)similaridad entre las muestras recogidas, teniendo en cuenta su composición, a través de diferentes técnicas de análisis multivariante. Después de analizados los datos, se puede decir que el río Ardena es un sistema lotico con agua de buena calidad y que el funcionamiento de la minicentral hidroeléctrica provoca modificaciones en la comunidad de macroinvertebrados bentónicos, resultado de las alteraciones de caudales. El impacto en las comunidades de macroinvertebrados es menor aguas arriba de las minicentrales, donde el caudal es mínimo todo el año provocando una modificación en la estructura de las comunidades. Aguas abajo de las minicentrales, donde el caudal es muy variable, hay un empobrecimiento de las comunidades, provocando el desplazamiento del substrato y de los organismos

Application of domestic greywater for irrigating agricultural products: A brief study

The decline in annual rainfall, coupled with the growing demand for water in agricultural fields, triggered a new crisis in today’s world. Thus, the focus is on finding solutions to new water resources. Taking a look at the normal daily life, most of the households’ effluents can be ranked into a less-polluted category, called greywater. Excluding human dejects, greywater comprises the outflow from washing machines, dishwashers and bathtubs. It is considered an effluent with a more economic treatment, because it contains less microbial pollution. Hence, this work revises the effects of greywater irrigation on the quality of crops, and provides a comprehensive study of the effects of greywater on the quality of soil. Furthermore, a comprehensive discussion is carried out to evaluate the energy consumption of facilities for both greywater and wastewater treatment to provide water used in irrigation. It also addresses current methodologies for treating greywater and evaluates the effects of crops irrigation with treated and untreated greywater, indicating the type of treatment chosen depending on the type of crop to be irrigated.Authors thank the financial support of the project IF/01093/2014/CP1249/CT0003 and research grants IF/01093/ 2014 and SFRH/BPD/112003/2015 funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES, Portugal, and project UID/EQU/ 00305/2013 – Center for Innovation in Engineering and Industrial Technology, Portugal – CIETI. This work was financially supported by : project UID/EQU/00511/2019 – Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy – LEPABE funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC), Portugal; Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006939 (Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy – EPABE, UID/EQU/00511/2013) funded by FEDER, Spain through COMPETE2020-POCI and by national funds through FCT; Project “LEPABE-2-ECO-INNOVATION” – NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000005, funded by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Can biochemical endpoints improve the sensitivity of the biomonitoring strategy using bioassays with standard species, for water quality evaluation?

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) was adopted in 2000 and is a common framework for water policy, management and protection in Europe. The WFD assesses specific parameters; however, it ignores indicators of ecosystem functioning and sub-individual performance. Reservoirs are strongly influenced by anthropogenic activities that promote their imbalance. Bioassays and biomarkers are useful tools to link the chemical, ecological and toxicological assessments in water quality assessments. These approaches can be complementary to WFD methodologies, allowing the detection of impacts on the ecosystem. This study evaluated if the biochemical parameters can improve the sensitivity of the biomonitoring strategy using bioassays with the standard species Daphnia magna, in the assessment of the ecological quality of water reservoirs. To this end, water samples of Portuguese reservoirs were analysed in three sampling periods (Autumn 2018 and Spring, Autumn 2019). In parallel, a physicochemical characterization of waters was performed. D. magna feeding rate assays were performed for 24 h. After exposure, metabolism, oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation biomarkers were evaluated. Feeding rate assays showed sensitivity to different reservoirs. Biomarkers showed a higher sensitivity and can therefore improve the sensitivity of the biomonitoring strategy using bioassays. Bioassays and biomarkers approach allowed to highlight potential sources of stress, more related to the quality of the seston than to chemical contamination. This work highlights the complementarity between bioassays and biomarkers to identify ecotoxicological effects of surface waters, and can be extremely useful, especially in cases where the biotic indices are difficult to establish, such as reservoirs

Plankton characterization of alpine ponds: a case of study for the assessment of water quality in Serra da Estrela (Portugal)

Serra da Estrela is Portugal's mainland highest mountain, with distinctive geological, climatic and geomorphological characteristics which play a key role on surface and groundwater resources. These mountains have the largest set of glacial ponds of Portugal and are scarcely studied. Besides, there are concerns of possible impacts of the use of salts in road de-icing on ponds' biotic communities. This research intends to characterize the hydrology of five Mediterranean alpine ponds and assess their planktonic communities. The biotic index proposed by the Water Framework Directive for lentic systems was used to check its applicability to these systems. Sampling was conducted monthly from June to November 2015 alongside with hydrological characterization. Water parameters and nutrients' content were quantified. Phytoplankton and macrozooplankton were identified. Ponds' water level is controlled by precipitation (input) and evaporation, infiltration and streamflow (output). Ponds were in good ecological quality. However, the current ecological assessment tools proposed by the WFD for lentic systems do not fit alpine ponds, showing a gap in the current methods. Salts used for road de-icing did not impact the communities and the ecological state of ponds. Phytoplankton was dominated by Cyanobacteria, Dinophyceae and Bacillariophyceae; Cyclopoida was the most abundant zooplanktonic group. For macrozooplankton, RDA shows association between cladocerans and phosphorus content. Phosphorus changes promoted shifts in zooplankton, what may be of major concern from a conservation point of view, once alpine ponds and its species are still mostly unknown. Efforts should be done to develop tools to classify aquatic ecosystems from harsh environments.This research focuses on the study of alpine ponds using an integrative approach (water chemistry, hydrological properties and communities' dynamics). Exploring the relations between abiotic factors and the planktonic communities, this work shows the inadequacy of current ecological quality assessment methods for lentic habitats in extreme environments and gives insights into future conservation concerns

Tipologia fluvial para Portugal Continental com base no elemento peixes.

A definição de tipos de massas de água é uma etapa fundamental no processo de avaliação ecológica preconizado pela Diretiva-Quadro da Água (DQA). Só assim é viável definir situações de referência e, comparativamente, classificar o estado ecológico dos locais em cada tipo de rio. A necessidade de produzir e aplicar índices piscícolas no âmbito da implementação da DQA justificou a definição de tipos de rios com base no elemento peixes. Inicialmente, os cursos de água de Portugal Continental foram divididos em tipos com base em critérios essencialmente morfológicos e climáticos, sendo posteriormente necessário testar a validade desta tipologia abiótica para peixes, confirmando a sua adequação ou definindo outros tipos. Neste trabalho sintetizam-se documentos anteriormente produzidos procedendo-se a: (i) apresentação sucinta dos procedimentos envolvidos no estabelecimento da tipologia nacional de rios, designadamente a validação biológica da tipologia abiótica e o desenvolvimento de uma tipologia piscícola nacional de rios, designadamente a validação biológica da tipologia abiótica e o desenvolvimento de uma tipologia piscícola, e (ii) caracterização das condições de referência para cada tipo, relativamente à ictiofauna