Arnbjerg-Nielsen, Karsten

Bigi, Giovanni

Bjerg, Poul Løgstrup

Brudler, Sarah

McKnight, Ursula S.

Rasmussen, Jes J.

Vezzaro, Luca

Online Research Database In Technology

                       General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.  • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal   If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.     Downloaded from orbit.dtu.dk on: Jun 17, 2018Influence of the environmental context: assessing stream water qualityunder conditions of multiple stressMcKnight, Ursula S.; Rasmussen, Jes J.; Vezzaro, Luca; Brudler, Sarah; Bigi, Giovanni; Bjerg, PoulLøgstrup; Arnbjerg-Nielsen, KarstenPublication date:2018Document VersionPeer reviewed versionLink back to DTU OrbitCitation (APA):McKnight, U. S., Rasmussen, J. J., Vezzaro, L., Brudler, S., Bigi, G., Bjerg, P. L., & Arnbjerg-Nielsen, K. (2018).Influence of the environmental context: assessing stream water qualityunder conditions of multiple stress. Abstract from Møde i ATV Jord og Grundvand (Mødenr. 25), Odense,Denmark.  INFLUENCE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT:  ASSESSING STREAM WATER QUALITY UNDER CONDITIONS OF  MULTIPLE STRESS  Assisting Professor Ursula S. McKnighta, Ph.D. Jes J. Rasmussenb, Associate Professor Luca Vezzaroa, Indistrial Ph,D, Sarah Brudlera, Research Assistant Giovanni Bigia,  Professor Poul L. Bjerga, Professor Karsten Arnbjerg-Nielsena  a Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark b Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University usmk@env.dtu.dk    The implementation of the European Water Framework Directive requires ensuring the good chemical and ecological status of streams. River quality is by nature highly variable, conside-ring only basin lithology, vegetation and climate, where especially in small watersheds spatial variations can extend over several orders of magnitude for most major elements. Moreover, changes in land use and land cover, driven by urban expansion and increased agricultural production, have led to multiple chemical stressors impacting surface water resulting in the loss of biodiversity and impairment of ecosystem functions. Thus, although emissions from urban areas are an important factor of concern regarding impacts to stream quality, a more holistic understanding of especially chemical stressors within an entire catchment is crucial to safeguarding and protecting water resources in Denmark and globally.   Conventionally, the monitoring of freshwater systems has been limited to surface water con-centrations, where the dominant focus has been on meeting specific water quality criteria – driven by a few (<50) priority chemical compounds. This, however, provides little to no insight regarding the sources and pathways delivering chemicals with the potential to violate en-vironmental quality criteria in a catchment. In addition, knowledge of the state and influence of headwaters, typically defined as first-order perennial streams, on the water quality and flow regime of down-gradient waters is essential for ensuring the sustainable management of water resources at the river basin scale. Headwaters are intrinsically connected to landscape processes, which can influence the supply, transport and fate of water and solutes in waters-heds.   In this study, we have therefore investigated the influence of the environmental context, rec-ognizing particularly the importance of the presence of mixed land-use (peri-urban) stream systems for Denmark, where streams serve as the chemical footprint for activities in the catchment integrating the myriad chemical stressors active in the system. We argue that streams are sensitive to a host of pressures, including urbanization impacts, agriculture, de-forestation, invasive species, flow regulations and water extraction, that are key to under-standing why progress in achieving e.g. good ecological status is still hampered in Denmark and across Europe. Thus, risk management approaches linked to river basin management plans will need to deliver both proactive (e.g. upstream) measures in addition to reactive (e.g. downstream) measures in order to provide a sustainable pathway for improved water resour-ces at reduced environmental and consumptive costs. 

Influence of the environmental context: assessing stream water quality under conditions of multiple stress

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Influence of the environmental context: assessing stream water quality under conditions of multiple stress

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