Deliverable 1.3

Abstract: Review of the practical adaptation strategies adopted in REFRESH for rivers, lakes and wetlands

REFRESH seeks to provide a a process-based evaluation of the specific adaptive measures that might be taken to minimise the consequences of climate change on freshwater quantity, quality and biodiversity. The focus is on three principal climate-related and interacting pressures: increasing temperature, changes in flow regimes and increased excess nutrients, primarily with respect to lowland rivers and their riparian wetlands and shallow lakes because these often pose the most difficult problems in meeting both the requirements of the WFD and Habitats Directive.
Adaptation and mitigation strategies already under discussion at the European scale are being tested experimentally in REFRESH with the objective of quantifying how such strategies work and can be implemented. The main objective of Deliverable 1.3 is to set the scene for the experiments performed in the REFRESH project by reviewing the available knowledge on some important adaptation and mitigation measures already being practised in Europe and argue why these experiments add to the knowledge needed to bring these measure further into practice.

The choice of experiments is based on the adaptation measures common for lowland streams, shallow lakes and riparian wetlands of lowland streams. The focus is to gather quantified knowledge on the effects of:

  1. the amount of shading needed to cool a lowland stream
  2. low flows and droughts in lowland streams
  3. combined effects of temperature, low flow/drought and nutrient load in lowland streams
  4. temperature in combination with different nutrient levels in lakes
  5. water level fluctuation on eutrophication in lakes
  6. combined effects of temperature, low flow/drought and nutrient load in lakes
  7. temperature on riparian wetland vegetation and soil processes
  8. flooding on riparian wetland vegetation and soil processes
  9. combinations of nutrients and flooding in riparian wetland vegetation and soil processes

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