Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Site Tools

  • AAAS
  • Subscribe
  • Feedback

Site Search

Search Advanced

Science 4 November 1994:
Vol. 266. no. 5186, pp. 753 - 762
DOI: 10.1126/science.266.5186.753
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Articles

Fragmentation and Flow Regulation of River Systems in the Northern Third of the World

Mats Dynesius 1 and Christer Nilsson 1

1 Department of Ecological Botany, Umeå University, S-901 87 Umeå, Sweden

Seventy-seven percent of the total water discharge of the 139 largest river systems in North America north of Mexico, in Europe, and in the republics of the former Soviet Union is strongly or moderately affected by fragmentation of the river channels by dams and by water regulation resulting from reservoir operation, interbasin diversion, and irrigation. The remaining free-flowing large river systems are relatively small and nearly all situated in the far north, as are the 59 medium-sized river systems of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. These conditions indicate that many types of river ecosystems have been lost and that the populations of many riverine species have become highly fragmented. To improve the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable use of biological resources, immediate action is called for to create an international preservation network of free-flowing river systems and to rehabilitate exploited rivers in areas that lack unaffected watercourses.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Disturbance regime landscapes: mountain drainage systems interrupted by large rockslides.
K. Hewitt (2006)
Progress in Physical Geography 30, 365-393
   Abstract »    PDF »
Human modification of global water vapor flows from the land surface.
L. J. Gordon, W. Steffen, B. F. Jonsson, C. Folke, M. Falkenmark, and A. Johannessen (2005)
PNAS 102, 7612-7617
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Fragmentation and Flow Regulation of the World's Large River Systems.
C. Nilsson, C. A. Reidy, M. Dynesius, and C. Revenga (2005)
Science 308, 405-408
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The Application of Ecological Principles and Fermentable Fibers to Manage the Gastrointestinal Tract Ecosystem.
R. K. Buddington and E. Weiher (1999)
J. Nutr. 129, 1446
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Freshwater Ecosystems and Their Management: A National Initiative.
R. J. Naiman, J. J. Magnuson, D. M. McKnight, J. A. Stanford, and J. R. Karr (1995)
Science 270, 584-585
   Abstract »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)