Landscapes and Riverscapes: The Influence of Land Use on Stream Ecosystems

TLDR

Stream habitat and biodiversity are strongly shaped by surrounding landform and land use, yet empirical links are inconsistent due to covarying gradients, multiple scale‑dependent mechanisms, nonlinear responses, and difficulty separating present‑day from historical effects, with the valley largely governing stream conditions. The study calls for research that evaluates how land use affects streams under varied management and uses more diagnostically valuable response variables than current aggregated measures. References include H.B.N.

Abstract

▪ Abstract Local habitat and biological diversity of streams and rivers are strongly influenced by landform and land use within the surrounding valley at multiple scales. However, empirical associations between land use and stream response only varyingly succeed in implicating pathways of influence. This is the case for a number of reasons, including (a) covariation of anthropogenic and natural gradients in the landscape; (b) the existence of multiple, scale-dependent mechanisms; (c) nonlinear responses; and (d) the difficulties of separating present-day from historical influences. Further research is needed that examines responses to land use under different management strategies and that employs response variables that have greater diagnostic value than many of the aggregated measures in current use. In every respect, the valley rules the stream. H.B.N. Hynes (1975)