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Centurial Degradation of Insect Diversity in Lowland Rivers: Partial Recovery but Restructuration.

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Title: Centurial Degradation of Insect Diversity in Lowland Rivers: Partial Recovery but Restructuration.
Authors: Bojková, Jindřiška1 (AUTHOR) bojkova@sci.muni.cz, de Donnová, Selma1 (AUTHOR), Devánová, Alžbeta1 (AUTHOR), Barešová, Libuše2 (AUTHOR), Chvojka, Pavel3 (AUTHOR), Godunko, Roman J.4 (AUTHOR), Zahrádková, Světlana1 (AUTHOR), Horsák, Michal1 (AUTHOR)
Source: Global Change Biology. May2026, Vol. 32 Issue 5, p1-13. 13p.
Subject Terms: *Biodiversity, *Environmental degradation, *Alluvial streams, *Climate change, *Water quality, Stream channelization, Insect diversity, Ecosystem services
Abstract (English): Global biodiversity is increasingly threatened by widespread anthropogenic impacts, which have accelerated since the First Industrial Revolution. Lowland rivers rank among the most affected ecosystems, having undergone centuries of hydromorphological modifications. The scarcity of historical data hampers precise assessments of biodiversity loss in these rivers since 1950, a critical threshold when anthropogenic pressures led to unprecedented ecological change. We compiled a comprehensive dataset of records of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera collected in time series from nine Czech lowland rivers over the past 140 years. Additionally, we integrated environmental data on water quality and hydroclimatic parameters spanning the last 60 years. Both alpha and gamma diversity declined steadily until the 1980s, followed by a partial recovery at the turn of the millennium due to water quality improvements. However, biodiversity recovery has remained limited in recent decades due to persistent pollution, climate change and potential depletion of the regional species pool. Assemblages are undergoing compositional changes driven by species turnover, rendering a return to their mid‐20th‐century baseline unlikely. Our results further highlight a dramatic loss of biodiversity already in the first half of the 20th century, which has not been offset by the partial recovery of rivers observed after 1990. Immediate actions are necessary to prevent further biodiversity decline and safeguard the ecosystem services of lowland rivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Abstract (Czech): ABSTRAKT: Globální biodiverzita je stále více ohrožena velkoplošnými antropogenními vlivy, jejichž dopad výrazně akceleroval od dob první průmyslové revoluce po současnost. Nížinné řeky patří mezi nejvíce postižené ekosystémy, neboť prošly staletími hydromorfologických úprav. Nedostatek historických dat však ztěžuje vyhodnocení ztráty jejich biodiverzity od poloviny 20. století, což je kritický milník, kdy dopady lidské činnosti vedly k bezprecedentním ekologickým změnám. Sestavili jsme časové řady záznamů o výskytu jepic, pošvatek a chrostíků (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera a Trichoptera) z devíti českých nížinných řek za uplynulých 140 let, které jsme doplnili environmentálními daty o kvalitě vody a hydroklimatických parametrech za posledních 60 let. Alfa i gama diverzita studovaných skupin setrvale klesala až do 80. let 20. století, poté došlo k částečnému zotavení související se zlepšením kvality vody na přelomu tisíciletí. V posledních desetiletích však zůstává zotavování omezené kvůli přetrvávajícímu znečištění, změnám klimatu a ochuzení regionálního souboru druhů. Druhové složení společenstev se mění predevším v důsledku výměny druhů, což činí návrat k jejich původnímu složení z poloviny minulého století nepravděpodobným. Naše výsledky navíc podtrhují dramatickou ztrátu biodiverzity už v první polovině 20. století, kterou však částečné zotavení řek po roce 1990 nedokázalo zmírnit. K zamezení dalšího poklesu biodiverzity a zachování ekosystémových služeb nížinných řek jsou nezbytná okamžitá opatření. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database: GreenFILE
Description
Abstract:Global biodiversity is increasingly threatened by widespread anthropogenic impacts, which have accelerated since the First Industrial Revolution. Lowland rivers rank among the most affected ecosystems, having undergone centuries of hydromorphological modifications. The scarcity of historical data hampers precise assessments of biodiversity loss in these rivers since 1950, a critical threshold when anthropogenic pressures led to unprecedented ecological change. We compiled a comprehensive dataset of records of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera collected in time series from nine Czech lowland rivers over the past 140 years. Additionally, we integrated environmental data on water quality and hydroclimatic parameters spanning the last 60 years. Both alpha and gamma diversity declined steadily until the 1980s, followed by a partial recovery at the turn of the millennium due to water quality improvements. However, biodiversity recovery has remained limited in recent decades due to persistent pollution, climate change and potential depletion of the regional species pool. Assemblages are undergoing compositional changes driven by species turnover, rendering a return to their mid‐20th‐century baseline unlikely. Our results further highlight a dramatic loss of biodiversity already in the first half of the 20th century, which has not been offset by the partial recovery of rivers observed after 1990. Immediate actions are necessary to prevent further biodiversity decline and safeguard the ecosystem services of lowland rivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:13541013
DOI:10.1111/gcb.70920