Free-flowing rivers (FFRs) support a complex, dynamic and diverse range of global ecosystems, and provide important economic and societal services.
However, infrastructure built to use these services — most notably 2.8 million dams worldwide — has caused many rivers to become fragmented and disconnected, affecting river biodiversity and ecosystem services. This study constructed a global information system with which to map the fine-scale dynamics and fragmentation of FFRs and to determine how human pressures affect the world’s river systems…read more
Fuente: ec.europa.eu