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The recovery of European freshwater biodiversity has come to a halt
Nature2023
289 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 70
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Florian Altermatt,
Peter Haase,
J. Iwan Jones,
J. Iwan Jones,
J. Iwan Jones,
Thibault Datry,
Maria João Feio,
Rachel Stubbington,
Ralf B. Schäfer,
Peter Goethals,
Peter Goethals,
Zoltán Csabai,
Brendan G. McKie,
Miguel Cañedo‐Argüelles,
Judy England,
Emilia Varadinova,
Diana E. Bowler,
J. Iwan Jones,
Ellen A. R. Welti
Florian Altermatt,
Peter Goethals,
John F. Murphy,
Richard K. Johnson,
Nikolai Friberg,
Marie Anne Eurie Forio,
Tor Erik Eriksen,
Miguel Cañedo‐Argüelles,
Thibault Datry,
J. Iwan Jones,
J. Iwan Jones,
Florian Altermatt,
Nathan Jay Baker,
Florian Altermatt,
J. Iwan Jones,
J. Iwan Jones,
J. Iwan Jones,
Nikolai Friberg,
Nikolai Friberg,
David G. Angeler,
John F. Murphy,
Gaute Velle,
Núria Bonada,
J. Iwan Jones,
J. Iwan Jones,
R.C.M. Verdonschot,
Florian Altermatt,
Peter Haase,
Peter Goethals,
Rachel Stubbington,
Sami Domisch,
David Sánchez‐Fernández,
J. Iwan Jones,
Peter Goethals,
Jaime Márquez,
Nikolai Friberg,
Jaime Márquez,
Daniel Hering,
Sonja C. Jähnig,
J. Iwan Jones,
Jaime Márquez,
Jaime Márquez,
Zoltán Csabai,
Brendan G. McKie,
Sami Domisch,
Jani Heino,
Zoltán Csabai,
Thomas C. Jensen,
Thibault Datry,
Daniel Hering,
Sonja C. Jähnig,
Brendan G. McKie,
Astrid Schmidt‐Kloiber,
Gábor Várbíró,
Thibault Datry,
Aitor Larrañaga,
Rachel Stubbington,
Florian Altermatt,
Peter Goethals,
Mario Álvarez‐Cabria,
Miguel Cañedo‐Argüelles,
Giuseppe Amatulli,
Miguel Cañedo‐Argüelles,
Miguel Cañedo‐Argüelles,
David G. Angeler,
Gaït Archambaud‐Suard,
Iñaki Arrate Jorrín,
Iñaki Arrate Jorrín,
Thomas W. H. Aspin,
Iker Azpiroz,
Iker Azpiroz,
Iñaki Bañares,
Iñaki Bañares,
José Barquín,
Christian L. Bodin,
Elvira de Eyto,
Elvira de Eyto,
Sonja C. Jähnig,
Christian L. Bodin,
Luca Bonacina,
Roberta Bottarin,
Miguel Cañedo‐Argüelles,
Zoltán Csabai,
Thibault Datry,
Elvira de Eyto,
Alain Dohet,
Gerald Dörflinger,
Emma Drohan,
Knut Andreas Eikland,
Judy England,
Tor Erik Eriksen,
David Sánchez‐Fernández,
Vesela Evtimova,
Maria João Feio,
Martial Ferréol,
Mathieu Floury,
Maxence Forcellini,
Marie Anne Eurie Forio,
David Sánchez‐Fernández,
David Sánchez‐Fernández,
Riccardo Fornaroli,
Nikolai Friberg,
Jean‐François Fruget,
Jean‐François Fruget,
Galia Georgieva,
Peter Goethals,
Manuel A. S. Graça,
Wolfram Graf,
Andy House,
Andy House,
Kaisa‐Leena Huttunen,
Thomas C. Jensen,
Richard K. Johnson,
J. Iwan Jones,
Jens Kiesel,
Lenka Kuglerová,
Aitor Larrañaga,
Patrick Leitner,
Lionel L’Hoste,
Marie‐Hélène Lizée,
Armin W. Lorenz,
Anthony Maire,
J.A. Arnaiz,
J.A. Arnaiz,
Brendan G. McKie,
Andrés Millán,
Don Monteith,
Timo Muotka,
John F. Murphy,
Dāvis Ozoliņš,
Riku Paavola,
Petr Pařil,
Francisco J. Peñas,
Francesca Pilotto,
Marek Polášek,
Jes Jessen Rasmussen,
Manu Rubio,
David Sánchez‐Fernández,
Leonard Sandin,
Ralf B. Schäfer,
Alberto Scotti,
Longzhu Q. Shen,
Agnija Skuja,
Stefan Stoll,
Michal Straka,
Henn Timm,
Henn Timm,
Violeta Tyufekchieva,
Iakovos Tziortzis,
Y. Uzunov,
Peter Goethals,
Y. Uzunov,
Gea H. van der Lee,
Rudy Vannevel,
Emilia Varadinova,
Gábor Várbíró,
Gaute Velle,
P.F.M. Verdonschot,
R.C.M. Verdonschot,
Yanka Vidinova,
Peter Wiberg‐Larsen,
Ellen A. R. Welti
Summary
Researchers analyzed 1,816 freshwater invertebrate community datasets from 22 European countries spanning 1968 to 2020, finding that biodiversity recovered steadily through the 1990s and 2000s thanks to water quality improvements, but has largely plateaued since the 2010s. Emerging threats including climate warming, emerging pollutants like microplastics, and invasive species are now offsetting earlier conservation gains, signaling that stronger protections are urgently needed.
Owing to a long history of anthropogenic pressures, freshwater ecosystems are among the most vulnerable to biodiversity loss<sup>1</sup>. Mitigation measures, including wastewater treatment and hydromorphological restoration, have aimed to improve environmental quality and foster the recovery of freshwater biodiversity<sup>2</sup>. Here, using 1,816 time series of freshwater invertebrate communities collected across 22 European countries between 1968 and 2020, we quantified temporal trends in taxonomic and functional diversity and their responses to environmental pressures and gradients. We observed overall increases in taxon richness (0.73% per year), functional richness (2.4% per year) and abundance (1.17% per year). However, these increases primarily occurred before the 2010s, and have since plateaued. Freshwater communities downstream of dams, urban areas and cropland were less likely to experience recovery. Communities at sites with faster rates of warming had fewer gains in taxon richness, functional richness and abundance. Although biodiversity gains in the 1990s and 2000s probably reflect the effectiveness of water-quality improvements and restoration projects, the decelerating trajectory in the 2010s suggests that the current measures offer diminishing returns. Given new and persistent pressures on freshwater ecosystems, including emerging pollutants, climate change and the spread of invasive species, we call for additional mitigation to revive the recovery of freshwater biodiversity.