Riparian areas in non-perennial rivers, the great forgotten in river management

Abstract

Riparian areas play a crucial role in terms of biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services supply, both in perennial and non-perennial rivers. Riparian vegetation is a key indicator for the detection and analysis of human impacts on aquatic ecosystems. Despite the prevalence and importance of non-perennial rivers at global scale, these fluvial ecosystems and their riparian areas are not usually considered in river or terrestrial biomonitoring, management and policies, which has contributed to increase their level of threat. The riparian zones of non-perennial rivers can be considered "doubly" neglected by river management because of their transitional character between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and the undervaluation of non-perennial rivers and their associated biological communities. We propose that the biomonitoring and assessment of riparian communities in non-perennial rivers should be urgently incorporated into spatial planning, watershed management plans and environmental policies and regulations for both rivers and surrounding terrestrial ecosystems.