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Effects of water level regulation in alpine hydropower reservoirs: an ecosystem perspective with a special emphasis on fish

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Abstract

Sustainable development of hydropower demands a holistic view of potential impacts of water level regulation (WLR) on reservoir ecosystems. Most environmental studies of hydropower have focused on rivers, whereas environmental effects of hydropower operations on reservoirs are less well understood. Here, we synthesize knowledge on how WLR from hydropower affects alpine lake ecosystems and highlight the fundamental factors that shape the environmental impacts of WLR. Our analysis of these impacts ranges from abiotic conditions to lower trophic levels and ultimately to fish. We conclude that the environmental effects are complex and case-specific and thus considering the operational regime of WLR (i.e. amplitude, timing, frequency, and rate of change) as well as the reservoir’s morphometry, geology and biotic community are prerequisites for any reliable predictions. Finally, we indicate promising avenues for future research and argue that recording and sharing of data, views and demands among different stakeholders, including operators, researchers and the public, is necessary for the sustainable development of hydropower in alpine lakes.

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Picture credits: Philipp Hirsch: (A); Nils Roar Sælthun: (B)

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Acknowledgements

The study was part of the projects HydroBalance, BiWA, and ECCO (228714, 221410, 224779) as well as the FME-centre CEDREN (193818), all funded by the Research Council of Norway. PE Hirsch was supported by the Research Centre for Sustainable Energy and Water Supply (FoNEW) at the University of Basel and is grateful to Prof. P. Burkhardt-Holm for providing infrastructure and support. J Sánchez-Hernández was supported by a postdoctoral grant from the Galician Plan for Research, Innovation, and Growth 2011–2015 (Plan I2C, Xunta de Galicia). Additionally, H. Yang was supported by Open Research Fund Program of State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science, Wuhan University (No. 2015HLG02).

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Research Centre for Sustainable Energy and Water Supply, University of Basel, Vesalgasse 1, 4051, Basel, Switzerland

      Philipp E. Hirsch

    2. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), P.O. Box 5685, Sluppen, 7485, Trondheim, Norway

      Antti P. Eloranta, Ingeborg P. Helland, Odd Terje Sandlund, Sigrid Skoglund & Ola Ugedal

    3. Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 9037, Tromsø, Norway

      Per-Arne Amundsen

    4. Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1172 Blindem, 0318, Oslo, Norway

      Åge Brabrand

    5. SINTEF Energy Research, P.O. Box 4761, Sluppen, 7465, Trondheim, Norway

      Julie Charmasson

    6. Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, Canada

      Michael Power

    7. Departamento de Zooloxía, Xenética e Antropoloxía Física, Facultade de Bioloxía, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus Vida s/n, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, España

      Javier Sánchez-Hernández

    8. Sweco Norway, Professor Brochs gate 2, 7030, Trondheim, Norway

      Julian F. Sauterleute

    9. Department of Biosciences, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), University of Oslo, Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway

      Hong Yang

    10. Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), Pb 115, 1431, Ås, Norway

      Hong Yang

    11. State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China

      Hong Yang

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    1. Philipp E. Hirsch
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    13. Hong Yang
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    Correspondence to Philipp E. Hirsch.

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    Handling editor: Koen Martens

    Philipp E. Hirsch and Antti P. Eloranta contributed equally to this work.

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    Hirsch, P.E., Eloranta, A.P., Amundsen, PA. et al. Effects of water level regulation in alpine hydropower reservoirs: an ecosystem perspective with a special emphasis on fish. Hydrobiologia 794, 287–301 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-017-3105-7

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-017-3105-7

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