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ARTICLE IN Volume 14, 2019 - Number 2

THE ASSESSMENT OF LOTIC ECOSYSTEMS DEGRADATION USING MULTI-CRITERIA ANALYSIS AND GIS TECHNIQUES



Cristiana Maria CIOCĂNEA1, Petru Ciprian CORPADE2, Diana Andreea ONOSE1, Gabriel Ovidiu VÂNĂU1, Cristian MALOȘ3, Milca PETROVICI4, Carmen GHEORGHE5, Silvia DEDU6, Nicolae MANTA7 & Róbert Eugen SZÉP8
1Centre for Environmental Research and Impact Studies, University of Bucharest, 1 Nicolae Bălcescu Blvd., Sector 1, Bucharest, Romania, email: cristianamaria.ciocanea@g.unibuc.ro, dianaandreea.onose@g.unibuc.ro, gabriel.vanau@geo.unibuc.ro
2Babeș-Bolyai University, Faculty of Geography, 5-7 Clinicilor Street, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, ciprian.corpade@geografie.ubbcluj.ro
3Babeș-Bolyai University, Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, 30 Fântânele St., Cluj-Napoca, Romania, cristi.malos@gmail.com
4West University of Timisoara, Faculty of Chemistry, Biology, Geography, 16 Pestalozzi Street, Timișoara, Romania, email: milcapetrovici@yahoo.com
5National Institute of Economic Research, 13 Septembrie 13, Bucharest, Romania, carmen.adriana@ince.ro
6The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 6 Piața Romană, Bucharest, Romania, email: silvia.dedu@csie.ase.ro
7Ministry of the Environment, Department of Biodiversity, Bucharest, Romania. e-mail: nicolae.manta@mmediu.ro
8National Environmental Guard, Unirii Boulevard 78, Bucharest, Romania


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Abstract

Proper assessments of degradation for lotic ecosystems are of a great importance, given that they provide essential ecosystem services and host some of the most endangered habitats. Currently, one of the most frequently used ways to assess lotic ecosystems integrity is the Water Framework Directive. It implies but important investments in material and human resources, while it is also time consuming. The implementation of a set of indicators, based on available public data, with the aim of assessing the lotic ecosystems integrity could be a good alternative, especially when focusing on large territories. The current study aims at creating a methodology to assess the degradation level of lotic ecosystems, by integrating the above-mentioned indicators into a GIS based multicriteria analysis. The proposed methodology was applied on a sector of one of the most important rivers in Romania, Mureș. The results we have achieved roved the efficacy of this method. In analyses of this kind, the accuracy of the output is directly related to the quality of input data (resolution, update and generalization level), thus a key element in our research was to process and compatibilize the available data to increase accuracy.

Keywords:

  • lotic
  • ecosystem
  • habitat
  • degradation
  • indicators
  • methodology

How to cite

THE ASSESSMENT OF LOTIC ECOSYSTEMS DEGRADATION USING MULTI-CRITERIA ANALYSIS AND GIS TECHNIQUES, Carpathian Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences, August 2019, Vol. 14, No. 2, p. 255 - 268; DOI:10.26471/cjees/2019/014/077

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