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Historical rise of waterpower initiated the collapse of salmon stocks.

ABSTRACT: The collapse of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) stocks throughout North-Western Europe is generally ascribed to large-scale river regulation, water pollution and over-fishing in the 19(th) and 20(th) century. However, other causes have rarely been quantified, especially those acting before the 19(th) century. By analysing historical fishery, market and tax statistics, independently confirmed by archaeozoological records, we demonstrate that populations declined by up to 90% during the transitional period between the Early Middle Ages (c. 450-900 AD) and Early Modern Times (c. 1600 AD). These dramatic declines coincided with improvements in watermill technology and their geographical expansion across Europe. Our extrapolations suggest that historical Atlantic salmon runs must have once been very abundant indeed. The historical perspective presented here contributes to a better understanding of the primary factors that led to major declines in salmon populations. Such understanding provides an essential basis for the effective ecological rehabilitation of freshwater ecosystems.

SUBMITTER: Lenders HJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4951639 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Historical rise of waterpower initiated the collapse of salmon stocks.

Lenders H J R HJ Chamuleau T P M TP Hendriks A J AJ Lauwerier R C G M RC Leuven R S E W RS Verberk W C E P WC

Scientific reports 20160720

The collapse of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) stocks throughout North-Western Europe is generally ascribed to large-scale river regulation, water pollution and over-fishing in the 19(th) and 20(th) century. However, other causes have rarely been quantified, especially those acting before the 19(th) century. By analysing historical fishery, market and tax statistics, independently confirmed by archaeozoological records, we demonstrate that populations declined by up to 90% during the transitional ...[more]

PMID: 27435118

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Project description:BackgroundForests in the Far North of Ontario (FNO), Canada, are likely the least studied in North America, and quantifying their current and future carbon (C) stocks is the first step in assessing their potential role in climate change mitigation. Although the FNO forests are unmanaged, the latter task is made more important by growing interest in developing the region's natural resources, primarily for timber harvesting. In this study, we used a combination of field and remotely sensed observations with a land surface model to estimate forest C stocks in the FNO forests and to project their future dynamics. The specific objective was to simulate historical C stocks for 1901-2014 and future C stocks for 2015-2100 for five shared socioeconomic pathway (SSP) scenarios selected as high priority scenarios for the 6th Assessment Report on Climate Change.ResultsCarbon stocks in live vegetation in the FNO forests remained relatively stable between 1901 and 2014 while soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks steadily declined, losing about 16% of their initial value. At the end of the historical simulation (in 2014), the stocks were estimated at 19.8, 46.4, and 66.2 tCha-1 in live vegetation, SOC, and total ecosystem pools, respectively. Projections for 2015-2100 indicated effectively no substantial change in SOC stocks, while live vegetation C stocks increased, accelerating their growth in the second half of the twenty-first century. These results were consistent among all simulated SSP scenarios. Consequently, increase in total forest ecosystem C stocks by 2100 ranged from 16.7 to 20.7% of their value in 2015. Simulations with and without wildfires showed the strong effect of fire on forest C stock dynamics during 2015-2100: inclusion of wildfires reduced the live vegetation increase by half while increasing the SOC pool due to higher turnover of vegetation C to SOC.ConclusionsForest ecosystem C stock estimates at the end of historical simulation period were at the lower end but within the range of values reported in the literature for northern boreal forests. These estimates may be treated as conservatively low since the area included in the estimates is poorly studied and some of the forests may be on peat deposits rather than mineral soils. Future C stocks were projected to increase in all simulated SSP scenarios, especially in the second half of the twenty-first century. Thus, during the projected period forest ecosystems of the FNO are likely to act as a C sink. In light of growing interest in developing natural resources in the FNO, collecting more data on the status and dynamics of its forests is needed to verify the above-presented estimates and design management activities that would maintain their projected C sink status.

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Historical rise of waterpower initiated the collapse of salmon stocks.

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Historical rise of waterpower initiated the collapse of salmon stocks.

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