Saving freshwater from salts: Ion-specific standards are needed to protect biodiversity

Miguel Canedo-Arguelles, Charles Hawkins, Ben KEFFORD, R Schäfer, Brenda DYACK, Sandra Brucet, David B Buchwalter, Jason Dunlop, Oliver Fror, James M. Lazorchak, Eckhard Coring, H. R. Fernandez, W Goodfellow, Ana Lucia Gonzalez Achem, Steve Hatfield-Dodds, Bakhtiyor K Karimov, P Mensah, J.R Olson, Christophe Piscart, Narcís PratS Ponsa, Claus-Jürgen Schulz, Anthony J Timpano

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

256 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Many human activities—like agriculture and resource extraction—are increasing the total concentration of dissolved inorganic salts (i.e., salinity) in freshwaters. Increasing salinity can have adverse effects on human health (1); increase the costs of water treatment for human consumption; and damage infrastructure [e.g., amounting to $700 million per year in the Border Rivers catchment, Australia (2)]. It can also reduce freshwater biodiversity (3); alter ecosystem functions (4); and affect economic well-being by altering ecosystem goods and services (e.g., fisheries collapse). Yet water-quality legislation and regulations that target salinity typically focus on drinking water and irrigation water, which does not automatically protect biodiversity. For example, specific electrical conductivities (a proxy for salinity) of 2 mS/cm can be acceptable for drinking and irrigation but could extirpate many freshwater insect species (3). We argue that salinity standards for specific ions and ion mixtures, not just for total salinity, should be developed and legally enforced to protect freshwater life and ecosystem services. We identify barriers to setting such standards and recommend management guidelines
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)914-916
Number of pages3
JournalScience
Volume351
Issue number6276
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Saving freshwater from salts: Ion-specific standards are needed to protect biodiversity'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this