EARLY HEARING DETECTION AND INTERVENTION VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
MARCH 2-5, 2021

(Virtually the same conference, without elevators, airplane tickets, or hotel room keys)

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5/27/2021 | 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM | SMALL HYDROPOWER PLANTS - SMALL ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT? INSIGHTS FROM A MULTI-ANNUAL BACI ANALYSIS IN THE ITALIAN ALPS | Virtual Platform

SMALL HYDROPOWER PLANTS - SMALL ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT? INSIGHTS FROM A MULTI-ANNUAL BACI ANALYSIS IN THE ITALIAN ALPS

The increasing incentives stemming from numerous initiatives promoting sustainable energy production have led to a global success of small hydropower plants. Nonetheless, the debate about the actual environmental impact of these kinds of structures on the riverine ecosystems has been growing, up to the point that some authors argue that their impact might be greater than that of large hydropower plants. However, a thorough evaluation of a case study following a “Before-After-Control-Impact” (BACI) design has not yet been conducted. Using aquatic macroinvertebrates as a proxy of changes in running-water environments and combining generalized linear mixed model (GLMMs), spatial and temporal beta-diversity quantification and variability assessments, we show that a small “run-of-river” hydropower plant located on a glacier-fed stream in the Italian Alps had no impact on the riverine ecosystem. Our results underline the importance of an unbiased approach to strategic energetic planning, but also the need for decision-makers to pursue informed and empirically based trade-off policies concerning water management issues.

Global change
Biodiversity
Policy

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Presenters/Authors

Alberto Scotti (), Institute for Alpine Environment, Eurac Research, Italy, alberto.scotti@eurac.edu;