Researchers map streamflow alterations to gauge human impact on ecosystems

Altering streamflow can endanger the ecosystems that rely on it, but researchers have lacked data on how human infrastructure has impacted streamflow in the U.S. Now, a study has mapped streamflow alterations across the continental U.S., providing a wealth of data for determining societal impacts on ecosystems. Up to 80 pc of rivers and streams in the contiguous United States have been modified to some degree by human structures. Understanding the relationship between these modifications and ecological responses is key to enacting management policies that balance societal and ecological water needs. The study, published in Nature Scientific Data, notes that although freshwater ecosystems account for less than 0.5% of Earth's surface water, these systems harbor 7% of the world's species and one-third of all vertebrates.