Towards a general framework for the assessment of interactive effects of multiple stressors on aquatic ecosystems: Results from the Making Aquatic Ecosystems Great Again (MAEGA) workshop.

A workshop was held in Wageningen, The Netherlands, in September 2017 to collate data and literature on three aquatic ecosystem types (agricultural drainage ditches, urban floodplains, and urban estuaries), and develop a general framework for the assessment of multiple stressors on the structure and functioning of these systems. An assessment framework considering multiple stressors is crucial for our understanding of ecosystem responses within a multiply stressed environment, and to inform appropriate environmental management strategies. The framework consists of two components: (i) problem identification and (ii) impact assessment.

Urbanisation of floodplain ecosystems: Weight-of-evidence and network meta-analysis elucidate multiple stressor pathways.

Freshwater floodplains are dynamic, diverse ecosystems that represent important transition zones between terrestrial, riparian, subsurface and aquatic habitats. Given their historic importance in human development, floodplains have been exposed to a variety of pressures, which in combination have been instrumental in driving changes within these ecosystems. Here, we present an evidence-based framework to explore direct and indirect effects of pressures and stressors on floodplain ecosystems and test this structure within the urban landscape.