A joint study by the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Global Change Research Institute of Rey Juan Carlos University has analyzed the response of aquatic fungi to human activity, concluding that the climate crisis poses a significant threat to the microbial biodiversity of river ecosystems.
Aquatic fungi play a fundamental role in river balance, participating in organic matter decomposition, pollutant degradation, and nutrient cycles. The research indicates that rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, and the loss of riparian vegetation, consequences of climate change, compromise their diversity and biological functions.
According to Aida Viza, a UB researcher, the reduction of vegetation cover along riverbanks increases solar radiation and temperature, negatively impacting fungi. Surprisingly, an increase in chemical compounds like nitrates and phosphates, common in agriculture and urban impacts, has not significantly affected fungal biodiversity, possibly due to the abundance of nutrients in Iberian rivers.
The study highlights the resilience of microbial activity in river sediments, which offer stable humidity and temperature conditions. However, Viza warns that the sediment's refuge capacity is limited against the intensification of climate impacts.
The research, part of the Iberian Rivers Observatory (IberRios), involved nineteen scientists from various universities and research institutes in Spain, Portugal, Germany, and Switzerland, collecting data from 62 Iberian rivers.
The findings underscore the importance of these discoveries for river management. It is proposed that measures such as riparian revegetation to increase shade and limiting water extraction, especially in summer, are crucial for preserving aquatic fungi biodiversity, beyond just reducing nitrates and phosphates.
