The recovery of European freshwater biodiversity has come to a halt

Abstract Owing to a long history of anthropogenic pressures, freshwater ecosystems are among the most vulnerable to biodiversity loss 1 . Mitigation measures, including wastewater treatment and hydromorphological restoration, have aimed to improve environmental quality and foster the recovery of freshwater biodiversity 2 . Here, using 1,816 time series of freshwater invertebrate communities collected across 22 European countries between 1968 and 2020, we quantified temporal trends in taxonomic and functional diversity and their responses to environmental pressures and gradients. We observed overall increases in taxon richness (0.73% per year), functional richness (2.4% per year) and abundance (1.17% per year).…

• SR
  Sight Research UK

  Awards: NE/R016429/1, NE/V006886/1
• NE
  Natural Environment Research Council

  Awards: NE/V006886/1, NE/R016429/1