Plenary speakers

Geta Rîșnoveanu is a Professor at the Department of Systems Ecology and Sustainability, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest. She was the Head of the department (2011-2019) and currently is the director of the Doctoral School in Ecology. Her research activities mainly addressed the structure and productivity of freshwaters; mechanisms of biological productivity and material and energetic fluxes in eutrophicated systems; aquatic–terrestrial interrelationships, the role of riparian buffers for maintaining aquatic biodiversity and ecological processes; species role in biogeochemical cycles; relationships between anthropogenic drivers, biodiversity and ecosystem functioning; structural and functional indices in the monitoring of ecological systems; and conservation of biodiversity. Her research approached streams, lakes, riparian zones and wetlands in the Danube River Basin. Considering the challenges posed by implementing sustainable development principles, she became increasingly involved in research focused on the value of biodiversity to society for better assistance in the policy-making process. She was involved in projects aiming to assess ecosystem services and the species' role as service-providing units for socio-economic systems. She has participated in 24 funded national and 23 international projects, being the principal investigator of 15 of them. Prof. Rîșnoveanu has a broad international network, reflected in the number of projects and published papers' collaborators and invitations as an invited professor abroad (e.g., several times in Lille, Paris, Vienna). She has (co-) authored +100 publications, including several in top journals such as Science, Science Advances, Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, and Global Biogeochemical Cycles. Her papers accumulated +1850 citations (Google Scholar - June 2023). She contributed to more than 150 presentations at meetings and national and international conferences. She has a long experience in human resource development and training of the decision-makers who are involved in the implementation of the EU policy concerning biodiversity conservation and sustainable management. She was very active in opening the universities towards the needs of policymakers and managers of natural capital and sustainable development. Dr Rîşnoveanu acts as the main advisor and supervisor of master's and PhD students in Ecology. To date, she has supervised 5 finished PhDs and is currently supervising 11 more. She is the national representative for the European Federation of Freshwater Sciences, a SRE and IAD member. 

A SPATIAL SCALE PERSPECTIVE ON THE IMPACT OF ANTHROPOGENIC FACTORS ON BIOTIC COMMUNITIES AND ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES IN STREAMS

Geta RÎȘNOVEANU
University of Bucharest, Faculty of Biology, Department of Systems Ecology, Doctoral School of Ecology
Abstract
Streams and their associated riparian zones are essential components of the landscape. They are vital drinking water sources, support diverse aquatic and terrestrial species, and play crucial roles in nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration. Despite their importance, which far exceeds their proportion of land cover, stream-riparian networks are subject to multiple human-induced changes which threaten freshwater biodiversity, cross-habitat linkages, and ecosystem services provision. A spatial scale perspective is essential to understand anthropogenic factors' impact on biotic communities and ecological processes. This paper aims to identify the key drivers that shape stream communities at different spatial scales and demonstrate how riparian habitat changes affect aquatic communities and ecosystem processes. It presents results obtained in catchments with varying land use intensities (from pristine conditions to those dominated by agriculture or a mixture of agriculture and urban land use), along streams with different riparian zones typologies (from those flowing through true forests, to streams with and without woody vegetation buffers). The results demonstrate that a suite of hierarchically nested bio-physical processes operating at varying spatial scales controls stream-riparian systems. The local environmental context plays an essential role in shaping those complex interrelationships. A comprehensive understanding of the drivers of stream-riparian systems changes allows the development of more effective management strategies to protect these critical freshwater ecosystems, the species that depend on them, and the vital freshwater ecosystem services they provide.

Keywords: streams, riparian zones, aquatic communities, litter decomposition, spatial scales, land-use