IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i14p5782-d386145.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Are Non-Perennial Rivers Considered as Valuable and Worthy of Conservation as Perennial Rivers?

Author

Listed:
  • Pablo Rodríguez-Lozano

    (Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
    Department of Geography, University of the Balearic Islands, 07122 Palma, Spain)

  • Cleo Woelfle-Erskine

    (School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA)

  • Michael T. Bogan

    (School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA)

  • Stephanie M. Carlson

    (Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA)

Abstract

Non-perennial rivers, watercourses that cease to flow at some point in time and space, are widespread globally but often lack effective protections. Although it is thought that these ecosystems are undervalued by society, empirical studies exploring people’s perceptions of non-perennial rivers are uncommon. We carried out an image-based survey at three U.S. universities to measure students’ perception of riverscapes according to seven characteristics: aesthetics, naturalness, habitat for biodiversity, habitat for fish, need of human intervention, importance for human well-being, and conservation value. Our results showed that non-perennial rivers are generally considered less valuable and worthy of conservation than their perennial counterparts. Furthermore, several factors influenced peoples’ perception of non-perennial rivers, including where they live, their educational history, how often they visit rivers, their leisure activities, and whether they live close to a river. Our findings suggested the need to improve people’s perceptions of non-perennial rivers as a step toward increased protection for these ecosystems. This current challenge demands combined actions by researchers from diverse disciplines and professionals working from different perspectives, including policymakers and educators.

Suggested Citation

  • Pablo Rodríguez-Lozano & Cleo Woelfle-Erskine & Michael T. Bogan & Stephanie M. Carlson, 2020. "Are Non-Perennial Rivers Considered as Valuable and Worthy of Conservation as Perennial Rivers?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-13, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:14:p:5782-:d:386145
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/14/5782/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/14/5782/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jason P. Julian & Graham S. Daly & Russell C. Weaver, 2018. "University Students’ Social Demand of a Blue Space and the Influence of Life Experiences," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-30, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kaletova, Tatiana & Rodriguez-Lozano, Pablo & Berger, Elisabeth & Filipa Filipe, Ana & Logar, Ivana & Helena Alves, Maria & Calleja, Eman J. & Jorda-Capdevila, Didac, 2021. "Considering temporal flow variability of non-perennial rivers in assessing ecosystem service provision," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    2. Aude Zingraff-Hamed & Mathieu Bonnefond & Sebastien Bonthoux & Nicolas Legay & Sabine Greulich & Amélie Robert & Vincent Rotgé & José Serrano & Yixin Cao & Raita Bala & Alvin Vazha & Rebecca E. Tharme, 2021. "Human–River Encounter Sites: Looking for Harmony between Humans and Nature in Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-20, March.
    3. Rubén Ladrera & Pablo Rodríguez-Lozano & Iraima Verkaik & Narcís Prat & José Ramón Díez, 2020. "What Do Students Know about Rivers and Their Management? Analysis by Educational Stages and Territories," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-16, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Christina W. Lopez & Madeline T. Wade & Jason P. Julian, 2023. "Nature–Human Relational Models in a Riverine Social–Ecological System: San Marcos River, TX, USA," Geographies, MDPI, vol. 3(2), pages 1-49, March.
    2. Chien, Herlin & Saito, Osamu, 2021. "Evaluating social–ecological fit in urban stream management: The role of governing institutions in sustainable urban ecosystem service provision," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    3. Argyro Anna Kanelli & Margarita Kokkinaki & Marios-Dimitrios Sinvare & Chrisovalantis Malesios & Panayiotis G. Dimitrakopoulos & Olga-Ioanna Kalantzi, 2023. "Keep Calm and Go Out: Urban Nature Exposure, Mental Health, and Perceived Value during the COVID-19 Lockdown," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-20, May.
    4. Aude Zingraff-Hamed & Mathieu Bonnefond & Sebastien Bonthoux & Nicolas Legay & Sabine Greulich & Amélie Robert & Vincent Rotgé & José Serrano & Yixin Cao & Raita Bala & Alvin Vazha & Rebecca E. Tharme, 2021. "Human–River Encounter Sites: Looking for Harmony between Humans and Nature in Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-20, March.
    5. Matthew L. Richardson & Ashley D. Milton & Elgloria Harrison, 2020. "People with Different Educational Attainment in Washington, DC, USA have Differential Knowledge and Perceptions about Environmental Issues," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-19, March.
    6. Erik D. Slawsky & Joel C. Hoffman & Kristen N. Cowan & Kristen M. Rappazzo, 2022. "Beneficial Use Impairments, Degradation of Aesthetics, and Human Health: A Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-17, May.
    7. Liangjian Yang & Kaijun Cao, 2022. "Cultural Ecosystem Services Research Progress and Future Prospects: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-18, September.
    8. Madeline T. Wade & Jason P. Julian & Kevin S. Jeffery & Sarah M. Davidson, 2023. "A Participatory Approach to Assess Social Demand and Value of Urban Waterscapes: A Case Study in San Marcos, Texas, USA," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-39, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:14:p:5782-:d:386145. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.