Geraldes, Ana MariaCalheiros-Nogueira, BrunoCalheiros, Cristina2023-02-132023-02-132020Geraldes, Ana Maria; Nogueira, Bruno; Calheiros, Cristina (2020). Nature-based solutions to support the management of aquatic ecosystems: potential application of floating islands to Fervença river. In Blue Think Conference 2020 Share Science, Spread Knowledge. Porto978-989-54965-0-1http://hdl.handle.net/10198/26923Accordingly to The United Nations World Water Development Report 2018, “Nature-based solutions (NBS) are inspired and supported by nature and use, or mimic, natural processes to contribute to the improved management of water”. They delivery a wide range of ecosystem services depending on their configurations and purpose of aplication, being widely applied for ecosystems restoration. The restoration of ecosystems is a top priority has declared by the United Nations General Assembly, being 2021 - 2030 the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. To meet the current challenges, it is thus important to look closely to the threatened ecosystems such the ones found in urban rivers and streams, that are under severe anthropogenic pressures. The Fervença River, located into Portuguese part of the Douro basin (latitude: 41º47’N; longitude 6º46’W), is about 25 km long and it is regarded as an urban river, because flows through the city of Bragança. Along its course it encounters nonpoint sources of pollution, originated by agricultural activities, and point sources of pollution from some villages located in the vicinity. The introduction of nature-based solutions, such floating wetland islands, to support the ecosystem rehabilitation of this heavily arterialized and modified river section, can contribute to (1) reduce nutrient concentrations in the water and thus, the algal blooms; (2) recreation of lost fluvial habitats, contributing to the increase of the biodiversity levels. The objective of the present approach is to evaluate the technical and economic viability of the installation of Floating islands - one of bioengineering technologies considered nature-based - in this highly modified section of the Fervença River. If viable, this solution could assist the improvement of ecological and visual quality of the surrounding urban area.engEcosystem servicesUrban riverBiodiversityWater managementWater quality river restorationconference object