Articles | Volume 26, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3315-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3315-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
01 Jul 2022
Research article |
| 01 Jul 2022
| 01 Jul 2022
Globally widespread and increasing violations of environmental flow envelopes
Water and Development Research Group, Aalto University, Espoo,
Finland
Elina Alanärä
Water and Development Research Group, Aalto University, Espoo,
Finland
Miina Porkka
Water and Development Research Group, Aalto University, Espoo,
Finland
Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere, Royal Swedish Academy
of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden
Lauri Ahopelto
Water and Development Research Group, Aalto University, Espoo,
Finland
Freshwater Centre, Finnish Environment Institute, Helsinki, Finland
Tom Gleeson
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria,
British Columbia, Canada
School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria,
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Chinchu Mohan
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria,
British Columbia, Canada
Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan,
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Lan Wang-Erlandsson
Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm,
Sweden
Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm,
Sweden
Martina Flörke
Institute of Engineering Hydrology and Water Resources Management,
Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
Dieter Gerten
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the
Leibniz Association, Potsdam, Germany
Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin,
Germany
Simon N. Gosling
School of Geography, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7
2RD, United Kingdom
Naota Hanasaki
Center for Climate Change Adaptation, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Japan
Hannes Müller Schmied
Institute of Physical Geography, Goethe University Frankfurt,
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Senckenberg Leibniz Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre
(SBiK-F), Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Niko Wanders
Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the
Netherlands
Water and Development Research Group, Aalto University, Espoo,
Finland
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Cited
21 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Integrating Sentinel 2 Imagery with High-Resolution Elevation Data for Automated Inundation Monitoring in Vegetated Floodplain Wetlands J. Heath et al. 10.3390/rs16132434
- Catchment-scale assessment of drought impact on environmental flow in the Indus Basin, Pakistan K. Rahman et al. 10.5194/nhess-24-2191-2024
- Assessment of ecological water scarcity in China K. Liu et al. 10.1088/1748-9326/ac95b0
- Globally widespread and increasing violations of environmental flow envelopes V. Virkki et al. 10.5194/hess-26-3315-2022
- Notable shifts beyond pre-industrial streamflow and soil moisture conditions transgress the planetary boundary for freshwater change M. Porkka et al. 10.1038/s44221-024-00208-7
- Archetypal flow regime change classes and their associations with anthropogenic drivers of global streamflow alterations V. Virkki et al. 10.1088/2515-7620/ad9439
- Anthropogenic climate change has influenced global river flow seasonality H. Wang et al. 10.1126/science.adi9501
- Identifying Structural Priors in a Hybrid Differentiable Model for Stream Water Temperature Modeling F. Rahmani et al. 10.1029/2023WR034420
- A framework for evaluating the combined effects of water transfer and storage strategies on water stress alleviation S. Tong et al. 10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112542
- Understanding the transgression of global and regional freshwater planetary boundaries A. Pastor et al. 10.1098/rsta.2021.0294
- Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries K. Richardson et al. 10.1126/sciadv.adh2458
- The water–climate nexus: Intersections across sectors T. Gunda et al. 10.1002/wat2.1759
- A diagnostic framework to reveal future clean water scarcity in a changing climate S. Tong et al. 10.1016/j.ejrh.2024.102040
- Multiple planetary boundaries preclude biomass crops for carbon capture and storage outside of agricultural areas J. Braun et al. 10.1038/s43247-025-02033-6
- Testing and applying baseflow approaches to environmental flow needs H. Chen & Q. Li 10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.110363
- Limited comparability of global and local estimates of environmental flow requirements to sustain river ecosystems M. Messager et al. 10.1088/1748-9326/ad1cb5
- Tracking grid-level freshwater boundary exceedance along global supply chains from consumption to impact S. Hou et al. 10.1038/s44221-025-00420-z
- Poor correlation between large-scale environmental flow violations and freshwater biodiversity: implications for water resource management and the freshwater planetary boundary C. Mohan et al. 10.5194/hess-26-6247-2022
- Review of Quantitative Applications of the Concept of the Water Planetary Boundary at Different Spatial Scales S. Han et al. 10.1029/2022WR033646
- Mapping hydrologic alteration and ecological consequences in stream reaches of the conterminous United States R. McManamay et al. 10.1038/s41597-022-01566-1
- Ecological Water Requirement Accounting of the Main Stream of the Yellow River From the Perspective of Habitat Conservation F. Zhao et al. 10.3389/fevo.2022.907162
19 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Integrating Sentinel 2 Imagery with High-Resolution Elevation Data for Automated Inundation Monitoring in Vegetated Floodplain Wetlands J. Heath et al. 10.3390/rs16132434
- Catchment-scale assessment of drought impact on environmental flow in the Indus Basin, Pakistan K. Rahman et al. 10.5194/nhess-24-2191-2024
- Assessment of ecological water scarcity in China K. Liu et al. 10.1088/1748-9326/ac95b0
- Globally widespread and increasing violations of environmental flow envelopes V. Virkki et al. 10.5194/hess-26-3315-2022
- Notable shifts beyond pre-industrial streamflow and soil moisture conditions transgress the planetary boundary for freshwater change M. Porkka et al. 10.1038/s44221-024-00208-7
- Archetypal flow regime change classes and their associations with anthropogenic drivers of global streamflow alterations V. Virkki et al. 10.1088/2515-7620/ad9439
- Anthropogenic climate change has influenced global river flow seasonality H. Wang et al. 10.1126/science.adi9501
- Identifying Structural Priors in a Hybrid Differentiable Model for Stream Water Temperature Modeling F. Rahmani et al. 10.1029/2023WR034420
- A framework for evaluating the combined effects of water transfer and storage strategies on water stress alleviation S. Tong et al. 10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112542
- Understanding the transgression of global and regional freshwater planetary boundaries A. Pastor et al. 10.1098/rsta.2021.0294
- Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries K. Richardson et al. 10.1126/sciadv.adh2458
- The water–climate nexus: Intersections across sectors T. Gunda et al. 10.1002/wat2.1759
- A diagnostic framework to reveal future clean water scarcity in a changing climate S. Tong et al. 10.1016/j.ejrh.2024.102040
- Multiple planetary boundaries preclude biomass crops for carbon capture and storage outside of agricultural areas J. Braun et al. 10.1038/s43247-025-02033-6
- Testing and applying baseflow approaches to environmental flow needs H. Chen & Q. Li 10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.110363
- Limited comparability of global and local estimates of environmental flow requirements to sustain river ecosystems M. Messager et al. 10.1088/1748-9326/ad1cb5
- Tracking grid-level freshwater boundary exceedance along global supply chains from consumption to impact S. Hou et al. 10.1038/s44221-025-00420-z
- Poor correlation between large-scale environmental flow violations and freshwater biodiversity: implications for water resource management and the freshwater planetary boundary C. Mohan et al. 10.5194/hess-26-6247-2022
- Review of Quantitative Applications of the Concept of the Water Planetary Boundary at Different Spatial Scales S. Han et al. 10.1029/2022WR033646
2 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Mapping hydrologic alteration and ecological consequences in stream reaches of the conterminous United States R. McManamay et al. 10.1038/s41597-022-01566-1
- Ecological Water Requirement Accounting of the Main Stream of the Yellow River From the Perspective of Habitat Conservation F. Zhao et al. 10.3389/fevo.2022.907162
Latest update: 08 May 2025
Short summary
Direct and indirect human actions have altered streamflow across the world since pre-industrial times. Here, we apply a method of environmental flow envelopes (EFEs) that develops the existing global environmental flow assessments by methodological advances and better consideration of uncertainty. By assessing the violations of the EFE, we comprehensively quantify the frequency, severity, and trends of flow alteration during the past decades, illustrating anthropogenic effects on streamflow.
Direct and indirect human actions have altered streamflow across the world since pre-industrial...
