Description
This is a static historical dataset capturing the intactness of freshwater ecosystems within HydroBASINS level 6 watershed boundaries. The intactness index measures how “pristine” or integral the freshwater rivers are, using discharge-weighted Connectivity Status Index (CSI) values as a proxy indicator.
Technical Description
The Freshwater Biodiversity Intactness product assesses the integrity of freshwater ecosystems within Level 6 HydroBASINS globally. HydroBASINS provide a hierarchical set of sub-basin boundaries, with Level 6 offering detailed resolution for river system analysis.
This product uses HydroSHEDS Free-Flowing Rivers (FFR) data, representing river reaches and their contributing catchments. It uses the FFR Connectivity Status Index (CSI), which quantifies river fragmentation from dams, flow regulation, and other pressures, weighted by long-term naturalized stream discharge to prioritize ecologically important rivers.
By intersecting FFR segments with Level 6 HydroBASINS and aggregating discharge-weighted CSI values, the product provides a freshwater intactness index for each basin. This index serves as a proxy for freshwater biodiversity intactness, highlighting basins with healthy, connected river systems vital for conservation and ecosystem services.
This dataset contains the following fields:
- freshwater_intactness_index: An index quantifying the biodiversity intactness of the freshwater ecosystems contained within the location’s HydroBASINS level 6 watershed boundary area. These are floating point values between 0.0 and 100.0, representing less intact to more intact freshwater ecosystems.