Conservation of environment has become the major priority in the current world due to unexpectedly disappearing of fauna and flora at the highest rate leading to the alarming deterioration of benefits man obtained from Mother Nature especially clean water and plenty of food among others. (Gagnon, 2002.)
The current human activities and water handling especially the construction of Dams have really changed the hydrologic regimes causing alterations of biotic population and structure in marine, marshland and riparian ecosystems. These activities are chief contributors to the changes in the river hydrology since they change the flow, frequency, magnitude and timing of water down the stream causing totally different hydrologic regimes from the natural flow of regime.
IHA (indicators of hydrogen assessment) method was invented in order to indicate extent of human interference to the level of hydrologic modification within the ecosystem surrounding the dams by analyzing data gathered within the ecosystem especially from different streams feeding the dam. This data is rather used to assess the impact of human activities especially those activities such as diversion of the original flow of water and land use during Dam construction. (Gagnon, 2002.)
Based on 32 biologically relevant hydrologic parameters, the IHA hydrologic parameters are further divided into five major categories in order to analyse hydrologic variations they include:
Water magnitude at an instance of time helps to measure the suitability of the habitant at particular ecosystem especially studies related to their habitant volume or to analyze the position of wetland in relation to the water
The cycle of occurrence of certain water conditions such as floods and droughts can determine the mortality level species during this stressful water conditions and can also be used to analyze if the requirement of certain life-cycles of some species are met(Gagnon, 2002.)
The rate of occurrence of certain water conditions like drought and floods may be used to study how they influence population of the species by tying them to the mortality and reproduction events of various species (Gagnon, 2002.)
The period of existence of particular water conditions also can dictate the degree to which the molesting effects such as desiccation can amount and can also determine if it is possible to complete certain life-cycles. (Gagnon, 2002.)
The frequency of change of water conditions may dictate the period to which some organisms may be stranded along the water banks or the period of contact with which the organisms may be able to get in contact with water supply(Gagnon, 2002.)
The chief role of these IHA 32 parameters is to give the detailed information of the hydrologic regime in order to help those conducting activities that may alter the hydrology of some ecosystems to research on their effect to the fauna and the flora. They also contain hydrologic statistics which are commonly used in the study of limnology because of their great relevance to ecology.
This Indicators of Hydrogen Assessment method contains some unique hydrologic characteristics that can be used in discovering changes in physical habitants in lotic systems such as changes in yearly maxima may be an indivcation that there are the changes in the morphology of the river
The Indicators of Hydrogen Assessment (IHA) method is used by the environmentalists and Dan engineers in order to enable them do planning and management and measuring progress towards conservation and restoration goals of the fauna and the flora.
Works cited
Gagnon, L., “IRN statement on emissions from hydro reservoirs: a case of misleading science”, Hydropower and Dams, Issue 4, 2002.