Indicators and assessment methods for measuring the ecological integrity of semi-aquatic terrestrial environments

Our objective is to summarize scientific knowledge concerning assessment methods addressing ecological integrity in wetlands and riparian zones, with an emphasis on riparian areas. This article examines which indicators (abiotic parameters, species, faunistic and floristic communities and functional assemblages) are used, how they are applied (single or integrative indicator), and which assessment algorithms and models have been successful to date. Overall, our review shows that despite the relatively recent emergence of riparian ecology, riparian assessments are better developed than the wetland functional assessments currently employed. In general, it is recommended that useful methods be updated and cross-calibrated, that new rapid assessment methods provide reasonable levels of accuracy for a variety of users in a variety of situations, that assessment be developed for specific applications (with identified users), that uncertainty be explicitly acknowledged, that the policy implications of specific assessments methods be openly discussed, and that methods be formally tested for accuracy, cost and practicality. In addition, we offer a revised protocol for the effective and rapid assessment of functional integrity in riparian environments associated with freshwater ecosystems. This protocol encourages the use of terrestrialization, canopy development, biodiversity, microclimate and seston as integrative indicators of integrity.