Acres of preservation of existing natural habitats and restoration of degraded habitats. Protection and restoration of natural habitats has the co-benefits of support of terrestrial habitat and aquatic ecosystem processes and condition.
Naturally-occurring or artificial band of riparian vegetation along streams or rivers. This habitat type provides habitat for generalist and specialized species, protects banks against excessive erosion, provides woody material to streams, and shades streams, keeping them cool.
Species richness (birds, fish, invertebrates), for example, the benthic macroinvertebrate community. Species richness can be reduced by stream, riparian, and watershed degradation in response to land-use. Species richness also fluctuates with natural disturbance.
This is a biological index, composed of indicators & metrics representing the condition of the benthic invertebrate communities living in streams and rivers. The presence and abundance of aquatic plants and animals can provide an indication of waterway and landscape disturbance, geomorphic conditions, appropriate water availability, and water quality. Comparing the measured presence (observed) of native species or groups to the expected presence of these species or groups is one way of measuring watershed and waterway conditions.
Threatened amphibians measures the percentage of amphibian species classified by IUCN as threatened. The World Resources Institute used this indicator in the Aqueduct 2.0 project.
Trophic state index is a measure of how eutrophic conditions are in a water-body. Excess algal growth can indicate eutrophic conditions and is the basis of the index.
