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RESEARCH PRODUCT

ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT AS A FIRST STEP IN THE EVALUATION OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES PROVIDED BY LOTIC ECOSYSTEMS

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ABSTRACT The ecosystems offer to the socio-economic system a series of goods and services derived from their processes and biodiversity. Ecosystem services offered by a river are at their highest potential when the river status is close to the natural one. Once the river is affected by human impact due to resources exploitation, hydro technical works, water abstraction or improper land use, the ecological status declines and the ecosystem services become scarce. This is why an ecological assessment is necessary in order to establish the connection between the ecosystem services and the human impact. In this paper, the ecological assessment of Timiș River was done, allowing the classification of the river in four sectors with different ecological statuses, associated with the various human impacts that differently affect the quality of the water, the riverbed and the flooding area.