Watershed ecological integrity, an introduction

Abstract: Human activities leading to landscape change and thus change the structure, composition and function of the watershed ecosystems. These changes face the watershed to many problems or impossibility of providing natural ecosystem services. Some of such activities including land change, tree cutting, mining and hunting leading to emerge destructive natural disasters such as fire or flood. These kinds of activities and changes undoubtedly affect the integrity of the watershed. In fact, watershed integrity is defined as the capacity of a watershed to support and maintain the full range of essential ecological processes and functions in providing the sustainability of biodiversity and of the watershed resources and services for society. Indeed, this concept is adapted from the concept of ecological integrity that is seriously discussed by ecologists. In the present paper therefore the emerging concept of integrity in the comprehensive and adaptive watershed management was introduced and comprehensive and necessary information on different indicators and approaches of ecological integrity evaluation was provided. Toward this, the watershed researchers and managers could use these approaches to elaborate a native comprehensive approach in order to watershed ecological integrity of the country.