and improve the state of the river. PIREN-Seine gradually developed into a general
understanding and whole-basin modelling, from headwater streams to the estuary, of
the complex interactions between the hydrosystem (surface water and aquifers), the
ecosystem (phytoplankton, bacteria, fish communities), the agronomic system (crops
and soils), the river users (drinking water, navigation), and the urban and industrial
development (e.g. waste water treatment plants). Spatio-temporal scales of these
interactions and the related state of the environment vary from the very fine (hourmeter) to the coarser scale (annual – several dozen km). It was possible to determine
the trajectories (drivers-pressures – state-responses) for many issues, over the longue
durée time windows (50–200 years), in relation to the specific economic and
demographic evolution of the Seine basin, the environmental awareness, and the
national and then European regulations. Time trajectories of the major environmental issues, from the original organic and microbial pollutants in the past to the present
emerging contaminants, are addressed. Future trajectories are simulated by our
interconnected modelling approaches, based on scenarios (e.g. of the agro-food
system, climate change, demography, etc.) constructed by scientists and engineers
of major basin institutions that have been supporting the programme in the long
term. We found many cumulated and/or permanent hereditary effects on the physical, chemical, and ecological characteristics of the basin that may constrain its
evolution. PIREN-Seine was launched and has been evaluated since its inception,
by the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), today within its national
Zones Ateliers (ZA) instrument, part of the international Long-Term SocioEconomic and Ecosystem Research (LTSER) network.
Keywords LTSER, PIREN-Seine, Seine basin, Seine River, Socio-ecosystem,
Zone Atelier Seine
1 Introduction: River Systems in the Anthropocene
Water resources are indispensable for social development. Human needs shaped
rivers and river basins, leading to a drastic modification of the global water cycle.
Changes due to human activities are so large nowadays that they override natural
processes, leading to the end of a geological era and the beginning of a new one
called “the Anthropocene” first conceptualized by Crutzen [1, 2]. Using this concept
first proposed by the Earth science community, and increasingly considered by the
human sciences [3, 4], makes it possible to highlight multiple and profound changes
in the watersheds: (1) the physical environment is largely modified compared with
its initial state; (2) terrestrial, aquatic, and estuarine environments are increasingly
managed by societies, according to their interests and their representation of nature:
flows, river morphology, summer temperature, water quality, and biodiversity are
now largely controlled by dedicated institutions according to specific criteria; and
(3) some of the factors influencing such management are located within the
2
N. Flipo et al.
understanding and whole-basin modelling, from headwater streams to the estuary, of
the complex interactions between the hydrosystem (surface water and aquifers), the
ecosystem (phytoplankton, bacteria, fish communities), the agronomic system (crops
and soils), the river users (drinking water, navigation), and the urban and industrial
development (e.g. waste water treatment plants). Spatio-temporal scales of these
interactions and the related state of the environment vary from the very fine (hourmeter) to the coarser scale (annual – several dozen km). It was possible to determine
the trajectories (drivers-pressures – state-responses) for many issues, over the longue
durée time windows (50–200 years), in relation to the specific economic and
demographic evolution of the Seine basin, the environmental awareness, and the
national and then European regulations. Time trajectories of the major environmental issues, from the original organic and microbial pollutants in the past to the present
emerging contaminants, are addressed. Future trajectories are simulated by our
interconnected modelling approaches, based on scenarios (e.g. of the agro-food
system, climate change, demography, etc.) constructed by scientists and engineers
of major basin institutions that have been supporting the programme in the long
term. We found many cumulated and/or permanent hereditary effects on the physical, chemical, and ecological characteristics of the basin that may constrain its
evolution. PIREN-Seine was launched and has been evaluated since its inception,
by the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), today within its national
Zones Ateliers (ZA) instrument, part of the international Long-Term SocioEconomic and Ecosystem Research (LTSER) network.
Keywords LTSER, PIREN-Seine, Seine basin, Seine River, Socio-ecosystem,
Zone Atelier Seine
1 Introduction: River Systems in the Anthropocene
Water resources are indispensable for social development. Human needs shaped
rivers and river basins, leading to a drastic modification of the global water cycle.
Changes due to human activities are so large nowadays that they override natural
processes, leading to the end of a geological era and the beginning of a new one
called “the Anthropocene” first conceptualized by Crutzen [1, 2]. Using this concept
first proposed by the Earth science community, and increasingly considered by the
human sciences [3, 4], makes it possible to highlight multiple and profound changes
in the watersheds: (1) the physical environment is largely modified compared with
its initial state; (2) terrestrial, aquatic, and estuarine environments are increasingly
managed by societies, according to their interests and their representation of nature:
flows, river morphology, summer temperature, water quality, and biodiversity are
now largely controlled by dedicated institutions according to specific criteria; and
(3) some of the factors influencing such management are located within the
2
N. Flipo et al.