Table 3 Types of interventions, flow magnitude alterations considered (including elements and direction) and their definitions

Alterations to flow magnitude elements due to hydropower

Any change in the amount of water moving past a fixed location per unit time (e.g., m³/s), separated into four general elements:

1.Peak flow (reported as alterations in flood, peak, or high flow)

Peakflow

2.Base flow (reported as alterations in base flow*, low flow or drought conditions)

Baseflow

3.Average discharge (reported as alterations in total flow or mean flow for any time period)

AvgDischarge

4.Short-term variation (reported as a change in magnitude that occurred over a period of hours or less than a day)

ShortVar

5.Unspecified (no specified flow magnitude or direction of change [e.g., the study compares an unregulated stream (or section of a stream) to a regulated stream (i.e., regulated via a hydro dam)]; 2) reported as unspecified multiple flow magnitude elements and flow magnitude direction (i.e., do not report effects of elements separately to isolate individual impacts of flows magnitude elements)

UNSPEC

Increase flow magnitude

An increase in any flow magnitude element, either qualitatively or quantitatively reported by authors (e.g., increase in peak flow)

_Inc

Decrease flow magnitude

A decrease in any flow magnitude element, either qualitatively or quantitatively reported by authors (e.g., a change from 5 m³/s base flow to 3 m³/s base flow)

_Dec