Importance of headwater streams conservation as a source of biodiversity: Lia river (Santa Juana, Biobio region, Chile)

Mediterranean rivers are one of the most threatened ecosystems worldwide. In Chile, there have been efforts to understand and protect these ecosystems, but there are still many uncharacterized rivers. The aim of this study was to characterize the biological, physicochemical and hydromorphological quality of Lia river. Results showed that biodiversity, as well as water and forest quality, was better in the headstream. Thus, to improve the maintenance of these ecosystems, conservation measures should be proposed for the headstream area of the Lia river