Abstract In reflecting on the human domination of our planet in the Anthropocene, some have argued that concrete is among the most destructive materials created by humans. Here we explore this idea, specifically in the context of what we consider “the concrete conquest of aquatic ecosystems.” The ubiquitous use of concrete in transportation and building infrastructure has contributed to alterations in freshwater and coastal marine systems. Yet, in some cases, there are no appropriate alternative building materials such that concrete itself is confounded by its application. For example, as the foundation for most dams, concrete fragments rivers and channelizes streams, often creating unnatural systems, yet dams are necessary for hydropower generation and flood control with few alternative materials for construction. In riparian and coastal environments, concrete harbours and inland canal systems are often used to address erosion or reclaim areas for human development. Even when removed (e.g., dam removal, naturalization of shorelines), concrete dust is a major aquatic pollutant. Instances do exist, however, where concrete has been used to benefit aquatic ecosystems – such as the installation of fish passage facilities at barriers or the development of fish-friendly culverts – though even then, there is a movement towards nature-like fishways that avoid the use of harmful materials like concrete. There are also opportunities to achieve conservation gains in the development of seawalls that include more natural and complex features to benefit biota and allow for essential biogeochemical processes to occur in aquatic environments. There have been several innovations in recent years that increase the permeability of concrete, however these have limited application in an aquatic context (e.g., not relevant to dam construction or erosion control but may be relevant in stormwater management systems). We provide a brief overview of the history of concrete, discuss some of the direct and indirect effects of concrete on aquatic ecosystems, and encourage planners, engineers, developers, and regulators to work collaboratively to explore alternatives to concrete which benefit aquatic ecosystems and the services they offer. The status quo of concrete being the default construction material is failing aquatic ecosystems, so we recommend that efforts are made to explore alternative materials and if concrete must be used, to increase structural complexity to benefit biodiversity.

中文翻译：

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克服对水生生态系统的具体征服

摘要 在反思人类在人类世对地球的统治时，一些人认为混凝土是人类创造的最具破坏性的材料之一。在这里，我们探索了这个想法，特别是在我们认为“具体征服水生生态系统”的背景下。混凝土在交通和建筑基础设施中的普遍使用已经促成了淡水和沿海海洋系统的改变。然而，在某些情况下，没有合适的替代建筑材料，以至于混凝土本身被其应用混淆。例如，作为大多数水坝的基础，混凝土将河流支离破碎，使溪流形成通道，通常会形成不自然的系统，但水坝对于水力发电和防洪来说是必不可少的，而建筑材料却很少。在河岸和沿海环境中，混凝土港口和内陆运河系统通常用于解决侵蚀或开垦地区以促进人类发展。即使被移除（例如，大坝拆除、海岸线的自然化），混凝土粉尘也是一种主要的水生污染物。然而，确实存在混凝土被用于造福水生生态系统的实例——例如在障碍物处安装鱼类通道设施或开发对鱼类友好的涵洞——尽管即便如此，仍有一种趋向于自然的鱼道，避免使用有害材料，如混凝土。在开发海堤方面也有机会实现保护收益，这些海堤包括更自然和复杂的特征，以造福生物群，并允许在水生环境中发生重要的生物地球化学过程。近年来，有几项创新提高了混凝土的渗透性，但这些创新在水生环境中的应用受到限制（例如，与大坝建设或侵蚀控制无关，但可能与雨水管理系统相关）。我们简要概述了混凝土的历史，讨论了混凝土对水生生态系统的一些直接和间接影响，并鼓励规划者、工程师、开发商和监管者合作探索有利于水生生态系统和服务的混凝土替代品他们提供。混凝土作为默认建筑材料的现状正在破坏水生生态系统，因此我们建议努力探索替代材料，如果必须使用混凝土，增加结构复杂性以造福生物多样性。