*3.6. Fel¸ta River*

Based on the field inventory on the Fel¸ta/Flore¸sti River, only two refuge habitats were identified with a depth of 100 cm (i.e., Figure 13)' the other non-refuge sectors (i.e., Figure 14) had different depths between 10 and 100 cm.

**Figure 13.** Fel¸ta River refuge habitat.

**Figure 14.** Fel¸ta River non-refuge sector.

In Fel¸ta/Flore¸sti River 3 fish species have permanent populations: *Squalius cephalus* (Linnaeus 1758) (total caught individuals 14), *Gobio gobio* (Linnaeus, 1758) (24), and *Barbus meridionalis* Risso 1827 (10).

The ratio between the number of fish between the refuge habitats of maximum 10 m length and the adjacent/downstream non-refuge sectors of 500 m in length was three to one.

The only two identified refuge habitats were in the lower third of the river (Scheme 6), revealing the drought related risks for the biodiversity in at least two middle and upperthird sectors of the river.

Given the general depth of the Fel¸ta River and the vulnerabilities that occur for fish during periods of drought, the building of artificial refuges for fish from about 500 to 500 m is proposed. In total, it would be necessary to build a number of 12 such refuges with a depth of at least one meter (Scheme 6).
