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1. Riparian zones are vital areas of interaction between land and rivers and are often degraded by several pressures such as urbanisation, intensive agriculture and river engineering works. 2. This policy brief provides five key policy messages and recommendations to be considered by policy-makers, scientists, managers, and stakeholders to enhance riparian zone management. 3. Adopting an integrated socio-economic and environmentally dynamic view will ensure the sustainable management of riparian zones. 4. In light of climate change, it is critically important to conserve and/or restore the ecological integrity of riparian zones. 5. European Union Directives and national-scale legislation and regulations need updating to ensure coordinated implementation of riparian zone-related policies. 6. Stakeholder knowledge exchange, policy co-creation and adaptive management are key to enhancing riparian zone functions.

Here we present the results of a mayfly study conducted on a hydromorphologically altered lowland river in Croatia, the Bednja River. Twenty-two mayfly species were recorded, Baetis fuscatus (Linnaeus, 1761) and Serratella ignita (Poda, 1761) being the most widespread and Paraleptophlebia submarginata (Stephens, 1836) and Cloeon dipterum (Linnaeus, 1761) the rarest species. A significant increase in mayfly species richness was observed along the river course. Nevertheless, cluster analysis showed that their assemblages were not grouped according to the study position along the Bednja River. The lowest species richness and diversity were recorded for the spring area. Surprisingly, the highest species richness was found at a site with moderate hydromorphological alterations, and the highest diversity at a site with severe hydromorphological alterations. This could be because the river is connected to numerous lateral streams and a variety of microhabitats are available. New distribution records in Croatia are presented for some rare species in Croatian freshwater habitats, such as Heptagenia longicauda (Stephens, 1836). Ephemera lineata Eaton, 1870 was recorded for the first time in the Pannonian lowland ecoregion (ER 11) in Croatia. Caenis cf. pseudorivulorum Keffermüller, 1960 has not yet been recorded in Croatian freshwater habitats, but since our identifications are based on juvenile specimens, its occurrence is still to be confirmed.

1. Riparian zones are vital areas of interaction between land and rivers and are often degraded by several pressures such as urbanisation, intensive agriculture and river engineering works. 2. This policy brief provides five key policy messages and recommendations to be considered by policy-makers, scientists, managers, and stakeholders to enhance riparian zone management. 3. Adopting an integrated socio-economic and environmentally dynamic view will ensure the sustainable management of riparian zones. 4. In light of climate change, it is critically important to conserve and/or restore the ecological integrity of riparian zones. 5. European Union Directives and national-scale legislation and regulations need updating to ensure coordinated implementation of riparian zone-related policies. 6. Stakeholder knowledge exchange, policy co-creation and adaptive management are key to enhancing riparian zone functions.

1. Riparian zones are vital areas of interaction between land and rivers and are often degraded by several pressures such as urbanisation, intensive agriculture and river engineering works. 2. This policy brief provides five key policy messages and recommendations to be considered by policy-makers, scientists, managers, and stakeholders to enhance riparian zone management. 3. Adopting an integrated socio-economic and environmentally dynamic view will ensure the sustainable management of riparian zones. 4. In light of climate change, it is critically important to conserve and/or restore the ecological integrity of riparian zones. 5. European Union Directives and national-scale legislation and regulations need updating to ensure coordinated implementation of riparian zone-related policies. 6. Stakeholder knowledge exchange, policy co-creation and adaptive management are key to enhancing riparian zone functions.

Here we present a first record of Baetis vardarensis Ikonomov, 1962 in Croatian freshwater habitats. The species was collected in February and March 2020 at two sites in the Sava River. With this record, Croatian mayfly species richness increased to a total of 85 species. In addition, one of the species previously known only from literature, Kageronia fuscogrisea (Retzius, 1783), was confirmed in Croatia. The species was collected in the Rečica River, in March 2020. These results confirm that our knowledge about mayfly fauna in different regions of Balkan Peninsula is still incomplete and is increasing with systematic studies.