1.	Summary
In Chile there has been an increasing concern about the protection and management of 
aquatic ecosystems due to their high ecological value, mainly because of its high 
endemism degree of its species. Unfortunately, the anthropic actions exerted upon these 
ecosystems have brought forth pressures that have deteriorated their habitats. Despite 
this, there has not been developed a tool which acts as a spatial framework for 
conservation and management of aquatic ecosystems. In addition, information on 
aquatic species is insufficient, incomplete, scattered and not updated.

Due to the above stated, it was considered a classication system which included 
climatic, morphologic and geologic factors and that also allows to work under different 
spatial scales. Such a tool would be appropiated to provide the spatial framework and 
lack of information required for an adecuate management and protection of aquatic 
ecosystems.
 
Different types of classications exist of which stand out those developed from the 
deduction of controllling factors of the fluvial processes, also called a priori 
classifications, and classifications developed from data called a posteriori 
classifications. Among the advantages of the a priori classifications, there are the 
feasibility to set up in areas with scarce information, the interpretation of its classes and 
the possibility of extrapolate its information to other areas in which lack this 
information.

On the basis that the river flow is the main key driver of fluvial ecosystem, it has been 
developed the Eco-Hydrological Classification of Chilean rivers (REC-Chile) an a 
priori type of classification based on a hierarchical superposition of the controlling 
factors of the hydraulic pattern. This classification is multiscalar provided with a 
versatility that allows, depending on the controlling factors selected, to classify a river 
reach according to different fluvial patterns and different spatial scales. The assessment 
of this classification, as well as the interpretation of their classes, was carried out for 
hydrological and geochemical purposes.

To facilitate that REC-Chile becomes in a management tool of fluvial ecosystems, it 
were developed two examples of management and conservation. The first one 
corresponds to the development of an ecohydrological database in which it were 
compiled fluvial, physico-chemical, sedimentological data of the river reaches and fish 
sampling point. Information carried out at different spatial scales. The second example 
corresponds to the determination of the potential geographical distribution of native fish 
by means of Species Distribution Models in which were utilized the REC-Chile classes 
as input variables to these models.

Results of the evaluation and interpretation of the classes, allow to deduce that REC-
Chile it seems to be an adequate classification system for chilean rivers and that in 
addition, it may constitute in a spatial framework for fluvial ecosystems as point out the 
results of spatial distribution patterns.