Large River Restoration Research Articles

Rehabilitation of large rivers: references, achievements and integration into river management.

The physical degradation of large regulated rivers in Europe and North America and the need for rehabilitation have become issues since the 1980s. Over the past years we have greatly increased our understanding of the ecological functioning of natural rivers, evaluated the ecological impacts of river regulation, and established various approaches for river rehabilitation and restoration. Complete restoration of large rivers may be a utopian idea because of the manifold functions they serve. It is not surprising, therefore, that rehabilitation attempts so far have only recovered stretches or certain features of rivers. The steps to he taken now are to share our expertise on river functioning, river management and rehabilitation, and to put this expertise into practice. This paper gives an overview of recent progress in Europe and North America structured along the following main questions: ○ Where are we heading, i.e. what are our references and how can we translate them into realizable end-points ○ What is our experience with past attempts of rehabilitation, and how can we best assess our past and future achievements? ○ How should we integrate rehabilitation into future river management to efficiently achieve our goals, i.e. where are the joint opportunities and opposing interests with other functions? ○ How do we optimize and prioritize our efforts to maximize ecological outcome, and in which form should those benefits be demonstrated? Following this analysis, we address management needs and make recommendations for a future research agenda on rehabilitation of large regulated rivers. Our goal is to incorporate a general understanding of large river functioning into the practice of river rehabilitation by: (a) defining tangible and attainable endpoints deduced from ecologically intact or pristine references either derived from reconstruction of historic conditions or from spatial analogues; (b) developing prognostic tools to link abiotic processes and patterns and biotic response at the appropriate spatial and temporal scales; and (c) optimizing rehabilitation within the multitude of functions large rivers fulfil and considering the heavily modified condition of most regulated large rivers. To achieve success in rehabilitation projects, all stakeholders should make better use of existing knowledge when they plan, execute and evaluate river rehabilitation. Well-documented pilot studies should be exploited since they give room for more adventurous rehabilitation not only along the same river but also elsewhere.

Application of analysis of historical channel change in the restoration of large rivers

(2001). Application of analysis of historical channel change in the restoration of large rivers. SIL Proceedings, 1922-2010: Vol. 27, No. 7, pp. 4077-4086.

Conserving large-river fishes: is thehighway analogyan appropriate paradigm?

A tenet of the flood pulse concept, the highway analogy, states that the main channel of large floodplain rivers is used by fishes mainly as a route for gaining access to floodplain habitats. We examined this proposition by analyzing habitat use for freshwater fishes in 4 large rivers in the United States (Colorado, Columbia, Mississippi, Missouri) and 4 in Europe (Danube, Rhine, Rhône, Volga). Fish species from floodplain segments of each river were classified as fluvial specialist, fluvial dependent, and macrohabitat generalist based on literature and expert opinion. We also summarized the proportion of imperiled and introduced fishes present in each of these categories.The high proportion (mean ± 1 SD = 29 ± 17.5%) of fluvial specialist fishes inhabiting north-temperate large rivers was inconsistent with the highway analogy. Most members of the families Petromyzontidae, Acipenseridae, Hiodontidae, Osmeridae, Salmonidae, and Gobiidae require flowing water during some life stage. Between 29 and 100% of the native fish assemblage was of conservation concern, and from 50 to 85% of these fishes required riverine habitats to complete their life cycles. Macrohabitat generalists are adapted to capitalize on floodplain habitats and composed from 44 to 96% of introduced fishes in the rivers studied.Habitat diversity inherent in main-channel complexes of unaltered large rivers and reestablished in regulated large rivers is essential to meet life-history needs of native fluvial fishes while discouraging expansion of introduced species. Restoration of north-temperate large rivers and their native fish fauna should incorporate the dynamic interplay among main channel, floodplain, and tributary habitats and processes.

The role of regionalization in large river restoration

The role of regionalization in large river restoration

Flooding and Fish Diversity in a Reclaimed River-Wetland

ABSTRACT Attempts at large river restoration are few and largely experimental. We studied a newly constructed river-wetland project on the upper Mississippi River three years after its completion. Species inventories for fish began to be compiled in the spring of 1993. Coincidentally, record rainfall throughout the midwest resulted in extreme floods and caused flooding of the study area during 1993. Fish communities responded to flooding with increased species diversity immediately following the flood. Wetland habitats yielded eight species of fish prior to flooding in June of 1993 compared to 26 species collected at the same sites in August 1993 following the flood crest. June 1994 sampling caught 33 species, but they declined to 16 in subsequent collections during August 1994. Flooding served to provide at least a temporary increase in diversity.