River Health Research Articles

Debris flow weakens the ecological role of river microhabitat heterogeneity in mountainous regions

Mountain rivers provide habitat or refuges and create migration corridors for diverse aquatic and riparian organisms. River microhabitat heterogeneity (RMH), which plays a key role in ecological restoration, is sensitive to external disturbances in mountain rivers. However, the effects of RMH, induced by hydro-geomorphological processes, on local macroinvertebrates have not been quantitatively studied. To explore the ecological significance of RMH, we proposed a new RMH index (RMHI) for quantitative evaluation of RMH and selected five debris flow-dominated mountain rivers (DMR) and five equilibrium sediment transport mountain rivers (EMR) as contrasting examples based on the richness of sediment supply. We found that RMH supported macroinvertebrate α-diversity and functional richness in both DMR and EMR, but debris flow weakened the ecological role of RMH in DMR. The proposed RMHI should be ≥ 8.0 to maintain the ecological health of mountain rivers. Besides, the macroinvertebrate communities were mainly driven by species turnover in EMR, while species turnover and nestedness were balanced in DMR. And macroinvertebrate community shift from an R-strategy to a K-strategy due to deposition and erosion. According to the research results, we put forward the following suggestions. At the watershed scale, ecological conservation of mountain rivers requires a regional approach focusing on multiple sites in EMR. Priority should be given to protect the river with high macroinvertebrate species richness and close attention needs to be paid to multiple sites of DMR. At the river scale, we can protect the biodiversity of mountain rivers by maintain RMHI above its threshold.

Development of a decision framework for river health and water yield ecosystem service in watershed

Maintaining river health in a changing environment is an important way to improve the service value of the river basin ecosystem. An ecological flow threshold process with multiple ecological constraints was proposed using the Range of Variability Approach method and the Improved Intra-annual Spreading method. When combined with the multi-source dataset and the InVEST model, a 'ecology-function pattern-driven and decision' service framework was proposed. The study found that the important ecological constraints of the ecological flow in the Xiangjiang River basin changed after the hydrological change (1991–2019). High pulse occurrence times were delayed by 3 d, while low pulse occurrence times and durations were advanced by 8 d and delayed by 10 d, respectively. Temperature, precipitation, and evapotranspiration are all important factors influencing the dynamic characteristics of the basin's water yield services. Human activities and climate change have contributed nearly 19% more to the temporal and spatial differentiation characteristics of water yield in the basin than in the natural period. Additionally, it was discovered that excessive rainfall can inhibit the impact of other variables on water yield within the basin. Furthermore, the pivotal levels of significant meteorological factors that affect the water yield value of the basin were elucidated. This research leads to a better knowledge of watershed hydrological health in changing environments and a scientific basis for local water resource management decisions and optimal utilization of ecosystem service values.

River Health Evaluation Research on Reach from Shuifumiao to XiangJiang Estuary of LianShui Mainstream

River Health Evaluation Research on Reach from Shuifumiao to XiangJiang Estuary of LianShui Mainstream

Establishment and application of ecological health evaluation system for urban and rural rivers in Yangtze Estuary

The assessment of river ecosystem health is crucial for improving river resilience, achieving ecological protection and rational utilization in the Yangtze Estuary region where there is high utilization of rivers and a high demand for quality rivers by Shanghai, the world's largest modern city. To assess the ecological health status of Yangtze Estuary rivers, this study established a river health assessment model consisting of five dimensions: water quality, river landscape, aquatic organisms, river hydrology, and human interference, and a total of ten indicators based on the ecological survey results in the summer and autumn of six river channels in Chongming Island in the Yangtze Estuary. The evaluation results reveal that the health status of rural rivers in the northwest and east of Chongming Island (S2, S3) is the best, reaching an excellent level, while the small river in the central part of Chongming Island (S6) is the worst, reaching a somewhat inferior level. Compared with rural rivers, the comprehensive evaluation results of urban rivers are good or ordinary level. The high proportion of building area on both sides of the river and the low vegetation cover are the main factors that restrict their scoring results. In contrast, rural rivers need to focus on the area of buffer zones such as forests and vegetation on both sides of the river, river connectivity, appropriate widening of narrow rivers, regular cleaning and dredging of rivers, as well as reducing human interference with the rivers. Regarding seasonal changes, the health assessment results of Chongming Island rivers in summer are better than those in autumn, and the differences between sites in summer are slightly greater than those in autumn. The seasonal differences between sites are mainly due to changes in indicators of the diversity of zooplankton, phytoplankton, and macrobenthos. To further improve the ecological health of rivers, measures of ecological restoration could be adjusted based on regular health assessment and health weakness analysis.

Ecological Health Assessment of an Urban River: The Case Study of Zhengzhou City, China

Urban river ecological health assessment is an effective means to manage urban rivers, and combining principles of landscape ecology can provide new help for the ecological restoration of urban rivers and improving their ecosystem service value. From the perspective of important functions of ecosystems, based on typical sample site investigations of different river sections, questionnaire surveys, and remote sensing technology, a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model based on the factor analysis method was used to construct an indicator system that can quantitatively reflect the ecological health of urban rivers. This comprehensive evaluation index system includes five major functions: social function, habitat and corridor function, water ecological function, water landscape function, and spatial enclosure function. The study identified key areas, key rivers, key river sections, and main indicator projects for the ecological restoration of the urban river landscape corridors in Zhengzhou. The study results also showed that the urban river landscape corridors in Zhengzhou have prominent problems in social function, water ecological function, and habitat and corridor function, and 62.1% of the river sections are currently in a sub-healthy state. The flood control function, eutrophication of water body, naturalization rate of revetment, and five other indicators in the old city district are significantly lower than those in the new city district, and the old city district should be the focus of the ecological restoration of urban river corridors. From the evaluation of the ecological health status of typical river sections, the Jinshui River and Xionger River have a larger number of river sections that urgently need restoration. This study provides a reference for the ecological restoration of urban rivers in Zhengzhou, a rapidly urbanizing region, and has reference significance for the construction of water landscapes in small and medium-sized cities with low levels of urbanization.

Probing river health status: a study based on index of biotic integrity (IBI) in Tapti River of Deccan plateau, India.

Anthropogenic activities impacted the ecological health of rivers by altering the physical habitat and water flow as well as by pollution. Monitoring of biotic groups for gauging the river health is a prerequisite for assessing the extent of degradation and formulating management guidelines for river restoration. An assessment using fish-based index of biotic integrity (IBI) was carried out in the Central Indian river, Tapti, for probing its health status. For the multimetric index, twelvemetrics were adopted under five categories: taxonomic richness, habitat composition, tolerance indicators, species resilience, and trophic composition. Among the studied sites, Betul in the upper stretch was selected as the reference site for River Tapti, which almost meets the upper expectation of the metrics explored. Continuous scoring method was applied to evaluate the biotic integrity in the selected sites of the river. The IBI score based on the pooled fish abundance data in River Tapti ranged from 33 to 60. Assessment of the ecological health revealed that three-fourth of the river stretch was moderately impaired (25-50% of impairment) and the most deteriorated site was Kamrej with 45% of impairment which might be due to its location in the urban area with high influx of domestic sewage and industrial effluents. The IBI scores were plotted and compared with an independent estimate of water quality. The CCA with environmental and IBI variables revealed higher correlation with each other and the functional groups such as carnivores, herbivores, and fishes with high population doubling time (PDT) were found in close association with nitrate-N, total alkalinity, and specific conductivity. The study urges the need for the adoption of proper management and mitigation measures to restore the health and wealth of aquatic ecosystem.

Influence of COVID-19 lockdown on river water quality and assessment of environmental health in an industrialized belt of southern Western Ghats, India.

The COVID-19 pandemic and sudden lockdown have severely hampered the country's economic growth and socio-cultural activities while imparting a positive effect on the overall fitness of the environment especially air and water resources. Increased urbanization and rapid industrialization have led to rising pollution and deterioration of rivers and associated sectors such as agriculture, domestic and commercial needs. However, various available studies in different parts of the country indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the entire ecosystem. But it is noted that studies are lacking in the southern Western Ghats region of India. Therefore, the present study attempts to investigate how the continuous lockdowns affect the River Water Quality (RWQ) during lockdown (October 2020) and post-lockdown (January 2021) periods in the lower catchments (Eloor-Edayar industrialized belt) of Periyar river, Kerala state, South India. A total of thirty samples (15 samples each) were analyzed based on drinking water quality, irrigational suitability, and multivariate statistical methods to evaluate the physical and chemical status of RWQ. The results of theWater Quality Index (WQI) for assessing the drinking water suitability showed a total of 93% of samples in the excellent and good category during the lockdown, while only 47% of samples were found fit for drinking during the post-lockdown period. Irrigational suitability indices like Mg hazard, KR, PI, SAR, and Wilcox diagram revealed lockdown period samples as more suitable for irrigational activities compared to post-lockdown samples with site-specific changes. Spearman rank correlation analysis indicated EC and TDS with a strong positive correlation to Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, TH, SO42-, and Cl- during both periods as well as strong positive correlations within the alkaline earth elements (Ca2+ and Mg 2+) and alkalis (Na+ and K+). Three significant components were extracted from principal component analysis (PCA), explaining 88.89% and 96.03% of the total variance for lockdown and post-lockdown periods, respectively. Variables like DO, BOD, Ca2+, NO3-, and Cl- remained in the same component loading during both periods elucidating their natural origin in the basin. The results of health risk assessment based on US EPA represented hazard quotient and hazard index values below the acceptable limit signifying no potential noncarcinogenic risk via oral exposure except As, suggesting children as more vulnerable to the negative effects than adults. Furthermore, this study also shows rejuvenation of river health during lockdown offers ample scope to policymakers, administrators and environmentalists for deriving appropriate plans for the restoration of river health from anthropogenic stress.

Effect of Biochar Addition on Nutrient Cycle and Water Quality in Urban Rivers as an Environmental Health Promotion Effort

The potential use of biochar as a solution provides an intriguing opportunity to improve the health of these rivers while also delivering other benefits such as carbon sequestration and better soil health. The purpose of this project is to look into the impact of adding biochar to urban rivers on nitrogen cycling and water quality. A randomized full block design will be used in the study, with three treatment groups and one control group. The experimental setup is a controlled laboratory setting. The study's findings reveal that adding biochar to urban river sediments has a considerable positive influence on water quality metrics such as nitrogen and phosphorus levels. Furthermore, our research shows that the addition of biochar has the ability to considerably increase carbon while decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. Finally, our findings provide useful insights into the prospective benefits of employing biochar to promote river health in the Banjar district.

Microbial source tracking identifies sources of contamination for a river flowing into the Yellow Sea.

The excessive input of nutrients into rivers can lead to contamination and eutrophication, which poses a threat to the health of aquatic ecosystems. It is crucial to identify the sources of contaminants to develop effective management plans for eutrophication. However, traditional methods for identifying pollution sources have been insufficient, making it difficult to manage river health effectively. High-throughput sequencing offers a novel method for microbial community source tracking, which can help identify dominant pollution sources in rivers. The Wanggang River was selected for study, as it has suffered accelerated eutrophication due to considerable nutrient input from riparian pollutants. The present study identified the dominant microbial communities in the Wanggang River basin, including Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Cyanobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, and Firmicutes. The Source Tracker machine-learning classification system was used to create source-specific microbial community fingerprints to determine the primary sources of contaminants in the basin, with agricultural fertilizer being identified as the main pollutant source. By identifying the microbial communities of potential pollution sources, the study determined the contributing pollutant sources in several major sections of the Wanggang River, including industry, urban land, pond culture, and livestock land. These findings can be used to improve the identification of pollution sources in specific environments and develop effective pollution management plans for polluted river water.

Using environmental DNA metabarcoding to monitor fish communities in small rivers and large brooks: Insights on the spatial scale of information

Monitoring fish communities is central to the evaluation of ecological health of rivers. Both presence/absence of fish species and their relative quantity in local fish assemblages are crucial parameters to measure. Fish communities in lotic systems are traditionally monitored via electrofishing, characterized by a known limited efficiency and high survey costs. Analysis of environmental DNA could serve as a non-destructive alternative for detection and quantification of lotic fish communities, but this approach still requires further insights in practical sampling schemes incorporating transport and dilution of the eDNA particles; optimization of predictive power and quality assurance of the molecular detection method. Via a controlled cage experiment, we aim to extend the knowledge on streamreach of eDNA in small rivers and large brooks, as laid out in the European Water Framework Directive's water typology. Using a high and low source biomass in two river transects of a species-poor river characterized by contrasting river discharge rates, we found strong and significant correlations between the eDNA relative species abundances and the relative biomass per species in the cage community. Despite a decreasing correlation over distance, the underlying community composition remained stable from 25 to 300 m, or up to 1 km downstream of the eDNA source, depending on the river discharge rate. Such decrease in similarity between relative source biomass and the corresponding eDNA-based community profile with increasing distance downstream from the source, might be attributed to variation in species-specific eDNA persistence. Our findings offer crucial insights on eDNA behaviour and characterization of riverine fish communities. We conclude that water sampled from a relatively small river offers an adequate eDNA snapshot of the total fish community in the 300–1000 m upstream transect. The potential application for other river systems is further discussed.

Hydrological characteristics of extreme floods in the Klaserie River, a headwater stream in southern Africa

Climate change models for southern Africa predict less frequent, but more intense, rainfall events, and an increased frequency of tropical cyclones. With their steep topography and small catchments, headwater streams generate large floods following intense rainfall events. Large flooding events in headwater streams are under studied in southern Africa. In this paper, we explore flooding in the upper Klaserie River, Limpopo River System, South Africa to determine the flow distribution and flood frequency for the catchment. In addition, we determine the return level for a large, economically damaging, flood generated following the landfall of a sub-tropical depression in January 2012 and, attempt to identify rainfall patterns that resulted in similar floods. An annual hydrological cycle with summer maxima and winter minima for both rainfall and flow was identified. The flood frequency analysis demonstrated that the January 2012 flood had an estimated return level of 225 years. This flood had a peak flowrate exceeding 1200 m3s-1 in a system with an average daily flowrate of 1 m3s-1. Regression tree analysis showed that a two-day rainfall in excess of 240 was a predictor for four of the five largest floods. A two-day rainfall in excess of 400 mm distinguished the January 2012 flood from other floods. Non-stationarity analyses for the flow and rainfall data and a SWAT hydrological model are recommend for the upper Klaserie River to evaluate climate and land cover changes, and their relationship to the magnitude of the 2012 flood. Our study demonstrates that South African river monitoring data can be used to detect and characterize major floods, despite deficiencies in these data. Continuation of these monitoring programs is vital for river health monitoring and the detection of trends in floods resulting from human activities and climate change.

Appropriate targets for soil erosion control at the national scale determined in China

Soil erosion causes topsoil loss of more than 75 billion tons per year globally. It results in reduced crop yields and other economic losses totaling approximately US$400 billion. The ecological and environmental issues, such as land degradation and water pollution, are aggravated, posing a serious threat to ecological security, river and lake health, and sustainable human development (Montanarella, 2007; Quinton et al., 2010; FAO, 2015). Soil erosion in China is particularly stern and the country has tackled this challenge unremittingly for over 70 years.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

The Next Generation of Drugs Will Be Enhanced by Machine Learning

Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology NewsVol. 43, No. 4 DepartmentsThe Next Generation of Drugs Will Be Enhanced by Machine LearningExperts from Charles River and Valo Health describe how artificial intelligence will change the drug discovery landscapeGrant Wishart and Guido LanzaGrant WishartGrant Wishart, PhD, is senior director, small molecule drug discovery and Logica lead at Charles River Laboratories. Website: www.criver.com. Guido Lanza is vice president of integrated research and Logica general manager at Valo Health. Website: www.valohealth.com.Search for more papers by this author and Guido LanzaGrant Wishart, PhD, is senior director, small molecule drug discovery and Logica lead at Charles River Laboratories. Website: www.criver.com. Guido Lanza is vice president of integrated research and Logica general manager at Valo Health. Website: www.valohealth.com.Search for more papers by this authorPublished Online:10 Apr 2023https://doi.org/10.1089/gen.43.04.06AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail View articleFiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 43Issue 4Apr 2023 Information© 2023 by GEN PublishingTo cite this article:Grant Wishart and Guido Lanza.The Next Generation of Drugs Will Be Enhanced by Machine Learning.Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News.Apr 2023.16-17, 19.http://doi.org/10.1089/gen.43.04.06Published in Volume: 43 Issue 4: April 10, 2023PDF download

Investigating river health across mountain to urban transitions using Pythagorean fuzzy cloud technique under uncertain environment

River health assessment (RHA) is a robust methodology for ascertaining the health of riverine ecosystems, and offering solutions for river conservation and management. Currently, RHA studies have been conducted mainly in mountainous and urban areas, while investigations across mountain to urban transitions remain scarce and insufficient attention has been paid to RHA under uncertain environments. To systematically investigate the RHA across mountain to urban transitions, this study proposed Pythagorean fuzzy cloud (PFC) via integrating the cloud model and Pythagorean fuzzy sets. TOPSIS (Technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution) was expanded to the PFC environment to developed a novel PFC-TOPSIS model. The hybrid framework was then created to handle RHA with uncertainty, and the Pi River in China served as a case study. Results showed that the developed models broadened the capabilities of current techniques, and offered a more efficient way for dealing with RHA with uncertainty. In Pi River, the health status showed considerable spatial heterogeneity. Upper reaches were markedly healthier than the lower reaches. Evaluation indicators were at unsatisfactory health levels, with only 68.75% and 18.75% healthy attainment rates in the upper and lower reaches of Pi River, respectively. Meanwhile, 68.75% of the sampling sites were subhealthy and 31.25% were unhealthy. Our research emphasizes that urban development, agricultural practices and dam construction have affected river health in some areas, and appropriate measures are needed to reduce their impacts in Pi River.

Digitalizing river aquatic ecosystems

Traditional river health assessment relies on limited water quality indices and representative organism activity, but does not comprehensively obtain biotic and abiotic information of the ecosystem. Here, we propose a new approach to evaluate the ecological and health risks of river aquatic ecosystems. First, detailed physicochemical and biological characterization of a river ecosystem can be obtained through pollutant determination (especially emerging pollutants) and DNA/RNA sequencing. Second, supervised machine learning can be applied to perform classification analysis of characterization data and ascertain river ecosystem ecology and health. Our proposed methodology transforms river ecosystem health assessment and can be applied in river management.

The assessment of water quality and human health risk from pollution of chosen heavy metals in the Upstream Citarum River, Indonesia

This study explains water quality in terms of seven heavy metals in the Upstream Citarum River and analyses human health risk (non-carcinogenic risk) for adults and children. Water samples were collected from five sampling locations along the Upstream Citarum River, i.e. from Majalaya Sub-District to Dayeuhkolot Sub-District. The contents of heavy metals were analysed by the Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS) variant 240 FS. The results of the analysis showed that the pollution index value, which was categorised as slightly polluted from the highest to the lowest value, was as follows: location 4 (4.220) > location 1 (3.764) > location 2 (3.219) > location 5 (2.967) > location 3 (2.800). Values of the hazard index ( HI) for adults and children were as follows: Pb > Cr > Cd > Zn > Ni > Co > Cu. Pb and Cr have HI values greater than 1. This indicates that these metals can have a negative impact on public health. The HI in the ingestion pathway was greater than that of the dermal pathway, and the HI value for children was greater than that for adults. Further research is needed regarding the health risks from groundwater around the area which is used directly by the community because river water and groundwater systems are interconnected through streambeds.

Analyzing the impact of agricultural BMPs on stream nutrient load and biotic health in the Susquehanna-Chemung basin of New York

Despite the widespread use of agricultural best management practices (BMPs) to reduce watershed scale nutrient loads, there remain few studies that use directly observed data – instead of models – to evaluate BMP effectiveness at the watershed scale. In this study, we make use of extensive ambient water quality data, stream biotic health data, and BMP implementation data within the New York State portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed to assess the role of BMPs on reducing nutrient loads and modifying biotic health in major rivers. The specific BMPs considered were riparian buffers and nutrient management planning. A simple mass balance approach was used to evaluate the role of wastewater treatment plant nutrient reductions, agricultural land use changes, and these two agricultural BMPs in matching observed downward trends in nutrient load. In the Eastern nontidal network (NTN) catchment – where BMPs have been more widely reported – the mass balance model suggested a small but discernible contribution of BMPs in matching the observed downward trend in total phosphorus. Contrastingly, BMP implementations did not show clear contributions towards total nitrogen reductions in the Eastern NTN catchment nor for the total nitrogen and phosphorus in the Western NTN catchment, where BMP implementation data are more limited. Assessment of the relationship between stream biotic health and BMP implementation using regression models found limited connection between extent of BMP implementation and biotic health. In this case, however, spatiotemporal mismatches between the datasets and the relatively stable biotic health, typically of moderate to good quality even before BMP implementation, may reflect the need for better monitoring design to assess BMP effects at the subwatershed scale. Additional studies, perhaps using citizen scientists, may be able to provide more suitable data within the existing frameworks of the long-term surveys. Given the preponderance of studies that rely only on modeling to understand nutrient loading reductions achieved by implementation of BMPs, it is essential to continue to collect empirical data to meaningfully evaluate whether there are actual measurable changes due to BMPs.

Assessing lake health in China: Challenges due to multiple coexisting standards

Study RegionYangcheng Lake is located northeast of Suzhou city, one of the most economically developed cities in the Yangtze River Delta plain, China. Yangcheng Lake serves as a storage pool for flood control and water diversion; as well as a potable water source for Suzhou City. In recent years, summer cyanobacterial blooms began appearing in Yangcheng Lake, which urgently requires a health evaluation. Study FocusCurrently, there is a three-tier analysis system consisting of national, provincial, and local assessments in China. However, each tier has a unique set of standards, meaning that: 1) evaluations between tiers are not comparable and 2) conducting a unified survey and analyzing the results is exceedingly difficult. How to develop ways to standardize existing river and lake health evaluation systems in China become a global concern. New Hydrological Insights for the RegionAlthough the evaluation index system and assessment techniques are consistent throughout all three methods, they differ in their handling of index weights and assignment criteria. The health evaluation scores of Yangcheng Lake are in the Healthy to Sub-healthy range, with gradually decreasing health from east to west. This work synthesized the existing Chinese national-provincial-local health evaluation system and suggested standardizing the index system, index weights, and evaluation process to provide theoretical support for water resources management and water ecology restoration in freshwater water bodies in China.

Deciphering the source of heavy metals in industrially affected river sediment of Shitalakshya river, Bangladesh, and potential ecological and health implications

Heavy metals (HMs) in sediment samples (Dry and Rainy seasons) of industrially affected rivers were quantified by Energy Disperse X-ray Fluorescence in the Shitalakshya river of Bangladesh. This study assesses the potential health concerns provided by various HMs manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), arsenic (As), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), and chromium (Cr). Mean concentration of HMs ranked as Mn > Zn > Cu > Cr > Ni > Pb > As > Cd for both seasons, where almost all the elements were found within the standard limit, except for Cd and As. In the dry season, the concentrations of all HMs were slightly higher than in the rainy season, which can be attributed to the fact that pollutants in rivers may be diluted by rainwater, thus lowering the value. Enrichment factor, geo-accumulation index, contamination factor, and pollution load index indicated a high level of contamination by HMs and moderate levels of ecological risk. The hazard index was < 1 for adults and children in both seasons, revealing no possible non-carcinogenic health risk. Hazard Quotient for individual exposure path can be ranked as ingestion > dermal > inhalation for both seasons, regardless of age group. Carcinogenic risk via the entire three exposure path was ascertained safe for adults and children except for ingestion in children for both seasons. However, total carcinogenic risk value indicated low to medium risk for children in both seasons, while it is within a safe limit for adults. Multivariate statistical analysis indicated possible sources were anthropogenic primarily due to untreated wastes discharge from metal and waste dumping sites, oil and refinery industries, and glass and ceramic industries close to the sampling sites of the Shitalakshya river.

Removal of Riprap within Channelized Rivers: A Solution for the Restoration of Lateral Channel Dynamics and Bedload Replenishment?

Riverbank erosion is an essential morphodynamic process for the improvement of river health and the ecohydrogeomorphological functioning of alluvial rivers. Lateral channel dynamics and sediment supply caused by bank erosion largely create and maintain heterogeneous in-channel habitats for fauna and aquatic or riparian plant species. However, humans very early started to stabilize riverbanks in order to favour navigation or to prevent valuable land and infrastructures close to the channel from eroding. During the 20th century, bank protection works such as riprap considerably increased and blocked lateral channel erosion, causing a loss of local sediment supply, which in turn resulted in a decrease in local bedload transport and channel incision. The aim of the article is to evaluate to what extent riprap removal may be an efficient restoration measure in terms of the reactivation of bank erosion and the replenishment of the local bedload in gravel-bed floodplain rivers with a sufficient amount of freedom space. An experimental in situ restoration approach was chosen. First, riprap was removed at two geomorphologically contrasting sites on the Allier River, France. Second, bank retreat was monitored, and the volumes eroded were quantified using photogrammetric and LiDAR surveys. Third, in the case of post-restoration bank erosion, grain size and morphological channel evolution analyses were carried out. Our results suggested that the removal of riprap is an effective measure for certain but not all channelized floodplain reaches. The geomorphological and sedimentary contexts are two criteria that should be considered when selecting sites for restoration. Thus, this study helps river managers to better target the criteria to be taken into account for the selection of sites with high potential for the restoration of lateral channel dynamics.