Morphological, hydrological, biogeochemical and ecological changes and challenges in river restoration – the Thur River case study
River restoration can enhance river dynamics, environmental heterogeneity and biodiversity, but the underlying processes governing the dynamic changes need to be understood to ensure that restoration projects meet their goals, and adverse effects are prevented. In particular, we need to comprehend h...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2014-06-01
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Series: | Hydrology and Earth System Sciences |
Online Access: | http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/18/2449/2014/hess-18-2449-2014.pdf |
Summary: | River restoration can enhance river dynamics, environmental heterogeneity
and biodiversity, but the underlying processes governing the dynamic changes
need to be understood to ensure that restoration projects meet their goals,
and adverse effects are prevented. In particular, we need to comprehend how
hydromorphological variability quantitatively relates to ecosystem
functioning and services, biodiversity as well as ground- and surface water
quality in restored river corridors. This involves (i) physical processes
and structural properties, determining erosion and sedimentation, as well as
solute and heat transport behavior in surface water and within the
subsurface; (ii) biogeochemical processes and characteristics, including the
turnover of nutrients and natural water constituents; and (iii) ecological
processes and indicators related to biodiversity and ecological functioning.
All these aspects are interlinked, requiring an interdisciplinary
investigation approach. Here, we present an overview of the recently
completed RECORD (<b>RE</b>stored <b>COR</b>ridor <b>D</b>ynamics)
project in which we combined physical, chemical, and biological
observations with modeling at a restored river corridor of the perialpine
Thur River in Switzerland. Our results show that river restoration, beyond
inducing morphologic changes that reshape the river bed and banks, triggered
complex spatial patterns of bank infiltration, and affected habitat type,
biotic communities and biogeochemical processes. We adopted an
interdisciplinary approach of monitoring the continuing changes due to
restoration measures to address the following questions: How stable is the
morphological variability established by restoration? Does morphological
variability guarantee an improvement in biodiversity? How does morphological
variability affect biogeochemical transformations in the river corridor?
What are some potential adverse effects of river restoration? How is river
restoration influenced by catchment-scale hydraulics and which feedbacks exist on
the large scale? Beyond summarizing the major results of individual
studies within the project, we show that these overarching questions could
only be addressed in an interdisciplinary framework. |
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ISSN: | 1027-5606 1607-7938 |