Evaluating stream restoration projects
In: Environmental management: an international journal for decision makers, scientists, and environmental auditors, Band 19, Heft 1, S. 1-15
ISSN: 1432-1009
In: Environmental management: an international journal for decision makers, scientists, and environmental auditors, Band 19, Heft 1, S. 1-15
ISSN: 1432-1009
Stream restoration is currently a multi-billion dollar, nationwide enterprise enjoying the focus of numerous professional organizations, universities, policy, and citizen groups. The challenge of restoring damaged riverine ecosystems has driven interdisciplinary river science and policy as no other contemporary catalyst—but it hasn't always been that way. The earliest years of restoration, or more appropriately named "fish habitat manipulation" in Montana (and nationwide) evolved from "make-work" programs during the 1930's depression. Subsequent efforts in the 1960's and 1970's drew from that experience and traditional civil engineering, river mechanics. The Rosgen-based enterprise, initiated in the 1980's, spawned a new geomorphic approach to river restoration, brought fluvial geomorphology out of the closet, helped create the "river-restoration market", and ultimately provided incentives for academics to contribute to the current state of the art. Montana has both lagged and lead the nation in river restoration and preservation efforts. The Stream Protection Act of 1963 and Natural Streambed and Land Preservation Act of 1975 established permitting systems requiring integration of protection measures into stream alterations. The River Restoration Program (now known as Future Fisheries) enacted by the 1989 legislature recognized conservation of streams is of "vital social and economic importance to Montana" and established a funding for river and fishery restoration. Other programs including MTDEQ's 319 Program and DNRC's Loan and Grant Program provide additional funding sources. Montana has developed a vibrant river-restoration industry with over 30 Montana-based consultants and several University programs (MSU's Watercourse and UM's Center for Riverine Science) providing access to rapidly improving, cutting-edge science essential to effective stream restoration.
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Blog: Creating a better place
Tom Reid, Biodiversity Technical Specialist in the Environment Agency's Kent, South London and East Sussex Area, explains how the future of the Little Stour, a chalk stream in Kent, is being safeguarded through partnership working on an innovative restoration project.
In: Water and environment journal, Band 16, Heft 3, S. 189-193
ISSN: 1747-6593
AbstractSince 1982, Danish legislation on streams and drainage has included clauses which make it possible to implement river restoration. In this paper, the Danish shift in policy from drainage to the return of wetlands is described. To illustrate the new beginning on catchment management, two major river‐restoration schemes, i.e. the River Brede demonstration project and the River Skjern Nature project, are presented. Both projects have been implemented and consist of many parts, including (a) returning the straight, regulated rivers back to their former meanders, (b) introducing better hydraulic interaction between the river and its meadows, and (c) establishing former lakes, bogs, ponds and marshes. Also, an increase in security against flooding has resulted, as the regulated 'water‐motorways'have become more natural, with buffer‐zones and retention of water in the restored features.
In: Environmental management: an international journal for decision makers, scientists, and environmental auditors, Band 59, Heft 1, S. 10-20
ISSN: 1432-1009
In: Environmental management: an international journal for decision makers, scientists, and environmental auditors, Band 29, Heft 6, S. 877-885
ISSN: 1432-1009
In: Landscape & environment, Band 10, Heft 1, S. 26-44
ISSN: 1789-7556
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential of restoration of a stream section. The starting point of the multiple-step assessment process was a historical analysis, which resulted in the definition of different sections within the study area, providing a base for the further restoration goals. The assessment of the current conditions was elaborated particularly to determine those factors, which could limit restoration. These assessments cover the land use pattern, furthermore the analysis of vegetation and habitat patches. As a result of the historical analysis, it has been found that the stream side habitat patches have decreased significantly despite the constant space available. This change was not caused by the increased area of the settlement, but rather by the higher dominancy of arable forms of land use. The greatest share of wet and mesic meadows and agricultural habitats in the study areas, covering 57.5% of the total area, indicates significant anthropogenic effects. Consequently it can be stated that the reference conditions are not the only determining factors of the restoration possibilities. Restoration style and intensity have been defined on basis of all assessed factors.
In: Limnologica: ecology and management of inland waters, Band 55, S. 1-8
ISSN: 1873-5851
Climate change has brought to the forefront increasingly urgent concerns regarding future uncertainties, adaptation and risk in many countries. Flooding risks in the Netherlands however have been a high priority for decades. The Dutch Water Boards and other interested parties (other governments, NGO's, local farmers and private citizens) are attempting to deal with this new perceived vulnerability by increasing the resilience of the natural system, giving more space to the water and integrating as many interests into the new projects as possible, thus building stability and sustainability into the resulting system. The adaptive management strategies used to achieve this are comprised of taking a very broad perspective on the interests considered as compatible, deliberate adaptive project design to take advantage of different opportunities for improvements and alterations at different areas of the stream. Based on an existing framework of important governance regime characteristics, we add focus on one newly defined important quality: flexibility. Having both flexible and coherent governance regimes enables projects to meet local requirements and work towards a sustainable situation by synergetic win-win situations, constructive and cooperative planning and implementation and the development of a high level of trust. The paper illustrates and concludes that natural system resilience is dependent on such factors for providing governance system resilience.
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In: Limnologica: ecology and management of inland waters, Band 91, S. 125921
ISSN: 1873-5851
In: Environmental management: an international journal for decision makers, scientists, and environmental auditors, Band 21, Heft 3, S. 329-341
ISSN: 1432-1009
In: Environmental management: an international journal for decision makers, scientists, and environmental auditors, Band 41, Heft 6, S. 893-903
ISSN: 1432-1009
Forestry and wood industry have formed a foundation for Finland's national economy, yet inevitably at the expense of aquatic environments. From 1940s to 1970s, to provide energy resources for the industry sector, majority of large rivers were dammed for hydropower, blocking off their longitudinal connectivity. Concurrently, majority of the stream channels were dredged to facilitate timber transportation from headwaters to downriver factories. While most large rivers remain blocked, the timber floating ceased in the 1980s, and legislation imposing restoration as well as intensive restoration programs have been established ever since. Habitat restoration has mostly been motivated by the enhancement of recreational fisheries through the provision of better living conditions for salmonids. The measures have included construction of in-stream structures, such as weirs, flow deflectors, boulder dams and gravel beds, and recently also installation of large wood. Based on before-after-restoration measurements of physical variables and habitat-hydraulic modeling, the measures have been effective in enhancing complexity of stream beds and hydraulic conditions, thus potentially increasing the availability of suitable habitat for juvenile brown trout. The increase in habitat heterogeneity has been persistent over time, and has also shown positive signs in functional processes of stream ecosystem. Nevertheless, overall substrate variability in restored streams has remained lower than in natural streams, especially with a shortage of gravel beds for brown trout spawning. Sound ecological monitoring of restoration projects has been limited in Finland. A few long term before-after-restoration monitoring of brown trout densities, together with a meta-analytical synthesis of all good-quality monitoring data, have indicated an overall positive effect on brown trout parr densities. Yet, the absolute juvenile brown trout density in post-management streams has mainly remained lower than in natural reference streams. In addition, brown trout responses have varied strongly between restored streams. The strong context-dependency in restoration outcomes is explained mainly by catchment scale (e.g. river basin size, dominant geology) and local (potential interspecific competition, fisheries management) factors. Among the local fisheries management measures, loosely restricted fishing has diluted the positive effects of restoration, and stocking by eggs and parr have either been ineffective or affected negatively brown trout's response to restoration. Stream-specific differences have also been observed in the delivery of ecosystem services, mainly reflecting stakeholder perceptions of landscape values and fish provisioning. Yet, stream restoration in its present form has a strong public acceptance in Finland, mainly because it is considered beneficial for recreationally important fish, ecotourism, and the well-being of local people. ; peerReviewed
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In: Land use policy: the international journal covering all aspects of land use, Band 45, S. 204-212
ISSN: 0264-8377
In: Environmental management: an international journal for decision makers, scientists, and environmental auditors, Band 40, Heft 2, S. 245-255
ISSN: 1432-1009