Resilience in river corridors refers to the ability to absorb disturbance and maintain processes, forms, and functions that support the river ecosystem and provide ecosystem services. Resilience derives from characteristics such as three‐dimensional connectivity, spatial heterogeneity, and physical and ecological integrity. Resilience is important as climate warming and growing human populations and consumptive demands change the disturbance regime affecting river corridors. Consequently, river management increasingly focuses on enhancing natural characteristics that create river resilience via (a) identifying the processes and features that promote and sustain resilience, (b) identifying portions of a river network and/or river corridor that are most resilient or most influential in creating resilience at larger spatial scales, and (c) protecting and restoring features that create resilience. Although the basic conceptual framework for these activities is well established, critical questions remain with respect to how reach‐scale management creates catchment‐scale results.
Resilience in river corridors refers to the ability to absorb disturbance and maintain processes, forms, and functions that support the river ecosystem and provide ecosystem services. Resilience derives from characteristics such as three‐dimensional connectivity, spatial heterogeneity, and physical and ecological integrity. Resilience is important as climate warming and growing human populations and consumptive demands change the disturbance regime affecting river corridors. Consequently, river management increasingly focuses on enhancing natural characteristics that create river resilience via (a) identifying the processes and features that promote and sustain resilience, (b) identifying portions of a river network and/or river corridor that are most resilient or most influential in creating resilience at larger spatial scales, and (c) protecting and restoring features that create resilience. Although the basic conceptual framework for these activities is well established, critical questions remain with respect to how reach‐scale management creates catchment‐scale results.
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