Freedom space for rivers: An economically viable river management concept in a changing climate

Buffin‐Bélanger, Thomas; Biron, Pascale M.; Larocque, Marie; Demers, Serge; Olsen, Taylor; Choné, Guénolé; Ouellet, Marie‐Audray; Cloutier, Claude-André; Desjarlais, Claude; Eyquem, Joanna

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2015.05.013

Cited by 89 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Building on similar management strategies around the globe, this concept was developed and proposed in the province of Quebec by Biron et al (2014) and Buffin-B elanger et al (2015). Our findings support the application of the "freedom space for rivers" concept to the Neigette River.…”

Section: Sustainable Strategies For Management Of Lw Jamssupporting

confidence: 73%

Understanding hydrogeomorphological dynamics and the distribution of large wood jams to promote sustainable river management strategies

Massé

Buffin‐Bélanger

2016

Canadian Geographies / Géographies canadiennes

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Key MessagesBank erosion and old-growth upstream riparian forest stands have been identified as key factors for large wood (LW) recruitment in the river system. physiques de chaque embâcle a et e r ealis ee sur les 32 km du tronS c on a l' etude pour mettre en lumi ere les interrelations entre l'hydrog eomorphologie et le bois mort a l' echelle du corridor fluvial. L' etude souligne le rôle des param etres hydrog eomorphologiques du chenal sur la distribution longitudinale des embâcles de bois mort. Le contexte morphos edimentaire et les interactions entre le chenal et la plaine alluviale foresti ere semblent expliquer la diminution de l'amont vers l'aval du nombre d'EBM. Les r esultats sugg erent une forte variabilit e spatiale des embâcles de bois mort dans la rivi ere Neigette et sont int egr es dans un mod ele conceptuel permettant d' elaborer des strat egies de gestion qui consid erent le dynamisme du bois mort dans le but de mitiger les risques d' erosion et d'inondation.Mots cl es : embâcles de bois mort, hydrog eomorphologie, gestion durable des cours d'eau, rivi ere Neigette, Qu ebec

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Section: Sustainable Strategies For Management Of Lw Jamssupporting

confidence: 73%

Understanding hydrogeomorphological dynamics and the distribution of large wood jams to promote sustainable river management strategies

Massé

Buffin‐Bélanger

2016

Canadian Geographies / Géographies canadiennes

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“…Such practices impose significant constraints upon future management options, embedding costs that must be met by future generations. Space to move initiatives are framed, in part, in efforts to reduce these costs by allowing the river to ‘self‐adjust’ and ‘self‐heal’ whenever possible (Kondolf, ; Warner et al ., ; Buffin‐Bélanger et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Use of Evolutionary Trajectories to Guide ‘Moving Targets’ in the Management of River Futures

Brierley

Fryirs

2015

River Research & Apps

119

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River histories provide important guidance with which to inform river management. Evolutionary trajectories and appraisals of system responses to changing flux conditions and disturbance events can be used to determine the range of potential future states and associated behavioural regimes, assessing the likelihood that that these states will be attained over a given timeframe. In these analyses, natural or historical reference reaches may not provide a realistic basis to set target conditions for management actions, as what has gone before does not necessarily provide a complete and reliable picture of prospective future conditions. This paper outlines the use of a conceptual tool, the river evolution diagram, as a geomorphic platform to assess river history and the potential range of river futures for any given system. Evolutionary adjustments of a sand bed river in southeastern Australia are used to demonstrate the application of this approach. Applying adaptive management principles, ‘moving targets’ for river management are framed in relation to the range of likely future states and trajectories of adjustment. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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“…Buffin‐Bélanger et al . (in press) were able to include wetland creation because of meander cut‐off in their cost‐benefit analysis on the implementation of a freedom space management approach for three rivers in Quebec (including the Yamaska Sud‐Est). When taking into account ecosystem services, implementing a management strategy based on freedom space for rivers was shown to provide benefits for society over a 50‐year period.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Relationship Between River Mobility and Habitat

Choné

Biron²

2015

River Res. Applic.

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Human interventions that limit channel mobility such as bank stabilization are frequent in riparian zones in urban or agricultural environments. This is potentially problematic because channel mobility is an important geomorphological and ecological agent that structures natural instream and riparian ecosystems. This study aims to (1) quantify the relationship between mobility and three types of habitat‐related features, namely bars, oxbow lakes and log jams, for a 54‐km‐long reach of the Yamaska Sud‐Est River (Quebec, Canada), which runs from the forested Appalachian Mountains to the agricultural St‐Lawrence lowlands, and (2) evaluate the impact of human interventions and geomorphological characteristics on these three features. Channel mobility was measured from historical aerial photos for the period 1950–2009. A combination of high‐resolution aerial photos, LiDAR digital elevation model, and field observations was used to measure and map sediment bars, oxbow lakes and log jams, as well as several geomorphological characteristics (channel width, slope, sinuosity and floodplain width). A strong link between the mobility and the presence of habitat features is revealed, but local geomorphological contexts result in different mobility patterns responsible for specific habitats. Floodplain to channel width ratio appears as the best geomorphological factor predicting habitat diversity. Human intervention, mostly through bank stabilization, also appears to be a key factor limiting mobility and its related habitats. These results highlight the importance of defining a protected mobility corridor along rivers where geomorphic processes such as bank erosion can freely occur, as it is an essential process that should be integrated in land use planning and river management. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Freedom space for rivers: An economically viable river management concept in a changing climate

Cited by 89 publications

References 43 publications

Understanding hydrogeomorphological dynamics and the distribution of large wood jams to promote sustainable river management strategies

Understanding hydrogeomorphological dynamics and the distribution of large wood jams to promote sustainable river management strategies

The Use of Evolutionary Trajectories to Guide ‘Moving Targets’ in the Management of River Futures

Assessing the Relationship Between River Mobility and Habitat

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