Managing for large wood and beaver dams in stream corridors

Wohl, Ellen; Scott, Daniel N.; Yochum, Steven E.

doi:10.2737/rmrs-gtr-404

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 347 publications

(522 reference statements)

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“…Funding, cost, and site access (community receptiveness and minimizing land‐use conflicts) will almost certainly continue to be primary considerations in selecting river corridor restoration projects, but awareness of geomorphic context can enhance site prioritization within a catchment by indicating the locations where process‐based restoration can reinforce or restore desirable processes. Flow charts, decision trees, and guidelines that incorporate consideration of geomorphic context exist for, among other things, restoring incised channels (Schumm et al, 1984); retaining or removing large wood and logjams (Wohl et al, 2016); reintroducing large wood or beaver (Pollock et al, 2015; Wohl, Scott, & Yochum, 2019); introducing beaver dam analogs or similar structures (Wheaton et al, 2019); restoring habitat and longitudinal connectivity for fish and other stream organisms (CTUIR, 2016; Hood et al, 2022; Segurado et al, 2013); reducing river nitrogen loads (Craig et al, 2008); incorporating diverse spatial scales and multiple characteristics of river ecosystems (Polvi et al, 2020); general process‐based restoration (Ciotti et al, 2021); and general catchment‐scale improvement (Brierley & Fryirs, 2016; Walla Walla, 2021). Organizations such as The Nature Conservancy are publishing online documentation of prioritization schemes for process‐based restoration such as dam removal (TNC, 2023).…”

Section: Using Geomorphic Context To Inform Process‐based Restorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geomorphic context in process‐based river restoration

Wohl,

Rathburn,

Dunn

et al. 2024

River Research & Apps

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Process‐based river restoration seeks to restore processes such as channel‐floodplain connectivity that create and maintain river corridor functions. Process‐based restoration can fail to produce the desired results if geomorphic context is not effectively incorporated into restoration design. Geomorphic context of a river reach refers to the controls on contemporary river form and process. Controls at the catchment‐ to reach‐scale include geologic history, biophysical characteristics, legacies of past human alterations, position within the river network, river corridor geometry, base level stability, disturbance regime, and contemporary human alterations of the river corridor. We conceptualize a river corridor as reflecting the interactions among fluxes of material and the geomorphic context. We discuss how an understanding of geomorphic context can be used to select a restoration approach and provide examples of how restoration can fail to achieve desired outcomes when geomorphic context is not considered. Within the toolbox of methods used to implement process‐based restoration, we differentiate the alteration of inputs to the river corridor and fluxes of material through the corridor from alteration of form and/or connectivity within the river corridor. Historical, biotic, geologic/geomorphic, and reference sites can be used to inform process‐based restoration targets. Restoration is strongly influenced by human perceptions of what is appropriate and achievable at a site and diverse communities influencing restoration at a site may differ in their perceptions. Geomorphically based conceptual guidelines, such as the River Styles Framework, provide an effective platform for incorporating an understanding of geomorphic context into process‐based river restoration.

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Section: Using Geomorphic Context To Inform Process‐based Restorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geomorphic context in process‐based river restoration

Wohl,

Rathburn,

Dunn

et al. 2024

River Research & Apps

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“…Beaver dams are constantly exposed to changing flow conditions and decomposition processes (Woo & Waddington, 1990;Ronnquist & Westbrook, 2021). Because of these dynamics, beavers repair and maintain their dams, and sometimes expand them to increase the size of the upstream pond (Richard, 1967;Wohl et al, 2019). These activities enhance habitat variability and flow diversity between the upper and lower parts of a dam (Rolauffs et al, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The macroinvertebrate fauna of maintained and abandoned beaver dams

et al. 2023

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Beavers and their dams, once common in small streams throughout Eurasia and North America, are returning to their original range. Beaver dams are special habitats in the aquatic-terrestrial interface, but their macroinvertebrate fauna is hardly known. This study aims to qualify and quantify the invertebrate fauna of beaver dams, taking into account the maintenance status of the dams. Nine different areas covering the top, middle and base zones of eight maintained and eight abandoned beaver dams were sampled using a specially designed suction device. The invertebrate community of beaver dams proved to be diverse and predominantly rheophilic. Community composition reflects higher flow velocities in streamside habitats; this gradient is more pronounced in maintained than in abandoned dams. Shredders are the most abundant feeding type, but they are less frequent in streamside habitats, in particular in those of maintained dams, where passive filter feeders prevail. Terrestrial/Semiaquatic taxa colonising hygropetric areas were found in streamside habitats especially of abandoned dams. Our results underline that beaver dams provide a wide variety of environmental conditions and habitat types, which enhance biodiversity in small streams and their floodplains. Beaver dams in riverine landscapes should therefore be much more valued in floodplain conservation and management.

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Riverscapes as natural infrastructure: Meeting challenges of climate adaptation and ecosystem restoration

Skidmore

Wheaton

2022

Anthropocene

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Managing for large wood and beaver dams in stream corridors

Cited by 5 publications

References 347 publications

Geomorphic context in process‐based river restoration

Geomorphic context in process‐based river restoration

The macroinvertebrate fauna of maintained and abandoned beaver dams

Riverscapes as natural infrastructure: Meeting challenges of climate adaptation and ecosystem restoration

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