Restoration ecology of river valleys

Jensen, Kai; Trepel, Michael; Merritt, David M.; Rosenthal, Gert

doi:10.1016/j.baae.2006.05.008

Cited by 26 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…European river basins have been used intensively for centuries. The canalization and regulation of rivers and the reclamation and eutrophication of floodplains have resulted in a decline in water quality and biodiversity (Nienhuis & Leuven 2001; Jensen et al 2006). Recently, the focus with respect to river management has changed to a more natural approach, in anticipation of the EU Water Framework Directive (Nienhuis et al 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors influencing the seed source and sink functions of a floodplain nature reserve in the Netherlands

Soomers

Sarneel²,

Patberg

et al. 2011

Journal of Vegetation Science

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Question: How do species traits and abiotic factors influence the extent of hydrochorous dispersal into and out of a small floodplain area along a free‐flowing river in The Netherlands? Location: The Kappersbult nature reserve (53°07′28″N, 6°37′14″E), which is a floodplain along the Dutch River Drentsche Aa. Methods: Seeds transported by the river were collected in fine mesh nets for 24 consecutive hours once or twice a week for 1 year, upstream and downstream of the studied floodplain. Data on the captured seeds were related to species traits and abiotic factors and species composition in the floodplain. Results: The floodplain functioned both as a seed source and sink. High levels of river water seemed to promote seed transport to or from the floodplain. Seeds of riverbank species occurred significantly more often in the river water than expected. Net source species had significantly higher seed production, taller stature and higher seed buoyancy, but lower site elevation than net sink species. Seed weight was significantly higher for sink species than for other species. Conclusion: Our study found that inundation, and therefore more natural river water management, is a prerequisite for seed transport to and from a floodplain. The restoration of target floodplain vegetation may be successful for common species that produce many seeds and grow in proximity to the river. Consequently, it is expected that the probability of restoring vegetation types that occur further from the river, such as wet grasslands, by hydrochorous dispersal is low.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors influencing the seed source and sink functions of a floodplain nature reserve in the Netherlands

Soomers

Sarneel²,

Patberg

et al. 2011

Journal of Vegetation Science

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“…2005). Unravelling these patterns should be the foundation of riparian ecology (Jensen et al . 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the impact of flooding on trait‐displacements and shifts in assemblage structure of predatory arthropods on river banks

Lambeets

Vandegehuchte

Maelfait

et al. 2008

Journal of Animal Ecology

110

131

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Summary1. Species assemblages of naturally disturbed habitats are governed by the prevailing disturbance regime. Consequently, stochastic flood events affect river banks and the inhabiting biota. Predatory arthropods occupy predominantly river banks in relation to specific habitat conditions. Therefore, species sorting and stochastic processes as induced by flooding are supposed to play important roles in structuring riparian arthropod assemblages in relation to their habitat preference and dispersal ability. 2. To ascertain whether assemblages of spiders and carabid beetles from disturbed river banks are structured by stochastic or sorting mechanisms, diversity patterns and assemblage-wide traitdisplacements were assessed based on pitfall sampling data. We tested if flooding disturbance within a lowland river reach affects diversity patterns and trait distribution in both groups. 3. Whereas the number of riparian spider species decreased considerably with increased flooding, carabid beetle diversity benefited from intermediate degrees of flooding. Moreover, regression analyses revealed trait-displacements, reflecting sorting mechanisms particularly for spiders. Increased flooding disturbance was associated with assemblage-wide increases of niche breadth, shading and hygrophilic preference and ballooning propensity for spider (sub)families. Trait patterns were comparable for Bembidiini carabids, but were less univocal for Pterostichini species. Body size decreased for lycosid spiders and Bembidiini carabids with increased flooding, but increased in linyphiid spiders and Pterostichini carabids. 4. Our results indicate that mainly riparian species are disfavoured by either too high or too low degrees of disturbance, whereas eurytopic species benefit from increased flooding. Anthropogenic alterations of flooding disturbance constrain the distribution of common hygrophilous species and/ or species with high dispersal ability, inducing shifts towards less specialized arthropod assemblages. River banks with divergent degrees of flooding impact should be maintained throughout dynamic lowland river reaches in order to preserve typical riparian arthropod assemblages.

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“…The hydrological techniques included reconnection of systems of rivers and lakes, multiplechanneling, water allocation, flood management, and establishment of wide riparian buffer zones or wetlands (Jensen et al 2006;Luderitz et al 2011). Most of the studies and/or engineering were conducted with low pollution loading or even no pollution input, so the rehabilitation of riverine ecosystem was mainly depended on natural processes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Case study on rehabilitation of a polluted urban water body in Yangtze River Basin

Cheng

Zhu

et al. 2012

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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In the past three decades, the fast development of economy and urbanization has caused increasingly severe pollutions of urban water bodies in China. Consequently, eutrophication and deterioration of aquatic ecosystem, which is especially significant for aquatic vegetation, inevitably became a pervasive problem across the Yangtze River Basin. To rehabilitate the degraded urban water bodies, vegetation replanting is an important issue to improve water quality and to rehabilitate ecosystem. As a case study, a representative polluted urban river, Nanfeihe River, in Hefei City, Anhui Province, was chosen to be a rehabilitation target. In October 2009 and May 2010, 13 species of indigenous and prevalent macrophytes, including seven species emergent, one species floating leaved, and five species submersed macrophytes, were planted along the bank slopes and in the river. Through 1.5 years' replanting practice, the water quality and biodiversity of the river had been improved. The concentrations of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and ammonia nitrogen (NH 4 + -N) declined by 46.0, 39.5, and 60.4 %, respectively. The species of macrophytes increased from 14 to 60, and the biodiversity of phytoplankton rose significantly in the river (p<0.05). The biomasses of zooplankton and benthos were also improved after the vegetation replanting. The study confirmed that vegetation replanting could alleviate the increasing water pollution and rehabilitate the degraded aquatic ecosystem. The case study would be an example for polluted urban waters restoration in the middle-downstream area of Yangtze River Base.

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Restoration ecology of river valleys

Cited by 26 publications

References 23 publications

Factors influencing the seed source and sink functions of a floodplain nature reserve in the Netherlands

Factors influencing the seed source and sink functions of a floodplain nature reserve in the Netherlands

Understanding the impact of flooding on trait‐displacements and shifts in assemblage structure of predatory arthropods on river banks

Case study on rehabilitation of a polluted urban water body in Yangtze River Basin

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