Report

Methods, models, tools to assess the hydromorphology of rivers - Part 1 Main report

Work Package 6 of REFORM focuses on monitoring protocols, survey methods, assessment procedures, guidelines and other tools for characterising the consequences of physical degradation and restoration, and for planning and designing successful river restoration and mitigation measures and programmes. Deliverable 6.2 of Work Package 6 is the final report on methods, models and tools to assess the hydromorphology of rivers. 

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Policy discussion paper "Bringing groundwater to the surface"

This policy paper aims are to identify specific issues and raise awareness of the issues related to groundwater-river interactions by improving knowledge transfers to policy makers and water managers. Groundwater is a key factor in supporting ecological flows (Eflows), both concerning quantity and quality of surface water required for Good Status of aquatic ecosystems. 

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Guidance to detect impact of HyMo degradation on riparian ecosystems

The aim of this deliverable is to address the impact of hydromorphological degradation on floodplain and riparian ecosystems, with specific focus on vegetation, fish and invertebrate responses and to provide guidance on how to identify those impacts. 

An introductory chapter summarises the research context and reviews the lessons for managers and stakeholders. Based on the results of the analyses, and the river styles typology developed in Work Package 2 of REFORM, a generic process is recommended for assessing the impact on floodplain and riparian ecosystems, incorporating our key findings. It also highlights the usefulness and limitations of existing EU Directives in providing a suitable legislative framework. 

Assessments of instream impacts on riverine ecosystems make use of multi-site datasets, riparian and floodplain ecosystems are not subject to this type of extensive monitoring; hence, the results presented here are based primarily on case studies from across Europe.

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Cost-effective restoration measures that promote wider ecosystem and societal benefits

The report provides an overview of existing guidelines and manuals related to the assessment of costs and benefits of river restoration. Although there exist many cost-benefit analysis handbooks, there are not many related specifically to river restoration. This report aims to fill this gap, and focuses on the specific characteristics of the estimation of costs and benefits related to river restoration. The report discusses the classification and assessment of costs and benefits of river restoration, and develops a benefits transfer approach that can be used to assess benefits when it is not possible to carry out primary valuation research. Key methodological issues in a CBA of river restoration are identified, discussed and illustrated. The report provides a number of practical recommendations to practitioners.

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Evaluation of candidate biological indicators of hydrological and morphological degradation

Work Package 3 of REFORM focuses on the impacts of hydromorphological changes on river and floodplain ecosystems. The main research objectives of deliverable 3.3 are:

  • To establish empirical relationships between the biota, flow dynamics, substrate complexity/habitat heterogeneity and sediment dynamics.
  • To select and develop candidate indicators for WFD quality elements that quantify impacts of hydrological and morphological degradation in rivers.
  • To develop novel biological indicators capable of diagnosing hydromorphological stressors in a multiple stressor environment.
  • To advise on the design of monitoring programs to detect hydrological and morphological degradation.
  • To address the importance to quantify uncertainty in biology based hydromorphological assessment and discuss the implications of uncertainty for monitoring and assessment.

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Assessing the societal benefits of river restoration using the ecosystem services approach

The success of river restoration is often poorly quantified due to poor design, absence of proper monitoring or incomplete documentation. This study is an attempt to overcome this ex-post using the aggregating nature of the ecosystem services approach. In 8 pairs of restored reaches and their adjacent floodplains of middle-sized European rivers, we quantified as many provisioning, regulating and cultural services as possible that were of final value to humans as annual biogeochemical or –physical fluxes, or densities per year, and summed these to annual economic value normalised per area. 

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Understanding biological responses to degraded hydromorphology and multiple stresses

The aim of this deliverable is to conceptually model and empirically test the response of biota to the effects of both hydromorphological pressures acting in concert with one another or with other types of pressures. Best use is made of existing large national monitoring datasets (Denmark, UK, Finland, France, Germany, Austria & WISER datasets), case studies and modeling to provide evidence of multiple stressors interacting to alter river biota (Biological Quality Elements: BQE).

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Effects of large- and small-scale river restoration on hydromorphology and ecology

 Summary

An increasing number of river sections have been restored in the past few decades but only a small number of these projects have been monitored. The few monitoring studies mainly investigated single organism groups, reported contrasting results, and rarely did investigate the influence of catchment, river or project characteristics. In this study, we compiled a harmonized dataset on the effects of hydromorphological river restoration measures on biota based on a standardized monitoring design to minimize scatter due to methodological differences. A broad range of response variables was recorded to draw conclusions on the effect of restoration on biota in general, including habitat composition in the river and its floodplain, three aquatic and two floodplain-inhabiting organism groups, as well as food web composition and aquatic land interactions as reflected by stable isotopes. Additional data on factors potentially constraining or enhancing the effect of restoration were compiled to identify conditions which favour restoration success. The main focus was dedicated to investigate the effect of restoration extent (as indicated by restored section length and restoration intensity).

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Multi-scale framework and indicators of hydromorphological processes and forms IV. Partial case study applications

Part 4 of Deliverable 2.1 "Multi-scale framework and indicators of hydromorphological processes and forms" provides four partial applications of the framework described in Part 1 to case study catchments (River Tweed, UK; River Loire, France; River Tagliamento, Italy; Rivers Lech and Lafnitz, Austria). These case studies are mainly confined to the delineation and characterisation phases of the framework, but they incorporate additional environmental settings to the complete case studies provided in Part 3.

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Multi-scale framework and indicators of hydromorphological processes and forms III. Full case study applications

Part 3 of Deliverable 2.1 "Multi-scale framework and indicators of hydromorphological processes and forms" provides a set of full case study applications of the framework described in Part 1 that are designed to guide users of the framework through the various stages of its application. The five case studies are set within different biogeographical regions of Europe.

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