REFORM newsletter No 5 - September 2014

  1. Welcome editorial by the REFORM Coordinator
    REFORM Coordinator Tom Buijse briefly introduces the contents of the fifth newsletter of the project.
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  2. Learning from the past to improve river restoration in the future
    This article details the results of a comprehensive meta-analysis of existing studies on the effects of river restoration. The meta-analysis aimed at quantifying restoration success, identifying catchment, river reach, and project characteristics which influence the effect of restoration, and deriving recommendations for river management.
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  3. REFORM Scientific Publications
    This newsletter item informs you on the present status of scientific publications within REFORM and how you can keep track when new publications become available.   
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  4. PhD research in REFORM - Vegetation changes and flow regulation in gravel bed rivers (upper Esla basin, NW Spain)
    Rivers in Spain are highly altered due to the existence of more than 1200 large dams. There are few detailed studies on the cumulative effect that this intense flow regulation has over time and space. Current knowledge indicates that flow regulation initiates riparian vegetation changes through flood reduction that could decrease successful recruitment of native riparian pioneer species. The PhD thesis by Vanesa Martínez-Fernández aims to to analyse changes in riparian vegetation patterns in time and to verify if these changes could be associated with flow regulation.
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  5. PhD research in REFORM - Distinct patterns of interactions between vegetation and river morphology
    Vegetation and hydro-morphodynamics interact dynamically in rivers and river floodplains. In her PhD thesis, Mijke van Oorschot has developed a model that contains dynamic vegetation processes with the objective of identifying the key processes that create patterns in vegetation and fluvial morphology. The model will be able to support river managers in the design and long term prediction of ecological restoration measures.
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  6. National Stakeholder Workshop at Seville
    On 2 June 2014, a national stakeholder workshop was organised by REFORM in Seville, Spain. The general aim was to raise awareness and interest of water managers and stakeholders on the REFORM project and its results. In addition, Spanish experts shared their views and experiences on river restoration practices in the Spanish Mediterranean.
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  7. State-of-play on hydromorphology in river basin management planning - An interview with Johan Kling, Senior Advisor, Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management
    Johan Kling, senior advisor at the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management, shares his views on the state-of-play concerning the evaluation of hydromorphological changes, their impacts and the implementation of measures in the context of river basin management planning. He addresses these issues both from a European and a national perspective referring to progress made in his home-country, Sweden.
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  8. Re-meandering lowland rivers – the case study River Spree (Germany)
    This article describes the history of human intervention on the River Spree, Germany, focusing on the effects of a management and restoration concept developed to improve the quality of a 35 km long river section, the Müggelspree. The River Spree is one of the case studies of REFORM on river restoration and provides insights on the practice of re-meandering of rivers and the factors that can affect its success.
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  9. 2014 European River Restoration Conference – SEE River project final event
    The 6th edition of the European River Restoration Conference, integrated with the Final event of the SEE River project, will be held from 27 - 29 October 2014 in Vienna. This article outlines the context, goals and key challenges to be addressed in this event.
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