Sustaining River Ecosystems and Water Resources

Abstract

People have deliberately manipulated rivers for centuries in an attempt to enhance specific river functions, including navigation and water supplies, and to limit haz- ards such as flooding and bank erosion associated with rivers. A narrowly focused conceptualization of rivers as primarily channels that convey water downstream is one result of this history of river management. Although river channels do convey water, they also transport and store solutes, sediment, and organic matter; create aquatic habitat; interact with the adjacent floodplain and underlying hyporheic zone; and support abundant and diverse biotic communities. River management focused only on water conveyance and hazard mitigation has led to a plethora of problems and to loss of river ecosystem services, prompting scientists, managers, and the public to seek more holistic conceptualizations of rivers as ecosystems. This book summarizes the state of river science with regard to river ecosystems and argues that management centered on a more holistic perspective of rivers will more effectively sustain river ecosystems and water resources. The book is designed to be accessible to students of river science and to river managers, as well as to sci- entists from diverse disciplines related to the study of rivers. Following the intro- ductory chapter, succeeding chapters summarize river science, the ways in which human activities directly and indirectly alter river ecosystems, and new manage- ment approaches for rivers. In writing this book, I have benefited from decades of stimulating discussions with research colleagues, graduate students, and natural resources managers in the United States and other countries. I feel fortunate to be able to study rivers and to work with people who are passionate about rivers. I would like to thank Sherestha Saini for the invitation to contribute to the SpringerBrief series, which led to the idea of writing about river ecosystems and river management, and Professor Jacqueline King, Dr. Katherine Skalak, and an anonymous reviewer for detailed and insightful comments that improved this book