River type specific restoration

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For 13 different types of river across Europe a synthesis of pressures, restoration experiences and variables suited for monitoring restoration is presented in a table, with links to a PDF factsheet for each river type (Table 1). The "River Type Specific Restoration" factsheets are meant to give insight into the diversity and similarities of restoration techniques for different types of rivers in terms of present practice and promising but to date little used approaches. Each fact sheet gives information on river type name, pressure categories/pressures, measure categories/measures and monitoring scheme. Per river type the valley- and planform, hydrology, morphology, chemistry, riparian zone are briefly described. Major pressures, problems and constraints for river restoration , common restoration practice with their problems and constraints and promising and new measures are given for each type.

The river typology adopted for the factsheets differs from the river reach typology developed in REFORM (Table 2) and refers to the (sub)catchment setting of a river in terms of altitude, size and geology and as such links to the European broad river types (ETC/ICM, 2015; Table 3). The setting of these types does not change in time. In contrast, the REFORM river reach typology is designed for assessing the hydromorphological functioning of individual river reaches. REFORM river reach types may change in time because they represent the response of the river reaches to processes of flow, sediment and vegetation. Furthermore, river (sub-)catchments of a single type according to the types presented in these factsheets may and often will contain different REFORM reach types (Table 3). Thus when identifying the most appropriate restoration techniques it is even for apparently similar river types i.e. covered by the same factsheet not a ‘one size fits all’ approach, but a tailor-made approach acknowledging the governing hydrological and morphological conditions and the interaction with vegetation. The factsheets drawn by regional experts are thus meant to support decision making, and should not be used as cookbooks.

Table 1 Overview of fact sheets per type of river

# Factsheet REFORM river type European Topic Centre 2015
High energy, highland rivers
1 Small, sinuous-straight, highland rivers with bedrock-coarse mixed sediments 1 - 3 ECT14, 15, 19, 20
2 Mid-sized, sinuous-straight, highland rivers with bedrock-coarse mixed sediments 1 - 3 ECT14, 15, 19, 20
3 Small, cascade, step-pool/plain bed, riffle-pool, highland rivers with (very) coarse sediments 4 - 7 ECT14, 15, 19, 20
4 Mid-sized, cascade, step-pool/plain bed, riffle-pool, highland rivers with (very) coarse sediments 4 - 7 ECT14, 15, 19, 20
Medium energy, mid altitude rivers with coarse to fine sediments
5 Small, single-thread or multi-thread, mid altitude rivers 8- 15 ECT9, 11-13, 19, 20
6 Mid-sized, single-thread or multi-thread, mid altitude rivers 8 - 15 ECT8, 10, 12, 13, 18
7 As 6, but specific for boreal rivers
Low energy, lowland rivers with fine to very fine bed sediment
8

Small, single-thread, lowland rivers

16 - 18, 20, 21 ETC3, 5 - 7, 19, 20
9 Mid-sized, single-thread, lowland rivers 16 - 18, 20, 21 ETC2, 4, 6, 7, 17
10 Small, anabranching , lowland rivers 19, 22 ETC3, 5 – 7
11 Mid-sized, anabranching, lowland rivers 19, 22 ETC2, 4, 6, 7
Others
12 Very large rivers (all Europe) 15 - 22 ETC1
13 Glacial rivers (all Europe) 1 – 9, 11 ETC16



Table 2. River typology European Topic Centre (source ETC/ICM 2015). WB = water body

Code Broad river type name Altitude (masl) Catchment area (km2) Geology number of national types number of WBs % of WBs
ETC1 Very large rivers (all Europe) any >10000 any (usually mixed) 54 827 1
ETC2 Lowland, Siliceous, Medium-Large ≤200 100-10000 Siliceous 24 1139 1,4
ETC3 Lowland, Siliceous, Very small-Small ≤200 ≤100 Siliceous 30 7302 8,9
ETC4 Lowland, Calcareous or Mixed, Medium-Large ≤200 100-10000 Calcareous/Mixed 67 2872 3,5
ETC5 Lowland, Calcareous or Mixed, Very small-Small ≤200 ≤100 Calcareous/Mixed 47 14137 17,1
ETC6 Lowland, Organic and Siliceous ≤200 <10000 Organic and Siliceous 18 6193 7,5
ETC7 Lowland, Organic and Calcareous/Mixed ≤200 <10000 Organic and Calcareous/Mixed 9 336 0,4
ETC8 Mid altitude, Siliceous, Medium-Large 200-800 100-10000 Siliceous 41 3051 3,7
ETC9 Mid altitude, Siliceous, Very small-Small 200-800 ≤100 Siliceous 37 8627 10,5
ETC10 Mid altitude, Calcareous or Mixed, Medium-Large 200-800 100-10000 Calcareous/Mixed 61 1797 2,2
ETC11 Mid altitude, Calcareous or Mixed, Very small-Small 200-800 ≤100 Calcareous/Mixed 48 7663 9,3
ETC12 Mid-altitude, Organic and siliceous 200-800 <10000 Organic and Siliceous 8 3290 4
ETC13 Mid-altitude, Organic and Calcareous/Mixed 200-800 <10000 Organic and Calcareous/Mixed 6 154 0,2
ETC14 Highland (all Europe), Siliceous, incl. Organic (humic) >800 <10000 Siliceous 16 1525 1,8
ETC15 Highland (all Europe), Calcareous/Mixed >800 <10000 Calcareous/Mixed 17 2227 2,7
ETC16 Glacial rivers (all Europe) >200 <10000 any 16 3251 3,9
ETC17 Mediterranean, Lowland, Medium-Large, perennial ≤200 100-10000 any 16 941 1,1
ETC18 Mediterranean, Mid altitude, Medium-Large, perennial 200-800 100-10000 any 13 615 0,7
ETC19 Mediterranean, Very small-Small, perennial <800 ≤100 any 21 1942 2,4
ETC20 Mediterranean, Temporary/Intermittent streams any <1000 any 26 3549 4,3



Table 3. Link between REFORM river types, planform pattern, bed material size and ETC type.

REFORM river type Planform pattern Bed material size (dominant size) ETC
Bedrock and Colluvial channels
1 Straight-sinuous Bedrock 9, 11, 14 - 16, 19, 20
2 Straight-sinuous Coarse - mixed 9, 11, 14 - 16, 19, 20
3 Straight-sinuous Mixed 9, 11, 14 - 16, 19, 20
Alluvial channels
4 Straight-sinuous Boulder 9, 11, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20
5 Straight-sinuous Boulder-Cobble 9, 11, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20
6 Straight-sinuous Boulder-Cobble-Gravel 9, 11, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20
7 Straight-sinuous Cobble-Gravel 9, 11, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20
8 Braided Gravel-Sand 8 - 13, 16, 18 - 20
9 Island-braided Gravel-Sand 8 - 13, 16, 18 - 20
10 Anabranching (high energy) Gravel-Sand 8 - 13, 18, 19
11 Wandering Gravel-Sand 8 - 13, 16, 18 - 20
12 Pseudo-meandering Gravel-Sand 8 - 13, 18 - 20
13 Straight-sinuous Gravel-Sand 8 - 13, 18 - 20
14 Meandering Gravel-Sand 8 - 13, 18 - 20
15 Braided Fine gravel-Sand 1 - 7; 17
16 Pseudo-meandering Fine gravel-Sand 1 - 7; 17
17 Straight-sinuous Fine gravel-Sand 1 - 7; 17
18 Meandering Fine gravel-Sand 1 - 7; 17
19 Anabranching (low energy) Fine gravel-Sand 1 - 7; 17
20 Straight-sinuous Fine sand-Silt-Clay 1 - 7; 17
21 Meandering Fine sand-Silt-Clay 1 - 7; 17
22 Anabranching (low energy) Fine sand-Silt-Clay 1 - 7; 17


References