How does my river work?
To systematically know how your river works is of great importance for achieving success in river restoration and should be the first step in the restoration process. This type of information is rather timeless as it describes the nature of your river system, which can be used in any future river basin management plan.
For "How your river works?" three main sections are important, namely:
- Ecosystem structure
- Ecosystem functioning
- Ecosystem services
Ecosystem structure
Describing the ecosystem structure, or the characterisation of your river system, is the basic requirement for effective restoration. We developed the Multi-scale Hierarchical Framework to systematically describe your river and catchment. We give an overview of the method and show example case-studies in which the framework is applied.
Ecosystem functioning
In addition to the ecosystem structure, the "Ecosystem functioning" is important. REFORM focuses on the influence that hydromorphology has on plant and animal habitat. This section focuses especially on the reciprocal relation of hydromorphology and water plants. Understanding this relation is a major factor in the success or failure of restoration projects.
Ecosystem services
The ecosystem structure of your river can make it suitable for many human uses. We call these used ecosystem services as they are provided by the ecosystem. This section describes REFORM's results to valuate the services in a river system so you can assess effects of river restoration on the services provided.
