Applying the reference river concept for large river restoration: using an interhemisheric approach

Abstract

Large floodplain rivers are unique ecosystems where meteorology, hydrologiy and biochemistry integrate conditions that support many valuable species.Unfortunately most of world´s large rivers are heavily impacted through regulation, diversion, dredging, watershed impacts and other effects that have severely altered river line processes from their natural states. Improved management requires knowledge about important functional and structural patterns that may have been lost through many years of unsustainable management. Ideally, restoration strategies can be obtained by studying reference systems and applying this knowldge to target rivers if both systems have general geomorphic and climatic characteristics. Leess disturbed floodplain rivers can be naturally laboratories where insights into biocomplexity and its link to spatial and temporal heterogeneity can be obtained. The aim of this paper is to discuss if relatively unimpaired large floodplain rivers acting as reference systems can provide a suitable template to guide restoration processess in highly disturbed large rivers across continental scale.