HR: 1340h
AN: H13E-1364    [Abstracts]
TI: Use of Channel Non-uniformity in River Restoration Across Spatial Scales
AU: * Pasternack, G B
EM: gpast@ucdavis.edu
AF: UC Davis, 211 Veihmeyer Hall, LAWR, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616 United States
AB: Linked abiotic-biotic processes in rivers are highly nonlinear and tuned to specific conditions across all spatio-temporal scales. A key aspect of the nonlinearity that has been undervalued in both river science and restoration is the role of channel non-uniformity. As the water depth to bed grain size ratio decreases, channel non-uniformity takes over as a dominant control on hydraulic, geomorphic, and ecologic processes in rivers. Field-based and numerical experiments incorporating channel non-uniformity in hypothesis-driven river restoration projects were conducted to quantify associated aspects of abiotic-biotic linkages. Examples of key non-uniform dynamics relevant to river restoration across a basin that were evaluated include channel-unit self-sustainability, spatial patterns of physical habitat, organism utilization of physical habitat, knickpoint dynamics, and woody debris dynamics. A significant ecological response to restoration projects that incorporated channel non-uniformity was observed. Although inclusion of non-uniformity in river restoration design involves more sophisticated methods than currently practiced, rapid advancements in data collection, management, and analysis methods already enable use of non-uniformity at the sub-reach scale, and will soon enable systemic evaluation over tens of kilometers at the same resolution at which organisms experience a river.
UR: http://shira.lawr.ucdavis.edu
DE: 0481 Restoration
DE: 1813 Eco-hydrology
DE: 1825 Geomorphology: fluvial (1625)
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005