[MCN] Rivers' restoration: Restore big in-river wood: 5 references

Lance Olsen lance at wildrockies.org
Tue Aug 18 12:42:05 EDT 2015


1-Journal of Applied Ecology 2007 44, 1145-1155
© 2007 British Ecological Society
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2007.01401.x

The use of large wood in stream restoration: 
experiences from 50 projects in Germany and 
Austria
JOCHEM KAIL*, DANIEL HERING*, SUSANNE MUHAR_, MARC GERHARD_ and SABINE PREIS_

*University of Duisburg-Essen, Department of 
Hydrobiology, D-45117 Essen, Germany

_-University of Natural Resources and Applied 
Life Sciences, Department 
Water-Atmosphere-Environment, A-1180 Vienna, 
Austria

y-Institute for Landscape Planning and Nature 
Conservation, Herrenhäuser Str. 2, D-30419 
Hannover, Germany

Key-words: alpine streams, lowland streams, 
monitoring, mountain streams, passive 
restoration, restoration success, 
soft-engineering, woody debris

Summary

1.Wood is increasingly used in restoration 
projects to improve the hydromorphological and 
ecological status of streams and rivers. However, 
despite their growing importance, only a few of 
these projects are described in the open 
literature. To aid practitioners, we conducted a 
postal mail survey to summarize the experiences 
gained in central Europe and compile data on 50 
projects.

2.Our results indicated the potential for 
improvement from an ecological point of view, as 
the number and total wood volume, and the median 
volume of single wood structures placed in the 
streams per project, were low compared with the 
potential natural state. Moreover, many wood 
structures were placed nearly parallel to the 
water flow, reducing their beneficial effect on 
stream hydraulics and morphology.

3. Restoration success has been monitored in only 
58% of the projects. General conclusions drawn 
include the following. (i) The potential effects 
of wood placement must be evaluated within a 
watershed and reach-scale context. (ii) Wood 
measures are most successful if they mimic 
natural wood. (iii) Effects of wood structures on 
stream morphology are strongly dependent on 
conditions such as stream size and hydrology. 
(iv) Wood placement has positive effects on 
several fish species. (v) Most projects revealed 
a rapid improvement of the hydromorphological 
status.

4.Most of the wood structures have been fixed, 
called 'hard engineering'. However, soft 
engineering methods (use of non-fixed wood 
structures) are known to result in more natural 
channel features for individual stream types, 
sizes and sites, and are significantly more 
cost-effective.

5.Synthesis and applications. Large wood has been 
used successfully in several projects in central 
Europe, predominantly to increase the general 
structural complexity using fixed wood 
structures. Our results recommend the use of less 
costly soft engineering techniques (non-fixed 
wood structures), higher amounts of wood, larger 
wood structures and improved monitoring 
programmes for future restoration projects 
comparable with those in this study. We recommend 
the use of 'passive restoration' methods 
(restoring the process of wood recruitment on 
large scales) rather than 'active restoration' 
(placement of wood structures on a reach scale), 
as passive restoration avoids the risk of 
non-natural amounts or diversity of wood loading 
developing within streams. Local, active 
placement of wood structures must be considered 
as an interim measure until passive restoration 
methods have increased recruitment sufficiently.

========================================
2- Earth Surface Processes and  Landforms 35, 618-625 (2010)
Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Published online 11 March 2010 in Wiley 
InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com)
DOI: 10.1002/esp.1966

Large in-stream wood studies: a call for common metrics
Ellen Wohl,1 Daniel A. Cenderelli,2 Kathleen A. 
Dwire,3 Sandra E. Ryan-Burkett,3 Michael K. 
Young4 and Kurt D. Fausch5

1-Department of Geosciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
2-USDA Forest Service, Stream Systems Technology Center, Fort Collins, CO, USA
3-USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fort Collins, CO, USA
4-USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research 
Station, Forestry Sciences Lab, Missoula, MT, USA
5-Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation 
Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, 
CO, USA

Received 16 October 2009; Accepted 2 November 
2009 *Correspondence to: Ellen Wohl, Department 
of Geosciences, Colorado State University, Fort 
Collins, CO 80523-1482, USA. E-mail: 
ellenw at cnr.colostate.edu

ABSTRACT: During the past decade, research on 
large in-stream wood has expanded beyond North 
America's Pacific Northwest to diverse 
environments and has shifted toward increasingly 
holistic perspectives that incorporate processes 
of wood recruitment, retention, and loss at 
scales from channel segments to entire 
watersheds. Syntheses of this rapidly expanding 
literature can be facilitated by agreement on 
primary variables and methods of measurement. In 
this paper we address these issues by listing the 
variables that we consider fundamental to studies 
of in-stream wood, discussing the sources of 
variability in their measurement, and suggesting 
more consistency in future studies. We recommend 
23 variables for all studies of in-stream wood, 
as well as another 12 variables that we suggest 
for studies with more specific objectives. Each 
of these variables relates either to the size and 
characteristics of in-stream wood, to the 
geomorphic features of the channel and valley, or 
to the ecological characteristics of the riparian 
zone adjacent to the study reach. The variables 
were derived from an overview of those cited in 
the literature and from our collective field 
experiences. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, 
Ltd.
----------------------------------------------------
3-Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
Large woody debris in a mountain stream of the Chilean Andes    1675
Earth Surf. Process. Landforms 32, 1675-1692 (2007)
Published online 18 September 2007
DOI: 10.1002/esp.1593

Characteristics, distribution and geomorphic role 
of large woody debris in a mountain stream of the 
Chilean Andes
Andrea Andreoli, Francesco Comiti* and Mario Aristide Lenzi

Department of Land and Agroforest Environments, 
University of Padova, Viale dell'Università No. 
16, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy

Abstract
The paper presents an analysis of amounts, 
characteristics and morphological impact of large 
woody debris (LWD) in the Tres Arroyos stream, 
draining an old-growth forested basin (9·1 km2) 
of the Chilean Southern Andes. Large woody debris 
has been surveyed along a 1·5 km long channel 
section with an average slope of 0·07 and a 
general step-pool/cascade morphology. Specific 
wood storage is very high (656 -710 m3 ha-1), 
comparable to that recorded in old-growth 
forested basins in the Pacific Northwest. Half of 
the LWD elements were located on the active 
floodplain, and around two-thirds of LWD elements 
were found in accumula- tions. Different types of 
log jam were observed, some heavily altering 
channel morphology (log-steps and valley jams), 
while others just line the channel edges 
(bankfull bench jams). Log-steps represent 
approximately 22% of all steps, whereas the 
elevation loss due to LWD (log-steps and valley 
jams) results in 27% loss of the total stream 
potential energy. About 1600 m3 of sediment is 
stored in the main channel behind LWD structures, 
corresponding to approximately 150% of the annual 
sediment yield.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Keywords: large woody debris; channel morphology; valley jams; log-steps; Andes
------------------------------------------------------
4- River Research and  Applications (2011)
Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com)
DOI: 10.1002/rra.1532

A LIDAR-DERIVED EVALUATION OF WATERSHED-SCALE 
LARGE WOODY DEBRIS SOURCES AND RECRUITMENT 
MECHANISMS: COASTAL MAINE, USA
A. KASPRAK,a* F. J. MAGILLIGAN,b K. H. NISLOWc and N. P. SNYDERd

a Department of Earth Sciences, Dartmouth 
College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755, USA
b Department of Geography, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755, USA
c USDA Northern Research Station, Amherst, Massachusetts 01103, USA
d Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 
Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 
02467, USA

ABSTRACT
In-channel large woody debris (LWD) promotes 
quality aquatic habitat through sediment sorting, 
pool scouring and in-stream nutrient retention 
and transport. LWD recruitment occurs by numerous 
ecological and geomorphic mechanisms including 
channel migration, mass wasting and natural tree 
fall, yet LWD sourcing on the watershed scale 
remains poorly constrained. We developed a rapid 
and spatially extensive method for using light 
detection and ranging data to do the following: 
(i) estimate tree height and recruitable tree 
abundance throughout a watershed; (ii) determine 
the likelihood for the stream to recruit 
channel-spanning trees at reach scales and assess 
whether mass wasting or channel migration is a 
dominant recruitment mechanism; and (iii) 
understand the contemporary and future 
distribution of LWD at a watershed scale. We 
utilized this method on the 78 km-long 
Narraguagus River in coastal Maine and found that 
potential channel-spanning LWD composes 
approximately 6% of the valley area over the 
course of the river and is concentrated in 
spatially discrete reaches along the stream, with 
5 km of the river valley accounting for 50% of 
the total potential LWD found in the system. We 
also determined that 83% of all potential LWD is 
located on valley sides, as opposed to 17% on 
floodplain and terrace surfaces. Approximately 3% 
of channel-spanning vegetation along the river is 
located within one channel width of the stream. 
By examining topographic and morphologic 
variables (valley width, channel sinuosity, 
valley-side slope) over the length of the stream, 
we evaluated the dominant recruitment processes 
along the river and often found a spatial 
disconnect between the location of potential 
channel-spanning LWD and recruitment mechanisms, 
which likely explains the low levels of LWD 
currently found in the system. This rapid method 
for identification of LWD sources is extendable 
to other basins and may prove valuable in 
locating future restoration projects aimed at 
increasing habitat quality through wood additions.

Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
key words: large woody debris; lidar; river 
restoration; habitat Received 5 November 2010; 
Revised 16 March 2011; Accepted 30 March 2011
-------------------------------------------------
5- Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 36, 1137-1151 (2011)
Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Published online 1 March 2011 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com)

DOI: 10.1002/esp.2135
Distribution and characterization of in-channel 
large wood in relation to geomorphic patterns on 
a low-gradient river
Bertrand Moulin,1 Edward R. Schenk2* and Cliff R. Hupp2

1 AEMGEO - University of Lyon, CNRS UMR 5600 ? 
Environnement Ville et Société, Site of École 
Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 15 Parvis René 
Descartes, BP 7000, 69342, Lyon cedex 07, France
2 US Geological Survey, 12205 Sunrise Valley Dr., Reston, VA 20192, USA
Received 30 August 2010; Revised 5 January 2011; Accepted 10 January 2011

* Correspondence to: E. R. Schenk, US Geological 
Survey, 12205 Sunrise Valley Dr., Reston, VA 
20192, USA. E?mail: eschenk at usgs.gov

ABSTRACT: A 177 river km georeferenced aerial 
survey of in-channel large wood (LW) on the lower 
Roanoke River, NC was conducted to determine LW 
dynamics and distributions on an eastern USA 
low-gradient large river. Results indicate a 
system with approximately 75% of the LW available 
for transport either as detached individual LW or 
as LW in log jams. There were approximately 55 
individual LW per river km and another 59 pieces 
in log jams per river km. Individual LW is a 
product of bank erosion (73% is produced through 
erosion) and is isolated on the mid and upper 
banks at low flow. This LW does not appear to be 
important for either aquatic habitat or as a 
human risk. Log jams rest near or at water level 
making them a factor in bank complexity in an 
otherwise homogenous fine-grained channel. A 
segmentation test was performed using LW 
frequency by river km to detect breaks in 
longitudinal distribution and to define 
homogeneous reaches of LW frequency. Homogeneous 
reaches were then analyzed to determine their 
relationship to bank height, channel width/depth, 
sinuosity, and gradient. Results show that log 
jams are a product of LW transport and occur more 
frequently in areas with high snag 
concentrations, low to intermediate bank heights, 
high sinuosity, high local LW recruitment rates, 
and narrow channel widths. The largest 
concentration of log jams (21.5 log jams/km) 
occurs in an actively eroding reach. Log jam 
concentrations downstream of this reach are lower 
due to a loss of river competency as the channel 
reaches sea level and the concurrent development 
of unvegetated mudflats separating the active 
channel from the floodplain forest. Substantial 
LW transport occurs on this low-gradient, 
dam-regulated large river; this study, paired 
with future research on transport mechanisms 
should provide resource managers and policymakers 
with options to better manage aquatic habitat 
while mitigating possible negative impacts to 
human interests. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & 
Sons, Ltd.
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======================================
Professor Tim Benton, Research Dean in the 
Faculty of Biological Sciences and co-author of 
the research, said: "We are increasingly finding 
that the appropriate area needed to best manage 
biodiversity is greater than the area managed by 
individuals - the same is true of farms within 
the countryside - and so the biggest challenge is 
to find ways that help neighbours to co-operate. 
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/695/gardeners_must_unite_to_save_britains_wildlife
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