RT Journal Article
T1 Why consider geomorphology in river rehabilitation?
A1 Piégay, Hervé
A1 Arnaud, Fanny
A1 Belletti, Barbara
A1 Cassel, Mathieu
A1 Marteau, Baptiste
A1 Riquier, Jérémie
A1 Rousson, Christophe
A1 Vázquez Tarrio, Daniel
AB River rehabilitation and ecological engineering are becoming critical issues for improving river status when ecological habitats and connectivity have been altered by human pressures. Amongst the range of existing rehabilitation options, some specifically focus on rebuilding fluvial forms and improving physical processes. The aim of this contribution is to illustrate how geomorphological expertise and process-based thinking contribute to river rehabilitation success. This semantic contribution is intended to feed the rehabilitation debate, particularly concerning the design of actions and the proposed references for monitoring target reaches and evaluating rehabilitation effects empirically. This article is also based on lessons learned from practical cases, mainly in gravel-bed rivers. Geomorphic understanding is needed at a local level to achieve an adequate diagnosis of river functioning, estimate human impacts and potential remnant river responsiveness, and to assess the gains and risks from rehabilitation, as well as to appraise success or failure through several pre- and post-project assessment strategies. Geomorphological studies can also be upscaled in a top-down manner (from high-order controls to small-scale processes, understanding detailed processes in their regional or basin-wide context), providing large-scale information at the regional, national, or even global level, information that can be used to diagnose the health of riverscapes in relation to local site-specific contexts. As such, geomorphological studies support strategic planning and prioritization of rehabilitation works according to specific contexts and river responsiveness, so as to move from opportunistic to objective-driven strategies.
PB MDPI
YR 2023
FD 2023-07-27
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/87900
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/87900
LA eng
NO European Regional Development Fund
NO Agence de l’eau RMC
NO Labex DRIIHM
NO Université de Lyon
NO French National Research Agency
DS Docta Complutense
RD 7 abr 2025