Ecological importance of an integrated approach to riverbed management --case study analysis

Abstract

There are various options for flow and sediment management at various reaches of a river basin such as: sediment bypass tunnel, dam removal, sediment replenishment, managed flows by reservoir operation, channel widening and creating secondary channels, etc., over the world. Firstly, we collect several case studies on flow, sediment, and channel management options at different reaches of a river basin in Japan, Switzerland, and USA. Secondly, we compare the effectiveness and limitation of these options from a perspective of area benefited, temporal scales, habitat heterogeneity created, ecological functions restored, etc., with due consideration to sediment characteristics. Thirdly, based on these results, we discuss ecological importance of an integrated approach to riverbed management.