Authors:
Sundermann, A., S. Stoll and P. Haase
Publication Date:
2011
Abstract/Summary:
Previous studies evaluating the success of river restorations have rarely found any consistent effects on benthic invertebrate assemblages. In this study, we analyzed data from 24 river restoration projects in Germany dating back 1 to 12 years and 1231 data sets from adjacent river reaches that lie within 0–5, 5–10, and 10–15 km rings centered on the restored sites. We calculated restoration success and recolonization potential of adjacent river reaches based on stream-type-specific subsets of taxa indicative for good or bad habitat quality. On average, the restorations did not improve the benthic invertebrate community quality. However, we show that restoration success depends on the presence of source populations of desired taxa in the surrounding of restored sites.
Resource Type:
Peer-reviewed Article
Source:
Ecological Applications
Link:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1890/10-0607.1/abstract