Riparian Ecosystem Creation And Restoration

The Clean Water Act (CWA) requires that wetlands be protected from degradation because of their important ecological functions including maintenance of high water quality and provision of fish and wildlife habitat. However, this protection generally does not encompass riparian areasâ€"the lands bordering rivers and lakesâ€"even though they often provide the same functions as wetlands. Growing recognition of the similarities in wetland and riparian area functioning and the differences in their legal protection led the NRC in 1999 to undertake a study of riparian areas, which has culminated in Riparian Areas: Functioning and Strategies for Management. The report is intended to heighten awareness of riparian areas commensurate with their ecological and societal values. The primary conclusion is that, because riparian areas perform a disproportionate number of biological and physical functions on a unit area basis, restoration of riparian functions along America's waterbodies should be a national goal.

This annotated bibliography contains 1,905 citations from professional journals, symposia, workshops, proceedings, technical reports, and other sources. The intent of this compilation was to: (1) assemble, to the extent possible, all available and accessible publications relating to riparian management within a single source or document; (2) provide managers, field biologists, researchers, and others, a point of access for locating scientific literature relevent to their specific interest; and (3) provide, under one cover, a comprehensive collection of annotated publications that could dessiminate basic information relative to the status of our knowledge.

Creating and Restoring Wetlands: From Theory to Practice describes the challenges and opportunities relating to the restoration of freshwater and estuarine wetlands in natural, agricultural, and urban environments in the coming century. The underpinnings of restoration, driven by ecological (disturbance, dispersal, succession) theory, are described and applied to various activities (restoring hydrology, soils, and biota) that are used to improve the short- and long-term success of wetland restoration projects. Unforeseen problems that hinder restoration efforts and solutions to these problems are discussed in this comprehensive book that contains five sections and 13 chapters that include an introduction describing the defining characteristics of wetland – hydrology, soils, biota, the role of theory in guiding wetland succession, ecosystem development following restoration, and differentiating wetland reclamation, restoration, and creation, restoration of various estuarine and freshwater wetlands, case studies of estuarine and freshwater restoration and large-scale restoration, and finally, the future of wetland restoration. Explicitly links ecological theory to restoration efforts in a variety of freshwater and estuarine, natural, agricultural, urban landscapes, and wetland ecosystems Contains case studies of small- and large-scale restoration activities ensuring relevance to individuals and organizations Illustrates successes as well as failures of freshwater and estuarine wetland restorations in order to learn from them Presents specific information on hydrology, biota, wetland succession, ecosystem development following restoration, and more

This book describes the underlying water conditions and geologies that support viable riparia, illustrates the ecological characteristics of riparia, and discusses how riparia are used by human cultures as well as how riparia can be used to sustain environmental quality. In recent years riparian management has been widely implemented as a means of improving fisheries, water quality, and habitat for endangered species. This book provides the basic knowledge necessary to implement successful, long-term management and rehabilitation programs. Treats riparian patterns & processes in a holistic perspective, from ecological components to societal activities Contains over 130 illustrations and photos that summarize this complex ecological system Synthesizes the information from more than 6,000 professional articles Sidebars provide a look into ongoing research that is at the frontiers of riparian ecology and management

The Clean Water Act (CWA) requires that wetlands be protected from degradation because of their important ecological functions including maintenance of high water quality and provision of fish and wildlife habitat. However, this protection generally does not encompass riparian areasâ€"the lands bordering rivers and lakesâ€"even though they often provide the same functions as wetlands. Growing recognition of the similarities in wetland and riparian area functioning and the differences in their legal protection led the NRC in 1999 to undertake a study of riparian areas, which has culminated in Riparian Areas: Functioning and Strategies for Management. The report is intended to heighten awareness of riparian areas commensurate with their ecological and societal values. The primary conclusion is that, because riparian areas perform a disproportionate number of biological and physical functions on a unit area basis, restoration of riparian functions along America's waterbodies should be a national goal.