The terminology of river restoration potential and a review of the determination methods

Authors

  • Tímea Katalin Erdei Szent István University, Department of Landscape Protection and Reclamation 1118 Budapest, Villányi út 29-43. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7256-5025

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56617/tl.3489

Keywords:

watercourse, rehabilitation, restoration opportunities, methodological summary, literature review

Abstract

Due to the river regulation works carried out in Hungary and the unfavorable impacts of human activities in the river landscapes, river restorations that take into account nature conservation, landscape protection, recreation and aesthetic purposes are becoming increasingly important. Several methodologies have been developed in recent decades to establish restorations, which assess both the need for restoration (condition of the rivers) and the possibilities for restoration (site suitability and limiting factors). In the present study, my aim is to collect these studies and to review the concept and methods of determining restoration potential, based on domestic and foreign literature. As a result of the research, a total of 41 methodologies for determining restoration potential were analyzed. During the review of the articles, I analyzed the scale and area of the study sites, the main field of expertise, the stated goals, the applied evaluation and analysis methods, and the evaluation aspects that were taken into account. Restoration potential means more than assessing the condition of the river for most of the methods reviewed. In determining restoration potential, the most common aim is to identify areas for restoration (based on need and suitability) and/or to prioritize areas for restoration (based on need and potential). The reviewed methods were mostly related to the achievement of ecological restoration targets, with a total of 68% setting ecological restoration targets, 63% geomorphological restoration targets, and 33% hydrological restoration targets. The reviewed methods for determining the restoration potential focused on river reaches, examining areas of different widths - floodplain, riparian corridor or riverbank and riverbed; but also, several studies have examined whole river basin or local area units. Among the evaluation aspects, the examination of land use, land cover, hydrological, geomorphological, ecological conditions and limiting factors appeared in most of the methods. Specifically, landscape architecture aspects appeared in a small part of the methods, such as aesthetic aspects, unique landscape values and landscape structure. It can be stated that the analyzed researches aimed to determine the restoration potential of rivers primarily on the rural river reaches, however, it is becoming increasingly important to determine the restoration potential of the urban rivers.

Author Biography

  • Tímea Katalin Erdei, Szent István University, Department of Landscape Protection and Reclamation 1118 Budapest, Villányi út 29-43.

    erdeitimi@gmail.com

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Published

2020-12-09

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How to Cite

The terminology of river restoration potential and a review of the determination methods. (2020). JOURNAL OF LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY | TÁJÖKOLÓGIAI LAPOK , 18(2), 113-125. https://doi.org/10.56617/tl.3489

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