Ellen Wohl, Kirstie Fryirs, Robert C Grabowski, Ryan R Morrison, David Sear
{"title":"Enhancing the natural absorbing capacity of rivers to restore their resilience","authors":"Ellen Wohl, Kirstie Fryirs, Robert C Grabowski, Ryan R Morrison, David Sear","doi":"10.1093/biosci/biae090","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Resilience, which can also be described as absorbing capacity, describes the amount of change that a system can undergo in response to disturbance and maintain a characteristic, self-sustaining regime of functions, processes, or sets of feedback loops. Rivers exhibit varying levels of resilience, but the net effect of industrialized anthropogenic alteration has been to suppress river resilience. As changing climate alters the inputs to rivers and human modification alters the morphology and connectivity of rivers, restoration increasingly considers how to enhance resilience. Characteristics that underpin river absorbing capacity include natural regimes, connectivity, physical and ecological integrity, and heterogeneity. River management emphasizing channel stabilization and homogenization has reduced river absorbing capacity. We propose that the paths to restoring rivers include defining relevant measures of absorbing capacity and understanding the scales of restoration and the sociopolitical elements of river restoration. We provide a conceptual framing for choosing measures that could be used to assess river absorbing capacity.","PeriodicalId":9003,"journal":{"name":"BioScience","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":7.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"BioScience","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biae090","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Resilience, which can also be described as absorbing capacity, describes the amount of change that a system can undergo in response to disturbance and maintain a characteristic, self-sustaining regime of functions, processes, or sets of feedback loops. Rivers exhibit varying levels of resilience, but the net effect of industrialized anthropogenic alteration has been to suppress river resilience. As changing climate alters the inputs to rivers and human modification alters the morphology and connectivity of rivers, restoration increasingly considers how to enhance resilience. Characteristics that underpin river absorbing capacity include natural regimes, connectivity, physical and ecological integrity, and heterogeneity. River management emphasizing channel stabilization and homogenization has reduced river absorbing capacity. We propose that the paths to restoring rivers include defining relevant measures of absorbing capacity and understanding the scales of restoration and the sociopolitical elements of river restoration. We provide a conceptual framing for choosing measures that could be used to assess river absorbing capacity.
期刊介绍:
BioScience is a monthly journal that has been in publication since 1964. It provides readers with authoritative and current overviews of biological research. The journal is peer-reviewed and heavily cited, making it a reliable source for researchers, educators, and students. In addition to research articles, BioScience also covers topics such as biology education, public policy, history, and the fundamental principles of the biological sciences. This makes the content accessible to a wide range of readers. The journal includes professionally written feature articles that explore the latest advancements in biology. It also features discussions on professional issues, book reviews, news about the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), and columns on policy (Washington Watch) and education (Eye on Education).