Riverine Ecosystem Synthesis (eBook)

Front Cover 1
The Riverine Ecosystem Synthesis: Toward Conceptual Cohesiveness in River Science 4
Copyright Page 5
Table of Contents 6
Foreword 10
Preface 12
Acknowledgments 16
Chapter 1 Introduction to the Riverine Ecosystem Synthesis 18
Background and scope 18
Conceptual Cohesiveness 18
Organization of this book 19
Basic concepts in the riverine ecosystem synthesis 21
Hydrogeomorphic patches and functional process zones 21
Ecological attributes of functional process zones 22
Hierarchical patch dynamics 23
Bicomplexity tenets 24
Chapter 2 Historical and Recent Perspectives on Riverine Concepts 26
Introduction 26
Patterns along a longitudinal dimension in river networks 27
Longitudinally ordered zonation 27
The river as a continuum – a clinal perspective 28
Hydrogeomorphic patches vs a continuous riverine cline 30
Network theory and the structure of riverine ecosystems 32
The lateral dimension of rivers – the riverine landscape 32
Temporal dimension: normality or aberration? 34
Vertical dimension: the bulk of the iceberg! 36
Other important riverine concepts 37
Chapter 3 Hierarchical Patch Dynamics in Riverine Landscapes 38
Hierarchical patch dynamics model – brief introduction 38
Hierarchy theory 39
Patch dynamics defined 46
Hierarchical patch dynamics in riverine research 46
Selective spatiotemporal scales 46
The nature of patches and their study in riverine landscapes 47
Element I: nested, discontinuous hierarchies of patch mosaics 49
Element II: ecosystem dynamics as a composite of intra- and interpatch dynamics 50
Element III: linked patterns and processes 51
Element IV: dominance of nonequilibrial and stochastic processes 52
Element V: formation of a quasi-equilibrial, metastable state 53
Metapopulations 54
The RES as a research framework and field applications of hierarchical patch dynamics 55
Chapter 4 The Spatial Arrangement of River Systems: The Emergence of Hydrogeomorphic Patches 58
Introduction 58
The spatial arrangement of riverine landscapes 60
River characterization 62
A characterization scheme for the RES 67
Application of the characterization framework 68
Example 1: rivers within the Murray–Darling Basin 69
Example 2: the rivers of the Kingdom of Lesotho 76
What scale to choose and its relevance to riverine landscapes 80
Summary 84
Chapter 5 Defining the Hydrogeomorphic Character of a Riverine Ecosystem 86
Introduction 86
Background philosophies and approaches 87
Determining the character of river networks: top-down vs bottom-up approaches 90
Top-down approaches 90
Bottom-up approaches 97
Comparing top-down vs bottom-up approaches: an example 105
Some common functional process zones 107
A brief review of functional process zones 107
Confined valley functional process zones 108
Partially confined functional process zones 110
Unconfined functional process zones 111
Summary 118
Chapter 6 Ecological Implications of the Riverine Ecosystem Synthesis: Some Proposed Biocomplexity Tenets (Hypotheses) 120
Introduction 120
Distribution of species 121
Model tenet 1: hydrogeomorphic patches 121
Model tenet 2: importance of functional process zone over clinal position 122
Model tenet 3: ecological nodes 123
Model tenet 4: hydrologic retention 124
Community regulation 125
Model tenet 5: hierarchical habitat template 125
Model tenet 6: deterministic vs stochastic factors 127
Model tenet 7: quasi-equilibrium 131
Model tenet 8: trophic complexity 132
Model tenet 9: succession 134
Ecosystem and riverine landscape processes 135
Model tenet 10: primary productivity within functional process zones 135
Model tenet 11: riverscape food web pathways 136
Model tenet 12: floodscape food web pathways 140
Model tenet 13: nutrient spiraling 141
Model tenet 14: dynamic hydrology 143
Model tenet 15: flood-linked evolution 144
Model tenet 16: connectivity 145
Model tenet 17: landscape patterns of functional process zones 146
Chapter 7 Ecogeomorphology of Altered Riverine Landscapes: Implications for Biocomplexity Tenets 150
Introduction 150
Distribution of species 152
Model tenet 1: hydrogeomorphic patches 152
Model tenet 2: importance of functional process zone over clinal position 153
Model tenet 3: ecological nodes 156
Model tenet 4: hydrologic retention 157
Community regulation 159
Model tenet 5: hierarchical habitat template 159
Model tenet 6: deterministic vs stochastic factors 160
Model tenet 7: quasi-equilibrium 161
Model tenet 8: trophic complexity 163
Model tenet 9: succession 165
Ecosystem and riverine landscape processes 167
Model tenet 10: primary productivity within functional process zones 167
Model tenet 11: riverscape food web pathways 168
Model tenet 12: floodscape food web pathways 171
Model tenet 13: nutrient spiraling 172
Model tenet 14: dynamic hydrology 175
Model tenet 15: flood-linked evolution 176
Model tenet 16: connectivity 177
Model tenet 17: landscape patterns of functional process zones 179
Chapter 8 Practical Applications of the Riverine Ecosystem Synthesis in Management and Conservation Settings 182
Introduction 182
Revisiting hierarchy and scales 183
The relevance of scale in river management 184
Focus on catchment-based approaches to management 185
Application of functional process zones 186
Prioritization for conservation purposes 186
River assessments and the importance of the functional process zone scale 187
Determining environmental water allocations 192
Summary 194
Concluding Remarks 196
Literature Cited 198
Index 220
Color Plates 226