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River restoration for macroinvertebrate communities in lowland rivers: insights from restorations of the Shibetsu River, north Japan

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Abstract

Because of human impacts, lowland rivers are among the most degraded running water ecosystems, with their floodplains being the center of human activity. Recently, many programs to restore running water ecosystems have been undertaken using various methods in streams and rivers of North America, Europe, and Far East Asia. However, research and knowledge on the effects of river restoration in lowland rivers are limited around the world. The restoration project involving the first reconstruction of a meandering channel in Asia has been conducted in a lowland river section of the Shibetsu River, northern Japan. We review the geomorphologic and hydraulic characteristics of lowland rivers and their environments for macroinvertebrates and discuss approaches to restoring macroinvertebrate communities in lowland rivers, using insights from the restoration project in the Shibetsu River. It is concluded that the recovery of macroinvertebrate assemblages in channelized lowland rivers requires the implementation of restoration methods to create stable substrates.

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Acknowledgments

The research into responses of macroinvertebrates to river restoration in the Shibetsu River was supported by the “River Ecology Research Group of Japan” on the Shibetsu River and Grants in Aid for Scientific Research (Nos. 17380100, 18201008, and 19208013) from the Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture, Japan. Daisuke Nakano is supported by MEXT through Special Coordination Funds for Promoting Science and Technology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biological Environmental Sector, Environmental Science Research Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI), 1646, Abiko, Chiba, 270-1194, Japan

    Daisuke Nakano

  2. Department of Forest Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Kita 9, Nishi 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-8589, Japan

    Shigeya Nagayama & Futoshi Nakamura

  3. Department of Urban Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan

    Yoichi Kawaguchi

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  1. Daisuke Nakano
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  2. Shigeya Nagayama
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  3. Yoichi Kawaguchi
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  4. Futoshi Nakamura
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Correspondence to Daisuke Nakano.

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Nakano, D., Nagayama, S., Kawaguchi, Y. et al. River restoration for macroinvertebrate communities in lowland rivers: insights from restorations of the Shibetsu River, north Japan. Landscape Ecol Eng 4, 63–68 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11355-008-0038-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11355-008-0038-3

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