Evaluating good-practice cases for river restoration across Europe: context, methodological framework, selected results and recommendations

摘要: This introductory paper presents 20 river restoration cases throughout Europe that were investigated in the EU-funded research project REFORM. In following, this special issue provides seven specific papers highlight and discuss effects of on river–floodplain systems. Additionally, success was estimated from a socio-economic perspective. The first part overall study concept general sampling design field investigations. Each site examined with same array methods, covering habitat composition its floodplain, three aquatic two floodplain-related organism groups, as well food web “aquatic terrestrial” interactions reflected by stable isotopes. An overview rivers sites summarizes main attributes all sites, emphasis large-scale projects. Some projects represent “state art” approaches for major European types: gravel-bed mountain sand-bed lowland rivers. Concluding, efforts had positive even small but did not increase size. No “single best” measure could be identified, widening generally larger effect compared to other measures.