David Gilvear

University of Plymouth | UoP · Centre for Research in Environment and Society (CeRES)

Nature-based solutions are widely advocated for freshwater ecosystem conservation and restoration. As increasing amounts of river restoration are undertaken, the need to understand the ecological response to different measures and where measures are best applied becomes more pressing. It is essential that appraisal methods follow a sound scientific...

In the last decade, an awareness towards temporary rivers has increased globally in response to drying climates and growing human demand for water. However, social perceptions of temporary rivers have rarely been incorporated in their science and management. In this study, we advance an understanding of the socio-cultural values of temporary rivers...

Aim: Understanding response mechanisms to disturbances in river ecosystems. Main concepts covered: Ecological, engineering and socioeconomic resilience. Main methods covered: Assessment of flow thresholds for stability in engineering resilience, trait-based approaches for ecological resilience assessment, ecosystem services assessment for socioecon...

1.Temporary streams are dynamic ecosystems in which mosaics of flowing, ponded and dry habitats support high biodiversity of both aquatic and terrestrial species. Species interact within habitats to perform or facilitate processes that vary in response to changing habitat availability. A natural capital approach recognizes that, through such proces...

Based on a paired analysis, we describe a method for evaluating the potential of rivers with different physical characteristics to provide ecosystem services. Scores based on an extensive scientific literature review and expert opinion were applied to four sets of rivers in Scotland, with each pair comprising one river with a statutory nature conse...

Resilience is a well‐used term in many disciplines, but inconsistently or little applied in river geomorphology and river science. Recent developments in ecosystem ecology conceptualize resilience as comprising system resistance to, and recovery from disturbance. The objectives of this paper are to consider how the concept of resilience in this biv...

This exciting volume presents the work and research of the Rivers of the Anthropocene Network, an international collaborative group of scientists, social scientists, humanists, artists, policymakers, and community organizers working to produce innovative transdisciplinary research on global freshwater systems. In an attempt to bridge disciplinary d...

The ecosystem service framework is now well accepted for focussing management strategies to preserve and restore ecosystems. Its implementation remains challenging, however, due to the environment’s complexity and dynamics that interfere with ecosystems’ ability to provide the services. Here, we question whether we can show where and how to interve...

The value of natural capital and ecosystem services (ESs) is widely acknowledged, but the application of the concept to environmental water is still in its infancy. This chapter argues for the need to adopt the natural capital and ESs concept and to underpin environmental flows assessments. It also highlights the numerous challenges that lie ahead...

The value of natural capital and ecosystem services is widely acknowledged but the application of the concept to environmental flows is still in its infancy. This chapter argues for the need to adopt the natural capital and ecosystem services concept and to underpin environmental flow assessments. It also highlights the numerous challenges that lie...

The basic premise underlying ecohydraulics is deceptively simple: create a new discipline focused on the effects of water movement in aquatic ecosystems by melding principles of aquatic ecology (including aspects of fluvial geomorphology) and engineering hydraulics. However, advancing ecohydraulics as a synthetic, organized field of study is challe...

Analysis of aerial photography and remotely sensed data has wide application in detecting and mapping landforms, measuring temporal changes in fluvial landforms and controlling processes. Aerial photography has been used extensively to map floodplain features. Colour aerial photographs are particularly useful in that subtle differences in land cove...

River Science is a rapidly developing interdisciplinary field at the interface of the natural sciences, engineering and socio-political sciences. It recognises that the sustainable management of contemporary rivers will increasingly require new ways of characterising them to enable engagement with the diverse range of stakeholders. This volume repr...

The advent and development of remote sensing, with now near global coverage at medium scales of spatial resolution, has revolutionised the capacity to map and analyse spatial and temporal variability of the individual components of river ecosystems and aquatic processes in natural and managed systems. In this chapter, remote sensing is deemed to be...

The hyporheic zone (HZ) of rivers is important for functional processes and a critical habitat for a specialist biota (the hyporheos). Knowledge of the hyporheos and its variability within and between rivers, however, remains limited at all scales. This paper describes an extensive survey of the invertebrate fauna and the physicochemical characteri...

The basic premise underlying ecohydraulics is deceptively simple – to meld together principles of ecology and hydraulic engineering to create a new discipline. However, advancing ecohydraulics as a synthetic, organized field of study is challenging because hydraulic engineers and ecologists: 1) study processes that differ substantially in spatial a...

Increased flood frequency and magnitude are predicted for Scotland, and the country contains several of the world's largest recruiting populations of freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera). This study provides a unique flume experiment to measure the near-bed velocities required for freshwater pearl mussel entrainment and factors aff...

A five year trial reintroduction of the European beaver in Knapdale, Argyll, began in spring 2009. An independent monitoring programme was established to investigate the effects beavers might have upon particular aspects of the natural heritage were they to be released more widely in Scotland. The aspects studied included: semi-aquatic and aquatic...

A methodology for reach-based river ecosystem service assessment of eight ecosystem functions using remote sensing via Google Earth is presented. The number of publications addressing Google Earth and ecosystem services has grown significantly since 2005, yet this powerful remote sensing platform remains under-used in river science. Theoretical lin...

Scotland's peat landscapes are desirable locations for wind-based renewables due to high wind resources and low land use pressures in these areas. The environmental impact of sitting wind-based renewables on peats however, is unknown. Globally, peatlands are important terrestrial carbon stores. Given the topical nature of carbon-related issues, e.g...

Understanding the interactions between physical habitat and aquatic biodiversity has become a key research objective in river management. River research and management practitioners are increasingly seeking new methodologies and techniques for characterizing physical habitat heterogeneity. The physical biotope has been widely employed as the standa...

Quantifying the natural variation (complexity) of a system remains an enduring scientific challenge in better understanding controls on surface water quality. This characterisation is needed in order to reveal controlling processes, such as dilution, and also to identify unusual load profiles. In trying to capture that natural variation we still re...

Despite the multiple benefits of naturally functioning wetlands and floodplains, many have been degraded, lost or converted (for example, by drainage) to other uses designed to deliver specific services incompatible with their original condition (such as crop production). Where wetlands are intact, the major reason has been for nature conservation,...

The ecological status of shallow lakes is highly dependent on the abundance and composition of macrophytes. However, large‐scale surveys are often confined to a small number of water bodies and undertaken only infrequently owing to logistical and financial constraints. Data acquired by the Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager‐2 (CASI‐2) was used...

A proposed trial reintroduction of the Eurasian beaver ( Castor fiber L.) to Scotland has recently been approved (May 2008). A previous proposal was turned down by the licensing authority, partly over the perceived risks to woodland within a Special Area of Conservation. This paper presents data on two years of willow ( Salix spp.) and aspen ( Popu...

Time-series airborne remote sensing was used to monitor diurnal changes in the spatial distribution of a bloom of the potentially toxic cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa in the shallow eutrophic waters of Barton Broad, United Kingdom. High spatial resolution images from the Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI-2) were acquired over Bart...

This study describes the use of colour aerial photography and Airborne Thematic Mapper (ATM) multispectral imagery (420–1050 nm) to map gravel‐bed river habitats important to sustaining river lamprey ( Lampetra fluviatilis ) — an aquatic species with high conservation interest in Europe. The accuracy of the remote sensing approach was assessed by c...

This paper assesses the impacts of disturbance associated with the construction of a wind farm on fluxes of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and suspended sediment from a blanket peat catchment in central Scotland during the period immediately following completion of construction. Six streams draining the site were sampled on six dates from October 2...

This paper presents the results of a trialling of the use of Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite imagery for mapping the geomorphology and physical habitat of the Brahmaputra River in Assam, India. The study was undertaken on a 110 km reach as the river emerges out of the Himalayas; a reach with a complex braid pattern and high levels of channel...

This papers examines the importance of gravel bars in terms of a substrate for recruitment, colonisation and development of ground flora and woody vegetation via two European case studies. Experimental work on the River Tagliamento in Italy is used to explore the role of substrate particle size and elevation on recruitment and growth of seedlings a...

This study represent an assessment of the feasibility of using optical and near infra-red wavelengths to map water depth and substrate type which are two of the primary components of river physical habitat. The objective was met by measuring reflectance using field spectroscopy of exposed and then progressively submerged (0-1 m) artificial substrat...

A major component of river restoration is the recreation of instream physical habitat heterogeneity and re-establishment of the linkage between the in-channel and adjacent floodplain environment. Re-engineering channels to reinstate a more natural form and the restoration of water and sediment transfer can bring multiple benefits particularly if un...

This study investigated the response of freshwater wetland vegetation to hydrological driving factors by assessing collective vegetation variables, traits of dominant plant populations and hydrological and hydrochemical variables, repeat-sampled within wetland sites across Scotland and northern England. Sampling was conducted at 55 permanent sample...

This study investigated the response of freshwater wetland vegetation to hydrological driving factors by assessing collective vegetation variables, traits of dominant plant populations and hydrological and hydrochemical variables, repeat-sampled within wetland sites across Scotland and northern England. Sampling was conducted at 55 permanent sample...

This paper presents the results of an investigation into environmental controls on vegetation dynamics on gravel bars. Such environments are a hotspot of threatened plant biodiversity and the dynamics of their vegetation reflect a range of processes that should be indicative of the integrity of the wider floodplain ecosystem. The study was undertak...

IntroductionThe Physical BasisRiver Geomorphology and In-Channel ProcessesFloodplain Geomorphology and Fluvial ProcessesConclusions AcknowledgementsReferences

High spatial resolution hyper-spectral imagery (CASI) and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) imagery acquired for the tidal River Carron and Forth estuary, Scotland, were used in conjunction with field surveys to assess the feasibility of monitoring hydromorphology and human alterations with satellite and airborne remote sensing data. The study wa...

The intertidal environments of estuaries represent critical exchange environments of sediment and sediment bound contaminants. Ecological and sedimentological related investigations of these environments require monitoring methods that provide rapid spatially representative data on sediment grain size distribution. Remote sensing has the potential...

Critical to restoring the nature conservation value of many river corridors is an understanding of how alluvial landscapes will respond to cessation of river management and land use practices that have previously degraded the environment. This paper analyses changes in valley floor landforms and vegetation patch dynamics, in relation to fluvial dis...

Hydrology is a primary control on the ecological quality of river systems, through its influence on flow, channel geomorphology, water quality and habitat availability. Scottish rivers are widely perceived to be of high ecological quality, with abundant flow volumes and high water quality. However, historical and current river flow regulations, and...

This paper describes some important ecohydrological interactions within riparian forests in lower Orinoco using the Caura and Mapire rivers in Venezuela. The importance of riparian forests and hydrological seasonality for aquatic faunal ecology and human use patterns are examined using the Caura River. On the other hand, the influence of ecohydrolo...

Intertidal sediment distribution is an important factor in the understanding of estuarine ecological, morphological and pollution processes. Airborne remote sensing is identified as a cost-effective tool that may be used to provide accurate synoptic maps of estuarine sediment distributions. However, prior to the collection and analysis of airborne...

Wetlands are under threat from a variety of human-induced changes to their hydrology. To alleviate these threats, and restore wetlands degraded by past human activity or to enhance biodiversity, an understanding of wetland hydrology and hydrogeology, water level management and monitoring of change has become essential. However, many wetland manager...

This paper describes initial work modelling unsaturated processes within floodplain wetlands. The limitations of solely considering the dynamics of the wetland water table and hence saturated processes are examined. Water table, precipitation and evapotranspiration data from Narborough Bog, a degraded floodplain wetland of 10 ha in Leicestershire,...

Air photo interpretation and field survey were used to examine rates and patterns of planform change over the last 40 years on an 80 km reach of the Luangwa River, Zambia. The river, a tributary of the Zambezi, is a 100–200 m wide, medium sinuosity sand-bed river (sinuosity index 1·84). High rates of channel migration (<33 m a−1) and cutoffs on mea...

This study explores the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques for mapping river channel planform change and bank erosion probability. The method used is primarily based on an approach developed by Graf (Graf, W.L. 1984. ‘A probabilistic approach to the spatial assessment of river channel instability’, Water Resour. Res., 20(7), 953...

This study explores the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques for mapping river channel planform change and bank erosion probability. The method used is primarily based on an approach developed by Graf (Graf, W.L. 1984. 'A probabilistic approach to the spatial assessment of river channel instability', Water Resour. Res., 20(7), 953...

1. The River Feshie, a wandering gravel-bed river, has a prominent alluvial fan at its confluence with the River Spey forming a site of high conservation importance. The River Feshie is the best example of a relatively natural highly active gravel-bed river in the UK and the fan also contains one of the few remnants of Scotland's original floodplai...

Agricultural flood embankment failure frequency within the Tay drainage basin in Scotland is explored by examination of breach data (228 breaches in total) collected during an eight-year period in which a large number of high discharge flood events (with return periods of up to 120 years) occurred. The data illustrates that overtopping is the main...

Recent and forthcoming improvements in the spatial and spectral resolution of spaceborne remote sensing sensors and in the flexibility and capability of airborne-based platforms will provide a new arsenal of tools for environmental scientists to study channel morphology and in-stream fluvial processes. Maximizing the potential is reliant upon an un...

The potential for mapping in-channel morphology within shallow gravel-bed rivers using airborne multispectral imagery and aerial photography is illustrated using a case study from the River Tummel, Scotland. The technique described relies on a good correlation between observed light reflectance levels from a water body and water depth. Measured wat...

The potential for mapping in-channel morphology within shallow gravel-bed rivers using airborne multispectral imagery and aerial photography is illustrated using a case study from the River Tummel, Scotland. The technique described relies on a good correlation between observed light reflectance levels from a water body and water depth. Measured wat...

Following construction of a sinuous diversion on an upland gravel-bed river two flood events within three days of each other, with estimated recurrence intervals of between 1·5 and 2·0 years, caused marked geomorphological adjustment to the channel. The floods resulted in bank erosion, point bar formation, scour on the outside of meander bends and...

Catfield Fen lies on the floodplain of the River Ant, - adjacent to Barton Broad, a flooded 13th century peat cutting in East Anglia, England. There are few studies of the hydrology of floodplain mires so this paper presents the results of a study of the surface and groundwater components of a fen system within the Norfolk Broads region. The study...

In the Ribble Estuary, Lancashire, U.K., systematic associations between discharge of radionuclides from the British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL) plants at Sellafield and Springfields and sediment size-fractions exist. The ability to map these associations through in situ spectroscopy (0·4-2·5 μm) of sediments at low tide was investigated. Laboratory s...

Chapter 4 described the basic mechanisms of river dynamics, emphasizing longitudinal and transverse variability in morphology and flows of water and material. This chapter applies information on river morphology and dynamics to examine the physical structure of hydrosystems. The interplay between river channels and the set of environmental variable...

Small headwater tributaries usually flow within steep-sided V-shape valleys. Further down the river network the valley sides tend to be less steep and the valley bottom is often infilled with sediments. Here the river is separated from the valley sides by more or less extensive flood-plain. Sometimes bordered by terraces, remnants of former active...

Groundwater heads and chemical composition were measured at approximately two week intervals during the summer of 1993 along a 1 km transect across the Insh Marshes floodplain mire in Inverness-shire, Scotland. Groundwater heads were generally higher near the valley side slope, with lower pH values and greater dissolved organic carbon, A1 and C1 co...

The potential of analysing aerial photographs to map changes in channel habitat and morphology within gravel-bed rivers is outlined with reference to the impact and recovery of Faith Creek, a second-order stream with a history of placer mining. Image analysis demonstrated that a wide range of water depths and instream mesoscale habitats existed pri...

Wetland types can be related to the relative importance of the climatological, surface-water and groundwater variable found in the wetland water balance equation. Using this assumption a 12-fold hydrological classification that includes ombrotrophic, rheotrophic, minerotrophic and omnitrophic wetland types is proposed. Each wetland class can also b...

This paper describes flood embankment breaches on the Tay and Earn river systems, Scotland, during a 100-year return period flood in January 1993. The location of flood embankment breaches are compared with failures mapped during another large flood event in February 1990 and other historical information on flood embankment instability. Breaches we...

This paper demonstrates the possibility of quantifying sub-catchment nutrient budgets from routinely monitored hydrological and hydrochemical data. The relative importance of a number of potential anthropogenic nutrient sources was quantified for a small catchment in Scotland. Within the catchment there are two Sites of Special Scientific Interest,...

Wetlands are under threat from a variety of human activities and in response to this various assessment schemes have been devised. A recent hydrological vulnerability assessment procedure has been advanced by Lloyd et al. (1993) for East Anglia, UK, which deals with hydrological threats to fens. The assessment starts with a desk study which classif...

Badley Moor Fen exists in a region of the UK where potential evapotranspiration exceeds annual rainfall. The wetland is maintained by an input of Chalk groundwater in an area where the groundwater aquifer is regionally confined below boulder clay. The large groundwater contribution to the water balance arises from a unique local geological situatio...

Although the present-day River Tay, Scotland is generally confined to a single course and exhibits limited lateral mobility, historical maps (1747–53) reveal that during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries a braided river channel pattern was more characteristic of a number of reaches on the piedmont valley floor. Possible explanations of the ch...

An analysis of old maps and documentary sources reveals that major changes in river channel planform have occurred over the last 200 years on the River Tay system, Scotland, UK. Reaches showing natural river channel planform change, however, are relatively small and a stable planform is characteristic of many sections of the river. River planform i...

During February 1990 a flood event on the River Tay with an estimated recurrence interval of 70 years in its lower reaches caused extensive flooding and geomorphological change. The most extensive area of flooding and dramatic geomorphological change, the erosion of two new channels across the floodplain, was in the vicinity of the village of Caput...

Reservoir release wave routing during 33 controlled reservoir releases, along 15 upland boulder bed river channel reaches, on five different regulated rivers were monitored to assess the importance of river channel roughness and reservoir release magnitude on reservoir release wave speeds. Wave speeds varied between 0.52 and 3.01 m s−1. Reservoir r...

Few studies have examined variations in turbidity and suspended solids within impounded rivers during reservoir releases (Beschta et al. 1981; Eustis & Hillen 1954). Reservoir releases have, however, been shown to increase invertebrate drift (Brooker & Hemsworth 1978), entrain substratum bacteria (McDonald et al. 1982) and flush particulate matter...

Data are presented to describe the at-a-station variations and downstream patterns of change, of flow and water quality during the passage of a controlled reservoir release along a short 10 km reach, immediatly below the dam. By removing the effects of runoff from diverse catchment sources, which characterise natural flow variations, reservoir rele...

A controlled reservoir release from Llyn Celyn to the Afon Tryweryn, Wales, U.K., has been used to study suspended load and turbidity variations. Turbidity was monitored continuously at two sites and 235 suspended solids samples were obtained at these and three additional sites during the passage of the release wave. The results are compared with d...