Rivers and streams around the world that once flowed wild and unchecked are rapidly disappearing into dams or being channelized between concrete banks. This valuable sourcebook, now available to a wide audience in a paperback edition, is an important comparative documentation of what is being lost: naturally flowing river and stream ecosystems. No other single volume brings together so much critical information on rivers and streams worldwide. Each chapter is packed with a wealth of raw data on waterways including the prominent rivers of North America, Central and South America, Europe, Africa, Australia, and Oceania. The volume evaluates the usefulness of the River Continuum Concept and ecosystem-level measurements for evaluating the structure and function of rivers and streams. The new introductory chapter examines the relevance of other useful concepts including Nutrient Spiraling, Patch Dynamics, the Flood Pulse Concept, the Network Dynamics Hypothesis, and the Hyporheic Corridor Concept.
River and Stream Ecosystems of the World With a New Introduction
About the Book
Reviews
“Accessible.”—American Fisheries Society Publications
“Useful for anyone interested in streams and rivers as ecosystems worldwide or looking for broad and accessible information about rivers in a particular region.”—Environmental Conservation
“An enjoyable read.”—Bjorn Malmqvist Environmental Conservation
“Comprehensive and synoptic . . . This book goes beyond a typical description of rivers as simple linear features, networks, or corridors on the landscape and points to the role of hydrology, climate, seasonal discharge, production, and biological communities -- illustrating the complex functions of river ecosystems.”—Laura Kracker Landscape Ecology