Ecological Restoration as a Means of Managing Inland Flood Hazards

Abstract

Many streams and rivers experience major floods. Historically, human societies have responded to such floods by moving away from them or by abating them, the latter with large negative impacts on stream and river ecology. Societies are currently implementing a strategy of “living with floods,” which may involve ecological restoration. It further involves flood mapping, forecasting, and warning systems. We evaluate 14 different stream- and river-restoration measures, which differ in their capacity to modify water retention and runoff. We discuss these restoration measures in the light of predicted changes in climate and flooding and discuss future restoration needs. We focus on the Nordic countries, where substantial changes in the water cycle are foreseen. We conclude that sustainable solutions require researchers to monitor the effect of flood management and study the relative importance of individual restoration measures, as well as the side effects of flood attenuation.