Restoration strategies for rivers, floodplains and wetlands in Kushiro Mire and Shibetsu River, northern Japan

• NAKAMURA Futoshi

  Department of Forest Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University

Bibliographic Information

Other Title

• 河川環境の保全と復元　　河川・湿地における自然復元の考え方と調査・計画論―釧路湿原および標津川における湿地，氾濫原，蛇行流路の復元を事例として
• カセン シッチ ニ オケル シゼン フクゲン ノ カンガエカタ ト チョウサ ケイカクロン クシロ シツゲン オヨビ シベツガワ ニ オケル シッチ ハンラン ゲン ダコウ リュウロ ノ フクゲン オ ジレイ ト シテ

Abstract

A river floodplain and wetland ecosystem is characterized by 1) interaction between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, 2) material flows such as sediment, organic matter, nutrients and heat energy moving from headwaters to the river mouth, and 3) flood pulse disturbances which inundate the floodplains. Unfortunately, rivers and floodplains (wetlands) in Japan no longer have these dynamic processes and interactions. Therefore, these fundamental characteristics should be revived through restoration projects. 'Restoration' using the strictest definition is a return to the original condition prior to human-induced damage. In many cases in Japan, however, self-sustaining ecosystems that provide important functions and habitats can often encouraged, which is called 'rehabilitation'. Restoration projects proceed with clear objectives and targets. Before and after the implementation of a restoration project, well-designed monitoring should be followed and the results should be available to the general public. Ideally, the monitoring should be a Before-After-Reference-Control-Impact (BARCI) design, but there are many cases where no reference areas can be found near the restoration site or no replications were set because of large-scale project. The detail baseline data is required to implement field experiment, and those basic information as well as experimental results should be disclosed to general public through Internet. The most important principle in restoration projects is not the active intervention of humans, but "passive restoration", which removes the limiting factors that continuously damage the present ecosystem. Take this first step and the resilient ecosystem will recover. In the Kushiro Mire, the largest in Japan, the prevention of sediment inflow, by establishing riparian forests and sedimentation ponds, is being planned and reclamation of abandoned pastures for wetlands is in progress. Projects to restore the original meandering channel and floodplains will be launched in the Kushiro and Shibetsu Rivers. These are pilot projects for the restoration of large ecosystems in Japan and adaptive management processes are being applied. Currently, an experiment to control the expansion of alder forests, by artificially raising the water table, is being conducted in the Kushiro Mire. Another experiment, where stream water was drained from the main channel of the Shibetsu River into an oxbow lake, is being evaluated for its ecological effects on river geomorphology, hydraulics, the food web, fish, vegetation, and water quality.

Journal

• Ecology and Civil Engineering

  Ecology and Civil Engineering 5 (2), 217-232, 2003

  Ecology and Civil Engineering Society

Keywords

• floodplain
• rehabilitation
• restoration
• river
• wetland

Details

• CRID: 1390001204472113664
• NII Article ID: 10013954490
• NII Article ID: 10011892746
• NII Book ID: AA11528360
• DOI: 10.3825/ece.5.217
• ISSN: 18825974
• ISSN: 13443755
• ISSN: http://id.crossref.org/issn/13443755
• NDL BIB ID: 6531139
• Web Site: http://id.ndl.go.jp/bib/6531139
• Web Site: https://ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp/books/R000000004-I6531139
• Text Lang: ja
• Data Source:
  • JaLC
  • NDL
  • Crossref
  • CiNii Articles
  • KAKEN
• Abstract License Flag: Disallowed