Bringing the margin to the focus: 10 challenges for riparian vegetation science and management

Abstract

Riparian zones are the paragon of transitional ecosystems, providing critical habitat and ecosystem services that are especially threatened by global change. Following consultation with experts, 10 key challenges were identified to be addressed for riparian vegetation science and management improvement: (1) Create a distinct scientific community by establishing stronger bridges between disciplines; (2) Make riparian vegetation more visible and appreciated in society and policies; (3) Improve knowledge regarding biodiversityecosystem functioning links; (4) Manage spatial scale and context-based issues;(5) Improve knowledge on social dimensions of riparian vegetation; (6) Anticipate responses to emergent issues and future trajectories; (7) Enhance tools to quantify and prioritize ecosystem services; (8) Improve numerical modeling and simulation tools; (9) Calibrate methods and increase data availability for better indicators and monitoring practices and transferability; and (10) Undertake scientific validation of best management practices. These challenges are discussed and critiqued here, to guide future research into riparian vegetation.

Forest habitats developed on alluvial soils in the area of mountains

“…In the second group of plots, the cambic process occurred more often within the analyzed soils, which may be associated with some signs of transformation of these areas caused by the regulation of water conditions and a change in the natural flooding regime for the riparian areas. Ecosystems of mountain riparian forests are one of the areas exposed to the processes of distortion and even degradation (Pielech et al, 2017;Alipić et al, 2022;Rodríquez-González et al, 2022). In forest sites studies, the presence of the cambic process in the alluvial soils profile is treated as a symptom of their distortion, proving the transformation of water conditions and the cessation of regular flooding (CILP 2012;Lasota and Błońska, 2013).…”

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“…Biogeomorphic succession is a process driven by the interrelation among flows, sedimentary load, and vegetation and is an important variable in the terrestrial model evolution, with repercussions in the fluvial channel and riparian zone (CORENBLIT, 2007;RODRIGUEZ-GONZALEZ et al, 2022), altering even the surface connectivity from the slope to the valley floor (HUPP, 1986;GURNELL, 2002;LEE;SHIH, 2004;GURNELL et al 2012;CHENG ZHANG et al 2022). Dawson et al (2022) consider that vegetation plays a role in river channels in the river engineering, even though these are regarded as feedback relationships, that is, matters emerging from changes in the shapes of channels and their dynamics, as proposed by Lelpi et al (2022).…”

Detecting the imprints of past clear‐cutting on riparian forest plant communities along a Mediterranean river

“…They have a major role in increasing regional biodiversity, being hotspots of plant species richness and indispensable for the survival of many other organisms of both aquatic and terrestrial environments (Pielech, 2021; Sabo et al, 2005). Riparian zones are among the most impacted and heavily modified ecosystems across the World (Richardson et al, 2007; Rodríguez‐González et al, 2022) and they host some of the most threatened habitats of Europe and the Mediterranean (Gigante et al, 2018). Riparian forest vegetation is a complex of communities characterized by a high spatial and temporal variability driven by multiple environmental gradients, such as those generated by bioclimatic, geomorphological, and land‐use features (Angiolini et al, 2017).…”

“…This lack of knowledge on the effects of clear‐cutting on Mediterranean riparian forests implies the missing of scientific bases for a correct planning of management strategies. A better understanding of such issues is thus needed to detect trade‐offs between conservation and management purposes (Rodríguez‐González et al, 2022).…”