Tuesday, August 4, 2009: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM
Aztec, Albuquerque Convention Center
OOS 11 - Physical-Ecological Linkages and Habitat Dynamics in Abandoned River Channels: Implications for River Corridor Management and Conservation
Abandoned channels are unique, dynamic habitats in alluvial river floodplains. Evolving from early aquatic stages, through transitional periods to upland terrestrial communities, former channels support a wide suite of key ecosystem services, including critical rearing areas for fish and unique assemblages of woody and herbaceous plants that provide habitat and dispersal corridors for terrestrial species. These systems are productive and diverse, yet their spatial and temporal dynamics remain relatively understudied. In particular, the links between the physical and biological processes have not been sufficiently explored to understand habitat formation and transitions between biotic communities. Moreover, the understanding of system dynamics needs to be efficiently integrated into river corridor management (i.e., landscape conservation, process-based restoration, and ecosystem services). Building this kind of knowledge base requires an interdisciplinary approach. This special session on abandoned channels brings together a range of investigators interested in understanding the physical drivers, the biotic responses and feedbacks, and the management of abandoned channel habitats within river corridors. Special emphasis is placed on setting each investigator’s current research within a larger framework to understand the natural dynamics and the interface with society. The session will begin with a short introduction to a landscape framework and the conservation issues involving abandoned channels. The initial talks are devoted to, first, the physical creation of former channel features through channel abandonment and, second, to the seasonal and decadal changes in aquatic plants and macroinvertebrate biota. The next two talks will discuss the aquatic and semi-aquatic phases of development, highlighting a large-scale restoration project of fish habitat in northern Japan and aquatic vegetation and macroinvertebrate patterns in the semi-arid systems of France and California. The next session will detail case studies of abiotic and biotic controls on the recruitment of pioneer forests in abandoned channels. The last session will be devoted to understanding the human elements of abandoned channel habitats. A case study of abandoned channel management in France will be presented discussing why restoration objectives should begin to focus more on human benefits (i.e. ecosystem services, human perceptions and flood management) rather than trying to re-create past environs. In addition, we will pursue the possibility of combining the research presented here into a publishable format with a set of articles detailing the dynamics of abandoned channel habitats and the conservation management implications.
Organizer:	Alexander K. Fremier, University of Idaho
Co-organizers:	John C. Stella, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Simon Dufour, Aix Marseille Université Hervé Piégay, Centre National de Recherches Scientifique, ENS
Moderator:	Alexander K. Fremier, University of Idaho
8:00 AM	OOS 11-1		Restoration of former channels: What do we mean? Ingrid Morken, WRA, Inc., G. Mathias Kondolf, University of California, Berkeley
8:20 AM	OOS 11-2		A mechanism of chute cutoff along large meandering rivers with uniform floodplain topography José A. Constantine, Cardiff University, Stephen R. McLean, University of California - Santa Barbara, Thomas Dunne, University of California - Santa Barbara
8:40 AM	OOS 11-3		CANCELLED - Aquatic plants as indicators of the ecological functioning of abandoned channels Gudrun Bornette Sr., Université de Lyon
9:00 AM	OOS 11-4		Restoration of the fish and invertebrate habitat: The re-meandering project of a large river in northern Japan Futoshi Nakamura, Hokkaido University, Shigeya Nagayama, Public Works Research Institute, Daisuke Nakano, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI), Yoichi Kawaguchi, Kyushu University
9:20 AM	OOS 11-5		Drivers of pioneer riparian forest dynamics in abandoned channels: an alternate recruitment pathway? Maya K. Hayden, University of California, Berkeley, John C. Stella, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, John J. Battles, University of California, Berkeley, Simon Dufour, Aix Marseille Université, Hervé Piégay, Centre National de Recherches Scientifique, ENS
9:40 AM			Break
9:50 AM	OOS 11-6		Using a patch dynamics approach to model cottonwood forest populations in river floodplains John C. Stella, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Elizabeth B. Harper, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Alexander K. Fremier, University of Idaho, Maya K. Hayden, University of California, Berkeley, John J. Battles, University of California, Berkeley
10:10 AM	OOS 11-7		Are socio-economical and eco-morphological objectives compatible in floodplain lake rehabilitation? Contrasted examples from the Rhone Watershed Simon Dufour, CEREGE (CNRS), Aix Marseille Université, Marylise Cottet, Université de Lyon, Anne Honegger, Université de Lyon, Hervé Piégay, Centre National de Recherches Scientifique, ENS, Mireille Provansal, CEREGE (CNRS), Aix Marseille Université, Anne J. Rollet, GEOPHEN (CNRS), Université de Caen
10:30 AM	OOS 11-8		Macroinvertebrates in the lateral dimension of a river floodplain: Challenges for restoration and conservation Amael Paillex, University of Geneva , Emmanuel Castella, University of Geneva
10:50 AM	OOS 11-9		Evaluating river restoration success using the California Rapid Assessment Method Cara J. Clark, California State University Monterey Bay
11:10 AM	OOS 11-10		Streams or dreams: Restoration alters invertebrate assemblages that support juvenile salmon Lindsey K. Albertson, University of California-Santa Barbara, Bradley J. Cardinale, University of California-Santa Barbara, Steven C. Zeug, University of California-Santa Barbara, Hunter Lenihan, University of California, Santa Barbara

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