Ecologically Functional Floodplains: Connectivity, Flow Regime, and Scale¹

TLDR

Floodplains are among the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems yet are heavily converted, prompting global conservation and restoration efforts that must navigate complex scientific, technical, and socioeconomic challenges. The study proposes a conceptual model of ecologically functional floodplains defined by hydrologic connectivity, a variable hydrograph reflecting seasonal precipitation, and sufficient spatial scale to support dynamic processes. The authors present three case studies demonstrating how to address technical and socioeconomic challenges in projects that reconnect rivers to floodplains or restore hydrological variability. The case studies illustrate practical methods for promoting ecologically functional floodplains, showing that reconnection and restoration can overcome identified challenges.

Abstract

Opperman, Jeffrey J., Ryan Luster, Bruce A. McKenney, Michael Roberts, and Amanda Wrona Meadows, 2010. Ecologically Functional Floodplains: Connectivity, Flow Regime, and Scale. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(2):211‐226. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2010.00426.x Abstract: This paper proposes a conceptual model that captures key attributes of ecologically functional floodplains, encompassing three basic elements: (1) hydrologic connectivity between the river and the floodplain, (2) a variable hydrograph that reflects seasonal precipitation patterns and retains a range of both high and low flow events, and (3) sufficient spatial scale to encompass dynamic processes and for floodplain benefits to accrue to a meaningful level. Although floodplains support high levels of biodiversity and some of the most productive ecosystems on Earth, they are also among the most converted and threatened ecosystems and therefore have recently become the focus of conservation and restoration programs across the United States and globally. These efforts seek to conserve or restore complex, highly variable ecosystems and often must simultaneously address both land and water management. Thus, such efforts must overcome considerable scientific, technical, and socioeconomic challenges. In addition to proposing a scientific conceptual model, this paper also includes three case studies that illustrate methods for addressing these technical and socioeconomic challenges within projects that seek to promote ecologically functional floodplains through river‐floodplain reconnection and/or restoration of key components of hydrological variability.