An assessment of bank slope as a predictor of conservation status in River Corridors

The importance of bank slope as a predictor of conservation status in river corridors was assessed by means of a survey of the taxonomic richness, taxonomic density and relative abundance of aquatic and terrestrial macro-invertebrates, invertebrates, vascular plants and bryophytes in aquatic, marsh, bank and adjacent land habitats at twenty-two sites on three rivers at bank slopes ranging from 3 to 50°. Bivariate and multivariate analyses demonstrated that bank slope was a poor predictor of conservation status in terms of the evaluation criteria employed. It is generally assumed that the conservation status of the flora and fauna are axiomatically related but no relationship between the taxonomic richness of the flora and that of the fauna was found.