River restoration concepts : goals and perspectives

Many river restoration projects in Austria and elsewhere had concentrated on river bed design measures to facilitate habitat diversity. These schemes had not taken into account the specific characteristics of the river and its landscape area and there was some risk of imposing unnecessary uniformity in restoration stretches. The requirement should be a comprehensive improvement in the ecological functioning of the whole river system. A comprehensive scheme should result from consideration of the unmodified river features and the actual situation. The essential aims of management schemes should be integrity of river habitat, the preservation of intact resources, self regulation and regeneration and maintenance of the aesthetic attributes of natural river landscapes.