The land–river interface: a conceptual framework of environmental process interactions to support sustainable development

Abstract Rivers and their surrounding lands are focal points of human development in the landscape. However, activities associated with can greatly affect river processes, causing significant often unintended environmental impacts. Despite profound varied impacts that development-related alterations cause through hydrological, geomorphic, ecological they not widely acknowledged outside management resource availability hazard exposure to people. In this paper, we propose a novel, interdisciplinary conceptual framework river–land process interactions support sustainable development. We introduce term ‘land–river interface’ (LRI) describe areas landscape which processes land, vegetation, and/or fauna, including humans, directly or indirectly. The multiple links between LRI factors at basin, valley, channel (i.e. reach) scale synthesized zonation based on is proposed serve as understand activity. Three examples (urbanization, dams aggregate mining) illustrate how alteration form functioning basins, valleys, channels range be propagated throughout landscape, spatially temporally distant from diversity severity these environment people underscore need incorporate represented concept, into broader better anticipate mitigate negative maximize positive outcomes deliver benefits across society.