Riparian vegetation is the main source of leaves and the main energy source for low order streams. Therefore, changes in its composition affect the structure and processes in streams. We studied the contribution of the riparian vegetation by analysing the annual input of litter in deforested and forested areas of a tropical stream. The lateral, vertical (aerial) and horizontal (drift) litter in...

Floods trigger cascades of physical processes that alter streams and riparian zones of mountain landscapes, yet affected species are resilient Recent flooding in the Pacific Northwest vividly illustrates the complexity of watershed and ecosystem responses to floods, especially in steep forest landscapes. Flooding involves a sequence of interactions that begins with climatic drivers. These drive...

Biodiversity conservation has attracted growing concern and importance for global stability. The data presented by Luiz F. Pires and colleagues in this issue of the Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências (AABC) may soon earn some praise regarding a more effective stability of biodiversity. Their study aimed to check the efficiency of a riparian forest in trapping sediments coming from an upla...

In many semi-arid basins during extended periods when surface snowmelt or storm runoff is absent, groundwater constitutes the primary water source for human habitation, agriculture and riparian ecosystems. Utilizing regional groundwater models in the management of these water resources requires accurate estimates of basin boundary conditions. A critical groundwater boundary condition that is cl...

The reduction in extent of riparian forests in the southwestern United States has been a topic of recent concern. The effect of dams on downstream river flow and the consequent modification of the riparian habitat was studied along the lower Salt River in central Arizona. Dams were found to change the magnitude of river flows and change the seasonal timing of flows in such a way that the habita...

Riparian ecosystems along streams naturally harbour a high plant diversity with many increasingly endangered species. In our current heavily modified and fragmented catchments, many of these species are sensitive to dispersal limitation. Better understanding of riparian plant dispersal pathways is required to predict species (re-)colonization potential and improve success rates of stream and ri...

The nitrate (NO(3)(-)) removal capacity of riparian zones is well documented, but information is lacking with regard to N(2)O emission from riparian ecosystems and factors controlling temporal dynamics of this potent greenhouse gas. We monitored N(2)O fluxes (static chambers) and measured denitrification (C(2)H(2) block using soil cores) at six riparian sites along a fourth-order stretch of the...

................................................................................................................................................... ii Preface...................................................................................................................................................... 1 Background ..............................................................................

Invasive alien plant species negatively impact native plant communities by out-competing species or changing abiotic and biotic conditions in their introduced range. River systems are especially vulnerable to biological invasions, because waterways can function as invasion corridors. Understanding interactions of invasive and native species and their combined effects on river dynamics is essent...