Preface: physical template and river ecosystem functioning: interdisciplinary feedbacks for improving rivers

摘要

This special issue in Hydrobiologia comprises papers that were presented in 2011 during an oral and a poster session at the 7th Symposium for European Freshwater Sciences (SEFS) in Girona, Spain, entitled ‘Form and function: channel morphology, hydraulic integrity and river ecosystem functioning’, as well as selected articles on recent aspects of the subject. The aim of this session was to promote communication between hydrologists, geomorphologists and ecologists to improve the understanding of river forms and processes and associated ecosystems on the one hand, and to provide knowledge on river restoration as well as on benefiting ecosystem services on the other.