River Channel Management: Towards sustainable catchment hydrosystems

by Peter Downs, Ken Gregory

Overview

This is the first book to deal comprehensively with recent revolutions in river channel management. It explores the multidisciplinary nature of such management in relation to modern management techniques that bear the background of the entire drainage basin in mind, use channel restoration where appropriate, and are designed to be sustainable.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780340759691
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/28/2004
Series:	A Hodder Arnold Publication
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	408
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Dr Peter Downs is currently Senior Fluvial Geomorphologist at Stillwater Sciences, Berkeley, California. He has taught and researched extensively on geomorphological applications to river channel management and restoration.

Professor Ken Gregory is currently Visiting Professor, University of Southampton and Emeritus Professor, University of London. He was awarded the Founders Medal of the Royal Geographical Society for research on river channels. He is the author of Palaeohydrology: Understanding Global Change (Wiley, 2003) and The Changing Nature of Physical Geography (Arnold, 2000).

Table of Contents

Part One Introduction
The need for river channel management
/ Part Two Retrospect
Land use changes conditioning river management
River channel management: early 20th century approaches
Part Three: Realisation
Consequences of river engineering
River channel sensitivity to change
Ecological unity of the river corridor
Integrated river basin planning
Part Four: Requirements
Post-modern river management - river restoration
Environmental assessment in support of river channel management
Environmental aligned river engineering - working with the river
Part Five: Revision
Design with nature: prospects for 21st century river channel management.

Editorial Reviews

'Excellent coverage of the subject. I have been looking for a book like this for my course for a few years. Very comprehensive.'
/Ms S Marnolt, University of the West of England

River Channel Management is well researched, well written, thoughful, and provides a comprehensive coverage of the topic.

Richard A. Earl, Journal of Geography # 104

(This) book is an impressive contribution. In all, this is an extremely well written and useful book; my copy is already well dog-eared and worn out from its use.

Dr Martin Doyle, Geomorphology

This book is a welcome addition to the fold that encloses the minority of fluvial geomorphologists who have attempted to 'make a difference' to what they see as a misguided past, dominated by engineering interventions in the interest of river 'training' ... As a final recommendation for this book, the authors have worked within a realization that sustainable river basin management must work within an ecosystem context - and that humans must be considered within that system.

Professor Malcolm Newson, Geographical Journal

From the Publisher