Fine‐grained sediment in river systems: environmental significance and management issues

Abstract Fine‐grained sediment is a natural and essential component of river systems and plays a major role in the hydrological, geomorphological and ecological functioning of rivers. In many areas of the world, the level of anthropogenic activity is such that fine‐grained sediment fluxes have been, or are being, modified at a magnitude and rate that cause profound, and sometimes irreversible, changes in the way that river systems function. This paper examines how anthropogenic activity has caused significant changes in the quantity and quality of fine‐grained sediment within river systems, using examples of: land use change in New Zealand; the effects of reservoir construction and management in different…

• UE
  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• EC
  European Commission
• NO
  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• UA
  U.S. Army Corps of Engineers