The effects that channel management have on the biodiversity of a river

Abstract

Research was conducted with the aim of investigating whether river management affects the biodiversity of the river environment. Literature relating to the subject suggests that the management used on a river does have an effect upon the environment and therefore the species present. In order to test this, data from two locations was collected and compared; one river with soft engineering in the form of an engineered log jam and another river with hard engineering in the form of a weir. Data was collected before and after the management on each river. These types of management were studied as both aim to control water level and reduce the flow of the water. The study included identifying the species present at each location and quantifying them for statistical analysis; the velocity was also recorded to see if the speed of the water also affected the species. It was found that the data collected supported the majority of the literature as more species were present at the soft engineering location than at the hard engineering location, this could be attributed to the management at each location.