ABSTRACT
During the past decade, river ecosystems have been identified as delivering ecosystem services that are fundamental to human well-being (Postel and Carpenter 1997; Aylward et al. 2005). River ecosystems provide cultural (e.g., recreation, tourism, existence values), regulating (e.g., maintenance of water quality, buffering of flood flows, erosion control), and supporting (e.g., role in nutrient cycling, predator-prey relationships, ecosystem resilience, and maintenance of biodiversity) services that contribute greatly, directly and indirectly, to human well-being (Aylward et al. 2005). Although the links between biodiversity, ecological functions, and the provision of ecosystem services are often poorly understood (Mertz et al. 2007), it has become evident that maintaining the river ecosystem integrity can support the protection of river ecosystem services.
