Performance evaluation of river restoration projects

The project team investigates river reachs that were restored as part of the "Aktion Blau Plus" program of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Restoration success is assessed with regard to the respective project goals:

1. Achieving the good ecological status of the water,
2. Promotion of rare and endangered species,
3. Promotion of natural river habitat structures,
4. Promotion of ecosystem functions and services,
5. Acceptance in the local population.

We are particularly interested in how biodiversity is linked to ecosystem functions / services and the way projects are perceived by stakeholders in the water environment. These relationships are extremely important for the acceptance of restoration projects in the population. Based on our assessment of factors that determine restoration success, strategies are developed to make future river restoration measures more effective and cost-efficient.

In addition, the project will develop a series of events with the title WasserWissensForum. The aim of this series of events is to strengthen the networking of researchers and practitioners in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in water topics. All research areas related to water management are served, from biological-ecological and hydrological topics to questions about chemical water quality, technical systems and infrastructural aspects of drinking water and wastewater treatment. The event takes place twice a year in the WasserWissensWerk at Kempfeld, which was newly opened in 2018. The promotion of young scientists is of particular importance in this series of events.

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