RESTOLINK

Restoration approaches to improve the hydromorphology of streams are increasing worldwide but often fail to recover good ecological status and biodiversity. Yet, the evidence for the dominant effects of hydromorphology on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning suggests that the strong potential for hydromorphological restoration is not fully explored in stream rehabilitation. It is argued that restoration often fails because it does not consider the spatial scales of stream hydromorphology that are most relevant to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Moreover, traditional indicators of restoration success based on the composition of biological communities may not show the same recovery trajectory as key ecosystem functions, such as organic matter decomposition and nutrient retention. RESTOLINK proposes a novel framework for evaluating restoration success by mechanistically linking hydromorphological heterogeneity at relevant scales, multi-group biodiversity, and the multifunctionality of stream ecosystems. We will apply this framework to streams across a broad latitudinal gradient from boreal to tropical biomes and will thus test how biome-specific factors such as climate, vegetation, and hydrology set the boundaries for local restoration responses.