Restoration concepts for large rivers. Experiences from the Danube restorationproject.

This paper assesses some general conservation issues and problems in the conservation management of large river floodplains, based on the experience gained from the free-flowing section of the Austrian Danube downstream of Vienna. This stretch has been declared an Alluvial Zone National Park and strong emphasis has been given to the development of strategies for improvement and management. Successful restoration requires clear goals and objectives to succeed. Possibilities for and constraints of rehabilitation - both from a processoriented view as well as from the nature conservation perspective differ strongly according to the degree of anthropogenic changes. We propose a conceptual framework to integrate nature conservation goals and socioeconomic constraints. An hierarchical approach is adjusted to set restoration targets for specific sites within a stream reach. Hydrogeomorphological processes are used as the basis for setting the targets and prioritizing sites for retoration.