Abstract
River research in New Zealand is strongly conditioned by management requirements defined by environmental legislation. Principal areas of investigation at present include information on river morphology, habitat and instream flows required for management of fluvial ecosystems; erosion, sediment transport and sediment yield; and gravel-bedded and braided river processes. Research in these areas has tended to have a strong orientation towards field observations as a basis for developing quantitative (commonly statistical) models, and ultimately the provision of guidance material and decision support systems for resource managers. A fourth area of particular emphasis has been channel networks and hydraulic geometry. Again, the work generally has been field-intensive, but has been directed towards testing models such as the optimal channel network concept. Current research directions are focusing particularly on gravel-bed river mechanics, climatic and tectonic controls on landscape evolution, and instream habitat hydraulics and ecosystems.
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