The RIVERLANDS project is based on a series of consecutive and interrelated steps. The first part of the project deals with the characterisation of spatio-temporal landscape patterns and the construction of a river network (Fig. 1). Once every single river reach within that network is characterised following those landscape patterns, a selection of river reaches will be done to characterise spatial and temporal patterns on river processes and river reach controlling factors. Finally, RiverLands aims to synthesize all the results with the production of a river network model for different functioning rates (spatial) and explore also the construction of a reach scale model (seasonal) for different functioning rates.
In order to be able to isolate the effects of land use legacies on river functioning, RIVERLANDS will concentrate in 1st to 3rd order streams within the Cantabrian Cordillera, northern Spain (Fig. 2). This area concentrates a smaller amount of human pressures than further downstream. Otherwise, the effects of different human activities might be confounded with the effects of land use legacies.
In order to achieve the RIVERLANDS objectives, there have been proposed the following tasks and subtasks.
Task 1.- Characterisation of landscape legacies
Task 2.- River function temporal dynamics and method comparison
Task 3.- Characterisation of river functioning spatial patterns and river reach factors
Task 4.- Constructing river network and river reach models for river functioning
