In a provocative paper, titled 'Turning over a new leaf: the role of novel riparian ecosystems in catchment management', authors Samantha Capon, and Gary Palmer, examine research done on Novel riparian ecosystems.  These ecosystems host new combinations of species – some might call invasive species – with natural areas affected by human infrastructure. 

While posing numerous risks to riverine biodiversity and ecosystems, novel riparian ecosystems can also have many beneficial effects at local and catchment scales and may help address critical river management problems, e.g. bank erosion, degraded water quality.

Capon and Palmer feel that conventional management approaches (for example, weed control and eradication) can be ineffective, expensive, time consuming and associated with a range of unintended outcomes (such as, soil disturbance, habitat loss etc.).

 

 Samantha Capon is a Senior Lecturer with the School of Environment and Science at Griffith University and the Australian Rivers Institute in Brisbane, Australia. She has a background in the ecology and management of riparian and wetland vegetation with a particular focus on vegetation dynamics, restoration and monitoring. 

To represent a countervailing view, and one some might say a more traditional approach to dealing with invasive species, I spoke with Tys Theysmeyer, Head of Natural Lands at Canada's Royal Botanical Gardens.  Tys, an aquatic ecologist by training, has been involved in habitat restoration projects for over two decades.