Riparian zones are the paragon of transitional ecosystems, providing critical habitat and ecosystem services that are especially threatened by global change. Following consultation with experts, 10 key challenges were identified to be addressed for riparian vegetation science and management improvement: (1) Create a distinct scientific community by establishing stronger bridges between disciplines; (2) Make riparian vegetation more visible and appreciated in society and policies; (3) Improve knowledge regarding biodiversity—ecosystem functioning links; (4) Manage spatial scale and context‐based issues; (5) Improve knowledge on social dimensions of riparian vegetation; (6) Anticipate responses to emergent issues and future trajectories; (7) Enhance tools to quantify and prioritize ecosystem services; (8) Improve numerical modeling and simulation tools; (9) Calibrate methods and increase data availability for better indicators and monitoring practices and transferability; and (10) Undertake scientific validation of best management practices. These challenges are discussed and critiqued here, to guide future research into riparian vegetation.This article is categorized under: Water and Life > Nature of Freshwater Ecosystems Water and Life > Stresses and Pressures on Ecosystems Water and Life > Conservation, Management, and Awareness

Riparian zones are dynamic ecosystems that form at the interface between the aquatic and terrestrial components of a landscape. They are shaped by complex interactions between the biophysical components of river systems, including hydrology, geomorphology, and vegetation. Remote sensing technology is a powerful tool useful for understanding riparian form, function, and change over time, as it allows for the continuous collection of geospatial data over large areas. This paper provides an overview of studies published from 1991 to 2021 that have used remote sensing techniques to map and understand the processes that shape riparian habitats and their ecological functions. In total, 257 articles were reviewed and organised into six main categories (physical channel properties; morphology and vegetation or field survey; canopy detection; application of vegetation and water indices; riparian vegetation; and fauna habitat assessment). The majority of studies used aerial RGB imagery for river reaches up to 100 km in length and Landsat satellite imagery for river reaches from 100 to 1000 km in length. During the recent decade, UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) have been widely used for low-cost monitoring and mapping of riverine and riparian environments. However, the transfer of RS data to managers and stakeholders for systematic monitoring as a source of decision making for and successful management of riparian zones remains one of the main challenges.

The paper evaluates the impact of river training works designed to address problems associated with flooding on the braided-wandering Belá River in Slovakian Carpathians. This impact was investigated after the flood event in July 2018 on 11 river reaches where the river engineering and management intervention was applied. We analyzed its impact by spatio-temporal variations in river morphology (12 channel parameters) and changes in cross-section and hydraulic parameters (flow velocity, shear stress, stream power, W/D ratio) between pre- and post-flood management periods. The research hypotheses related to decreasing geodiversity in managed river reaches, a rapid increase in flow velocity during an extreme flood in river reaches where there is no sufficient floodplain inundation due to artificially high banks built by river training works, and increasing erosive force in the channel zone thanks to river management intervention were confirmed. The intervention in the braidplain area of the Belá River resulted in an undesirable simplification of the river pattern, loss of geomorphic diversity, loss of channel–floodplain connectivity, and disturbance and restraint of hydromorphological continuity. Identification of main conflicts of the Belá River management is important for clarifying the different approaches of stakeholders in the study area and aims to provide an objective illustration of their consequences. The presented analyses could help in future management issues as well as in the more critical decision-making process in vulnerable and rare braided river systems on the present when we are losing so many natural rivers by human decisions.