Design guideline for the reintroduction of wood into Australian streams

Community perceptions regarding the benefits of both retaining and reintroducing wood into rivers and streams have fundamentally changed since the early 1990s. In large part this has been brought about by a raft of research into the role that trees and branches falling into our rivers (variously described as snags, large woody debris (LWD), coarse woody debris (CWD), woody debris, wood, log jams or structural woody habitat (SWH)) play in aquatic ecosystem health and channel morphodynamics. We now know that in many respects wood in rivers is akin to the coral reefs in our oceans, as it provides substrate for invertebrates and biofilms, and provides complex habitat that supports a wide range of aquatic species. In addition, it also performs a critical geomorphic role.