River restoration is a novel paradigm of ‘mirescape’ (land-and-water-scape) management that developed along with the emergence of aquatic ecology. River restoration can be seen as the application of an ecological perspective to return rivers to nature. However, the river restoration paradigm is also the contemporary iteration of historical phases of mirescape management. We review the long and varied recorded history of the Po River in northern Italy as a case study to illustrate the transformations and common themes of mirescape management. We find, first, that significant changes in mirescape management and river condition only occur in the context of larger social, political, technological and economic transformations. Second, we show how particular cultural understandings, economic interests, technological innovations and political powers have driven particular paradigms of mirescape management. These have tended towards increasing territorial separation of wet and dry. We find, third, that these separations lead not only to increasing economic precariousness for many, but also to increasingly severe disasters. We conclude that river restoration faces social and political challenges to becoming relevant at a mirescape scale, due to its lack of integration with land management, or with current social, political, technological and economic transformations. To act on this conclusion, we suggest philosophically aligned social movements that river restoration could work with to improve impact and uptake.

河流恢复是随着水生生态学的出现而发展起来的“泥沼”（土地和水景）管理的新范例。河流修复可以看作是运用生态学的视角，让河流回归自然。然而，河流修复范式也是泥沼管理历史阶段的当代迭代。我们回顾了意大利北部波河漫长而多样的记录历史，作为案例研究，以说明泥沼管理的转变和共同主题。首先，我们发现，泥沼管理和河流状况的重大变化只有在更大的社会、政治、技术和经济转型的背景下才会发生。其次，我们展示了特定的文化理解、经济利益、技术创新和政治权力如何驱动特定的泥沼管理范式。这些往往会增加干湿地区的分离。第三，我们发现，这些分离不仅导致许多人的经济更加不稳定，而且还导致日益严重的灾难。我们的结论是，由于河流恢复缺乏与土地管理或当前社会、政治、技术和经济转型的结合，河流恢复面临着与泥沼规模相关的社会和政治挑战。为了根据这一结论采取行动，我们建议开展哲学上一致的社会运动，河流恢复可以与之合作，以提高影响力和吸收率。