A primary goal of river restoration is to reestablish lost ecological functions. Yet the impact of restoration on diatom assemblages and algal biomass in a stream is rarely addressed in the scientific literature reporting the outcomes of restoration projects aimed at improving riverine habitat. To investigate the potential for using benthic diatoms as indicators of the benefits to habitat associated with river restoration, we conducted a pilot diatom study in Whychus Creek, a headwater tributary of the Deschutes River in Oregon, USA. As part of a work study project for college students, we collected periphyton samples in a restored reach, a restored transition reach and an unrestored reach (control) and compared diatom assemblages and algae biomass of these reaches. Diatom assemblages and traits differed substantially between the control and restored reaches and the median percentage of chlorophyll a in the periphyton biomass increased from 9% in the control reach to 12% in the restored reach. The results of this pilot study suggest that benthic diatom assemblage may be useful indicators of river restoration success, particularly for approaches that aim to reconfigure channels and increase floodplain connectivity and habitat complexity.

中文翻译：

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使用硅藻评估河流修复：美国俄勒冈州怀丘斯克里克的初步研究

河流恢复的主要目标是恢复失去的生态功能。然而，科学文献很少报道修复对河流中的硅藻集合体和藻类生物量的影响，报告了旨在改善河流生境的修复项目的成果。为了研究使用底栖硅藻作为与河流恢复相关的栖息地收益指标的潜力，我们在美国俄勒冈州德舒特河上游源头的怀丘斯溪进行了一项试点硅藻研究。作为针对大学生的工作研究项目的一部分，我们收集了恢复范围，恢复过渡范围和恢复范围（控制范围）的附生植物样品，并比较了这些范围的硅藻组合和藻类生物量。浮游生物的生物量a从对照的9％增加到恢复的12％。这项初步研究的结果表明，底栖硅藻集合可能是河流恢复成功的有用指标，特别是对于那些旨在重新配置河道，增加洪泛区连通性和栖息地复杂性的方法而言。