Methods for and fish responses to channel remeandering and large wood structure placement in the Shibetsu River Restoration Project in northern Japan

The Shibetsu River Restoration Project intends to reestablish a historic meander pattern by connecting a 3.5-km channelized reach with a series of oxbow lakes that were previously isolated by channel straightening. Prior to full-scale construction, a remeandering experiment (pilot) was conducted upstream of the project segment to assess the methods for and ecological responses to channel remeandering. Large wood (LW) structures were also installed in the experimental remeandering reach. The channel remeandering project with LW placement in a large lowland river is the first undertaken in Asia, and it has rarely been undertaken elsewhere. In this report, we present an overview of the Shibetsu River Restoration Project and the methods for and fish responses to channel remeandering and LW placement in the experiment.