Received: 29 November 2022 Revised: 14 February 2023
DOI: 10.1002/eco.2579
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Evaluating the physical habitat of riffle-pool design in support
of river habitat protection and rehabilitation
Nan Wang 1 | Ge Yang 2 |
1 1
Yuqian Xi | Weiwei Yao
1
State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and
Mountain River Engineering, Sichuan
University, Chengdu, China
2
Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada
3
Department of Infrastructure Engineering,
The University of Melbourne, Melbourne,
Australia
Correspondence
Weiwei Yao, State Key Laboratory of
Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering,
Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China.
Email: yaoww@scu.edu.cn; science_research@
126.com
Funding information
National Key Research and Development
Program of China, Grant/Award Number:
2022YFC3202002
Ecohydrology. 2023;e2579.
https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.2579
Accepted: 8 August 2023
Meixia Bao 1 | Giri Kattel 3 | Pengcheng Li 2 |
Abstract
Riffle-pool constructions are common practice in river management and fish conser-
vation, but insufficient science exists to guide objective design of riffle-pool. Under-
standing the spatial design of a riffle-pool in river systems has significant value
because it can provide important information to ameliorate aquatic species decline.
In this study, six types of riffle-pool structures were designed to assess hydrodynamic
and riverbed morphology effects on stream habitat status. A two-dimensional ecohy-
draulic model was used to assess the roles of different riffle-pool designs in river hab-
itat conditions. The natural flow condition and three types of flood flow conditions
were applied to the six types of riffle-pool structures to evaluate the habitat quality
and the sustainability of the riffle-pool design in mountain rivers. The long-term
impacts of the hydrodynamic and hydromorphology conditions on river physical habi-
tat status were also analysed. The results indicate substantial differences in habitat
quality among six riffle-pool structures. It was found that narrow riffle-pool construc-
tion yielded the best performance for the fish habitat, which had the best habitat
quality among six riffle-pool designs with the smallest pool area. In the same riffle-
pool structure, the habitat suitability in the riffle-pool sequence will primarily increase
more rapidly and then decrease gradually along with the discharge increase. Under
the flood discharge scenarios, low flood discharge could improve riffle-pool habitat
quality, while high flood discharge could fragment the riffle-pool habitat quality fur-
ther. The long-term hydrodynamic conditions have the same effects on all six cases.
Overall, low discharge and smaller pool design would be beneficial to the river sys-
tem, which could help maintain habitat diversity of mountain rivers. This analysis
could provide valuable information for river management and decision-making, which
could assist in designing better mountain river habitats to promote conservation and
rehabilitation of endangered biota.
KEYWORDS
habitat suitability, hydrodynamic conditions, riffle-pool, river habitat conservation and
rehabilitation, two-dimensional ecohydraulic modelling tools
wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/eco © 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 1 of 18

2 of 18
1 | I N T RO DU CT I O N
Riffle-pool constructions are common practice in river conservation
and fish assemblages, but insufficient science exists to guide objective
design of riffle-pool (Jackson et al., 2015; Wang et al., 2021). Presence
of riffle-pool sequences is universal in mountain rivers. Riffle-pools
are important morphological characteristics that are commonly found
in moderate gradient sediment-bed rivers and streams, including
Sichuan, Yunnan Province, China, Santa Monica, California and British
Columbia, Canada (Morgan & Nelson, 2016; Sawyer et al., 2009;
Wang et al., 2006). Riffles represent the topographically shallow
section of an undulating riverbed, which are known to be both wider
and shallower morphological features. Pools are the topographically
deep regions of the riverbed (Kang, 2014; Wu & Mossa, 2019). The
non-uniform bed topography of riffle-pool sequences holds great
importance for maintaining fluvial system quasi-equilibrium (Hauer
et al., 2011). Different flow discharge and frequency have different
effects on riffle-pool structure. Low-magnitude, high-frequency flow
discharge can cause the intra-unit movement while medium-
magnitude and frequency flows appear in inter-unit transport, and
high-magnitude, low-frequency flows can happen in sediment transfer
from bar to bar (Milan, 2000; Morgan, 2018). The increase of flow and
gradient advances the development of riffle-pool sequences and
shortens the longitudinal length with riffles and pools (Brew, 2014;
Jiyi et al., 2022).
Natural rivers have effective approaches to resist scouring and
improve the ecosystem, which are accomplished by developing bed
structures such as riffle-pool, rib and stone structures. Riffle-pool
sequences were commonly applied to improve riverbed incision and
ecosystem in mountain rivers (MacVicar & Roy, 2007; Wang &
Zhang, 2019). For riffle-pool sequences, riffles dissipate water energy
through surface friction and turbulent fluctuation, and pools eliminate
energy through hydraulic jump, turbulent diffusion and vortex dissipa-
tion. Even in such extreme conditions such as flood flows, riffle-pool
sequences are observed to maintain river and stream without damag-
ing ecological stability (Sawyer et al., 2010; Wang & Zhang, 2019;
White et al., 2010; Yu et al., 2008; Zimmermann & Church, 2001).
Riffle-pool designs with different widths and depths affect hyporheic
exchange characteristics (i.e. hyporheic exchange flux and residence
time). The width undulations of riffle-pool sequences affect residence
time, and streambed undulations affect hyporheic exchange. The deep
and wide pools combined with shallow and narrow riffle resulted in
the highest hyporheic exchange, which demonstrated that restoration
structures could alter the hyporheic exchanges and residence time
(Movahedi et al., 2021; Pasternack et al., 2018; Ward et al., 2018).
These findings are beneficial for the projects, aimed at intensifying
oxygen rates and will be applicable to river restoration projects. More-
over, flood flush would significantly challenge the sustainable devel-
opment of habitats and ecosystems (Binh et al., 2021; Robinson
et al., 2018).
Ecohydraulics links ecological functions and hydrodynamic condi-
tions, assessing river habitat features by coupling physical habitat with
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WANG ET AL.
discharge (Benjankar et al., 2019; Bockelmann et al., 2004; Kemp
et al., 2013; Rice et al., 2010). The most common approach to assess
riffle-pool sequences is using the ecohydraulic models (Brown &
Pasternack, 2009; Pasternack & Brown, 2013; Schwartz et al., 2015;
Wheaton et al., 2010). Functional flows model (FFM) integrates hydro-
geomorphic processes and ecological functions to assess physical habi-
tat. It is an objective tool to analyse differences in habitat functionality
due to gravel augmentation, natural floods and differences in channel
morphology (Escobar & Pasternack, 2010). Escobar and Pasternack
(2011) applied this model to sites on the Mokelume River and Yuba
River to assess ecological functions linked to hydrologic regime and
geomorphic channel change (Escobar & Pasternack, 2011).
With the development of numerical model simulation technology,
physical habitat models have been further developed to evaluate fish
habitat suitability based on physical variables, including water depth,
flow velocity and substrate conditions (Clifford et al., 2006; Harrison
et al., 2011). Fish habitat modelling as a tool for river management is
often used to support fish protection and habitat rehabilitation
(Moradpour et al., 2021; Mouton et al., 2007; Wang & Lin, 2013; Yao,
Bui, & Rutschmann, 2018; Yao, Chen, et al., 2017; Yu et al., 2022;
Zhang et al., 2016). Numbers of habitat models have been developed
and applied in river management, such as the physical habitat simula-
tion (PHABSIM), in-stream flow Regulations (CASiMiR), River2D and
MesoHABSIM models (Bockelmann et al., 2004; Booker &
Dunbar, 2004; Choi, Im, & Kim, 2018; Choi, Kang, & Lee, 2018; Jorde &
Bratrich, 2000; Spurgeon et al., 2019; Steffler & Blackburn, 2002).
These models can simulate different scales of habitat quantity and qual-
ity through their own functions. For example, ‘WW-Eco-tools’, one of
ecohydraulic models, has been developed composed of hydro-morpho-
dynamic, habitat and population models to assess habitat suitability in
recent years. It links environment parameters to habitat quality through
suitability index curves for different fish species and has been applied
to the Colorado River in the western United States, the Aare River in
Switzerland and the Jiao-Mu River in China (Ahmdzadeh et al., 2019;
Boudreault et al., 2022; Yao, 2020; Yao et al., 2014; Yao, Liu,
et al., 2017; Yao, Zhao, et al., 2018; Yu et al., 2018).
The riffle-pool sequence has more effective functions on river
bed stability than the traditional check-dam system and can self-
adjust, even in flood conditions (Schwartz et al., 2015). It is meaningful
to evaluate the different types of riffle-pool sequences' combination
on fish habitat conservation. It has been proved that riffle-pool
sequences have significant contributions to fish habitat conservation
in both natural and mountain river system (Pasternack et al., 2008;
Wang et al., 2021). The aim of this study is to use an ecohydraulic
model to evaluate the hydrodynamic and fish habitat quality of six
types of riffle-pool sequences under normal (including low, middle and
high) discharge and flood flush. The hydrodynamic variables including
flow velocity, water depth and substrates distribution for six types of
riffle-pool sequences in different discharges are simulated. The habitat
quality spatial distribution of six types of riffle-pool sequences is ana-
lysed. The riffle-pool sequences habitat sensitivity and stability are
also analysed.
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WANG ET AL. 3 of 18

2 | MATERIALS AND METHOD In each case, the distance between the two pools was equal. The
topography of six sequences and different riffle-pool sequence config-
2.1 | Experimental design urations are indicated in Figure 1.
Two types of discharge, normal (including low, middle and high) dis-
Six riffle-pool sequences with total areas of approximately charge and flood flush, are conducted in this study to evaluate habitat
6.4
104 m2 were designed. For six sequences, the pools are evenly quality for riffle-pool sequences under these two flow conditions. The
distributed, with spacing between two pools of 10 m. From cases 1 to normal discharge is used to determine the riffle-pool sequences habitat
6, the pools' widths are 10, 25, 50, 75, 100 and 125 m, respectively. quality, while the flood flush is used to determine the stability of the

FIGURE 1 Tophography map (a) and pool configuration (b) for six designed riffle-pool sequences. Top to bottom is case 1 to case 6.
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4 of 18 WANG ET AL.

riffle-pool sequences. The computational domain was composed of where x and y are the horizontal and vertical directions in coordi-
9658 meshes and 9067 nodes; bed elevations were interpolated from nate system (); u and v are depth-integrated velocity components
surveyed cross-section values and the flow chart of the model system in x and y directions, respectively (m/s); h is the fluid column height
is shown in Figure 2. The model contains three components: (1) the (m); t is the time (s); g is the gravitational acceleration (m/s2); η is
hydrodynamic simulation model, (2) the sediment transport simulation the water surface elevation (m); xu and xv are the depth-integrated
model and (3) the habitat model based on preference curves. Reynolds stress (m2/s); Ar is Archimedes number; and T is
temperature.
To simulate the river flow turbulence, the standard k–ε turbulence
2.2 | Description of hydrodynamic simulation model was used to solve the momentum equation (Shaheed
et al., 2019). The standard k–ε model contains two transport equa-
In the riffle-pool sequences, the governing equations for simulating tions, one for the turbulence kinetic energy (k) term and the other one
flow characteristics in rivers are the continuity equation and the for its dissipation rate (ϵ) term (Ferziger et al., 2002). The k in the
momentum equation (Dresback et al., 2005): model equation was derived from the exact equation, while the ε in
Continuity equation the model transport equation was obtained from physical reasoning.
Turbulent kinetic energy equation
∂h ∂h ∂h
þu þv ¼0 ð1Þ
∂t ∂x ∂y



∂k ∂k ∂k ∂ ∂k ∂ ∂k
þu þv ¼ χk þ χk  ε  Gb þ Gk ð4Þ
∂t ∂x ∂y ∂x ∂x ∂y ∂y
Momentum equation


∂u ∂u ∂u ∂η 1 ∂hχ u ∂hχ u Dissipation rate equation
þ u þ v ¼ g þ þ  ArT ð2Þ
∂t ∂x ∂y ∂x h ∂x ∂y




 ∂ε ∂ε ∂ε ∂ ∂ε ∂ ∂ε C2 ε2 ε ε
þu þv ¼ χε þ χε   C1 C3 Gb þ C1 Gk
∂v ∂v ∂v ∂η 1 ∂hχ v ∂hχ v ∂t ∂x ∂y ∂x ∂x ∂y ∂y k k k
þ u þ v ¼ g þ þ  ArT ð3Þ
∂t ∂x ∂y ∂y h ∂x ∂y ð5Þ

FIGURE 2 Flowchart of the ecohydraulic model system for assessing habitat suitability of six riffle-pool sequences.
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WANG ET AL. 5 of 18

where Gb and Gk represent the turbulent kinetic energy production 1 V tur 1 V tur
Xk ¼ þ , Xε ¼ þ ð7Þ
due to shear and due to buoyancy, respectively. Gb and Gk are based Re σ k Re σ ε
on Boussinesq's assumptions. They can be written as follows:
The turbulent eddy viscosity is defined by V tur ¼ cμ k2 =ε, which
cμ k 2
 2

 will be applied to measure the turbulence strength and its develop-
ε ∂T ∂T k ∂u ∂u ∂v ∂u ∂v
Gb ¼ Ar þ eg ; Gk ¼ Cμ þ þ þ ð6Þ
σT ∂x ∂y ε ∂x ∂y ∂y ∂x ∂y ment. For the standard k–ε model, model constants cμ , σ K , σ ε , σ T , C1 ,
C2 and C3 are 0.09, 1.00, 1.30, 0.90, 1.44, 1.92 and 1.00, respectively
where eg is a vector in the direction of gravity and σ T is turbulent (Versteeg & Malalasekera, 2007).
Prandtl number. In the turbulence equation, the diffusion coefficients
are described as follows:
2.3 | River bed shear stress and river bed evolution

T A B L E 1 Three evaluation criteria of habitat suitability index with River bed shear stress is a crucial hydrodynamics parameter, which
the riffle-pool sequences. can potentially impact river bed evolution and therefore the fish habi-
tat (Lee et al., 2019; Mirauda & Russo, 2020). The river bed shear
Habitat suitability index Level Percentage of HSI level
stress can be calculated as:
0.0–0.3 Low LSP
0.3–0.7 Middle MSP
1 pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
τb ¼ ρCd ðu, v Þ u2 þ v2 ð8Þ
0.7–1.0 High HSP 2

F I G U R E 3 The simulated distribution of (a) water depth, (b) flow velocity (b) and (c) substrates for six designed riffle-pool sequences under
low, medium and high discharge (low discharge = 100 m3/s, medium discharge = 340 m3/s, high discharge = 630 m3/s).
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6 of 18 WANG ET AL.

with HSI ¼ ðSIv
SId
SIs Þ1=3 ð13Þ

2g where SIv is the suitability index of flow velocity, SId is the suitability
Cd ¼ M2a ð9Þ
h1=3 index of water depth and SIs is the suitability index of sediment
grain size.
where τb is shear stress (kg/ms2), ρ is the density of water, Cd is the WUA and OSI are defined as follows:
friction coefficient () and Mα is Manning friction.
The riverbed evolution can be calculated from a sediment continu-
ity equation, known as the Exner equation (Coleman & Nikora, 2009;
González-Aguirre et al., 2022):

 0
 ∂Z ∂Qbs ∂Qbn
b
1p þ þ ¼0 ð10Þ
∂t ∂x ∂y

where p' is a parameter depending on the porosity of the bed material

() and Qbs and Qbn are bed-load fluxes in the main-flow direction (s)
and cross-flow direction (n), respectively (m3/ms). Zb is the bed evolu-
tion change (m).
There are many equations that can be used for reasonably esti-
mating bed load. Following the grain sizes and hydraulic conditions in
the studied site, the Meyer–Peter Muller equation was chosen to pre-
dict river bed load, which is represented as follows (Kuriqi et al., 2020;
Meyer-Peter & Müller, 1948):
"
3=2 #3=2
1=2
C ρs 3
Qe ¼ 8 θ  θcr gd ; θcr ¼ 0:047; ð11Þ
C90 ρ 50

τb
θ¼ ð12Þ
ðρs  ρÞgd50

where C is the Chézy friction coefficient (), C90 is the grain size-
related Chézy value (), θ is the Shields parameter, θcr is the critical
Chézy value (0.047), ρρs is relative density () and d50 is fractional grain
size (m).

2.4 | Fish habitat module

Based on the concepts of PHABSIM, River2D and other relevant

models, the HSI (habitat suitability index), WUA (weighted usable
area) and the OSI (overall suitability index) were quantified for six
proposed sequences and assessed using the habitat model devel-
oped in this study (Gard, 2009). Variables such as velocity, water
depth and substrates distribution, which can influence fish growth,
survival and abundance, were selected in the habitat model for
estimating HSI (Bargain et al., 2018; Bockelmann et al., 2004). Sub-
sequently, the value of HSI can be determined by dominant suit-
ability index curves of the selected variables. The habitat suitability
F I G U R E 4 The habitat suitability index distribution for six
index (HSI) in each grid mesh was calculated for each time step.
designed riffle-pool sequences under low, medium and high discharge
The value of HSI ranged from 0 to 1, with three criteria, low, mid- (low discharge = 100 m3/s, medium discharge = 340 m3/s, high
dle and high (Table 1). The HSI is defined as follows: discharge = 630 m3/s).
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WANG ET AL. 7 of 18

X
M 2.5 | Model setup
WUA ¼ Ai  HSIi,t ð14Þ
i¼1

P
M This model was run on six riffle-pool sequences with 32 simulations.
Ai  HSIi Finite volume method was employed to solve the model system cou-
OSI ¼ i¼1 M
100% ð15Þ
P pling all governing equations used in this study. Three types of bound-
Ai
i¼1 ary conditions, inlet, outlet and side boundary, were applied in the
where HSIi is the habitat suitability index of cell i, Ai is the horizontal model system. Flow discharge and time were applied as the boundary
surface of cell i and M is the total number of grid meshes. condition at the riffle-pool sequence inlet. The initial water depth and
The HSP, MSP and LSP indicate the percentage of habitat suit- velocity in the riffle-pool sequences were 0. The elevation was set as
ability that is high, middle and low for fish species in the studied sites, the outlet boundary condition, and zero gradient outflow boundaries
respectively: were adopted for turbulent kinetics and velocity. The riverside bank
was set as a solid wall boundary condition.
P
Μ
In the model system, the dynamic flow velocity and water depth
ΗSIAi ≥ 0:7
ι¼1 could be calculated by the hydrodynamic model. The suspended con-
HSP 
100% ð16aÞ
P
M
Ai centration and riverbed substrate distributions were solved by sedi-
i¼1
ment transport. Subsequently, the calculated flow velocity, water
depth and substrates were used as inputs in the habitat model to pre-
P
Μ
0:3 ≤ HSIAi < 0:7 dict the HSI, WUA, OSI, HSP, MSP and LSP. The fish habitat suitability
MSP ¼ ι¼1
100% ð16bÞ level could then be evaluated. More details about the model setup are
P
M
Ai
i¼1
introduced in Yao (2016) and Zhang et al. (2016).

P
Μ
HSIAi < 0:3
3 | RE SU LT S
LSP ¼ ι¼1
100% ð16cÞ
P
M
Ai
i¼1 3.1 | Hydrodynamic simulation results

Water depth, flow velocity and substrates distribution for six

The symbols' meanings are the same as stated in previous designed pool-riffle sequences under low, medium and high discharge
equations. scenarios are displayed in Figure 3. In general, the water depth and

F I G U R E 5 The WUA and OSI

distribution for six designed riffle-
pool sequences under low,
medium and high discharge (low
discharge = 100 m3/s, medium
discharge = 340 m3/s, high
discharge = 630 m3/s).

8 of 18
F I G U R E 6 Riverbed deformation for six riffle-pool sequences
under three types of flood flush. Q1,Q2, Q3 represents low, medium
and high flood flush: 400, 500 and 600 m3/s, respectively.
velocity, along with the discharge were found varied. The water
depth in pools, is higher than in riffles while the velocity in riffles is
higher than in pools. As shown in Figure 3a, water depth is 3.7 m in
pools and 1.2 m in riffles under the low discharge scenario. For six
riffle-pool sequences, the lowest water depth is 0.5 m, which hap-
pened near the bankside of the modelled reach. Under the medium
discharge scenario, the mean water depth in pools is 5.0 m and the
values in riffles are at the level of 3.5 m. Under the high discharge
scenario, the water depth in the pool is approximately 5.8 m and the
depth in riffles is 4.0 m. Besides, case 1 had the lowest water depth
with mean values of 2.3, 4.5 and 5.5 m in pools for low, medium and
high discharge scenarios, respectively.
The flow velocity simulation results are shown in Figure 3b, and
substrates distribution is illustrated in Figure 3c. The mean velocity in
pools is 0.3 m/s, and the mean velocity in riffles is ranged from 0.4 to
0.5 m/s under the low discharge scenario. Flow velocity near the bank
is maintained at 0.15 m/s. Under the medium discharge scenario, the
velocity in riffles is relatively larger than in pools, with values of
1.0 m/s in riffles and 0.7 m/s in pools. Under the high discharge
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WANG ET AL.
scenario, it is noted that the maximum flow velocity in riffles
reaches 1.3 m/s and the maximum velocity value in pools is 1.0 m/s.
The substrates distribution remains stable, and the mean grain size is
maintained at 8.32 mm.
3.2 | Fish habitat quality for riffle-pool sequences
HSI distributions for six types of riffle-pool sequences under low,
medium and high discharge scenarios are displayed in Figure 4. Nota-
bly, the HSI dynamically changes with the variations of discharge. In
the middle of the riffle-pool sequences, the habitat quality showed an
increasing trend and then decreases along with the discharge increase.
However, the habitat quality near the riverbank shows an increasing
trend. (1) Under the low discharge scenario, both pools and riffles
were suitable for fish to live when the HSI value is 0.5 in pools and
around 0.7 in riffles. It is noted that habitat discontinuities exist in
cases 1 and 2 and the areas near the bank are not suitable for fish to
live, with HSI values nearly zero. (2) Under the medium discharge sce-
nario, both riffles and riverbanks showed high suitability, with HSI
values reaching 0.9 in riffles and 0.8 near the riverbanks for cases 3 to
6. However, riffles and riverbanks HSI values have reached up to 0.9
for cases 1 and 2. The habitat quality in pools stays at low levels, with
HSI values near 0. (3) Under the high discharge scenario, both riffles
and pools have poor habitat quality, with HSI values at 0. The strip
areas near the riverbank have good habitat suitability conditions.
3.3 | Habitat sensitivity analysis
The six types of riffle-pool sequences habitat sensitivity analysis were
made through WUA, OSI, LSP, MSP and HSP. Figure 5 shows the
WUA and OSI values distribution under low, medium and high dis-
charge scenarios. It is noted that the highest WUA and OSI values
happened in case 1 under the medium discharge scenario, with the
maximum value of 50,856 m2 and 0.78 for WUA and OSI, respec-
tively. The WUA and OSI distributions indicate a ranking of the fish
habitat quality from high to low as follows: case 1, case 2, case 3, case
4, case 5 and case 6. It is also noted that the habitat qualities among
cases 4 to 6 are kept at almost the same level.
Both the WUA and OSI values showed a significant increasing
trend and then showed a decreasing trend along with the discharge
increase (Figure A1). The OSI values show dramatic increasing trends
from 50 to 340 m3/s, with maximum values of 0.78, 0.70, 0.69 and
0.63 for cases 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. However, a decreasing trend
was observed from 340 to 1,140 m3/s for all six cases. The LSP, MSP
and HSP simulation results indicated that the overall trends for six
types of riffle-pool sequences are very similar, with HSP increasing
dramatically and then decreasing slightly. In contrast to HSP, the LSP
values first decrease rapidly and then increase slowly along with dis-
charge increasing. The MSP values always show a decreasing trend
for all six types of riffle-pool sequences, with the discharge increasing
from 150 to 1,200 m3/s (Figure A2).

WANG ET AL.
3.4 | Three flood flow effects on habitat quality
Three types of flood flow (Q1, Q2 and Q3) were selected to evaluate
the physical stability and the fish habitat fluctuation of riffle-pool
sequences. Riverbed deformation intensity patterns for six riffle-
pool sequences under these three flood scenarios are illustrated in
Figures 6 and 7. It is noted that the deformation of riffle-pool
sequences is sensitive to the flood flow (especially cases 1 and 2)
and the high flood flush had significant impacts on riffle-pool
FIGURE 7 Evolution of the longitudinal section for six riffle-pool sequences under original scenario and three types of flood flush.
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9 of 18
sequences. With the increase of flood flow, the riverbed deforma-
tion intensity is becoming more serious with a maximum deposition
of 3.7 m in pools and 2.7 m in riffles. It is noted that the stability of
the riffle-pool sequences is becoming better along with the increas-
ing of pool areas and the structure of case 6 is the most stable
among all six cases.
Figure 8 shows the substrates distribution for six riffle-pool
sequences under three designed flood scenarios. It is indicated that
the substrate size becomes finer in the pools while the grain size

10 of 18
F I G U R E 8 Substrates distribution for six riffle-pool sequences
under three types of flood flush. (Q1 = 400 m3/s; Q2 = 500 m3/s;
Q3 = 600 m3/s).
becomes coarser in the rest areas of the computation domain.
More specifically, the mean grain size in pools is approximately
8 mm under the first and second types of flood flush while the
grain size is 4 mm under the third type of flood flush. The sedi-
ment mean size in riffles reaches up to 14 mm under low and
medium flood and is maintained at 10 mm under the third type of
flood flush.
The habitat quality for these six riffle-pool sequences under
three flood flush scenarios is indicated in Figure 9. Under the initial
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WANG ET AL.
scenario, the low HSI values are mainly located in pools, and high
HSI values are located in riffles, as well as near the riverbank. Under
the first flood flush scenario, the HSI quality in riffles is improved
when compared with the initial scenario. Under the second flood
flush scenario, the habitat quality is worse than the first flood flush
scenario, and the worst HSI quality is displayed under the third
flood flush.
The WUA and OSI values under three flood flush scenarios are
shown in Figure 10. It is indicated that case 1 has the highest WUA
and OSI values. The case 1 WUA values are 45,455, 50,374, 45,312
and 45,679 m2 for Q0, Q1, Q2 and Q3 flood flush, respectively. The
OSI values of case 1 are 0.69, 0.77, 0.69 and 0.70 for the initial, first,
second and third types of flood flush scenarios, respectively. It is
noted that the WUA and OSI values in cases 2 and 3 are lower than
the related values in case 1, while the WUA and OSI values in cases
4 to 6 are kept at the same level, having the lowest values among all
riffle-pool sequences. It is also noted that these flood flushes do not
have significant effects on the riffle-pool habitat quality. Figure 11
shows the LSP, MSP and HSP for all six riffle-pool sequences; notably,
case 1 has the highest HSP values, with values of 0.76, 0.84, 0.76
and 0.76 for initial, first, second and third types of flood flush sce-
nario, respectively. The HSP shows a slightly decreasing trend from
cases 1 to 6, while the LSP shows a slightly increasing trend from
cases 1 to 6. Overall, the physical stability of these riffle-pool
sequences is in good condition, and the fish habitat quality is also
within a reasonable range.
3.5 | Riffle-pool sequences habitat analysis
Table 2 shows the habitat quality comparison for six sequences. As
depicted in Table 2, WUA and OSI values of case 1 are the highest
among all six riffle-pool sequences. It is noted that there is a close
relationship between hydrodynamic conditions and physical habitat
quality. It demonstrates that small size of pools (case 1) could con-
tribute to their habitat quality. It is also noted that all riffle-pool
sequences have a suitable discharge range and the discharge ranges
for these six cases are different. Within the suitable discharge,
riffle-pool sequences could provide a suitable habitat for fish
to live.
It is also noted that the riffle-pool sequence has the capacity to
sustain the stability under flood conditions, which means that the
riffle-pool system has enough function to sustain the habitat stabil-
ity (Chapuis et al., 2015; Wang & Zhang, 2019). A comparison of
habitat quality for six riffle-pool sequences under flood conditions is
summarized in Table 3. The HSP and WUA values for case 1 are
the highest among all scenarios. The WUA values under the first
flood flush scenario are higher than in other scenarios. This means
that the first flood flush scenario could improve habitat quality to
an extent. However, the third flood flush scenario would cause the
stability loss of riffle-pool sequences, resulting in the habitat quality
degradation.
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WANG ET AL. 11 of 18

F I G U R E 9 The HSI simulation results for six riffle-pool sequences under original scenarios and three types of flood flush. (Q0 = 300 m3/s;
Q1 = 400 m3/s; Q2 = 500 m3/s; Q3 = 600 m3/s).

F I G U R E 1 0 The WUA and OSI for

six riffle-pool sequences under original
scenarios and three types of flood flush.
(Q0 = 300 m3/s; Q1 = 400 m3/s;
Q2 = 500 m3/s; Q3 = 600 m3/s).
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12 of 18 WANG ET AL.

4 | DISCUSSION 4.2 | Application and future expectation of riffle-

4.1 | Riffle-pool biological habitat diversity
Riffle-pool sequences could provide a healthy ecological system
and high ecological stability for aquatic species to live (Church &
Zimmermann, 2007; Naranjo et al., 2015; Wang et al., 2006). The
riffle-pool sequence is meaningful to protect riverine ecological sys-
tem in the mountain, water depth and flow velocity. The riffle-pool
has high values for biological habitat diversity as well as habitat qual-
ity richness and abundance. There are many rivers stretch which are
benefited from the riffle-pool design, including the Yuba River, in
north-central California, USA; four rivers in Xi'an, China; and many
other channels as well as physical experiment (Hassan et al., 2021;
pool structure
Combining riffle-pool theories with mountain river restoration strate-
gies provides important technology to promote mountain river eco-
system management. Riffle-pool sequences were widely applied in
channel restoration and river ecohydraulic rehabilitation schemes
(Brown, 2022; Clifford et al., 2002; Movahedi et al., 2020). They were
employed in mountain rivers to resist riverbed incision for better
T A B L E 2 Comparison of WUA and OSI for six structures under
low, medium and high discharge.
WUA (
104 m2) OSI

He, 2020; Schwartz et al., 2015; Wyrick & Pasternack, 2014). Also, Discharge Low Medium High Low Medium High
substrates are the main physical indexes affecting aquatic habitats Case 1 1.44 5.09 2.02 0.22 0.78 0.31
(Hellmair et al., 2018; Yarnell et al., 2019). Riffle-pool sequences pro- Case 2 1.42 4.54 1.83 0.21 0.70 0.28
vide preferable habitat for fish species and aquatic organisms with
Case 3 1.30 4.53 2.07 0.20 0.69 0.32
diverse hydrological and bed material conditions (Salmela et al., 2020;
Case 4 1.09 4.14 2.07 0.17 0.63 0.32
Schwartz et al., 2015). These hydrodynamic conditions combine to
Case 5 1.45 4.10 1.54 0.22 0.63 0.24
form unique habitats, which facilitate the refuge and breed of fish
Case 6 1.18 4.05 2.08 0.18 0.62 0.32
species and aquatic organisms.

F I G U R E 1 1 The LSP, MSP and HSP for six riffle-pool sequences under original scenarios and three types of flood flush, (Q0 = 300 m3/s;
Q1 = 400 m3/s; Q2 = 500 m3/s; Q3 = 600 m3/s).
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WANG ET AL. 13 of 18

T A B L E 3 High suitability areas and

HSP (
104 m2) WUA (
104 m2)
weighted usable areas for six riffle-pool
sequences under original scenarios and Discharge Q0 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q0 Q1 Q2 Q3
three types of flood flush (Q0, Q1, Q2,
Case 1 4.99 5.45 4.97 4.96 4.54 5.03 4.53 4.57
Q3).
Case 2 4.41 4.21 4.29 4.13 4.14 4.33 4.03 4.06
Case 3 4.10 3.52 4.00 3.88 3.93 3.93 3.86 3.79
Case 4 2.97 2.74 2.84 2.70 3.53 3.52 3.45 3.40
Case 5 3.79 3.33 3.23 3.04 3.53 3.59 3.44 3.37
Case 6 3.28 3.25 3.03 2.94 3.48 3.60 3.41 3.38

stability (Chapuis et al., 2014; Hassan et al., 2022; MacVicar & 5 | CONC LU SIONS
Roy, 2011). Riffle-pool sequences can be widely employed in moun-
tain rivers with their unique hydraulic characteristics (Ruiz-Campos In this study, an ecohydraulic model was employed to investigate
et al., 2022; Taylor, 2000). In addition, the diversity of hydrody- the habitat suitability for six types of riffle-pool sequences under
namic and geomorphic environments in riffle-pool sequences pro- different discharges. The HSI was simulated based on water depth,
vide suitable habitat to all life stage of fish, satisfying different flow velocity and substrate distribution. The WUA and OSI were
requirements under various flow conditions (Brown & calculated. Flood flushes were also used to analyse the habitat sta-
Pasternack, 2009; Choi et al., 2020; Hassan et al., 2022; Hauer bility of riffle-pool sequences. The proposed riffle-pool evaluation
et al., 2011). This analysis could provide valuable information in with mountain river restoration strategies provides advance knowl-
mountain river conservation, which could assist in designing better edge to promote mountain river ecosystem management. This study
mountain river habitats to promote conservation and rehabilitation could also provide valuable information for river management, which
of endangered biota. could assist in designing better mountain river habitats to promote
conservation.
The simulation results suggested that a smaller pool area would
4.3 | The advantage and limitation of the improve the habitat quality of riffle-pool sequences. Besides, the first
ecohydraulic model system flood flush was beneficial to riffle-pool habitat quality. The habitat
quality would decrease slightly under a second flood flush. The third
In this study, only three main physical indexes were considered. How- flood flush could destroy the riffle-pool sequences, resulting in poor
ever, water temperature and quality are also important elements to habitat quality. It is worth noting that the simulation results in this
evaluate habitat diversity in some rivers and streams (Liu et al., 2022; study can be easily extended to other reaches in mountain rivers or
Morid et al., 2020). Water quality and physical habitat play important upstream from large rivers, providing valuable information for
roles in ecosystem health (Liao et al., 2018; Shahiri Tabarestani researchers devoted to studying riffle-pool sequences.
et al., 2022). Water temperature displays little difference in this study,
and the water quality in mountain rivers is often not considered (Liu
et al., 2020). LIST OF SYMBOLS
The ecohydraulic model system may overpredict or underpre- Ai the area of the mesh i
dict the ecological status, but the accuracy of the model can be Ar Archimedes number
enhanced by applying a support vector machine (SVM) and func- χu,v turbulence diffusivity scalar
tional data analysis (FDA), or by improving the precision of SI curves χk,ε diffusivity scalar
and SI combinations (Bellamy et al., 2020; Boudreault et al., 2022; θ non-dimensional skin friction number/shields number
Cervantes et al., 2020; Rosenfeld et al., 2016). Overall, the ecohy- θcr critical shields value
draulic model has been widely used in river ecosystem management vt the eddy viscosity
and has been proven to be an increasingly valuable tool. This model C1, C3 the constant values 1.44 and 1, respectively
can simultaneously predict hydrodynamic conditions, sediment Cd Chezy friction coefficient
transport and habitat distribution. This model provides a quantita- d50 particle size parameter in 50%
tive way to link river fluvial, sediment transport and habitat quality g gravitational acceleration
to evaluate the riffle-pool ecosystem status. In doing so, it could be Gb, k The production of turbulent kinetic energy due to shear
able to better characterize the riffle-pool sequence's ecological and due to buoyancy, respectively
integrity and ecological connectivity response to discharge h fluid column height
fluctuation. HSI habitat suitability index
 19360592, 0, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eco.2579 by Yao Lab - Sichuan University , Wiley Online Library on [24/08/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
14 of 18 WANG ET AL.

k kinetic energy Ecological Modelling, 467, 109905. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.

ϵ dissipation rate
η water surface elevation
M the total number of grid mesh
Ma Manning friction (0.035 is chosen)
OSI overall suitability index
0 gravel–cobble bed Rivers for Pacific Salmon habitat. Water, 14(4), 670.
P the non-cohesive bed porosity
Qbs, Qbn bed-load flux
SIv, SId, suitability index for velocity, water depth, substrates
SIs
t time
T temperature
u, v depth average velocity components in x and y directions
respectively
WUA weighted usable areas
τb bed shear stresses
ρs sediment density
ρ water density
Zb channel elevation
DATA AVAI LAB ILITY S TATEMENT
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the
corresponding author upon reasonable request.
ORCID
Giri Kattel https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8348-6477
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APPENDIX A

F I G U R E A 1 The WUA (weighted

usable areas) and OSI (overall
suitability index) for six designed
riffle-pool sequences versus
discharge.
19360592, 0, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eco.2579 by Yao Lab - Sichuan University , Wiley Online Library on [24/08/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
WANG ET AL.

low, medium and high suitability index

(LSP, MSP and LSP) for six designed
F I G U R E A 2 The percentage of

riffle-pool sequences versus

discharge.
18 of 18