Groundwater dominated rivers

This paper explores the significance of groundwater dominance in the surfac e water system through a combination of review and an exposition of the gen eral hydrology, ecology and geomorphology of rivers draining the main UK aq uifers. Groundwater dominance is shown to vary according to the nature of t he aquifer lithology, the mechanism of groundwater:surface water interactio n and the scale at which one examines this interaction. Using data derived from a range of studies including the UK Environment Agency River Habitat S urvey and the UK Institute of Freshwater Ecology RIVPACS invertebrate datab ase it is shown that the nature of the aquifer and mode of influent dischar ge strongly control the hydrological and ecological characteristics of the environment but that a specific groundwater ecology or hydrogeomorphology i s masked by the overriding controls exerted by aquifer geology and catchmen t topography. Despite this, it is clear that river systems dominated by gro undwater flows have specific hydrological characteristics and management is sues that require holistic, multidisciplinary approaches that recognise the significance of groundwater and the nature of the interaction with the sur face water environment. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.