A deterministic river temperature model to prioritise management of riparian woodlands to reduce summer maximum river temperatures

This study developed a deterministic river temperature model, driven by energy gains from solar radiation that are modified by water volume and residence time. The resulting output is a planting prioritisation metric that compares potential warming between scenarios with and without riparian woodland. The prioritisation metric has a reach scale spatial resolution, but can be mapped at large spatial scales using information obtained from a digital river network. The results indicate that water volume and residence time, as represented by river order, are a dominant control on the effectiveness of riparian woodland in reducing river temperature. Ignoring these effects could result in a sub-optimal prioritisation process and inappropriate resource allocation. Within river order, effectiveness of riparian shading depends on interactions between channel and landscape characteristics.