The paper is the overview to the methods of river valleys’ hydro-morphological (eco-morphological) evaluation, which have been used in Poland and other countries since 1980-ies. Author takes up the problem of evaluation accuracy and subjectivity in particular methods and the role of “biological” parameters in different valley zones. The usefulness of vast-area surveys and detailed studies are being analysed in the relation to the Water Framework Directive and sustainable development demands. The controversies about the key and particularly valuable species in river valley ecosystems are also discussed. ...
Detailed hydrological and biological studies were carried out in 2002-2005 on chosen, typical reaches of Wkra River, representing middle-sized lowland one. The results show that the biodiversity of the riverbed does not depend on the fact of river regulation as itself, but on the presence of unique, repeatable microhabitats of peculiar hydromorphological parameters. The relationships between the microhabitat types and invertebrate taxa were analysed. The paper shows the results of those analyses and the divagations about possible connections of microhabitats, invertebrates and mosaic of river eco-systems. ...
