Ecosystem modeling as a method for designing synthetic fluvial landscapes: a case study of the Salt River in Arizona

This paper focuses on a method for re-establishing the biological components of a river corridor landscape while accepting many parameters established by the needs of an urban population. The method uses ecosystem modeling to provide a framework for reclamation efforts by patterning a synthetic landscape after natural river corridor landscapes with similar climate, geomorphology and disturbance regimes. The objective is to establish a vital ecological system that can accommodate human activity in appropriate amounts and at proper locations. Application of technological and ecological knowledge make this possible. The Salt River corridor case study describes a method in which ecological and multiple-use objectives of an urban population are accommodated.