This volume of Hydrobiologia and Developments
in Hydrobiology is dedicated to Prof. Dr. Pieter
Hendrik Nienhuis. Piet Nienhuis worked for
almost 40 years in all aspects of aquatic ecology
and environmental sciences. He produced important
contributions to ecological research in rivers,
estuaries and coastal zones and he was a key player
in national and international scientific advisory
boards. On October 31, 2003 the Radboud
University Nijmegen organised a symposium in
honour of Piet Nienhuis, on the occasion of his
retirement. The proceedings of this symposium,
together with a number of complementary invited
papers, are presented in this volume.
The book starts with a paper that describes the
curriculum vitae and scientific career of Piet
Nienhuis and his contributions to estuarine ecology
and environmental science. Subsequently, the
following papers are organised into three sections:
(1) Functioning of river systems; (2) Rehabilitation
of riverine ecosystems; (3) Challenges and obstacles
to sustainable management. The issue ends
with a synthesis paper, which gives an overview of
the achievements, structured along the three section
themes and addresses trends and challenges in
river science and management.