The Natural Flow Regime: A Paradigm for River Conservation and Restoration (Poff et al. 1997)

Landmark paper establishing the natural flow regime as the central paradigm for river conservation and restoration. Identifies five critical components of flow regime — magnitude, frequency, duration, timing, and rate of change — that regulate ecological processes in river ecosystems. Argues that the full spectrum of natural flow variability, not just minimum flows, is essential for maintaining the ecological integrity of rivers. Demonstrates how each flow component supports specific ecological functions: from maintaining habitat connectivity (base flows) to resetting channel geomorphology (large floods) to triggering fish spawning (seasonal flood pulses). Published in BioScience 47(11): 769-784 with over 7,000 citations, this is one of the most influential papers in freshwater ecology and forms the conceptual foundation for the IHA methodology.