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Landscape perspectives in riverine ecology have been undertaken increasingly in the last 30 years, leading aquatic ecologists to develop a diverse set of approaches for conceptualizing, mapping and understanding 'riverscapes'. Spatiotemporally explicit perspectives of rivers and their biota nested within the socio‐ecological landscape now provide guiding principles and approaches in inland fisheries and watershed management. During the last two decades, scientific literature on riverscapes has increased rapidly, indicating that the term and associated approaches are serving an important purpose in freshwater science and management. We trace the origins and theoretical foundations of riverscape perspectives and approaches and examine trends in the published literature to assess the state of the science and demonstrate how they are being applied to address recent challenges in the management of riverine ecosystems. We focus on approaches for studying and visualizing rivers and streams with remote sensing, modelling and sampling designs that enable pattern detection as seen from above (e.g. river channel, floodplain, and riparian areas) but also into the water itself (e.g. aquatic organisms and the aqueous environment). Key concepts from landscape ecology that are central to riverscape approaches are heterogeneity, scale (resolution, extent and scope) and connectivity (structural and functional), which underpin spatial and temporal aspects of study design, data collection and analysis. Mapping of physical and biological characteristics of rivers and floodplains with high‐resolution, spatially intensive techniques improves understanding of the causes and ecological consequences of spatial patterns at multiple scales. This information is crucial for managing river ecosystems, especially for the successful implementation of conservation, restoration and monitoring programs. Recent advances in remote sensing, field‐sampling approaches and geospatial technology are making it increasingly feasible to collect high‐resolution data over larger scales in space and time. We highlight challenges and opportunities and discuss future avenues of research with emerging tools that can potentially help to overcome obstacles to collecting, analysing and displaying these data. This synthesis is intended to help researchers and resource managers understand and apply these concepts and approaches to address real‐world problems in freshwater management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2000, the European Water Framework Directive has required managers to restore water bodies to good ecological status, including rivers that have been substantially anthropomorphized, i.e. the vast majority of rivers in France. This obligation creates situations, such as removal of mill sluice gates and strong resistance from local stakeholders that must be addressed by governmental agencies and local elected officials. Seine watershed researchers have suggested using a hydraulic model to give river managers an overall vision of structure function (including sluice gates) and the water elevation adjustments between the upstream and downstream reaches with adjustments to the structures. Scientists adapted their model with the collaboration of the local actors in charge of the river management. This simulation of the management of river structures was achieved by constructing an interactive platform and using it to simulate annual flow scenarios for the river and management objective scenarios for all types of use, both recreational and high- and low-water scenarios. Model construction and simulation reunited scientists; State services agents, elected officials but also mill owners and members of local associations. The objective of this collective use was to allow managers to appreciate the current knowledge on the effects that removing a structure would have, around a multifunctional approach to the river, to consider removal of certain structures depending on the locally expected results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]