River Continuum Concept

The River Continuum Concept (RCC) is a model for classifying and describing flowing water, in addition to the classification of individual sections of waters after the occurrence of indicator organisms. The theory is based on the concept of dynamic equilibrium in which streamforms balance between physical parameters, such as width, depth, velocity, and sediment load, also taking into account biological factors. It offers an introduction to map out biological communities and also an explanation for their sequence in individual sections of water. This allows the structure of the river to be more predictable as to the biological properties of the water. The concept was first developed in 1980 by Robin L. Vannote, with fellow researchers at Stroud Water Research Center.