River restoration works design based on the study of early-stage vegetation development and alternate bar dynamics

Active geomorphological interventions, such as reprofiling of river bars, are often used to increase bar dynamics and prevent vegetation encroachment. River restoration management should be planned based on the knowledge of what processes will follow the intervention and on the anticipation of the consequences. However, in many cases, the...

Adaptation of river channels to a wetter or drier climate: Insights from the Lower Pilcomayo River, South America

Climate change has a direct influence on both hydrology and floodplain vegetation of water courses, which are key players in river morphodynamics. The river system response to climate change is complex and the effects of non-linear interactions between alterations in water, sediment and vegetation remain incompletely understood. Which of...

Morphological Adaptation of River Channels to Vegetation Establishment: A Laboratory Study

While the scientific community has long recognized that alluvial rivers are the product of interactions between flowing water and bed material transport, it is increasingly evident that vegetation mediates these interactions and influences the stream channel characteristics. In a novel set of mobile bed laboratory experiments with variable...

Morphodynamic effects of riparian vegetation growth after stream restoration

The prediction of the morphological evolution of renaturalized streams is important for the success of restoration projects. Riparian vegetation is a key component of the riverine landscape and is therefore essential for the natural rehabilitation of rivers. This complicates the design of morphological interventions, since riparian vegetation...

Effects of riparian and floodplain vegetation on river patterns and flow dynamics

Flume experiments and field observations demonstrating the effects of vegetation on river planforms are reported in literature, but numerical studies of these effects at the river scale are lacking. We investigated the effects of vegetation in a 2D morphodynamic model using submodels for flow resistance and colonisation of newly formed deposits....