Plant growth strategies directly affect biogeomorphology of estuaries

Abstract

Biophysical interactions between organisms and hydrodynamic forces are a main determinant of geomorphology of intertidal areas. Especially vascular plants have striking effects on intertidal geomorphology. Seagrasses and salt-marsh plants that inhabit intertidal areas are knownto have strongly contrasting morphologies. Differences in growth strategy by which plants cope with hydrodynamic forces are particularly interesting, as modification of these forces determine if and how species enhance sediment accretion. This raises the question to what extent differences in plant growth strategies directly affect the biogeomorphological development of the estuarine landscape. In this paper we i) provide a concise overview of our recent research on this topic, which has often been published in the more ecological literature, and ii) indicate how we have recently assessed the geomorphological effect of different vegetation types, by combining a series of unidirectional flow studies in flumes and hydrodynamic modeling at the landscape with a mechanistic hydrodynamic model (Delft-3D).