On the vulnerability of woody riparian vegetation during flood events

Wood is recognized as a key element of river ecosystem for a large number of positive feedbacks with biotic and abiotic components, both when it is present as large wood deposit or as live vegetation on the riparian zone. Despite the positive impacts of wood, when considering the high flow events, t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental fluid mechanics (Dordrecht, Netherlands : 2001) Netherlands : 2001), 2020-06, Vol.20 (3), p.635-661
Main Authors: Francalanci, Simona, Paris, Enio, Solari, Luca
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic ecosystems
Bridges
Classical Mechanics
Damage accumulation
Dead wood
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Environmental Physics
Flood predictions
Floodplains
Floods
Gravel
High flow
Hydraulic structures
Hydrogeology
Hydrology/Water Resources
Oceanography
Original Article
Riparian land
Riparian vegetation
Riparian zone
Rivers
Small mammals
Stability
Structural damage
Surveying
Uprooting
Vegetation
Vulnerability
Wood
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Summary:Wood is recognized as a key element of river ecosystem for a large number of positive feedbacks with biotic and abiotic components, both when it is present as large wood deposit or as live vegetation on the riparian zone. Despite the positive impacts of wood, when considering the high flow events, the presence of woody riparian vegetation within the channel can increase the potential risk related to local wood accumulation, bridge clogging or damages at hydraulic structures. Both the effects given by the riparian vegetation and in-channel dead wood need to be considered when evaluating the large wood-related hazards in rivers. For these reasons, we need to increase the knowledge on the relative importance of floodplains in recruiting large wood. An analysis was conducted on the base of a post event field survey on the Ombrone Grossetano River (Italy) which helped to identify the main variables controlling the uprooting process of riparian vegetation. The implementation of a conceptual model for plant stability helped to predict the tree uprooting that occurred during that flood event. The proposed approach can be extended to any other gravel-bed rivers, such that the evaluation of the vulnerability of woody riparian vegetation can give practical advices for maintenance strategies about vegetation cutting.
ISSN:1567-7419
1573-1510
DOI:10.1007/s10652-019-09726-5