Modeling the functional influence of vegetation type on streambank cohesion

Auteur(s) et Affiliation(s)

POLVI, L.E.

Landscape Ecology Group, Dept. of Ecology and Environmental Science, Univ., Umeå, Suede

Dept. of Geosciences, Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, Etats-Unis

WOHL, E.

Dept. of Geosciences, Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, Etats-Unis

MERRITT, D.M.

United State Forest Service Watershed, Fish, Wildlife, Air and Rare Plants, Fort Collins, Etats-Unis

Natural Resource Ecology Lab., Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, Etats-Unis

Description :
The AA. present functional differences of bank-stabilizing root characteristics and added cohesion, with vegetation categorized as woody and non-woody and by the vegetation groups of trees, shrubs, graminoids, and forbs. They analyzed root morphology and tensile strength of 14 species common to riparian areas in the southern Rocky Mountains, in field sites along streambanks in the montane and subalpine zones of the Colorado Front Range. Using the vegetation root component (RipRoot) of a physically-based bank stability model (BSTEM), they estimated the added cohesion for various sediment textures with the addition of each of the 14 species. Significant differences exist between woody and non-woody vegetation and between the 4 vegetation categories with respect to the coefficient of the root tensile strength curve, lateral root extent, and maximum root diameter. Tree roots add significantly more cohesion to streambanks than forb roots. Additionally, rhizomes may play an important role in determining the reach-scale effects of roots on bank stabilization.

Type de document :
Article de périodique

Source :
Earth surface processes and landforms, issn : 0197-9337, 2014, vol. 39, n°. 9, p. 1245-1258, nombre de pages : 14, Références bibliographiques : 2 p.

Date :
2014

Editeur :
Pays édition : Royaume-Uni, Chichester, Wiley

Langue :
Anglais