Abstract
BackgroundAquatic vegetation has major influence on the local water environment, affecting flow velocities and solute mixing. Extensive research has been conducted on the flow characteristics of vegetated areas, but little is known about solute transport. In this study, Laboratory experiments were carried out to investigate how solute transport is affected by emergent and submerged rigid vegetation.ResultsVegetation greatly reduces the mean velocity, especially within the vegetated region. Near the bottom, the solute concentration is greater in the dense vegetation than in the sparse vegetation. The vertical distribution of the solute concentration decreases rapidly with the relative water depth. Generally, the longitudinal and lateral diffusion coefficients are less affected by denser vegetation, but both coefficients are strongly influenced by the relative water depth (submerged vegetation height).ConclusionsA modified function to estimate the longitudinal diffusion coefficients is proposed under both emergent and submerged vegetation conditions, including cases of variable vegetation height. The key parameters (a’ and b’) for the assessment of the lateral diffusion coefficients are improved considering vegetation height. Results in the present paper can be used as efficient and convenient methods to estimate the longitudinal and lateral diffusion coefficients in flow with rigid vegetation.
Highlights
Aquatic vegetation has major influence on the local water environment, affecting flow velocities and solute mixing
The inflection points generally occur around the vegetation tops, and the inflection points only occur in the upper layers of the tops when the vegetation height is 5 cm
= 5 cm, 6.9% when hv = 10 cm, 3.6% when hv = 20 cm, and 7.6% when the vegetation height varied. These results suggest that the lateral diffusion coefficient is sensitive to changes in a′ and b′ both of which are related to vegetation height
Summary
Aquatic vegetation has major influence on the local water environment, affecting flow velocities and solute mixing. Aquatic vegetation is abundant in estuaries, wetlands, and along streams and rivers. It has a major influence on the water environment, affecting flow velocities [1,2,3,4,5], turbulence structures [6,7,8], sediment suspension [9,10,11], and the process of solute mixing [12,13,14,15,16]. The effects of vegetation on solute transport have been experimentally studied by many researchers. The lateral diffusion coefficient can be expressed in terms of the plant stalk diameter, the distance between plants (stem density), the flow velocity, and the drag coefficient [19]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
