Water Exchange and Deposition of Sediment and Phosphorus during Inundation of Natural and Restored Lowland Floodplains

Abstract

Water exchange, flow patterns and deposition of sediment and phosphorus were measured in cross-sections of a naturally functioning floodplain during one winter and in three restored floodplains following remeandering of formerly straightened and channelized rivers. Sediment and phosphorus depositional processes were studied, deploying artificial grass mats at different distances from the river channel. In addition, a mass-balance approach was applied on the experimental site. Our results show that the deposition of sediment and particulate phosphorus constituted 3,000–4,700 g DW m−2 and 1.2–7.3 g P m−2, respectively, on the four floodplains studied during a winter where flood duration lasted between 20 and 76 days. The storage efficiency for sediment ranged between 28–47 and 4.0–7.0% for phosphorus.