When do plants modify fluvial processes? Plant‐hydraulic interactions under variable flow and sediment supply rates

Abstract

AbstractFlow and sediment regimes shape alluvial river channels; yet the influence of these abiotic drivers can be strongly mediated by biotic factors such as the size and density of riparian vegetation. We present results from an experiment designed to identify when plants control fluvial processes and to investigate the sensitivity of fluvial processes to changes in plant characteristics versus changes in flow rate or sediment supply. Live seedlings of two species with distinct morphologies, tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) and cottonwood (Populus fremontii), were placed in different configurations in a mobile sand‐bed flume. We measured the hydraulic and sediment flux responses of the channel at different flow rates and sediment supply conditions representing equilibrium (sediment supply = transport rate) and deficit (sediment supply < transport rate). We found that the hydraulic and sediment flux responses during sediment equilibrium represented a balance between abiotic and biotic factors and was sensitive to increasing flow rates and plant species and configuration. Species‐specific traits controlled the hydraulic response: compared to cottonwood, which has a more tree‐like morphology, the shrubby morphology of tamarisk resulted in less pronation and greater reductions in near‐bed velocities, Reynolds stress, and sediment flux rates. Under sediment‐deficit conditions, on the other hand, abiotic factors dampened the effect of variations in plant characteristics on the hydraulic response. We identified scenarios for which the highest stem‐density patch, independent of abiotic factors, dominated the fluvial response. These results provide insight into how and when plants influence fluvial processes in natural systems.