A model of plant strategies in fluvial hydrosystems

Abstract

SUMMARY1. We propose a model of plant strategies in temperate fluvial hydrosystems that considers the hydraulic and geomorphic features that control plant recruitment, establishment and growth in river floodplains. 2. The model describes first how the disturbance gradient and the grain-size of the river bed load affect the relative proportion of erosion and deposition processes, and how the frequency of flood disturbance affects the intensity of such processes. 3. Secondly, the model predicts plant strategies according to direct and indirect effects of floods (disturbances through erosion versus deposition processes, and associated nutrient excess or limitation). 4. The relevance of the model as a prediction tool is discussed. Some proposals are made to validate the model, and traits are proposed that should be considered in future research for improving the predicting value of the model.

River Connectivity Affects Submerged and Floating Aquatic Vegetation in Floodplain Wetlands

“…Some wetlands are isolated except during the river's flood pulse (sensu Junk et al 1989), whereas others remain continually connected through breaks in the river channel's levees (Filgueira-Rivera et al 2007). This creates a gradient in connectivity to the river and water residence time (Hermoso et al 2012), which we predict will correspond with the degree to which the river's flood pulse influences wetland vegetation (Bornette et al 2008) and the spatial distribution of flood response guilds.…”

Review: From multi-scale conceptualization to a classification system for inland groundwater-dependent ecosystems

“…As the literature on physical conditions in springs is relatively scarce, some terms, concepts and observations provided by such environments can partly be applied to spring ecosystems. Bornette et al (2008) hypothesized that species able to survive in high-flow conditions harbor specific phenotypes and/or reproduction ways and provide examples of the effect of physical conditions on biocenoses patterns. Thus, the plant size, form and stand structure, together with the strength of its stems and method of anchoring, constrains its presence to a specific physical environment.…”

“…The extent of alluvial plains increases. The periodicity of floods (controlling aggradation and degradation processes), the nature of the alluvium (which depends on erosion process at the catchment scale), the occurrence and form of meanders, dams and cut-off channels, and the groundwater depth, constrain the repartition of vegetation (Vannote et al 1980;Pinay et al 1990;Ward et al 2002;Bornette et al 2008). Therefore, characterization and conceptualization of terrestrial GDEs should take into account longitudinal, lateral (related to particle-size distribution and geochemistry of the terraces and flood frequency) and vertical dimensions (related to granulometry profile and groundwater level fluctuations) of the fluvial hydrosystem (Amoros and Petts 1993;Ward 1998;Lyon and Gross 2005;Derx et al 2010).…”

Gravel bar inundation frequency: an important parameter for understanding riparian corridor dynamics

“…Nevertheless, many authors regard river-driven disturbance as the main component controlling riparian vegetation processes (e.g., Poff et al 1997;Nilsson and Svedmark 2002;Camporeale and Ridolfi 2006;Corenblit et al 2007). In particular, flow and flood regimes control riparian vegetation colonisation and development (Bornette et al 2008). Ye et al (2013) built a model to predict which hydrological component is dominant in affecting vegetation cover in riparian zones, and they concluded that floods are the main regulating process.…”