Space-Time Units in Floodplains: The Example of the Drac River Upstream of Grenoble (French Alps)

Pautou, Guy; Peiry, Jean‐Luc; Girel, Jacky; Blanchard, Élodie; Hughes, Francine M. R.; Richards, Keith; Harris, Tim; El-Hames, A. S.

doi:10.2307/2997745

Cited by 17 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The impact of river management on river dynamics and the mobile mosaic of floodplain forest has been described by Pautou et al (1997) for the Drac River (Fig. 4) and by Girel et al (2003) for the confluence of the Arc and Isère Rivers, all in the Rhône River system in France.…”

Section: In a Natural Landscape Each Location Ismentioning

confidence: 90%

“…In some of the literature on riverine landscapes, the mobility of the habitat mosaic in floodplain forests is described in terms of turnover rates for floodplain or riparian habitats (see Kalliola and Puhakka 1988, Kangas 1989, Hughes 1997, Ward et al 2002. Turnover rate refers to the time over which all parts http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol10/iss1/art12/ of the floodplain have been eroded and redeposited and can be measured approximately by the age of the oldest vegetation communities on the floodplain.…”

Section: In a Natural Landscape Each Location Ismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Between 1948 and1994, the River Drac in France changed from a wide, braided floodplain dominated by gravel bars to a narrower, less mobile floodplain dominated by mature woodland. Change to this floodplain was caused by gravel extraction and dam construction, which together caused channel incision and alterations to the hydrograph (Redrawn from Pautou et al 1997).…”

Section: Ranges Of Flow and Sedimentation Inputs Thatmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Restoring Riparian Ecosystems: The Challenge of Accommodating Variability and Designing Restoration Trajectories

Hughes¹,

Colston²,

Mountford³

2005

E&S

154

110

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: In a Natural Landscape Each Location Ismentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: In a Natural Landscape Each Location Ismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ranges Of Flow and Sedimentation Inputs Thatmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Restoring Riparian Ecosystems: The Challenge of Accommodating Variability and Designing Restoration Trajectories

Hughes¹,

Colston²,

Mountford³

2005

E&S

154

110

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…The changes suggest that, at least in the lower floodplain, a different riverine landscape has developed in the course of this century as a result of new ecological conditions, comparable to the Drac River in the French Alps (Pautou et al, 1997). In the Drac the discharge regime has also been altered through dams and local water abstractions, and the sediment budget influenced by gravel extraction.…”

Section: Hypotheses Concerning the Influence Of The Regulated Discharmentioning

confidence: 96%

Floodplains of a regulated southern alpine river (Brenno, Switzerland): ecological assessment and conservation options

Brunke

2002

Aquatic Conservation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT1. The fifth-order southern alpine Brenno River and its floodplains are severely impaired by embankments, water abstractions and the construction of dams for hydropower generation. The river's annual mean discharge is reduced to 27% of the natural flow and the number of small (50-100 m 3 s À1) and medium-sized (101-150 m 3 s À1) floods is reduced significantly. 2. Lateral hydrological connectivity has decreased strongly as a result of the flow regulation, whereas the significance of vertical connectivity has increased. The remnants of the middle and lower floodplains still contain springbrooks, ponds, and intermittently connected channels, which are all sustained by emerging groundwater.3. Aquatic floodplain habitats can be classified partially by faunal composition. The lotic/lentic gradient appears to be a dominant compound factor structuring invertebrate assemblages when considering all aquatic habitats. The exfiltration of groundwater in conjunction with a reduced lateral connectivity enables the occurrence of many stenotopic species.4. A comparison of present floodplains with those shown on historical maps shows that the fluvial landscape has changed markedly. The proportions of functional floodplain units characterized by autogenic succession and trends to late successional stages (i.e. senescence) have increased.5. Floodplains of the Brenno river are still considered to represent important ecological areas and they are protected by law. Whilst the legislative protection of floodplains is the basis for conservation, this does not include the restoration of driving hydrological processes. An annual release of small-and medium-sized floods could generate a diversity of disturbances, thereby promoting rejuvenation and counteracting senescence.6. Alternative conservation options that circumvent ongoing contracts of water use, though generally promising, are limited because of the operation of hydropower schemes. At present the exfiltrations of groundwater mitigate the impacts of flow regulation on the ecological integrity of the floodplains.

show abstract

“…Wetter than the Drac site, the Rochefort site is located between the Grand Rochefort Hill and the Drac river [22], just upstream from Le Pont de Claix (45˚07' N, 5˚42' E, elevation 248 m). At this location, the Drac river has two tributaries, the Romanche and Gresse rivers.…”

Section: Rochefort Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Survival and acclimatation ofPopulus nigrato drier conditions after damming of an alpine river, southeast France

et al. 2006

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

-Poplars occur in riparian areas where the water table depth generally varies with the elevation of the adjacent river. Changes in stream flow caused by diversion projects can affect the riparian community; this may lower the water table below the rooting zone of some tree species and cause then to suffer from a water shortage. Obligate riparian trees require access to a permanent water supply and are usually intolerant to low water potentials, being poorly adapted to water stress. In this paper, the survival of black poplars (Populus nigra) downstream of a dam constructed in the 1960s on the Drac river at the foot of the French Alps is reported. The growth, water consumption, and water status of some of these trees are compared with those of other poplars located downstream and growing under wetter conditions. Although water consumption and development were quite different for both, their method of water regulation seemed to be quite similar.Populus nigra / dendrochronological studies / sap flow / drought tolerance Résumé -Survie et adaptation de Populus nigra à des conditions plus sèches suite à la construction d'un barrage sur une rivière des Alpes dans le sud-est de la France. Les peupliers poussent le long des rivières où la profondeur de la nappe varie avec le niveau de la rivière adjacente. Les changements de débit suite aux modifications de l'écoulement, peuvent affecter les forêts riveraines : ceci peut faire abaisser la hauteur de la nappe en dessous du système racinaire de certains arbres et leur réduire ainsi l'accès à l'eau. Ces arbres phréatophytes ont besoin d'un accès permanent à l'eau et sont généralement intolérant à la sécheresse et peut adaptés au stress hydrique. Dans cette étude, la survie de peupliers noirs (Populus nigra) en aval d'un barrage construit dans les années 1960 sur le Drac au pied des Alpes est décrite. La croissance, la consommation en eau et l'état hydrique de ces arbres sont comparés à d'autres peupliers poussant plus en aval dans des zones plus humides. Bien que leur consommation en eau et leur développement sont différents, leur mode de régulation de l'eau semble bien être similaire.Populus nigra / dendrochronologie / flux de sève / tolérance à la sécheresse

show abstract

Space-Time Units in Floodplains: The Example of the Drac River Upstream of Grenoble (French Alps)

Cited by 17 publications

References 6 publications

Restoring Riparian Ecosystems: The Challenge of Accommodating Variability and Designing Restoration Trajectories

Restoring Riparian Ecosystems: The Challenge of Accommodating Variability and Designing Restoration Trajectories

Floodplains of a regulated southern alpine river (Brenno, Switzerland): ecological assessment and conservation options

Survival and acclimatation ofPopulus nigrato drier conditions after damming of an alpine river, southeast France

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About