Large wood in rivers and its influence on flood hazard
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18172/cig.2523Keywords:
large wood, woody debris, flash flood, flood hazard, flood riskAbstract
In terms of flood hazard, the presence of large wood (logs, trees, branches and roots) in rivers may aggravate the consequences of flood events. This material may affect infrastructures such as bridges, weirs, etc., especially those intersecting forested mountain rivers. Until recently, a widely accepted practice was to systematically remove wood debris from river channels as a preventive measure. However, studies have shown that this practice may be useless as the material is transported and deposited after each flood and may even not benefit the long term natural balance of the river ecosystem. Therefore, the presence of this woody material in rivers must be managed and included in flood hazard and risk analysis. In this paper we present a comprehensive methodological approach to study the role of large wood in rivers, with a focus on flood hazard. First, to understand the dynamics of wood recruitment, the contributing areas delivering wood to the streams have to be delineated and the recruitment mechanisms studied. Thus, an estimate can be obtained of the potential volume of deliverable wood. To analyse wood transport we present a numerical model, which allows simulates the behaviour of individual pieces of wood together with hydrodynamics. Finally, we analyse the impact of wood on the magnitude of flood events (in terms of water level, flow velocity or flooded areas), using as an example a flood which occurred in December 1997 in the Sierra de Gredos. The results allowed us to reproduce the wood deposit patterns during the event and to reconstruct the bridge blockage. This caused the upstream water level to rise by up to 2 meters and reduced the flow velocity, which favoured debris and sediment deposits. Consequently, the effects of flooding were equivalent to those of a greater magnitude event. This increase in the flood hazard has been numerically quantified.
Downloads
References
Allen, J.B., Smith, D.L. 2012. Characterizing the Impact of Geometric Simplification on Large Woody Debris Using CFD. International Journal of Hydraulic Engineering 1(2), 1-14. doi: 10.5923/j.ijhe.20120102.01.
Benda, L.E, Sias, J.C. 2003. A quantitative framework for evaluating the mass balance of instream organic debris. Forest Ecology and Management 172, 1-16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(01)00576-X
Bocchiola, D. 2011. Advances in Water Resources Hydraulic characteristics and habitat suitability in presence of woody debris: A flume experiment. Advances in Water Resources, 34(10), 1304-1319. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2011.06.011
Bocchiola, D., Rulli, M.C., Rosso, R. 2008. A flume experiment on the formation of wood jams in rivers. Water Resources Research 44, 1-17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2006WR005846
Bocchiola, D., Catalano, F., Menduni, G., Passoni, G. 2002. An analytical-numerical approach to the hydraulics of floating debris in river channels. Journal of Hydrology 269, 65-78. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1694(02)00195-6
Bocchiola, D., Rulli, M., Rosso, R. 2006 Transport of large woody debris in the presence of obstacles. Geomorphology 76, 166-178. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2005.08.016
Bradley, C., Mosugu, M, Gerrard, A.J. 2005. Simulation modelling of water movement in a cracking clay soil. Soil Use and Management 21, 386-395. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1079/SUM2005337
Bragg, D.C., Kershner, J.L., 2004. Sensitivity of a Riparian Large Woody Debris Recruitment Model to the Number of Contributing Banks and Tree Fall Pattern. USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. 19, pp. 117-122. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/wjaf/19.2.117
Braudrick, C., Grant, G.E. 2000. When do logs move in rivers? Water Resources Research 36, 571-583. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/1999WR900290
Braudrick, C.A., Grant, G.E., Ishikawa, Y., Ikeda, H. 1997. Dynamics of Wood Transport in Streams: A Flume Experiment. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 22, 669-683. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1096-9837(199707)22:7<669::AID-ESP740>3.3.CO;2-C
Braudrick, C.A., Grant, G.E., Northwest, P., Forest, U.S. 2001. Transport and deposition of large woody debris in streams: a flume experiment. Geomorphology 41, 263-283. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-555X(01)00058-7
Brooks, A.P., Abbe, T., Cohen, T., Marsh, N., Mika, S., Boulton, A., Broderick, T., Borg, D., Rutherfurd, I. 2006. Design guidelines for the reintroduction of wood into Australian streams, Land &Water Australia, Canberra.
Brooks, A.P., Brierly, G.J., Millar, R.G. 2003. The long-term control of vegetation and Woody debris on channel and floodplain evolution: insights from a paired catchment study in southeastern Australia. Geomorphology 51, 7-29 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-555X(02)00323-9
Buxton, T.H. 2010. Modeling entrainment of waterlogged large wood in stream channels. Water Resources Research 46 (10), W10527. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2009WR008041
Carlson, J., Andrus, C., Froelich, H. 1990. Woody debris, channel features, and macroinvertebrates of streams with logged and undisturbed riparian timber in north-eastern Oregon, U.S.A. Can. J. Fish. Aquatic Sci. 47, 1103-1111. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1139/f90-127
Comiti, F., Andreoli, A., Lenzi, M.A., Mao, L. 2006. Spatial density and characteristics of woody debris in five mountain rivers of the Dolomites (Italian Alps). Geomorphology 78, 44-63. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2006.01.021
Comiti, F., Andreoli, A., Mao, L., Lenzi, M.A. 2008. Wood storage in three mountain streams of the southern Andes and its hydro-morphological effects. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 33, 244-262. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.1541
Comiti, F., Agostino, V.D., Moser, M., Lenzi, M.A., Bettella, F., Agnese, A.D., Rigon, E., Gius, S., Mazzorana, B. 2012. Preventing wood-related hazards in mountain basins: from wood load estimation to designing retention structures. In 12th Congress INTERPRAEVENT 2012 Conference Proceedings, Grenoble, France, pp. 651-662.
Correa, L. 2013. ¿Para qué SÍ hay que limpiar los ríos? Available at: http://www.iagua.es/blogs/lorenzo-correa/%C2%BFpara-que-si-hay-que-limpiar-los-rios.
Curran, J.C. 2010. Mobility of large woody debris (LWD) jams in a low gradient channel. Geomorphology 116, 320-329. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2009.11.027
Diehl, T.H. 1997. Potential Drift Accumulation at Bridges. Publication No. FHWA-RD-97-028. U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration Research and Development, Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, Virginia. Available at: http://www.tn.water.usgs.gov/ pubs/FHWA-RD-97-028/drfront1.htm.
Díez, A., Elósegi, A., Pozo, J. 2001. Woody debris in north Iberian streams: Influence of geomorphology, vegetation, and management. Environmental Management 28, 687-698. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002670010253
Dudley, S.J., Fischenich, J.C., Abt, S.R. 1998. Effect of woody debris entrapment on flow resistance. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 34, 1189-1197. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.1998.tb04164.x
Gippel, C.J. 1995. Environmental Hydraulics of Large Woody Debris in Streams and Rivers. Journal of Environmental Engineering 121 (5), 388-395. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9372(1995)121:5(388)
Gippel, C.J., White, K. 2000. Re-introduction techniques for instream large woody debris. In A Rehabilitation Manual for Australian Streams, Volume 1, I.D. Rutherfurd, K. Jerie, N. Marsh (eds.), Land and Water Resources Research and Development Corporation and Cooperative, Research Centre for Catchment Hydrology, Canberra, pp. 313-321.
Gregory, S., Boyer, K.L., Gurnell, A.M. 2003. The ecology and management of wood in World rivers. FAO, 444 pp.
Gurnell, A. 2012. Fluvial Geomorphology: Wood and river landscapes. Nature Geoscience 5, 93-94. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1382
Haga, H., Kumagai, T., Otsuki, K., Ogawa, S. 2002. Transport and retention of coarse Woody debris in mountain streams: An in situ field experiment of log transport and a field Surrey of coarse woody debris distribution. Water Resources Research 38, 1-16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2001WR001123
Hilderbrand, R.H., Lemly, A.D., Dolloff, C.A., Harpster, K.L. 1998. Design considerations for large woody debris placement in stream enhancement projects. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 18, 161-167. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1577/1548-8675(1998)018<0161:DCFLWD>2.0.CO;2
Jackson, C.R., Sturm, C.A. 2002. Woody Debris and Channel Morphology in First- and Second-Order Forested Channels in Washington’s Coast Ranges. Water Resources Research 38, 1177-1190. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2001WR001138
Johnson, S.L., Swanson, F.J., Grant, G.E., Wondzell, S.M. 2000. Riparian forest disturbances by a mountain flood? the influence of floated wood. Hydrological Processes 14, 3031-3050. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/1099-1085(200011/12)14:16/17<3031::AID-HYP133>3.0.CO;2-6
Kail, J., Hering, D., Muhar, S., Gerhard, M., Preis, S. 2007. The use of large wood in stream restoration: experiences from 50 projects in Germany and Austria. Journal of Applied Ecology 44, 1145-1155. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2007.01401.x
Kasprak, A., Magilligan, F.J., Nislow, K.H., Snyder, N.P. 2011. A lidar derived evaluation of watershed scale large woody debris sources and recruitment mechanisms: coastal Maine, USA. River Research and Applications 28 (9), 1462-1476. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.1532
Langford, T.E.L., Langford, J., Hawkins, S.J. 2012. Conflicting effects of woody debris on stream fish populations: implications for management. Freshwater Biology 57 (5), 1096-1111. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.2012.02766.x
Lassettre, N.S., Kondolf, G.M. 2012. Large woody debris in urban stream channels: redefining the problem. River Research and Applications 28 (9), 1477-1487. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.1538
Lyn, D.A., Cooper, T., Yi, Y.K., Sinha, R., Rao, A.R. 2003. Debris Accumulation at Bridge Crossings: Laboratory and Field Studies. Joint Transportation Research Program 10, 2-59. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5703/1288284313171
Lyn, D., Cooper, T., Condon, D., Gan, L. 2007. Factors in debris accumulation at bridge piers, Washington. US Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration Research and Development, Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, Virginia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5703/1288284313364
Le Lay, Y.F., Moulin, B., Piégay, H. 2013. Wood entrance, deposition, transfer and effects on fluvial forms and processes: Problem Statements and Challenging Issues. In Treatise on Geomorphology, J.F. Shroder (ed.), Elsevier, pp. 20-36. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-374739-6.00320-1
Lucia, A., Comiti, F., Borga, M., Cavalli, M., Marchi, L. 2014. Large wood recruitment and transport during a severe flash flood in North- western Italy. IAEG 2014 Conference proceedings, Abstract submitted.
Manga, M., Kirchner, J.W. 2000. Stress partitioning in streams by large woody debris. Water Resources Research 36, 2373-2379. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2000WR900153
Manners, R.B., Doyle, M.W., Small, M.J. 2007. Structure and hydraulics of natural woody debris jams. Water Resources Research 43, 1-17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2006WR004910
Mao, L., Comiti, F. 2010. The effects of large wood elements during an extreme flood in a small tropical basin of Costa Rica. In Debris Flow III, D. de Wrachien, C.A. Brebbia (eds.), WIT Press, UK, pp. 225-236. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2495/DEB100191
Mao, L. Andreoli, A., Iroumé, A., Comiti, F., Lenzi, M. 2013. Dynamics and management alternatives of in-channel large wood in mountain basins of the southern Andes. BOSQUE 34 (3), 319-330. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4067/S0717-92002013000300008
Martin, D.J., Benda, L.E. 2001. Patterns of in-stream wood recruitment and transport at the watershed scale. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 130, 940-958. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1577/1548-8659(2001)130<0940:POIWRA>2.0.CO;2
May, C.L., Gresswell, R.E. 2003. Large wood recruitment and redistribution in headwater streams in the southern Oregon Coast Range, U.S.A. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 33, 1352-1362. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1139/x03-023
Mazzorana, B., Zischg, A., Largiader A., Hübl J. 2009. Hazard index maps for woody material recruitment and transport in alpine catchments. Natural Hazards and Earth System Science 9, 197-209. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-9-197-2009
Mazzorana, B., Comiti, F., Volcan, C., Scherer, C. 2011a. Determining flood hazard patterns through a combined stochastic-deterministic approach. Natural Hazards 59, 301-316. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-011-9755-2
Mazzorana B., Hübl J., Zischg A.M., Largiader A. 2011b. Modelling woody material transport and deposition in alpine rivers. Natural Hazards 56, 425-449. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-009-9492-y
Montgomery, D. 2003. Wood in rivers: interactions with channel morphology and processes. Geomorphology 51, 1-5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-555X(02)00322-7
Ollero, A. 2013. ¿Por qué NO hay que limpiar los ríos? Available at: http://riverkeeper.blogspot.ch/2013/01/por-que-no-hay-que-limpiar-los-rios.html.
Rudolf-Miklau, F., Hübl, J. 2010. Managing risks related to drift wood (woody debris). Proceedings of the International Conference Interprävent, pp. 868-878.
Ruiz-Villanueva, V., Bodoque, J.M., Díez-Herrero, A., Eguibar, M.A., Pardo-Igúzquiza, E. 2013. Reconstruction of an ungauged flash flood event with large wood transport and its influence on hazard patterns. Hydrological Processes. F27, 3424-3437. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.9433
Ruiz-Villanueva, V., Díez-Herrero, A., Ballesteros, J.A., Bodoque, J.M. 2014. Potential Large Woody Debris recruitment due to landslides, bank erosion and floods in mountain basins: a quantitative estimation approach. River Research and Applications DOI: 10.1002/rra.2614. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.2614
Ruiz-Villanueva, V., Bladé-Castellet, E , . Sánchez-Juny, M., Martí, B., Díez Herrero, A., Bodoque, J.M. In press. Two dimensional numerical modelling of wood transport. Journal of Hydroinformatics.
Stoffel, M. and Wilford, D.J. 2012. Hydrogeomorphic processes and vegetation: disturbance, process histories, dependencies and interactions. Earth Surf. Process. Landforms 37, 9-22. doi: 10.1002/esp.2163 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.2163
Svoboda, C.D., Russell, K. 2011. Flume Analysis of Engineered Large Wood Structures for Scour Development and Habitat. Proceedings of ASCE World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2011, pp. 2572-2581. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1061/41173(414)267
Swanson, F.J. 2003. Wood in rivers: a landscape perspective. American Fisheries Society Symposium 37, 299-313.
Wainwright, J., Mulligan, M. (eds.) 2013. Environmental Modelling: Finding Simplicity in Complexity.Wiley, Chichester, 494 pp. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118351475
Wallerstein, N. 2004. Influence of large woody debris on morphological evolution of incised, sand-bed channels. Geomorphology 57, 53-73. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-555X(03)00083-7
Welty, J.J., Beechie, T., Sullivan, K., Hyink, D.M., Bilby, R.E., Andrus, C., Pess, G. 2002. Riparian aquatic interaction simulator (RAIS): a model of riparian forest dynamics for the generation of large woody debris and shade. Forest Ecology and Management 162, 299-318. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(01)00524-2
Wohl, E. 2013. Floodplains and wood. Earth-Science Reviews 123, 194-212. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2013.04.009
Young, W.J. 1991. Flume study of the hydraulic effects of large woody debris in lowland rivers. Regulated Rivers: Research and Management 6, 203-212. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/rrr.3450060305
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
The authors retain copyright of articles and authorize Cuadernos de Investigación Geográfica / Geographical Research Letters the first publication. They are free to share and redistribute the article without obtaining permission from the publisher as long as they give appropriate credit to the editor and the journal.
Self-archiving is allowed too. In fact, it is recommendable to deposit a PDF version of the paper in academic and/or institutional repositories.
It is recommended to include the DOI number.
This journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
