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Experimental study of the effects of riverbank vegetation conditions on riverbank erosion processes

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Abstract

Riverbank erosion is a common natural river process that threatens the security of in-stream structures as well as public and private properties. The impacts of riparian vegetation on the riverbank erosion processes are still unclear. This study conducted flume experiments with artificial riverbanks and living vegetation to investigate the effects of riverbank vegetation conditions on the riverbank erosion process. Two riverbank types, nonvegetation and vegetation riverbanks, with three growth times of vegetation (T = 15, 30, and 60 d) were compared and discussed. The results show that the erosion form on vegetation riverbanks is the individual particles, whereas it is a large block of soil on nonvegetation riverbanks. The equilibrium channel width, riverbank erosion volume, and bed deposition of the vegetation riverbank are lower than those of the nonvegetation riverbank. As the vegetation growth time increases, the equilibrium channel width, riverbank erosion volume, and bed deposition volume decrease. The experimental data also indicate that the temporal channel width of the nonvegetation riverbank is greater than that of the vegetation riverbank; the lower the vegetation growth time, the greater the temporal channel width.

Highlights

This study was conducted by planting real vegetation on a riverbank.

Riparian vegetation can increase the stability of riverbanks because of mechanical, hydrological, and hydraulic effects.

The erosion form on vegetation riverbanks is the individual particles, whereas it is a large block of soil on nonvegetation riverbanks.

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Abbreviations

H :

Riverbank height (cm)

θ :

Riverbank slope angle (°)

T :

Growth time of vegetation (day)

D 50 :

Median diameter (mm)

C u :

Non-uniformity coefficient

Q :

Flow rate (L/s)

H wo :

Initial channel water level (cm)

S :

Initial riverbed slope

ρ v :

Density of vegetation (stem/cm2)

Lv :

Root length of vegetation (cm)

C :

Cohesion (kPa)

φ :

Internal friction angle (°)

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number U20A20319].

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number U20A20319].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, College of Water Resource and Hydropower, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610065, China

    Qiang Li, Lu Wang, Xudong Ma & Ruihua Nie

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  1. Qiang Li
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  2. Lu Wang
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  3. Xudong Ma
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  4. Ruihua Nie
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, testing, data collection and analysis were performed by Qiang Li, Lu Wang, Xudong Ma and Ruihua Nie. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Qiang Li and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ruihua Nie.

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Li, Q., Wang, L., Ma, X. et al. Experimental study of the effects of riverbank vegetation conditions on riverbank erosion processes. Environ Fluid Mech 23, 621–632 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10652-023-09924-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10652-023-09924-2

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