Numerical modelling of rivers, dynamic riparian vegetation and climate change

JASPER DIJKSTRA; BOSSENBROEK, YORAM; J. SMITS; FERNANDEZ, ROCIO LUZ

auckland

Simposio; River, Coastal and Estuarine Morphodynamics; 2019

IAHR

The biogeomorphological development of river planforms is governed by both short-term (flood) interactions, such as bank erosion and vegetation removal and processes on the long-term (years-decades), such as riparian vegetation growth (Corenblit et al., 2014). To assess how rivers will respond to changes in forcing as a result of climate change, both timescales need to be represented in numerical models.Anticipating the response of rivers is relevant to managers to deal with changes in e.g. flooding risks or natural value. The uncertainties involved in development over decadal timescales ask for envelopes of likely development rather than a single deterministic solution.So far, the role of changing vegetation in rivers has received considerably less attention than the purely physical processes, whereas the planform of rivers is definitely co-determined by riparian vegetation. In part, this is due to the fact that the inclusion of vegetation dynamics in physical and numerical models has been limited.