Vegetation characteristics control local sediment and nutrient retention on but not underneath vegetation in floodplain meadows.

ABSTRACT: Sediment and nutrient retention are essential ecosystem functions that floodplains provide and that improve river water quality. During floods, the floodplain vegetation retains sediment, which settles on plant surfaces and the soil underneath plants. Both sedimentation processes require that flow velocity is reduced, which may be caused by the topographic features and the vegetation structure of the floodplain. However, the relative importance of these two drivers and their key components have rarely been both quantified. In addition to topographic factors, we expect vegetation height and density, mean leaf size and pubescence, as well as species diversity of the floodplain vegetation to increase the floodplain's capacity for sedimentation. To test this, we measured sediment and nutrients

SUBMITTER: Kretz L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8638890 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature