Floodplain Large Wood and Organic Matter Jam Formation After a Large Flood: Investigating the Influence of Floodplain Forest Stand Characteristics and River Corridor Morphology

Lininger, Katherine B.; Scamardo, Julianne; Guiney, M. R.

doi:10.1029/2020jf006011

Cited by 15 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Summary statistics for jam characteristics on the North Fork are included in Table S1 in the online Supporting Information, and correlations between reach‐level and jam‐level variables are included in Tables S2–S4 and in Figure S3. For an in‐depth description of floodplain jam characteristics on West Creek, see Lininger et al (2021).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because our jam variables (jam frequency and load) are normalized by floodplain area, we can compare data between West Creek and the Nork Fork. In addition, in-channel LW jam data were not reported in Lininger et al (2021), so we measured in-channel LW jams in the West Creek reaches as described for the North Fork. Creek due to the lack of in-channel jams on West Creek and the North Fork.…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent fires may also enhance LW recruitment, transport, and deposition by influencing flood magnitude and the potential for hillslope failures (Comiti et al, 2016; King et al, 2013; Moody et al, 2013). Previous work suggests that recent high‐magnitude disturbances can influence spatial distributions of floodplain LW (Iskin & Wohl, 2021; Lininger et al, 2021; Wohl, Cadol, et al, 2018). However, questions remain about the types and magnitudes of disturbances required to cause significant LW deposition onto floodplains.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Second, we aim to determine the geomorphic controls that influence jam deposition. There are only a few studies that have investigated the influence of reach‐scale geomorphic characteristics on floodplain jams (Galia et al, 2020; Lininger et al, 2021; Wohl, Cadol, et al, 2018), and the influence of planform characteristics (e.g., sinuosity and multithread vs. single‐thread channels) on floodplain jam deposition has not been adequately explored. In addition, we assess how geomorphic characteristics (e.g., valley confinement, slope) may influence jam deposition on floodplains.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Floodplain LW and CPOM jam counts and loads were normalized to valley bottom area (excluding the channel area), whereas inchannel LW jams were normalized to channel area. The proportion of floodplain to in-channel LW loads in jams was calculated for each reach.To compare our data collected on the North Fork to West Creek, we used a previously published dataset of 16 reaches from West Creek(Lininger et al, 2021) that contains the same measurements and variables collected on the North Fork. Floodplain LW and CPOM F I G U R E 2 Examples of floodplain jams: (a, b) LW jams on West Creek, (c) CPOM jam on West Creek, and (d) CPOM jam on the North Fork [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com] loads from the West Creek dataset were measured on the floodplain on one side of the river channel, so we recalculated the confinement index by measuring the total valley bottom width of each reach on West Creek using aerial imagery and digital elevation models (DEMs) in ArcGIS.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Disturbance and valley confinement: Controls on floodplain large wood and organic matter jam deposition in the Colorado Front Range, USA

Guiney

Lininger

2022

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Organic matter dynamics (entrainment, transport, deposition) can influence ecogeomorphic complexity in rivers. However, the depositional controls on downed large wood (LW) and coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) on floodplains have rarely been assessed. We investigate the influence of different disturbance histories, as well as geomorphology and forest stand density, on the deposition of LW and CPOM accumulations, or jams, between two adjacent drainages (West Creek, North Fork Big Thompson) in the semi‐arid Colorado Front Range, USA. Both basins recently experienced an extreme flood, but West Creek experienced a larger flood peak as well as a recent upstream fire. We also analyse jam fabric (LW piece orientation) between floodplain and in‐channel jam types. We measured LW and CPOM jams on the North Fork to compute jam frequencies (jams ha−1) and loads (volume per area; m3 ha−1), and we compare these data to a previously published dataset from West Creek. Average floodplain LW jam frequencies (70.4 jams ha−1) and loads (678.6 m3 ha−1) on West Creek were significantly higher than on the North Fork (frequency: 14.8 jams ha−1; load: 94.3 m3 ha−1). Average floodplain CPOM jam frequencies (West Creek: 19.0 jams ha−1; North Fork: 15.1 jams ha−1) and loads (West Creek: 10.70 m3 ha−1; North Fork: 9.98 m3 ha−1) were not significantly different between basins. A larger flood peak, likely enhanced by a recent upstream fire and a more confined valley bottom, resulted in greater deposition of LW jams on West Creek compared to the North Fork. Geomorphic characteristics, such as valley confinement and slope, also influence jam frequencies and loads. Floodplain jam types oriented parallel to the stream were significantly different than other jam types. This work will inform river restoration efforts using wood and organic matter and provide insight on the transport and depositional processes influencing floodplain LW jam formation.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Disturbance and valley confinement: Controls on floodplain large wood and organic matter jam deposition in the Colorado Front Range, USA

Guiney

Lininger

2022

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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The where and why of large wood occurrence in the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers

Van Appledorn,

Jankowski,

Gahm

et al. 2024

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Large wood (LW) plays important geomorphic and ecological roles in rivers and is widely used as a restoration tool. Changes to floodplain land use and historical removal have altered wood dynamics in fluvial systems globally. We know little about the distribution and dynamics of LW in great rivers (approximately >105 km2) like the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers despite its ecosystem importance and use in restoration projects. We assessed LW occurrence data collected by the fisheries component of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program's Long Term Resource Monitoring element. We analysed 25 years of data collected across six reaches of the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers that represented contrasting physiographic settings, and across four aquatic area types comprising gradients of hydrology, connectivity and geomorphology. We tested hypotheses on drivers of LW occurrence using generalised linear mixed effects models, where occurrence was predicted by reach‐ and local‐scale environmental variables. Occurrence varied significantly across reaches and aquatic area types. In general, wood occurred more frequently upriver and in side channels compared to other aquatic areas. Large wood was most strongly predicted systemically by reach identity but not local‐scale variables, underscoring the importance of broad‐scale physiographic gradients in defining hydrogeomorphic processes. Floodplain forests and shoreline revetment were consistently important predictors across reaches. Our findings show that the spatial variability of LW occurrence reflects the physical variability of the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. They also reveal the value in using geomorphic classifications as frameworks for understanding physical processes like LW dynamics because of their ability to contextualise site‐scale conditions. The baseline understanding of LW abundance across different hydrogeomorphic gradients and scales presented here can give insight into how to more effectively target restoration efforts in great rivers and contribute to a broader understanding of LW dynamics where such studies have been lacking.

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Quantifying floodplain heterogeneity with field observation, remote sensing, and landscape ecology: Methods and metrics

Iskin

Wohl

2023

River Research & Apps

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Floodplains provide numerous ecosystem services that depend on the spatial heterogeneity, or patchiness, of the floodplain. Direct and indirect human alterations of rivers can reduce floodplain heterogeneity and function, but relatively little is known of patterns of floodplain heterogeneity in natural, fully functional floodplains. We quantify floodplain heterogeneity at four sites in the United States with the objectives of (i) developing a method of combining field measurements and remote sensing data products to calculate integrative landscape-scale metrics of floodplain spatial heterogeneity and (ii) demonstrating which metrics from landscape ecology are likely to be useful for identifying qualities of natural floodplains, differentiating floodplains, and inferring processes, based on a case study of three prairie floodplains and one beaver-modified floodplain in the continental United States. We developed a new unsupervised classification workflow that combines field data, topography, and Sentinel-2A imagery to create classified floodplains for all four field sites that could be used to calculate heterogeneity metrics.We identified six heterogeneity metrics for characterizing natural floodplain heterogeneity: aggregation index, interspersion and juxtaposition index, largest patch index, patch density, percentage of like adjacencies, and Shannon's evenness index, and these metrics capture both intermetric (variation in spatial heterogeneity between the floodplains) and intrametric variation (variation in the patterns of the metrics). Results show that natural floodplains have high evenness and interspersion and juxtaposition of classes, and we attribute this to natural flow and sediment regimes driving channel migration, erosion, deposition, vegetation succession, and active beaver modifications. Colorado floodplains show higher aggregation and lower fragmentation than the Oklahoma floodplain. We attribute this to the greater incision and lower hydrologic variability at the Oklahoma site.

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Floodplain Large Wood and Organic Matter Jam Formation After a Large Flood: Investigating the Influence of Floodplain Forest Stand Characteristics and River Corridor Morphology

Cited by 15 publications

References 66 publications

Disturbance and valley confinement: Controls on floodplain large wood and organic matter jam deposition in the Colorado Front Range, USA

Disturbance and valley confinement: Controls on floodplain large wood and organic matter jam deposition in the Colorado Front Range, USA

The where and why of large wood occurrence in the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers

Quantifying floodplain heterogeneity with field observation, remote sensing, and landscape ecology: Methods and metrics

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