“…Alluvial bench occurrence has been related to sediment transport-limited conditions (Changxing et al, 1999;Schumm, 2005), the maintenance of stream equilibrium-accreting during drought-dominated periods to contract the channel and eroding during flood-dominated periods to widen the channel (Erskine and Livingstone, 1999), sediment dynamics associated with specific flow stages (mean annual Q or bankfull Q, for example) (Osterkamp and Hupp, 1984), or localized hydraulic changes that initiate deposition (Vietz et al, 2011). While not often the focus of many geomorphic studies in the past, benches have been documented in regions varying from subarctic (Hickin, 1979) to arid (Marren et al, 2006) and in a variety of geologic settings (Webb et al, 2002;Davis, 2009). Benches serve as finescale ecotones bridging aquatic and riparian zones, provide habitat for many species, and can be highly effective carbon and nitrogen sinks (Powell and Bouchard, 2010).…”