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Ecohydrological Dynamics and Impacts of Woody Debris in Rivers and Streams

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Biodiversity and Functionality of Aquatic Ecosystems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2021) | Viewed by 2645

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Stephen F. Austin State University
Interests: watershed management; ecohydrology; riparian zone management; instream flows; large woody debris

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Instream large woody debris (LWD) is a critical component for aquatic ecosystem sustainability and function. LWD provides a structural habitat for aquatic biota, organic material and nutrients for aquatic food webs, geomorphological stability, and numerous other critical ecological services. This component of stream and riverine systems has historically been regarded as a barrier to navigation and thus a nuisance to be removed from rivers with resulting significant ecological cascades. Riparian vegetation that is necessary for LWD recruitment has also been cleared for urban and agricultural land development, reducing the available supply of riverine woody debris. Reservoirs and flood control systems have also reduced LWD recruitment and transport in riverine systems. Thus, LWD has often been overlooked in conservation management planning. Recent advances in riverine science have resulted in greater understanding of the geomorphological and ecological significance of LWD restoration and maintenance. There is still much to be learned about specifics regarding optimal LWD species, sizes, densities, distributions, and budgets and how these components interact with changing land uses and climates. This Special Issue of Water will explore the state of the research on LWD in rivers and streams.

Prof. Matthew McBroom
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Large woody debris
  • Instream flows
  • Riparian vegetation
  • Fluvial geomorphology
  • Stream ecology
  • Stream restoration
  • Woody debris recruitment

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 1804 KiB  
Article
Effects of In-Channel Structure on Chinook Salmon Spawning Habitat and Embryo Production
by Robyn L. Bilski, Joseph M. Wheaton and Joseph E. Merz
Water 2022, 14(1), 83; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14010083 - 3 Jan 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2192
Abstract
Adult salmonids are frequently observed building redds adjacent to in-channel structure, including boulders and large woody debris. These areas are thought to be preferentially selected for a variety of reasons, including energy and/or predation refugia for spawners, and increased hyporheic exchange for incubating [...] Read more.
Adult salmonids are frequently observed building redds adjacent to in-channel structure, including boulders and large woody debris. These areas are thought to be preferentially selected for a variety of reasons, including energy and/or predation refugia for spawners, and increased hyporheic exchange for incubating embryos. This research sought to quantify in-channel structure effects on local hydraulics and hyporheic flow and provide a mechanistic link between these changes and the survival, development, and growth of Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha embryos. Data were collected in an eight-kilometer reach, on the regulated lower Mokelumne River, in the California Central Valley. Nine paired sites, consisting of an area containing in-channel structure paired with an adjacent area lacking in-channel structure, were evaluated. Results indicated that in-channel structure disrupts surface water velocity patterns, creating pressure differences that significantly increase vertical hydraulic gradients within the subsurface. Overall, in-channel structure did not significantly increase survival, development, and growth of Chinook salmon embryos. However, at several low gradient downstream sites containing in-channel structure, embryo survival, development, and growth were significantly higher relative to paired sites lacking such features. Preliminary data indicate that adding or maintaining in-channel structure, including woody material, in suboptimal spawning reaches improves the incubation environment for salmonid embryos in regulated reaches of a lowland stream. More research examining temporal variation and a full range of incubation depths is needed to further assess these findings. Full article
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