Rolle der Vegetation im Hochwasserabfluss – Interaktion mit Hydrodynamik und Sedimenttransport

Translated title of the contribution: The role of vegetation in flood flows – Interactions with hydrodynamics and sediment transport

Mario Klösch, Michael Tritthart, Magdalena Waygand, Philipp Gmeiner, Christine Sindelar, Martin Pfemeter, Gregory Egger, Martin Glas, Erich Busch, Pamela Baur, Marlene Haimann, Matthias Buchinger, Helmut Habersack

Publications: Contribution to journalArticlePeer Reviewed

Abstract

Next to the provision of ecological functions, riparian vegetation plays a crucial role for the flow of water and sediment. The flow affects the shape of flexible plants and vice versa, so that the influence of flexible vegetation on flow and sediment transport is especially complex. For correct estimations of water tables during flood discharges as well as morphodynamics, it is important to know the dependencies between flow, vegetation and sediment.

Numerous laboratory investigations were already conducted concerning the role of vegetation, but these were limited due to the impossible scaling of real plants. On the other hand, it is difficult to establish controlled experimental conditions at real rivers, implying that field studies are restricted to observations or measurements at a smaller resolution.

We present the project “VEGSED” (funded by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency), where the interactions between hydrodynamics and sediment transport are investigated in a new research channel. A 5 m wide outdoor flume allows experiments on vegetation patches at the 1:1 scale with flow rates up to 10 m3 s−1 and water depths up to 3 m, aiming to merge the advantages of accuracy in laboratory tests with the explanatory power of field investigations. This paper addresses the interaction of a vegetation patch with the flow and sediment transport inside and outside of the patch, and the use of the obtained data to validate an improved plant deformation model as well as its coupling with a two-dimensional hydrodynamic and sediment transport model.
Translated title of the contributionThe role of vegetation in flood flows – Interactions with hydrodynamics and sediment transport
Original languageGerman
Pages (from-to)90-97
JournalÖsterreichische Wasser- und Abfallwirtschaft
Volume70
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 29 Nov 2017
Externally publishedYes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

  • 207114 Water management

Keywords

  • Vegetation
  • Floods
  • Sediment transport
  • Numerical modeling
  • Physical modelling
  • Scaling effects

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