Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 445-457 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | River research and applications |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Early online date | 21 Jun 2004 |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2004 |
Abstract
This paper investigates the impact of a 100-year flood in May 1999 on community composition and large woody debris standing stock in an alpine floodplain (Isar, Germany). Detailed pre-flood data sampled from 1993 to 1998 are compared with the situation directly after the flood. In those parts of the Isar floodplain mainly covered with pioneer vegetation prior to flooding, the coverage of unvegetated gravel bars increased by 22% following the flood. However, the flood did not remove larger amounts of older successional vegetation stages (willow thickets, floodplain forest). No significant changes in the benthic invertebrate fauna were recorded. The lowest densities of riparian ground beetles (Carabidae) within the study were recorded one month after the flood. Two months later, the ground beetle densities increased to the highest values ever recorded, indicating the ground beetle's high potential for recolonization. These results highlight the degree of resilience of both the aquatic and the riparian invertebrate fauna. The flood also caused a significant increase in large woody debris standing stock; in one section the number of logs increased tenfold and the volume increased by a factor of 20, leading to the assumption that most woody debris in alluvial flood-plains is provided by catastrophic events.
Keywords
- Alluvial floodplain, Benthic macroinvertebrates, Flood, Floodplain vegetation, Large woody debris, Residual flow, Riparian fauna
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Science(all)
- Environmental Chemistry
- Environmental Science(all)
- Water Science and Technology
- Environmental Science(all)
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In: River research and applications, Vol. 20, No. 4, 07.2004, p. 445-457.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Impact of a 100-year flood on vegetation, benthic invertebrates, riparian fauna and large woody debris standing stock in an alpine floodplain
AU - Hering, Daniel
AU - Gerhard, Marc
AU - Manderbach, Randolf
AU - Reich, Michael
PY - 2004/7
Y1 - 2004/7
N2 - This paper investigates the impact of a 100-year flood in May 1999 on community composition and large woody debris standing stock in an alpine floodplain (Isar, Germany). Detailed pre-flood data sampled from 1993 to 1998 are compared with the situation directly after the flood. In those parts of the Isar floodplain mainly covered with pioneer vegetation prior to flooding, the coverage of unvegetated gravel bars increased by 22% following the flood. However, the flood did not remove larger amounts of older successional vegetation stages (willow thickets, floodplain forest). No significant changes in the benthic invertebrate fauna were recorded. The lowest densities of riparian ground beetles (Carabidae) within the study were recorded one month after the flood. Two months later, the ground beetle densities increased to the highest values ever recorded, indicating the ground beetle's high potential for recolonization. These results highlight the degree of resilience of both the aquatic and the riparian invertebrate fauna. The flood also caused a significant increase in large woody debris standing stock; in one section the number of logs increased tenfold and the volume increased by a factor of 20, leading to the assumption that most woody debris in alluvial flood-plains is provided by catastrophic events.
AB - This paper investigates the impact of a 100-year flood in May 1999 on community composition and large woody debris standing stock in an alpine floodplain (Isar, Germany). Detailed pre-flood data sampled from 1993 to 1998 are compared with the situation directly after the flood. In those parts of the Isar floodplain mainly covered with pioneer vegetation prior to flooding, the coverage of unvegetated gravel bars increased by 22% following the flood. However, the flood did not remove larger amounts of older successional vegetation stages (willow thickets, floodplain forest). No significant changes in the benthic invertebrate fauna were recorded. The lowest densities of riparian ground beetles (Carabidae) within the study were recorded one month after the flood. Two months later, the ground beetle densities increased to the highest values ever recorded, indicating the ground beetle's high potential for recolonization. These results highlight the degree of resilience of both the aquatic and the riparian invertebrate fauna. The flood also caused a significant increase in large woody debris standing stock; in one section the number of logs increased tenfold and the volume increased by a factor of 20, leading to the assumption that most woody debris in alluvial flood-plains is provided by catastrophic events.
KW - Alluvial floodplain
KW - Benthic macroinvertebrates
KW - Flood
KW - Floodplain vegetation
KW - Large woody debris
KW - Residual flow
KW - Riparian fauna
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=3342936392&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/rra.759
DO - 10.1002/rra.759
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:3342936392
VL - 20
SP - 445
EP - 457
JO - River research and applications
JF - River research and applications
SN - 1535-1459
IS - 4
ER -