Effects of Flood Flow on Flood Plain Soil and Riparian Vegetation in a Gravel River

Abstract

Field observations were performed to determine the effects of flood flow on the geometrical and chemical characteristics of flood plain soil and the distribution of riparian vegetation in a gravel river. The results of the observations show a decrease in the amounts of the particulate nutrients in the flood plain soil during fairly large flood, because the fine sands that serve as a nutrient source were removed by the flood flow. Numerical simulations for the transport of suspended sediments were performed by varying the peak discharge of the flood, and the change of the particulate nutrients in flood plain soil was estimated by using the results of the simulations. The numerical analysis predicts the reduction of the particulate nutrients in the flood plain soils well. The particulate nutrients on the flood plains decrease if the discharge exceeds the flood of approximately 2 year return period in the observation area.