Understanding the fluvial critical zone: Linking ecology with fluvial-geomorphology

Geomorphological modelling has evolved significantly the representation of the link between river morphology, flow processes and sediment transport; notably recently, with an emphasis upon the interactions between vegetation dynamics and morphodynamics. Nevertheless, vegetation dynamics have tended to be treated as a simplistic “black box” in which time replaces the more complex underlying processes. Thus, riparian vegetation dynamics not only result from interactions between surface-flow, topography and vegetation resistance to disturbance, but also soil development within the fluvial zone, which affects nutrient and water supply. More generally labeled the critical zone, There is a lack of considering the “critical fluvial zone” in geomorphological models. Understanding the key drivers of this system, thus the processes interrelating vegetation, topography, soil (formation), subsurface- and surface-flow, are crucial to understand how riverine landscapes respond to increasing human pressure and to climate change.