Alterations of Biogeomorphological Interactions in Rivers Caused by Land Use Changes Following Global Change

Dear Colleagues,

Natural riparian systems are some of the most diverse, dynamic, and complex biophysical habitats in the world. The interactions among water flow, sediments, and riparian vegetation generate a dynamic habitat mosaic that evolves driven by a variety of both natural and anthropogenic stimuli. Human land use practices in watersheds and particularly in floodplains (e.g., agriculture, forest management, and urban expansion) alter geomorphic systems and riparian vegetation by increasing runoff, destabilizing channel banks and vegetation establishment, causing channel aggradation, constraining channel mobility, and altering nutrient and organic matter loads. Global change intensifies these land use practices as well as other human pressures such as dam construction, channelization, or sediment mining, which ultimately alter the interactions between stream channel and vegetation processes further.

This Special Issue seeks to assemble papers that describe alterations to the interactions between geomorphological and riparian vegetation caused by changes in land use in river floodplains and watersheds in the context of global change. This topic can be studied at different spatial (reach, catchment, regional) and temporal scales, and through different techniques such as in-situ and ex-situ observations and experiments or modelling.

Overall, we seek to document a variety of cases to contribute to a better understanding of the bio-geomorphic interactions in rivers facing changes in land use. We intend to assemble a Special Issue that will be a valuable resource for researchers, students, and managers interested in the reciprocal effects of human land use and biogeomorphological processes in riparian systems.

Dr. Vanesa Martínez Fernández
Dr. Eduardo González
Guest Editors

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• land cover/land use change
• geomorphology
• riparian vegetation
• global change
• flow regulation