- Title
- Assessing the effects of sediment dynamics on physical habitat
- Creator
- Almeida, G. A. M; Rodríguez, J. F.
- Relation
- 33rd IAHR Congress, 2009: Water Engineering for a Sustainable Environment. Proceedings of the 33rd IAHR Congress: Water Engineering for a Sustainable Environment 2009 (Vancouver, Canada 9-14 August, 2009) p. 3288-3295
- Relation
- http://content.asce.org/conferences/iahr09
- Publisher
- International Association of Hydraulic Engineering & Research
- Resource Type
- conference paper
- Date
- 2009
- Description
- The important role played by sediment dynamics on the definition of physical habitat in streams has received increasing recognition over the last decades. Despite its relevance, no methodology linking sediment transport and habitat quality has been developed. Available physical habitat models (PHM) rely on the assumption that both bed shape and substrate composition remain unchanged, which is in many instances patently flawed. This paper proposes a numerical model to assess the consequences of sediment dynamics on stream habitat. The approach integrates hydraulic and sediment transport models to simulate changes in stream morphology and substrate composition, which are then used to analyse habitat quality. Results of a conceptual simulation have shown considerable differences between habitat characteristics furnished by the proposed model and traditional PHM. Accounting for sediment dynamics is a significant improvement in stream habitat assessment, as several cases of ecological response have shown to be mainly controlled by sediment dynamics.
- Subject
- sediment dynamics; physical habitat models (PHM); ecological response; numerical model
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/919485
- Identifier
- uon:8884
- Identifier
- ISBN:9789490365011
- Language
- eng
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