A dynamic riparian forest structure model for predicting large wood inputs to meandering rivers
Abstract
Fluvial processes strongly influence riparian forests through rapid and predictable shifts in dominant species, tree density and size that occur in the decades following large floods. Modelling riparian forest characteristics based on the age and evolution of floodplains is useful in predicting ecosystem functions that depend on the size and density of trees, including large wood delivered to river channels, forest biomass and habitat quality. We developed a dynamic model of riparian forest structure that predicts changes in tree size and density using floodplain age derived from air photos and historical maps. Using field data and a riparian forest chronosequence for the 160‐km middle reach of the Sacramento River (California, USA), we fit Weibull diameter distributions with time‐varying parameters to the empirical data. Species were stratified into early and late successional groups, each with time‐varying functions of tree density and diameter distributions. From these, we modelled how the number and size of trees in a stand changed throughout forest succession, and evaluated the goodness‐of‐fit of model predictions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 2021
- Source ID
- 10.1002/esp.5229
Entities
People
- Frank Poulsen
- Gregory H Golet
- John C. Stella
- Li Kui
Organizations
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
- Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences
- Division of Earth Sciences
- State University of New York
- The Nature Conservancy
- University of California