<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Riparian vegetation reflects the current conditions and the dynamics of streams. The floodplain vegetation along the watercourse of the Morávka River was subject to study in this project. In some reaches, the river has the natural character of an anabranching gravel-bed stream; in contrast, other Morávka R. reaches are incised into the bedrock. These cases were used to assess potential changes in vegetation conditions as evidence of negative processes taking place in the gravel-bed streams of the Beskydy Mts. The results demonstrate a higher biodiversity in the floodplain along the anabranching river channel. In contrast, the floodplain along the incised river channel shows low biodiversity values. Redundancy analysis was used to determine the relationships between plant species composition, distance from the main channel and relative elevation from the mean water level of the main channel. In addition, the results show a higher degree of change in plant species composition on the floodplain along the incised river channel. The analysis of floodplain groundwater fluctuations shows a decreasing trend in the annual maximum groundwater level.</p></abstract>

Riparian vegetation reflects the current conditions and the dynamics of streams. The floodplain vegetation along the watercourse of the Morávka River was subject to study in this project. In some reaches, the river has the natural character of an anabranching gravel-bed stream; in contrast, other Morávka R. reaches are incised into the bedrock. These cases were used to assess potential changes in vegetation conditions as evidence of negative processes taking place in the gravel-bed streams of the Beskydy Mts. The results demonstrate a higher biodiversity in the floodplain along the anabranching river channel. In contrast, the floodplain along the incised river channel shows low biodiversity values. Redundancy analysis was used to determine the relationships between plant species composition, distance from the main channel and relative elevation from the mean water level of the main channel. In addition, the results show a higher degree of change in plant species composition on the floodplain along the incised river channel. The analysis of floodplain groundwater fluctuations shows a decreasing trend in the annual maximum groundwater level.

The effects of river patterns on riparian vegetation: A comparison of anabranching and single-thread incised channels

Department of Physical Geography and Geoecology, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Ostrava,

Czech Hydrometeorological Institute – Ostrava Branch, Ostrava,

Moravian Geographical Reports

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Riparian vegetation reflects the current conditions and the dynamics of streams. The floodplain vegetation along the watercourse of the Morávka River was...

The effects of river patterns on riparian vegetation: A comparison of anabranching and single-thread incised channels

Published Online: Oct 08, 2016

Page range: 24 - 31

Received: May 28, 2015

Accepted: Jun 02, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/mgr-2016-0014

Keywords
riparian vegetation, channel pattern, phytosociological survey, multivariate data analysis, the Morávka River, Outer Western Carpathians, Czech Republic

© 2016 Václav Škarpich et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The effects of river patterns on riparian vegetation: A comparison of anabranching and single-thread incised channels

Published Online: Oct 08, 2016

Page range: 24 - 31

Received: May 28, 2015

Accepted: Jun 02, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/mgr-2016-0014

Keywordsriparian vegetation, channel pattern, phytosociological survey, multivariate data analysis, the Morávka River, Outer Western Carpathians, Czech Republic

© 2016 Václav Škarpich et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
riparian vegetation, channel pattern, phytosociological survey, multivariate data analysis, the Morávka River, Outer Western Carpathians, Czech Republic