Bedload Transport and Morphological Effects of High-Magnitude Floods in Small Headwater Streams - Moravskoslezské Beskydy Mts. (Czech Republic)

Bedload transport observed during a flood in May 2010 gave rise to several forms of accumulations in small headwater basins located in the Western Flysch Carpathian Mountains, Czech Republic. We have investigated critical conditions of incipient motion of the largest boulders deposited during a c. Q₁₀₀ flood event (flood competence method). We have tested several formulas designed for high gradient streams in two small basins in the conditions of local mid-mountain relief. The results show that a flood of such a magnitude is able to transport almost all surface bed material and that bedload transport in steep headwater streams (A ≤ 1 km²) is probably less selective as for the grain size than that in lower gradient gravel-bed streams. The authors discuss the importance of local basin predispostion factors in order to determine critical conditions for the onset of bedload transport.