River ecomorphodynamics as an emerging discipline: scientific and water management perspectives
Event details
| Date | 13.02.2014 |
| Hour | 09:15 › 10:00 |
| Speaker | Paolo Perona |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Bio
Academic Career
1997 Master in mechanical engineering, Politecnico di Torino, I
2001 Ph.D. in hydraulics engineering, Politecnico di Milano, I
2001-2003 PostDoc, Dept Hydraulics, Politecnico di Torino, I
2003-2005 PostDoc, Inst. Env. Engineering, ETH Zurich, CH
2005-2010 Senior Research Associate (Oberassistant), ETH Zurich, CH
2008 Visiting scientist, University of Hull, United Kingdoms, CH
2010- Assistant Professor SNF, EPFL-ENAC, Lausanne, CH
Educational Background
Fluid mechanics, rheology, time series analysis, river hydraulics and sediment transport
Present research interests
River and riparian vegetation dynamics, biomechanics of vegetation roots and uprooting by flow erosion, alpine catchment hydrology and snow processes, and optimal water allocation strategies among traditional and non-traditional water uses towards long-term sustainable management of the water resources.
Professional experience
Experimentalist and modeller
Teaching experience
Fluid mechanics I, II; Rheology; Water Resources Management; Environmental Transport Phenomena; Soil Water Regime Management
Collaborations
National and international universities, research centers, cantonal authorities and stakeholders
Abstract
The biological dynamics of riparian and riverbed vegetation have been recognized to play a fundamental role in fluvial morphodynamics. Hydrologic, hydraulic and biologic processes interact at different timescales, and drive the colonization and possible stabilization of alluvial bedforms through the growth of vegetation roots. This way, vegetation can influence the reworking return period (i.e., the magnitude of impacting floods) of islands and bars and lead to specific riverbed morphological features.
In this work, we first revisit the link between fluvial ecohydraulics and ecomorphodynamics, particularly focusing on the role of below-ground biomass (i.e., vegetation roots) in alluvial (non-cohesive) sediment, which is quite unexplored both at the field and laboratory scales. We show how streamflow regimes can influence root tropism and the related architecture under natural (Pasquale et al., 2012) and controlled experimental conditions (Gorla et al., submitted). Different vertical root density distributions are also shown to be determinant for the survival of pioneering vegetation (Pasquale et al., in press). Results from a number of laboratory experiments aimed at relating floods intertime and root growth timescales to uprooting statistics are then presented (Perona et al., 2012), together with the related mathematical modeling (Crouzy and Perona, 2012). We discuss how the biomass selection mechanism operated by floods on riverbed vegetation is relevant to: i) select young vegetation within and among species (Crouzy et al., 2013); ii) explain the formation of vegetation patterns under different conditions (e.g., converging boundaries, arid climates, etc.).
In conclusion, a perspective will be given on how scientific aspects of river ecomorphodynamics can meet integrated water management problems. The innovative idea of optimal allocation between traditional and environmental water uses will be advanced as a measure towards eco-sustainability (Perona et al., 2013).
Academic Career
1997 Master in mechanical engineering, Politecnico di Torino, I
2001 Ph.D. in hydraulics engineering, Politecnico di Milano, I
2001-2003 PostDoc, Dept Hydraulics, Politecnico di Torino, I
2003-2005 PostDoc, Inst. Env. Engineering, ETH Zurich, CH
2005-2010 Senior Research Associate (Oberassistant), ETH Zurich, CH
2008 Visiting scientist, University of Hull, United Kingdoms, CH
2010- Assistant Professor SNF, EPFL-ENAC, Lausanne, CH
Educational Background
Fluid mechanics, rheology, time series analysis, river hydraulics and sediment transport
Present research interests
River and riparian vegetation dynamics, biomechanics of vegetation roots and uprooting by flow erosion, alpine catchment hydrology and snow processes, and optimal water allocation strategies among traditional and non-traditional water uses towards long-term sustainable management of the water resources.
Professional experience
Experimentalist and modeller
Teaching experience
Fluid mechanics I, II; Rheology; Water Resources Management; Environmental Transport Phenomena; Soil Water Regime Management
Collaborations
National and international universities, research centers, cantonal authorities and stakeholders
Abstract
The biological dynamics of riparian and riverbed vegetation have been recognized to play a fundamental role in fluvial morphodynamics. Hydrologic, hydraulic and biologic processes interact at different timescales, and drive the colonization and possible stabilization of alluvial bedforms through the growth of vegetation roots. This way, vegetation can influence the reworking return period (i.e., the magnitude of impacting floods) of islands and bars and lead to specific riverbed morphological features.
In this work, we first revisit the link between fluvial ecohydraulics and ecomorphodynamics, particularly focusing on the role of below-ground biomass (i.e., vegetation roots) in alluvial (non-cohesive) sediment, which is quite unexplored both at the field and laboratory scales. We show how streamflow regimes can influence root tropism and the related architecture under natural (Pasquale et al., 2012) and controlled experimental conditions (Gorla et al., submitted). Different vertical root density distributions are also shown to be determinant for the survival of pioneering vegetation (Pasquale et al., in press). Results from a number of laboratory experiments aimed at relating floods intertime and root growth timescales to uprooting statistics are then presented (Perona et al., 2012), together with the related mathematical modeling (Crouzy and Perona, 2012). We discuss how the biomass selection mechanism operated by floods on riverbed vegetation is relevant to: i) select young vegetation within and among species (Crouzy et al., 2013); ii) explain the formation of vegetation patterns under different conditions (e.g., converging boundaries, arid climates, etc.).
In conclusion, a perspective will be given on how scientific aspects of river ecomorphodynamics can meet integrated water management problems. The innovative idea of optimal allocation between traditional and environmental water uses will be advanced as a measure towards eco-sustainability (Perona et al., 2013).
Links
Practical information
- General public
- Free
Organizer
- Décanat ENAC
Contact
- Christina Treier