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Brett Anderson: On the influence of riparian vegetation on catchment-scale flood response

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Supervisors

• Associate Professor Ian Rutherfurd University of Melbourne
• Dr Andrew Western University of Melbourne

CRCCH project links

• CRCCH Program 6 and Project 2.1
• Land and Water Australia - Riparian Lands Research and Development Program Phase II, Project 2: "Influence of riparian management on flood hazard at a catchment scale"

Personal background

• B.Eng Aero (Hons), RMIT University
• B.Bus (Hons), RMIT University Anticipated research outcomes/products

Historically we have cleared riparian zones, de-snagged rivers and changed their course in places. One of the objectives of these works was to make the catchment hydraulically more efficient and so reduce flooding. However, such modifications simply shift the problem downstream, resulting in the need for large levees, retention basins and other flood protection measures. The rehabilitation of streams affected by this hydraulic efficiency program is becoming a priority. Rehabilitation strategies such as revegetation of riparian zones and the reinstatement of Large Woody Debris (LWD) are being actively pursued in our catchments. Such measures are known to alter near-stream hydrology, tend to increase the hydraulic roughness of both channels and adjacent floodplains, and have a substantial impact on the morphology of the channel network. At present little is known about how these changes influence the propagation of flood hydrographs, in particular changes to hydrograph peaks and inundation durations. This study aims to quantify the role of riparian vegetation condition in shaping the rise and fall of flood hydrographs through catchments.

Some hypotheses being investigated include:

• The condition of riparian vegetation has a significant impact on the properties of a flood hydrograph (e.g. peak discharge and inundation duration).
• The capacity of riparian vegetation to shape flood hydrographs decreases as flood magnitude increases.
• Flood hydrographs are more sensitive to the condition of riparian vegetation in headwater regions than in lowland regions.

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