Andrew Pattrick Brooks

Geomorphic responses of lower Bega River to catchment disturbance, 1851–1926

Abstract Prior to significant European settlement of the area in the 1850s, lower Bega River on the South Coast of NSW had a narrow, relatively deep channel lined by river oaks. The river had a suspended or mixed load, with platypus habitat available in pools. Banks were fine-grained and relatively cohesive (silts and clays), as was the floodplain, which graded to a series of valley-marginal swamps and lakes. Extensive evidence from maps and portion plans, archival photographs, bridge surveys, and anecdotal sources, complemented by field analysis of floodplain sedimentology (including radiocarbon-dated samples) and vegetation remnants are used to document the dramatic metamorphosis in the character and behaviour of lower Bega River in the latter half of the nineteenth century. By 1926 the channel had widened extensively (up to 340%) and shallowed in association with bed aggradation by coarse sandy bedload. Floodplain accretion was dominated by fine to medium sands, with some coarse sand splays. In contrast with most other studies of channel metamorphosis in Australia, which have emphasised river responses to climatically-induced flood histories, relegating human impacts to a secondary role, the profound changes to the geomorphic condition and behaviour of Bega River reflect indirect human disturbance of Bega catchment, and direct but non point source disturbance to the channel. Extensive clearance of catchment, floodplain, and channel-marginal vegetation occurred within a few decades of European settlement, altering the hydrologic and sediment regime of the river, and transforming the geomorphic effectiveness of floods. Although this study is situated in a relatively sensitive, granitic catchment, catchment clearance is likely to have induced equally significant responses in many other river systems in eastern Australia. In some instances the diffuse aspects of human disturbance on landscapes induce impacts on river character that are just as profound as major direct disturbances of river channels. This may have profound implications in understanding, and hence managing, the geomorphic consequences of river behaviour in Australia and elsewhere.

Did humid-temperate rivers in the Old and New Worlds respond differently to clearance of riparian vegetation and removal of woody debris?:

Clearance of riparian vegetation and removal of woody debris are perhaps the most pervasive of all forms of human disturbance to river courses. Geomorphic consequences of these impacts have varied markedly from river system to river system, a result of variations in catchment setting, climate, geology, sediment supply and evolutionary history. In this paper, geomorphic responses of rivers to rapid, systematic clearance of riparian vegetation in New World (colonial) societies are contrasted with changes associated with gradual, piecemeal, yet progressive clearance of riparian forests in northern Europe (the Old World). It is postulated that the dramatic nature of river metamorphosis experienced in landscapes such as southeastern Australia records the breaching of fundamental geomorphic thresholds in a different manner to that experienced in Old World landscapes.

Framing realistic river rehabilitation targets in light of altered sediment supply and transport relationships: lessons from East Gippsland, Australia

Since European settlement, the Cann River in East Gippsland, Victoria has experienced a 700% increase in channel capacity, a 150-fold increase in the rate of lateral channel migration, a 45-fold increase in bankfull discharge and a 860-fold increase in annual sediment load. Over the last century, and primarily the last 40 years, channel incision has removed the equivalent of around 1500 years of floodplain deposition. A numerical floodplain evolution model is presented which suggests that under a best case scenario, infilling the incised channel trench will take 31,000 years and this is predicated on the full recovery of the immediate riparian vegetation and the in-channel loading of woody debris. The asymmetry in the recovery time following rapid channel change, compared with the original deposition of the material, is explained by a combination of the sediment-starved character of the catchment and the altered hydraulic conditions within the channel, principally associated with the role of woody debris. These factors have major implications for geomorphic recovery potential, constraining what can be realistically achieved in river rehabilitation.

Temporal variability of climate in south‐eastern Australia: a reassessment of flood‐ and drought‐dominated regimes

Abstract Inter‐decadal periods of high and low flood activity have been considered to be the dominant factor driving river metamorphosis in catchments along the New South Wales coast. Recent work has questioned the data analysis techniques used in delineating the so‐called flood‐and drought‐dominated regimes (FDRs/DDRs). Concerns have also been raised about the validity of invoking a climatic control for river metamorphosis documented during the post‐European period, when extensive anthropogenic alteration of catchment and riparian vegetation has also occurred. This paper reviews the evolution of the FDR/DDR concept. We examine the evidence for FDRs/DDRs, and highlight problems with the original hydrological data sets, as well as with the techniques employed in the time‐series analysis. We discuss conceptual problems encountered in applying flood‐frequency analysis, and the failure of the proponents of the FDR/DDR theory to consider large‐scale climatic circulation patterns and the geographical boundaries...

Geomorphic, Engineering, and Ecological Considerations when Using Wood in River Restoration

This chapter provides an overview of wood in rivers, focusing on wood stability in rivers and design considerations for the reintroduction of wood to larger alluvial channels.Wood debris is a common component of the particulate matter in streams and rivers and has been recognized throughout most forested portions of the globe as an important factor influencing stream geomorphology and ecology. The stability and preservation of wood in large channels is primarily a function of its embedment in the streambed. The ecological benefits of wood are evident at several scales ranging from the wood surface to the complex interstitial space of wood accumulations (logjams), to the role of wood on altering bed textures and bed forms, to the influence of wood on channel planform, particularly creating multichannel systems. A logjam can increase available surface area for invertebrates and cover for fish by more than four orders of magnitude. A logjam can split flow and increase edge habitat severalfold. Logjams create pools and bars and raise water elevations to increase floodplain connectivity and have been placed in rivers with basal shear stress values of 166 Pa. Regardless of whether wood is included in a restoration design, as long as riparian trees grow along a stream, wood will end up in the channel; hence, it is also important to understand how naturally recruited wood behaves in rivers. Reintroducing wood to rivers brings up many other issues, from flood conveyance to public safety, all of which should be considered in the design process.

An investigation of controlling variables of riverbank erosion in sub-tropical Australia

A large proportion of the uncertainty surrounding catchment sediment budget modelling has been attributed to sediment supplied from riverbank erosion. Some of the variables influencing riverbank erosion are bend curvature, specific streampower, riparian vegetation, and in some instances sand and gravel extraction. The empirical relationship between these variables and observed riverbank erosion across 78 km of the Upper Brisbane River, Australia was investigated. No significant relationship was found between curvature, specific streampower and riverbank erosion. The role of riparian vegetation relative to sediment supply from riverbank erosion varied with spatial location, susceptibility of a reach to erosion, and human disturbance such as sand and gravel extraction. Despite not having data on substrate type the model described approximately 37% of the variation in observed riverbank erosion. It appears that inclusion of a management practice factor in riverbank erosion models is justified, where appropriate, and may improve model performance.

An alternative method for interpreting jet erosion test (JET) data: Part 2. Application

This paper reports the results of jet tester experiments on soil samples of uniform properties which allow quantitative application of the new theory proposed in part 1 of these publications. This theory explores the possibly that a more adequate indicator of soil erodibility may be obtained by using the mass (and so volume) of soil eroded by the jet and the depth of scour penetration, rather than by using penetration depth alone, as assumed in the commonly-used data interpretation method. It is shown that scour geometry can be well described using a generalized form of the Gaussian function, defined by its standard deviation and maximum depth. Using a published expression for jet kinetic energy flux, the new theory divides this flux into that used to erode soil, and the remainder which is dissipated in a variety of ways. Jet experiments on a specially-prepared uniform soil sample are reported which provide the key to determining the spatial variability in the profile resistance to erosion offered by field soils. This resistance is expressed in the work required to erode unit mass of soil, denoted as J (in J/kg). The paper also gives results obtained on the profile variation in J for jet tests carried out at riverine sites on the upper Brisbane River, Queensland, Australia. As expected in most natural soil profiles, the results show an increase in J with depth in the profile. The soil resistance (J) is compared to the traditional interpretation of soil erodibility, (kd). The graphical comparison of these two indicators illustrates the inverse type of relationship between them which is expected from their respective definitions, but this relationship is associated with significant scatter. Possible reasons for this scatter are given, together with comments on jet tester experience in a wide variety of soil types. Copyright