Estimation of drag forces caused by natural woody vegetation of different scales

To reliably estimate water levels and velocities in vegetated rivers and floodplains, flow resistance models based on physical plant properties are advantageous. The purpose of this study is (1) to assess the suitable parameterization of woody riparian vegetation in estimating the drag forces, (2) to address the effect of plant scale on the drag estimates and reconfiguration, and (3) to evaluate the applicability of three recently developed flow resistance models. Experiments on four tree species in a towing tank together with detailed characterization of tree properties were carried out to establish a novel dataset. Despite the variability in the tree height (0.9 m–3.4 m), the stem, leaf and total areas proved to be suitable characteristic dimensions for estimating the flow resistance at different scales. Evaluations with independent data revealed that the tested models produced reasonable results. The performance of the models was controlled by the parameter values used rather than the model structure or the plant scale.