Hydraulic characteristics and habitat suitability in presence of woody debris: A flume experiment

Data from a flume experiment were used to explore the modified hydraulic conditions and habitat suitability in streams where feeding of large woody debris (LWD) is present. Feeding of LWD was simulated by insertion of wood dowels with varying diameter and length. Two processes were mimicked, namely (i) lumped LWD load, and (ii) distributed LWD load. Lumped load may occur for wood coming either from upstream or from a tributary, and entering the stream of interest in one only section. Distributed load occurs for wood entering along the considered stream, in several sections. Distributed wood income resulted in homogeneously increased bed roughness, leading to increased flow depth and decreased velocity, whereas lumped input of wood from upstream resulted in larger local clustering and change of the flow properties, but with less influence on the distributed hydraulic properties. A method is proposed to predict bulk flow properties in presence of LWD. Then, a simple approach is used based upon the concept of wetter usable area WUA to investigate modified habitat conditions for fish species in presence of woody debris. An application to a real world case study from the literature is then shown, where increasing density of wood increases habitat availability for colonization by fish guilds.

► A flume experiment is used to explore hydraulics and habitat in streams with LWD. ► LWD increases flow depth and decreases velocity. ► LWD increases wetted usable area for a widely diffused fish species. ► A distributed LWD input from flood plains is more efficient than a lumped one. ► An application is shown to a case study stream from the real world.