Effects of instream wood reintroduction on transport and storage processes in a lowland sandy stream
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The reintroduction of instream wood is a common technique to restore degraded streams, for example to reinstate transport and storage processes - primary controls of the movement of water, solutes, and particulates through the stream corridor - with the aim of initiating a shift towards a more natural or sustainable state. In the United Kingdom, this kind of restoration occurs predominantly in lowland sandy streams, yet to date no study has explicitly investigated its effects on transport and storage processes in such contexts. Here, we used a before-after-control-impact (BACI) experiment to test the effects of reintroducing instream wood on transport and storage processes in a lowland sandy stream under a range of stream discharges (Q), with an average of 0.0079 m3/s. In the restored reach, as compared to the control reach, the average hydraulic retention time increased by 27.6%, the average transient storage increased by 28.4%, and the residence time therein increased by 13%. Although these differences were not statistically significant, we attribute this to the inevitable large variability of field tests compared to controlled laboratory environments. We interpret the observed changes as an indication of a potential increase to transient storage overall but limited subsurface transient storage, especially during higher Q conditions. Overall, our results suggest limited effects of instream wood reintroduction on transport and storage processes in a lowland sandy stream, but also highlight challenges in evidencing such effects. Given the sensitivity of transport and storage processes to environmental setting, it may be challenging to predict the effects of restoration based on a small set of conditions or generalizations.
Date Issued
2025-05-23
Date Acceptance
2025-05-07
Citation
Frontiers in Earth Science, 2025, 13
ISSN
2296-6463
Publisher
Frontiers Media S.A.
Journal / Book Title
Frontiers in Earth Science
Volume
13
Copyright Statement
© 2025 Howard, Baker, Buytaert, Drummond, Kettridge, Ullah and Krause. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
License URL
Identifier
10.3389/feart.2025.1593726
Subjects
transport and storage processes
transient storage
instream wood
before-aftercontrol-impact
river restoration
nature-based solutions
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
1593726
Date Publish Online
2024-05-23