Composition et structure de la ripisylve dans les casiers Girardon des Vieux-Rhône

John C. Stella , Hervé Piégay (1)

1 EVS - Environnement, Ville, Société

The Rhône River was heavily channelized in the 19th century for navigation and dammed in many places since the 1950’s, with major reductions in peak flows and channel mobility. We conducted extensive forest inventories and sampled fine sediment depth in regulated reaches within the riparian zone of the old Rhône, and compared pre- versus post-dam forest development and linked patterns of floodplain development. The pre- versus post-dam surfaces at each site had distinct geomorphic and floristic characteristics. There was very little post-dam recruitment of poplar and willow, which are pioneer species that rely on dynamic geomorphic conditions. Post-dam floodplains supported vigorous recruitment by Acer negundo (box elder), which is non-native and invasive in Europe

Domaines: Sciences de l'environnement

John C. Stella, Hervé Piégay. Composition et structure de la ripisylve dans les casiers Girardon des Vieux-Rhône. State University of New York; CNRS; ENS de Lyon. 2014. ⟨hal-04548484⟩