Vegetation control of gravel-bed channel morphology and adjustment: the case of Carex nudata

In the high energy, gravel- to cobble-bed Middle Fork John Day River of eastern Oregon, C. nudata (torrent sedge) germinates on gravel bars and forms tussocks 0.5 m across by 0.3m high or larger, with dense, tough root masses that are very resistant to erosion. Tussocks may be uprooted during floods (probably >Q-5yr), travel as boulder-sized masses, and may re-root where deposited. Individual tussocks, however, commonly persist for more than a decade in one position. When established, these tussocks behave more like channel obstructions than typical stream side sedges. Lines of C. nudata tussocks form on the stream side margin of former bare gravel bars, creating a secondary flow path and an eroding bank on their landward side. C. nudata also forms small mid-channel islets with bed scour at their base and occasional lee depositional zones. Chains of mid-channel islets can anchor pool boundaries. Observations in the field and from aerial photo time sequences suggest the following evolutionary model for channels with C. nudata. C. nudata establishes on a bare gravel bar, and can stabilize the bar surface or create erosional forms as described above. C. nudata fosters weaker sedges and other species that help extend stabilization of the bar surface. Mid-channel islets form through selective uprooting of tussocks. Observations of a reach where cattle grazing was eliminated in 2000 show that C. nudata has expanded. It has stabilized some formerly active bar surfaces but is now causing bank erosion and channel widening in some locations. In this case, C. nudata mediated the potentially stabilizing effects of management change by increasing channel instability in some respects.