The Influence of Channel Deposits on Stream Form andProcesses; .

In small streams of the mid-Atlantic United States,new floodplains frequently evolve from gravelly bankadjacent bars. Riparian vegetation has a dramaticinfluence on the dimensions of these features,thereby controlling the geometry of stream channelsand the rates of processes that occur within them.New floodplains appear within stream channels alongthe convex bank of stream bends as a result of asurplus of coarse sediment in the stream network. Such a surplus is likely to arise as a result of landuse changes upstream, and can have a strong impact onthe sediment yield of a small watershed. The first portion of the book presents a conceptualmodel for new floodplain development within low-orderstream channels. Using field evidence for validation,the model demonstrates how these features may evolvefrom bank-adjacent bars. Later in the book, furtherevidence illustrates how vegetation characteristicscan affect the size and accretion rates of these newdeposits. The book concludes with a study about howthese factors may contribute to long-term rates ofsediment production from small urbanizing watersheds.