A Geomorphic and Ecological Analysis of Using Mosses for Controlling Stream Bank Erosion

这项研究项目将考察在其他河岸植被效果有限的环境中，苔藓可以在多大程度上作为河岸稳定的替代方案。河岸侵蚀往往导致宝贵的土地资源的损失和环境质量的恶化，因为河流泥沙和营养盐负荷增加而水质下降。河岸侵蚀还影响到基础设施，如道路、桥梁和建筑物，影响到它们的基础。河岸植被通过增加土壤的抗拉强度和截留地表径流和降水来潜在地减少河岸崩塌，从而在河岸上发挥水文和机械功能。多年生草本植物和木本植物，包括灌木，是传统上被用来帮助控制河岸侵蚀的两种主要植被类型，因为它们的深层根系促进了河岸的稳定，降低了河岸的侵蚀速度。该项目将在不同的实验环境下评估苔藓的生态状况及其对土壤特性和河岸侵蚀的影响。项目结果将提供关于苔藓地毯的存在或不存在如何影响土壤压力以及从而影响河岸侵蚀率的新视角。该项目将有助于对河流地貌、河岸植被、生态系统恢复和生物地貌之间的综合关系有新的理解。项目成果将提供信息和见解，帮助决策者、政府机构和资源管理人员采用有效和可持续的方法来稳定河岸。调查人员将通过对切萨皮克湾和密西西比河上游流域研究区域的比较分析，重点分析苔藓对河岸稳定的有效性。他们将通过为期三年的一系列现场和实验室实验，分析苔藓和河岸之间的生物地貌关系和反馈。这些实验将使用陆地激光雷达、传统地貌学方法和生物生态学技术对多个地点进行调查。研究区域的地理空间数据，包括数字高程模型(DEM)、卫星图像、河流网络和土地覆盖，将与来自实地调查的信息整合，以进行详细的生物地貌分析。项目成果将为河岸加固项目提供新的视角，并为了解类似环境条件下河岸植被和河流地貌之间的关系提供新的视角。

This research project will examine the degree to which mosses may serve as an alternative for stream bank stabilization in environments where there has been limited success by other riparian vegetation. Stream bank erosion often results in the loss of valuable land resources and a degradation of environmental quality because stream sediment and nutrient loads increase while water quality gets reduced. Stream bank erosion also affects infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, and buildings, by impacting their very foundations. Riparian vegetation plays both hydrological and mechanical functions on stream banks by increasing the tensile strength of soils and intercepting surface runoff and precipitation to potentially reduce bank failure. Perennial herbs and woody plants, including shrubs, are the two major vegetation types that traditionally have been used to help control stream bank erosion, because their deep root systems promote bank stability and reduce the rates of bank erosion. This project will evaluate the ecological condition of mosses and their effects on soil characteristics and bank erosion in different experimental settings. Project findings will provide new perspectives regarding how the presence or absence of moss carpets affects soil pressure and consequently the rates of bank erosion. The project will contribute new understanding about integrated relationships among fluvial geomorphology, riparian vegetation, ecosystem restoration, and biogeomorphology. Project results will provide information and insights that will assist decision makers, governmental agencies, and resource managers in adopting effective and sustainable approaches to stream bank stabilization. They also will be useful to those engaged in restoration activities by providing perspectives about alternative approaches to stabilize stream banks.The investigators will focus on analysis of the effectiveness of mosses for stream bank stabilization through a comparative analysis for study areas in the Chesapeake Bay and Upper Mississippi River watersheds. They will analyze biogeomorphic relationships and feedbacks between mosses and stream banks through a series of in situ and laboratory experiments over a three-year time frame. The experiments will survey multiple sites using terrestrial LiDAR, traditional geomorphic methods, and bioecological techniques. Geospatial data for the study areas, including digital elevation models (DEMs), satellite imagery, stream network, and land cover, will be integrated with information from field surveys for a detailed biogeomorphic analysis. Project findings will provide new perspectives about stream bank stabilization projects and the understanding of relationships between riparian vegetation and fluvial geomorphology for similar environmental conditions.