Aquatic Environment Changes of Vegetated Regions in Rivers, Marshes, and Coastal Regions

Vegetation is extensively distributed across rivers, marshes, and coastal regions, playing a crucial role in these ecosystems. Vegetation mitigates flow velocity and wave intensity, thereby facilitating sediment deposition within vegetated regions. Conversely, under identical hydrodynamic conditions, vegetation enhances turbulent kinetic energy, fostering sediment resuspension and transport, which in turn reduces sediment deposition. These competing effects of vegetation on sediment deposition complicate the prediction of deposition patterns in vegetated areas compared to bare channels.

The processes of sediment deposition and resuspension within vegetated areas are critically significant to the aquatic environments of rivers, marshes, and coastal regions, as sediment particles typically contain organic matter and nutrients. Consequently, understanding sediment deposition distribution is essential for assessing changes in these aquatic environments.

Environmental changes, such as climate change, along with anthropogenic activities like dam construction, alter sediment supply in rivers, marshes, and deltas. These variations in sediment supply lead to a more intricate evolution of vegetated landscapes relative to bare beds. Meanwhile, vegetation is frequently utilized in restoration projects for rivers and marshes, as well as in coastal defense projects, due to its capacity to provide substantial resistance against hydrodynamic forces, and hence, habitat for aquatic organisms.

This research topic aims to address the environmental changes affecting vegetated regions in rivers, marshes, and coastal areas. Specifically, it will focus on the interactions among vegetation, sediment transport, and landscape evolution under varying flow and wave conditions. The impact of anthropogenic activities, such as engineering projects, on the aquatic environment of vegetated regions is another central focus. Clarifying the combined effects of vegetation and diverse anthropogenic activities, including engineering projects, on river, marsh, and coastal environments will enhance the fundamental understanding necessary for vegetation-based restoration and defense methods in these ecosystems.

This research topic calls for original and novel research papers examining the material and energy flows and forces, sediment transport, landscape evolution and ecological environments in vegetated regions. The specific research topics include:

1. Sediment transport in vegetated regions under current flows and wave conditions.
2. Evolution of vegetated landscapes associated with sediment deposition and retention in rivers, marshes, and coastal regions.
3. The response of aquatic vegetation to anthropogenic activities and environmental changes.
4. Coupling effects of vegetation and engineering projects on river, marsh, and coastal environments.
5. Exploration of vegetation-based river and marsh restoration methods and coastal defense strategies.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... View all formats

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Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Vegetation, sediment transport, current flows, waves, ecological restoration, landscape evolution, engineering projects, environment changes

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.