BASEveg: A python package to model riparian vegetation dynamics coupled with river morphodynamics

Abstract

River morphology is closely linked with riparian vegetation dynamics, because of the interwoven interactions between plants, flow, and sediment transport. However, open-source tools that model such interactions are currently missing. Here we present BASEveg, a python package to simulate riparian vegetation dynamics coupled with BASEMENT, a river hydro-morphodynamic simulator. BASEveg calculates plant growth based on water table fluctuations during low flow and incorporates the resulting plant properties affecting water flow and sediment transport on the computation of riverbed changes during floods. This new tool empowers scientists from different disciplines and fluvial managers to explore eco-morphodynamic processes at various spatial and temporal scales.

Keywords

• River eco-morphodynamics
• Numerical modelling
• Riparian vegetation
• Sediment transport
• Python