ABSTRACT
Factors affecting the erosion of sediment from channel banks vary widely depending on bank material, erosion mechanism, flow regime, vegetation cover, and land use. The processes may broadly be classified into hydraulic (erosion related to the passage of water past the bank), mass failure (erosion that occurs by bank collapse or slumping), and subaerial (erosion that occurs above the waterline). While the frequency, timing, and magnitude of bank erosion events may still be largely unpredictable for most natural systems, some consensus has been reached on the relative significance of the controlling mechanisms. Subaerial processes are rarely as important as hydraulic processes, for example. Estimation of bank erosion has benefits both in terms of predicting the possible loss of land and infrastructure[1] as well as in estimating the fate of sediments and nutrients from a river basin.[2,3] This short review summarizes the state of knowledge concerning these principles and points the reader to sources of further information on the subject.
