ABSTRACT
In the last two decades, research in fluvial geomorphology has been extended to vegetation, recognising the engineering role of plants for braided morphologies. However, if we considering the development of vegetated patches over decadal scale in such geomorphic active systems, we can question to which extend does initial soil formation impact biogeomorphic succession?
A 36 m section of the gravelly braided/meandering Allondon River (CH) was analysed, by looking at the soil and its organic matter properties, the sedimentological spatial variability using electrical resistivity analysis and the morphological history of the section using historical aerial pictures.
Results show that whilst initial sediment stratification and topography modulate initial habitat properties and vegetation colonisation, Salicaceae engineering processes and initial soil forming processes, tied to allochthonous organic matter trapping and processing, influence ecosystem processes and thus pathways of fluvial landform development. This causes a decoupling between time (as a function of landform stability) and vegetation succession.
