ABSTRACT

Among the large number of services provided by the riparian vegetation, one of its fundamental functions is to supply wood to rivers. When a tree falls in a river triggers a sequence of physical and ecological processes that can be defined as a process cascade. The interaction between flow, sediment and wood contributes to maintain and restore both the physical and ecological integrity of forested rivers, supporting their good health. This contribution shortly outlines how. Similarly to the natural flow and sediment regimes, the wood regime can be defined to complete our understanding, assessing and managing of rivers. This contribution provides a summary of the main components of the natural wood regime and presents a conceptual model of wood cascades drawing analogies with inorganic sediment cascades.