INTERACTIONS BETWEEN SEMINATURAL VEGETATION AND HYDROGEOMORPHOLOGICAL PROCESSES

Within Britain lowland heaths and floodplain forests are rapidly disappearing from the landscape. This paper considers the hydrogeomorphological significance of these two types of semi-natural vegetation cover using research results gathered from a drainage basin in the New Forest, southern England. Whilst heathland vegetation communities are closely adjusted to the soil water hydrological regime, floodplain forests have a distinctive and significant influence on the geomorphology of river channels. Both of these types of interaction are not only of hydrogeomorphological interest, but provide an essential foundation for the effective management and restoration of catchments and rivers containing these types of vegetation cover.