Soil and water bioengineering in cold rivers: A biogeomorphological perspective

International audience ; Soil and Water Bioengineering (SWBE) for river management is a viable alternative to civil engineering whenbank stabilization is needed. Unlike riprap, SWBE techniques support bank stabilization while promoting thedevelopment of riparian vegetation. The preservation of vegetation biodiversity on riverbanks helps maintainand create essential ecosystem services such as recreation, carbon sequestration, pollutant filtration, and thecreation of ecological niches and corridors. However, the potential of SWBE remains largely underestimated.Managers are often reluctant to use these techniques as they present failure risks, particularly in rivers withsevere mechanical constraints. In cold environments experiencing freezing waters, ice-related processes such asice abrasion or ice jams are significant disturbance factors for both river morphology and riparian vegetation.The marginality of SWBE is thus exacerbated in these environments, where considerable knowledge gaps persistregarding the interactions between ice, river channel morphology, and vegetation persistence. This review articleaims to discuss the insights that biogeomorphology can provide for SWBE in cold environments. Bio-geomorphology, a science that studies the interactions and feedbacks between living organisms and the physicalprocesses shaping the landscape, offers new concepts and models as tools for understanding the co-development between landforms and vegetation. In the scope of SWBE, biogeomorphology can be used to (1) provide a better understanding of a river’s dynamics and biogeomorphological changes in time and space to better identify the root causes of degraded riverbanks, (2) identify assemblages of species best suited to local conditions and better understand the relationship between channel morphology, vegetation, and ice to improve SWBE structure design, and (3) develop monitoring and evaluation tools to define the biogeomorphological functions of SWBE structure and improve maintenance strategies