Vegetation and peat accumulation steer Holocene tidal–fluvial basin filling and overbank sedimentation along the Old Rhine River, The Netherlands

Harm Jan Pierik; Jelle I.M. Moree; Karianne M. van der Werf; Lonneke Roelofs; Marcio Boechat Albernaz; Antoine Wilbers; Bert van der Valk; Marieke van Dinter; Wim Z. Hoek; Tjalling de Haas; Maarten G. Kleinhans

doi:10.1111/sed.13038

Vegetation and peat accumulation steer Holocene tidal–fluvial basin filling and overbank sedimentation along the Old Rhine River, The Netherlands

Harm Jan Pierik^*, Jelle I.M. Moree, Karianne M. van der Werf, Lonneke Roelofs, Marcio Boechat Albernaz, Antoine Wilbers, Bert van der Valk, Marieke van Dinter, Wim Z. Hoek, Tjalling de Haas, Maarten G. Kleinhans

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

In the transformation from tidal systems to freshwater coastal landscapes, plants act as eco-engineering species that reduce hydrodynamics and trap sediment, but nature and timing of the mechanisms of land creation along estuaries remains unclear. This article focuses on the Old Rhine estuary (The Netherlands) to show the importance of vegetation in coastal landscape evolution, predominantly regarding tidal basin filling and overbank morphology. This estuary hosted the main outflow channel of the river Rhine between ca 6500 to 2000 cal bp, and was constrained by peat during most of its existence. This study reconstructs its geological evolution, by correlating newly integrated geological data and new field records to varying conditions. Numerical modelling was performed to test the inferred mechanisms. It was found that floodbasin vegetation and resulting organic accumulation strongly accelerated back-barrier infill, by minimizing tidal influence. After tidal and wave transport had already sufficiently filled the back-barrier basin, reed rapidly expanded from its edges under brackish conditions, as shown by diatom analysis and datings. Reed growth provided a positive infilling feedback by reducing tidal flow and tidal prism, accelerating basin infilling. New radiocarbon dates show that large-scale crevassing along the Old Rhine River – driven by tidal backwater effect – only started as nutrient-rich river water transformed the floodbasin into an Alder carr in a next phase of estuary evolution. Such less dense vegetation promotes crevassing as sediments are more easily transported into the floodbasin. As river discharge increased and estuary mouth infilling progressed, crevasse activity diminished around 3800 to 3000 cal bp, likely due to a reduced tidal backwater effect. The insights from this data-rich Holocene study showcase the dominant role that vegetation may have in the long-term evolution of coastal wetlands. It provides clues for effective use of vegetation in vulnerable wetland landscapes to steer sedimentation patterns to strategically adapt to rising water levels.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	179-213
Number of pages	35
Journal	Sedimentology
Volume	70
Issue number	1
Early online date	5 Sept 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/sed.13038
Publication status	Published - Jan 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
HJP, MBA, TdH and MGK were supported by the European Research Council (ERC Consolidator grant 647570 to MGK). JIMM, KvdW and LR conducted part of this work as part of their MSc theses supervised by HJP, MBA, WZH and MGK. We thank Nelleke van Asch (ADC Archeoprojecten) for selecting the macrofossils, the Centre of Isotope Research in Groningen for dating the radiocarbon samples and Peter Esselink (Puccimar Ecological Research and Consultancy) for sharing his expertise on reed. We thank Natasha Barlow (Leeds University), Geurt Verweij (Bureau Waardenburg) and Aleksandra Cvetkoska (Utrecht University, KNAW-NIOO) for their second opinion on diatom identification. We thank participants on the workshop Old Rhine in 2019 for their useful input on our results. The authors declare no conflict of interest. We would like to thank Dr. Kelly Sanks and an anonymous reviewer for their valuable suggestions to improve the manuscript.

Funding Information:
HJP, MBA, TdH and MGK were supported by the European Research Council (ERC Consolidator grant 647570 to MGK). JIMM, KvdW and LR conducted part of this work as part of their MSc theses supervised by HJP, MBA, WZH and MGK. We thank Nelleke van Asch (ADC Archeoprojecten) for selecting the macrofossils, the Centre of Isotope Research in Groningen for dating the radiocarbon samples and Peter Esselink (Puccimar Ecological Research and Consultancy) for sharing his expertise on reed. We thank Natasha Barlow (Leeds University), Geurt Verweij (Bureau Waardenburg) and Aleksandra Cvetkoska (Utrecht University, KNAW‐NIOO) for their second opinion on diatom identification. We thank participants on the workshop Old Rhine in 2019 for their useful input on our results. The authors declare no conflict of interest. We would like to thank Dr. Kelly Sanks and an anonymous reviewer for their valuable suggestions to improve the manuscript.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. Sedimentology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Association of Sedimentologists.

Funding

HJP, MBA, TdH and MGK were supported by the European Research Council (ERC Consolidator grant 647570 to MGK). JIMM, KvdW and LR conducted part of this work as part of their MSc theses supervised by HJP, MBA, WZH and MGK. We thank Nelleke van Asch (ADC Archeoprojecten) for selecting the macrofossils, the Centre of Isotope Research in Groningen for dating the radiocarbon samples and Peter Esselink (Puccimar Ecological Research and Consultancy) for sharing his expertise on reed. We thank Natasha Barlow (Leeds University), Geurt Verweij (Bureau Waardenburg) and Aleksandra Cvetkoska (Utrecht University, KNAW‐NIOO) for their second opinion on diatom identification. We thank participants on the workshop Old Rhine in 2019 for their useful input on our results. The authors declare no conflict of interest. We would like to thank Dr. Kelly Sanks and an anonymous reviewer for their valuable suggestions to improve the manuscript.

Funders	Funder number
University of Leeds
European Research Council	647570
Universiteit Utrecht

Keywords

Estuary
Holocene
infilling
peat accumulation
vegetation

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1111/sed.13038Licence: CC BY

Sedimentology - 2022 - Pierik - Vegetation and peat accumulation steer Holocene tidal fluvial basin filling and overbankFinal published version, 4.28 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Pierik, H. J., Moree, J. I. M., van der Werf, K. M., Roelofs, L., Albernaz, M. B., Wilbers, A., van der Valk, B., van Dinter, M., Hoek, W. Z., de Haas, T., & Kleinhans, M. G. (2023). Vegetation and peat accumulation steer Holocene tidal–fluvial basin filling and overbank sedimentation along the Old Rhine River, The Netherlands. Sedimentology, 70(1), 179-213. https://doi.org/10.1111/sed.13038

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title = "Vegetation and peat accumulation steer Holocene tidal–fluvial basin filling and overbank sedimentation along the Old Rhine River, The Netherlands",

abstract = "In the transformation from tidal systems to freshwater coastal landscapes, plants act as eco-engineering species that reduce hydrodynamics and trap sediment, but nature and timing of the mechanisms of land creation along estuaries remains unclear. This article focuses on the Old Rhine estuary (The Netherlands) to show the importance of vegetation in coastal landscape evolution, predominantly regarding tidal basin filling and overbank morphology. This estuary hosted the main outflow channel of the river Rhine between ca 6500 to 2000 cal bp, and was constrained by peat during most of its existence. This study reconstructs its geological evolution, by correlating newly integrated geological data and new field records to varying conditions. Numerical modelling was performed to test the inferred mechanisms. It was found that floodbasin vegetation and resulting organic accumulation strongly accelerated back-barrier infill, by minimizing tidal influence. After tidal and wave transport had already sufficiently filled the back-barrier basin, reed rapidly expanded from its edges under brackish conditions, as shown by diatom analysis and datings. Reed growth provided a positive infilling feedback by reducing tidal flow and tidal prism, accelerating basin infilling. New radiocarbon dates show that large-scale crevassing along the Old Rhine River – driven by tidal backwater effect – only started as nutrient-rich river water transformed the floodbasin into an Alder carr in a next phase of estuary evolution. Such less dense vegetation promotes crevassing as sediments are more easily transported into the floodbasin. As river discharge increased and estuary mouth infilling progressed, crevasse activity diminished around 3800 to 3000 cal bp, likely due to a reduced tidal backwater effect. The insights from this data-rich Holocene study showcase the dominant role that vegetation may have in the long-term evolution of coastal wetlands. It provides clues for effective use of vegetation in vulnerable wetland landscapes to steer sedimentation patterns to strategically adapt to rising water levels.",

keywords = "Estuary, Holocene, infilling, peat accumulation, vegetation",

author = "Pierik, {Harm Jan} and Moree, {Jelle I.M.} and {van der Werf}, {Karianne M.} and Lonneke Roelofs and Albernaz, {Marcio Boechat} and Antoine Wilbers and {van der Valk}, Bert and {van Dinter}, Marieke and Hoek, {Wim Z.} and {de Haas}, Tjalling and Kleinhans, {Maarten G.}",

note = "Funding Information: HJP, MBA, TdH and MGK were supported by the European Research Council (ERC Consolidator grant 647570 to MGK). JIMM, KvdW and LR conducted part of this work as part of their MSc theses supervised by HJP, MBA, WZH and MGK. We thank Nelleke van Asch (ADC Archeoprojecten) for selecting the macrofossils, the Centre of Isotope Research in Groningen for dating the radiocarbon samples and Peter Esselink (Puccimar Ecological Research and Consultancy) for sharing his expertise on reed. We thank Natasha Barlow (Leeds University), Geurt Verweij (Bureau Waardenburg) and Aleksandra Cvetkoska (Utrecht University, KNAW-NIOO) for their second opinion on diatom identification. We thank participants on the workshop Old Rhine in 2019 for their useful input on our results. The authors declare no conflict of interest. We would like to thank Dr. Kelly Sanks and an anonymous reviewer for their valuable suggestions to improve the manuscript. Funding Information: HJP, MBA, TdH and MGK were supported by the European Research Council (ERC Consolidator grant 647570 to MGK). JIMM, KvdW and LR conducted part of this work as part of their MSc theses supervised by HJP, MBA, WZH and MGK. We thank Nelleke van Asch (ADC Archeoprojecten) for selecting the macrofossils, the Centre of Isotope Research in Groningen for dating the radiocarbon samples and Peter Esselink (Puccimar Ecological Research and Consultancy) for sharing his expertise on reed. We thank Natasha Barlow (Leeds University), Geurt Verweij (Bureau Waardenburg) and Aleksandra Cvetkoska (Utrecht University, KNAW‐NIOO) for their second opinion on diatom identification. We thank participants on the workshop Old Rhine in 2019 for their useful input on our results. The authors declare no conflict of interest. We would like to thank Dr. Kelly Sanks and an anonymous reviewer for their valuable suggestions to improve the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 The Authors. Sedimentology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Association of Sedimentologists.",

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Pierik, HJ, Moree, JIM, van der Werf, KM, Roelofs, L, Albernaz, MB, Wilbers, A, van der Valk, B, van Dinter, M, Hoek, WZ , de Haas, T & Kleinhans, MG 2023, 'Vegetation and peat accumulation steer Holocene tidal–fluvial basin filling and overbank sedimentation along the Old Rhine River, The Netherlands', Sedimentology, vol. 70, no. 1, pp. 179-213. https://doi.org/10.1111/sed.13038

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T1 - Vegetation and peat accumulation steer Holocene tidal–fluvial basin filling and overbank sedimentation along the Old Rhine River, The Netherlands

AU - Pierik, Harm Jan

AU - Moree, Jelle I.M.

AU - van der Werf, Karianne M.

AU - Roelofs, Lonneke

AU - Albernaz, Marcio Boechat

AU - Wilbers, Antoine

AU - van der Valk, Bert

AU - van Dinter, Marieke

AU - Hoek, Wim Z.

AU - de Haas, Tjalling

AU - Kleinhans, Maarten G.

N1 - Funding Information: HJP, MBA, TdH and MGK were supported by the European Research Council (ERC Consolidator grant 647570 to MGK). JIMM, KvdW and LR conducted part of this work as part of their MSc theses supervised by HJP, MBA, WZH and MGK. We thank Nelleke van Asch (ADC Archeoprojecten) for selecting the macrofossils, the Centre of Isotope Research in Groningen for dating the radiocarbon samples and Peter Esselink (Puccimar Ecological Research and Consultancy) for sharing his expertise on reed. We thank Natasha Barlow (Leeds University), Geurt Verweij (Bureau Waardenburg) and Aleksandra Cvetkoska (Utrecht University, KNAW-NIOO) for their second opinion on diatom identification. We thank participants on the workshop Old Rhine in 2019 for their useful input on our results. The authors declare no conflict of interest. We would like to thank Dr. Kelly Sanks and an anonymous reviewer for their valuable suggestions to improve the manuscript. Funding Information: HJP, MBA, TdH and MGK were supported by the European Research Council (ERC Consolidator grant 647570 to MGK). JIMM, KvdW and LR conducted part of this work as part of their MSc theses supervised by HJP, MBA, WZH and MGK. We thank Nelleke van Asch (ADC Archeoprojecten) for selecting the macrofossils, the Centre of Isotope Research in Groningen for dating the radiocarbon samples and Peter Esselink (Puccimar Ecological Research and Consultancy) for sharing his expertise on reed. We thank Natasha Barlow (Leeds University), Geurt Verweij (Bureau Waardenburg) and Aleksandra Cvetkoska (Utrecht University, KNAW‐NIOO) for their second opinion on diatom identification. We thank participants on the workshop Old Rhine in 2019 for their useful input on our results. The authors declare no conflict of interest. We would like to thank Dr. Kelly Sanks and an anonymous reviewer for their valuable suggestions to improve the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Sedimentology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Association of Sedimentologists.

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N2 - In the transformation from tidal systems to freshwater coastal landscapes, plants act as eco-engineering species that reduce hydrodynamics and trap sediment, but nature and timing of the mechanisms of land creation along estuaries remains unclear. This article focuses on the Old Rhine estuary (The Netherlands) to show the importance of vegetation in coastal landscape evolution, predominantly regarding tidal basin filling and overbank morphology. This estuary hosted the main outflow channel of the river Rhine between ca 6500 to 2000 cal bp, and was constrained by peat during most of its existence. This study reconstructs its geological evolution, by correlating newly integrated geological data and new field records to varying conditions. Numerical modelling was performed to test the inferred mechanisms. It was found that floodbasin vegetation and resulting organic accumulation strongly accelerated back-barrier infill, by minimizing tidal influence. After tidal and wave transport had already sufficiently filled the back-barrier basin, reed rapidly expanded from its edges under brackish conditions, as shown by diatom analysis and datings. Reed growth provided a positive infilling feedback by reducing tidal flow and tidal prism, accelerating basin infilling. New radiocarbon dates show that large-scale crevassing along the Old Rhine River – driven by tidal backwater effect – only started as nutrient-rich river water transformed the floodbasin into an Alder carr in a next phase of estuary evolution. Such less dense vegetation promotes crevassing as sediments are more easily transported into the floodbasin. As river discharge increased and estuary mouth infilling progressed, crevasse activity diminished around 3800 to 3000 cal bp, likely due to a reduced tidal backwater effect. The insights from this data-rich Holocene study showcase the dominant role that vegetation may have in the long-term evolution of coastal wetlands. It provides clues for effective use of vegetation in vulnerable wetland landscapes to steer sedimentation patterns to strategically adapt to rising water levels.

AB - In the transformation from tidal systems to freshwater coastal landscapes, plants act as eco-engineering species that reduce hydrodynamics and trap sediment, but nature and timing of the mechanisms of land creation along estuaries remains unclear. This article focuses on the Old Rhine estuary (The Netherlands) to show the importance of vegetation in coastal landscape evolution, predominantly regarding tidal basin filling and overbank morphology. This estuary hosted the main outflow channel of the river Rhine between ca 6500 to 2000 cal bp, and was constrained by peat during most of its existence. This study reconstructs its geological evolution, by correlating newly integrated geological data and new field records to varying conditions. Numerical modelling was performed to test the inferred mechanisms. It was found that floodbasin vegetation and resulting organic accumulation strongly accelerated back-barrier infill, by minimizing tidal influence. After tidal and wave transport had already sufficiently filled the back-barrier basin, reed rapidly expanded from its edges under brackish conditions, as shown by diatom analysis and datings. Reed growth provided a positive infilling feedback by reducing tidal flow and tidal prism, accelerating basin infilling. New radiocarbon dates show that large-scale crevassing along the Old Rhine River – driven by tidal backwater effect – only started as nutrient-rich river water transformed the floodbasin into an Alder carr in a next phase of estuary evolution. Such less dense vegetation promotes crevassing as sediments are more easily transported into the floodbasin. As river discharge increased and estuary mouth infilling progressed, crevasse activity diminished around 3800 to 3000 cal bp, likely due to a reduced tidal backwater effect. The insights from this data-rich Holocene study showcase the dominant role that vegetation may have in the long-term evolution of coastal wetlands. It provides clues for effective use of vegetation in vulnerable wetland landscapes to steer sedimentation patterns to strategically adapt to rising water levels.

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KW - Holocene

KW - infilling

KW - peat accumulation

KW - vegetation

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ER -

Vegetation and peat accumulation steer Holocene tidal–fluvial basin filling and overbank sedimentation along the Old Rhine River, The Netherlands

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

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