Experimental Investigations of Interactions between Sand Wave Movements, Flow Structure, and Individual Aquatic Plants in Natural Rivers: A Case Study of Potamogeton Pectinatus L.

Long-duration measurements were performed in two sandy bed rivers, and three-dimensional (3D) flow velocity and bottom elevation changes were measured in a vegetated area and in a clear region of a river. Detailed flow velocity profiles downstream and upstream of a single specimen of Potamogeton pectinatus L. were obtained and the bed morphology was assessed. Potamogeton plants gathered from each river were subjected to tensile and bending tests. The results show that the existence of the plants was influenced by both bottom and flow conditions, as the plants were located where water velocity was lower by 12% to 16% in comparison to clear region. The characteristics of the flow and sand forms depended on the cross-sectional arrangement of the river, e.g., dunes were approximately four times higher in the middle of the river than in vegetated regions near the bank. Furthermore, the studied hydrophytes were too sparse to affect water flow and had no discernible impact on the sand forms’ movements. The turbulent kinetic energy downstream of a single plant was reduced by approximately 25%. Additionally, the plants’ biomechanical characteristics and morphology were found to have adjusted to match the river conditions.