River channel adjustment of several river reaches on Ebro basin

Abstract Global change, understood not only as an alteration of climate but also as the anthropic influence on river basins, is affecting control factors of fluvial morphology. Land-use has long changed in the Ebro basin, and so have water flows and sediment yield. In the last decades the construction of reservoirs for irrigation, urban uses, or hydroelectricity production has intensified these affections. Thirteen river reaches all along the Ebro basin, and with special concentration in northwestern area of the basin, were studied to assess the changes on channel morphology from 1957 to 2010. GIS tools were used to analyse the changes and results were linked to hydrological changes. River channels and floodplains have responded with a stabilization of the rivers, decreasing the active channel and increasing the riparian corridor. Different adjustment conditions were detected depending on the river reach and location in the basin.

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