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Flooding rivers can wreak havoc on homes and roads but are necessary for healthy ecosystems, research at Oregon State University suggests.
The study shows that alterations to rivers’ natural flow patterns – because of dams, diversions and changes in precipitation – cause damage to riparian plant communities and river ecosystems in general.
Even minor shifts in temporal flow patterns harm networks of competing vegetation, said the study’s corresponding author, Jonathan Tonkin of the OSU College of Science.
The most severe effects, he said, occur when cyclical flooding is removed from the equation.
Read more at Oregon State University
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