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Vegetation changes the trajectory of river bends.

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Title: Vegetation changes the trajectory of river bends.
Authors: Hasson, Michael, Finotello, Alvise, Ielpi, Alessandro, Lapôtre, Mathieu G. A.
Source: Science. 8/28/2025, Vol. 389 Issue 6763, p915-920. 6p.
Subjects: Meandering rivers, Vegetation & climate, Sedimentation & deposition, Biogeochemical cycles, Stratigraphic geology
Abstract: A primary axiom in geoscience is that the evolution of plants drove global changes in river dynamics. Notably, the apparent sinuosity of rivers, derived from the variance of sediment accretion direction measured in rocks, substantially increased when land plants evolved, around 425 million years ago. This led to the hypothesis that the rise of vegetation triggered river meandering. Recent studies of barren, meandering rivers challenge this notion, but the Paleozoic shift in the geometry of river deposits remains unexplained. Here, we suggest that it occurred because vegetation changes how river bends move through space. Using satellite images to monitor river migration, we found that bank vegetation alters the orientation of point bar accretion, resulting in a 62% increase in the inferred variance of flow direction. These results explain why meandering rivers have been underrecognized in prevegetation stratigraphy. Editor's summary: The way rivers move, whether through single-thread meandering or multithread braiding, is tied to long- and short-term biogeochemical cycles. Meandering rivers were thought to have evolved along with rooted plants more than 400 million years ago, as suggested by geologic indicators for sinuous flow. However, this view may be changing. Using data from modern rivers, Hasson et al. found that although meandering itself is not specific to vegetated rivers, the migration pattern of unvegetated meandering rivers can produce sedimentary deposits with an orientation more consistent with braided rivers (see the Perspective by Pizzuto). Their results suggest that meandering river deposits may be underrecognized in the preplant geologic record. —Angela Hessler [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Science is the property of American Association for the Advancement of Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Vegetation changes the trajectory of river bends.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hasson%2C+Michael%22">Hasson, Michael</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Finotello%2C+Alvise%22">Finotello, Alvise</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ielpi%2C+Alessandro%22">Ielpi, Alessandro</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lapôtre%2C+Mathieu+G%2E+A%2E%22">Lapôtre, Mathieu G. A.</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Science%22">Science</searchLink>. 8/28/2025, Vol. 389 Issue 6763, p915-920. 6p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Meandering+rivers%22">Meandering rivers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vegetation+%26+climate%22">Vegetation & climate</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sedimentation+%26+deposition%22">Sedimentation & deposition</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Biogeochemical+cycles%22">Biogeochemical cycles</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Stratigraphic+geology%22">Stratigraphic geology</searchLink>
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  Data: A primary axiom in geoscience is that the evolution of plants drove global changes in river dynamics. Notably, the apparent sinuosity of rivers, derived from the variance of sediment accretion direction measured in rocks, substantially increased when land plants evolved, around 425 million years ago. This led to the hypothesis that the rise of vegetation triggered river meandering. Recent studies of barren, meandering rivers challenge this notion, but the Paleozoic shift in the geometry of river deposits remains unexplained. Here, we suggest that it occurred because vegetation changes how river bends move through space. Using satellite images to monitor river migration, we found that bank vegetation alters the orientation of point bar accretion, resulting in a 62% increase in the inferred variance of flow direction. These results explain why meandering rivers have been underrecognized in prevegetation stratigraphy. Editor's summary: The way rivers move, whether through single-thread meandering or multithread braiding, is tied to long- and short-term biogeochemical cycles. Meandering rivers were thought to have evolved along with rooted plants more than 400 million years ago, as suggested by geologic indicators for sinuous flow. However, this view may be changing. Using data from modern rivers, Hasson et al. found that although meandering itself is not specific to vegetated rivers, the migration pattern of unvegetated meandering rivers can produce sedimentary deposits with an orientation more consistent with braided rivers (see the Perspective by Pizzuto). Their results suggest that meandering river deposits may be underrecognized in the preplant geologic record. —Angela Hessler [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Science is the property of American Association for the Advancement of Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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              Text: 8/28/2025
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