L'embâcle de bois en rivière : Un bienfait écologique ? Un facteur de risques naturels ?

Abstract

In order to preserve the stream flow capacity, the French Government always recommends the cleaning of riparian vegetation and the removing of coarse woody debris in the channel. But, these management practices contrast with the ecological role of the coarse woody debris and the small risk of these structures in rural area. The «do nothing», «rehabilitation» and «localized manipulation» notions appear now in different management options. In this paper, we propose a synthesis on the risk due to coarse woody debris (inundation and erosion) and on their ecological role. We conclude the article by proposing a few management recommendations of these woody structures.