Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure 응용생태공학회 논문집 ISSN:2288-8527(Online)

Riverine tree management is crucial in realizing a balance between flood control and ecological preservation, which requires an accurate assessment of the impact of trees on river water elevations. In this study, eight different formulas for evaluating vegetation roughness considering the drag force acting on trees, were reviewed, and the characteristics and applicability of these methods were evaluated from a practical engineering perspective. The study compared the characteristics of vegetation roughness measurement methods for calculated roughness coefficients at different water depths and analyzed factors such as effects of tree canopy width, tree density and diameter, and tree stiffness coefficient, and water level estimation results. A comparison of roughness coefficients at the same water depths revealed that the Kouwen and Fathi-Moghadam formulas and the Fischenich formula yield excessive drag coefficients compared to other formulas. Factors such as channel geometry, tree diameter, and tree density showed varying trends depending on the formula but did not exhibit excessive outliers. Formulas considering the tree stiffness coefficient, such as the Freeman et al.’s formula and the Whittaker et al.’s formula, showed significant variations in drag coefficients depending on the stiffness coefficient. When applied to small- and medium-sized virtual rivers in South Korea using the drag coefficient results from the eight formulas, the results indicated a maximum increase in water level of approximately 0.2 to 0.4 meters. Based on this review, it was concluded that the Baptist et al., Huthoff et al., Cheng, Luhar, and Nepf‘s formulas, which exhibit similar characteristics and low input data uncertainties, are suitable for practical engineering applications.