Author(s): Solange Leblois; Guillaume Piton; Andre Evette
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Riverbank stabilisation; Soil and water bioengineering; Scour; Large wood; Bank toe erosion
Abstract: Soil and water bioengineering (SWBE) or hybrid engineering, thanks to its ecological added value, high adaptability, and increasing reinforcement over time, is more and more used today in riverbank stabilization projects. As a reminder, these techniques should only be implemented when the cause of erosion cannot be eliminated or assets at risk cannot be relocated. A general lack of quantitative elements to design and justify the use of SWBE techniques has been shown to limit their use at a larger scale than what is done today where it is mostly based on expert knowledge. Previous researches based on field feedback over more than 200 structures and on a small-scale model comparing four bank toe stabilization techniques, provided quantitative insights into the main failure mechanisms of these structures. Based on these results, this work presents examples of implemented bank toe structures modified to counteract the previously described failure mechanisms. This abstract is based on the work conducted during the PhD thesis of Leblois (In Press.). In the considered rivers with low cohesive riverbanks, as commonly encountered in the Alps, bank toe erosion in SWBE structures, mainly caused by sediment transport bellow the level of shrubby vegetation growth, has been shown to be the main process leading to structures failure. In order to adjust structures to this failure mechanism, improvement can be done in the design phase with firstly a better estimation of potential scour and incision and secondly a consequent abiotic structure can be implemented below the level of vegetation growth to stabilize the bank toe. In our work we present seven sites in France, where they used large wood to stabilize the bank toe below the level at which vegetation can grow and thus stabilize the riverbank.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64697/iahr.proc.ise2026.abs.329
Year: 2026