The Impact of Plant Debris on Hydraulic Conditions in a Semi-Natural Fish Pass

cris.virtual.author-orcid0000-0003-0344-585X
cris.virtual.author-orcid0000-0003-3999-7250
cris.virtual.author-orcid0000-0001-9093-4365
cris.virtualsource.author-orcidff7a36ab-d209-401b-822d-12191685f04a
cris.virtualsource.author-orcide32458cb-9a33-41e8-9c1a-a373b123c233
cris.virtualsource.author-orcid1a97415b-d71c-4504-92c0-69469f9e5e82
dc.abstract.enFish passes are essential hydraulic structures that maintain longitudinal connectivity in regulated rivers, but their hydraulic performance may be affected by debris accumulation at chamber openings. This study investigates the influence of partial and total inlet blockage by plant debris on flow conditions within a semi-natural fish pass under field conditions. Hydraulic measurements were conducted at multiple locations along the fish pass, and the effects of debris covering were evaluated using statistical and mixed-effects modeling approaches. Field measurements demonstrated that the Froude number decreases systematically with increasing distance from the inlet, indicating progressive longitudinal dissipation of flow energy along the chamber sequence. Partial debris accumulation caused only marginal changes in the Froude number, remaining close to the threshold of statistical significance. In contrast, mean flow velocity decreased markedly with increasing inlet blockage, by approximately 17% at 50% covering and by about 36% under full blockage, indicating that debris primarily acts as a hydraulic damper rather than inducing a change in flow regime. The highest variability in hydraulic conditions was observed in chambers associated with changes in flow direction and local geometry. These results highlight the dominant role of longitudinal layout and chamber geometry in shaping hydraulic conditions in semi-natural fish passes, while moderate debris accumulation affects local velocities without fundamentally compromising hydraulic functionality. From an ecological perspective, transition zones with elevated hydraulic variability may represent critical locations influencing the swimming effort and passage efficiency of migrating fish.
dc.affiliationWydział Inżynierii Środowiska i Inżynierii Mechanicznej
dc.affiliation.instituteKatedra Inżynierii Wodnej i Sanitarnej
dc.affiliation.instituteKatedra Budownictwa i Geoinżynierii
dc.contributor.authorWalczak, Natalia
dc.contributor.authorWalczak, Zbigniew
dc.contributor.authorHammerling, Mateusz
dc.date.access2026-01-29
dc.date.accessioned2026-01-29T12:13:33Z
dc.date.available2026-01-29T12:13:33Z
dc.date.copyright2026-01-21
dc.date.issued2026
dc.description.abstract<jats:p>Fish passes are essential hydraulic structures that maintain longitudinal connectivity in regulated rivers, but their hydraulic performance may be affected by debris accumulation at chamber openings. This study investigates the influence of partial and total inlet blockage by plant debris on flow conditions within a semi-natural fish pass under field conditions. Hydraulic measurements were conducted at multiple locations along the fish pass, and the effects of debris covering were evaluated using statistical and mixed-effects modeling approaches. Field measurements demonstrated that the Froude number decreases systematically with increasing distance from the inlet, indicating progressive longitudinal dissipation of flow energy along the chamber sequence. Partial debris accumulation caused only marginal changes in the Froude number, remaining close to the threshold of statistical significance. In contrast, mean flow velocity decreased markedly with increasing inlet blockage, by approximately 17% at 50% covering and by about 36% under full blockage, indicating that debris primarily acts as a hydraulic damper rather than inducing a change in flow regime. The highest variability in hydraulic conditions was observed in chambers associated with changes in flow direction and local geometry. These results highlight the dominant role of longitudinal layout and chamber geometry in shaping hydraulic conditions in semi-natural fish passes, while moderate debris accumulation affects local velocities without fundamentally compromising hydraulic functionality. From an ecological perspective, transition zones with elevated hydraulic variability may represent critical locations influencing the swimming effort and passage efficiency of migrating fish.</jats:p>
dc.description.accesstimeat_publication
dc.description.bibliographyil., bibliogr.
dc.description.financepublication_act
dc.description.financecost13084,68
dc.description.if3,00
dc.description.number2
dc.description.points100
dc.description.versionfinal_published
dc.description.volume18
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/w18020272
dc.identifier.issn2073-4441
dc.identifier.urihttps://sciencerep.up.poznan.pl/handle/item/7130
dc.identifier.weblinkhttps://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/18/2/272
dc.languageen
dc.pbn.affiliationenvironmental engineering, mining and energy
dc.relation.ispartofWater (Switzerland)
dc.relation.pagesart. 272
dc.rightsCC-BY
dc.sciencecloudnosend
dc.share.typeOPEN_JOURNAL
dc.subject.ensemi-natural fish pass
dc.subject.enplant debris
dc.subject.envelocity
dc.subject.enFroude number
dc.titleThe Impact of Plant Debris on Hydraulic Conditions in a Semi-Natural Fish Pass
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.citation.issue2
oaire.citation.volume18