Evaluating influence of urban land-use heterogeneity on bedload and suspended sediment transport: A nested monitoring approach

Sediment is a critical water quality parameter modulated by instream processes in urban watersheds, but the effects of natural buffers and land-use variations on sediment transport remain underexplored. We analyzed nested bedload and suspended sediment data in an urban watershed in Burlington, Vermont. Dominant clockwise hysteresis suggests rapid delivery of sediment from upland impervious and agricultural areas. In a reach with riparian wetlands, shifting hysteresis and decreasing turbidity indicate sediment buffering. In contrast, bedload tracers exhibited their highest mobility (94%) and displacement (2.4 m) downstream of the wetlands. This ongoing work highlights spatially variable sediment transport processes in urban watersheds.