The riparian landscapes in many river reaches have been changing from white sand/gravel bars to greenery lands covered with grass, bush and mature trees. This change can change the riparian ecosystem and the river's engineering functions relevant to the flood management and sediment regimes. Although the succession of recruitment to mature vegetation is considered a part of natural phenomena, the rate of change has been affected by anthropogenic activities caused by alteration of the flow and sediment regimes and water quality traits of the river system. Another driver for possible cause could be a change in rainfall patterns in the critical period of riparian plants' life cycle due to climate change. This special session focuses on  the conceptualization of the cause and effect of such change,  the field investigations on the "greening” of the riparian landscape, and the characteristics, degrees of such change, and impacts (positive and negative) on the riparian ecosystem, including flood management and sediment regimes.

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