This paper highlights a disjunct between geomorphic concepts of braided riverbed lateral boundaries and legal definitions used to decide these boundaries in New Zealand—a country that hosts over 150 gravel-bed braided rivers. These powerful morphodynamic systems are prone to recurrent bar reworking and channel shift. When parts of the riverbed are temporarily abandoned by active channels, they are vulnerable to land use intensification. Associated flood protection measures that often follow intensification constrict the rivers' capacity to adjust to ever-changing flows of water and sediment. Despite the rivers' vulnerability and constriction, New Zealand law defines braided rivers in a way that limits local councils' authority to manage land use within the braidplain. This paper explores the relationship between the law and science of braided rivers, demonstrating how legislative reforms underway in 2023 express the ways in which particular social processes play out in the landscape.

中文翻译：

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新西兰的辫状河：法律遗忘的土地

本文强调了新西兰（拥有 150 多条砾石床辫状河的国家）辫状河床横向边界的地貌概念与用于确定这些边界的法律定义之间的脱节。这些强大的形态动力学系统很容易发生反复的条形改造和通道移位。当部分河床被活跃河道暂时废弃时，它们很容易受到土地利用集约化的影响。集约化之后的相关防洪措施往往会限制河流适应不断变化的水流和泥沙流量的能力。尽管河流脆弱且收缩，新西兰法律对辫状河的定义限制了地方议会管理辫状平原内土地使用的权力。本文探讨了辫状河的法律与科学之间的关系，展示了 2023 年正在进行的立法改革如何表达特定社会进程在景观中发挥的方式。