Fig 1.
Low structural diversity: 2 tall grass species and 2 tall herb species, high structural diversity: 1 tall grass, 1 tall herb, 1 small grass and 1 small herb species.
Fig 2.
(A) seeded patches in the greenhouse, (B) patches growing outside, (C) fleeces and vegetation before the experiment, (D) patches in the flume while the water level goes down (numbers indicate patch position and c the controls), (E) image of a patch from the front.
Fig 3.
Sketch of flume with the pump, the inlet section to roughen the bed (artificial lawn and bricks), the closable walls to drain the vegetated section, and the positions of the patches in lines (capital Roman numerals) and rows (lowercase Roman numerals).
Fig 4.
Residuals of sediment on vegetation explained by (A) the interaction between structural diversity and pubescence (p = 0.007, lower case letter (a and b) indicating the significant different groups), (B) density (p<0.001) and (C) height (p = 0.013).
Table 1.
Statistical model results.
Fig 5.
Sediment underneath vegetation.
Residuals of sediment underneath vegetation explained by (A) structural diversity (p = 0.044) and (B) leaf pubescence (p = 0.003).
Fig 6.
Measured variables on vegetation.
Residuals of sediment on vegetation explained by (A) log biomass (p<0.001) and (B) height variation (p = 0.034).
Fig 7.
Measured variables underneath vegetation.
Residuals of sediment underneath vegetation explained by (A) biomass (p = 0.007) and (B) vertical density (p = 0.010).