To date, the role of riparian trees in the formation of scroll bars, ridges, and swales during the
evolution of meandering channels has been inferred largely from field observations with support from air
photographs. In situ field observations are usually limited to relatively short periods of time, whereas the
evolution of these morphological features may take decades. By combining field observations of inner bank
morphology and overlying riparian woodland structure with a detailed historical analysis of airborne LiDAR
data, panchromatic, and color images, we reconstruct the spatial and temporal evolution of the morphology
and vegetation across four meander bends of the Tagliamento River, Italy. Specifically we reveal (i) the
appearance of deposited trees and elongated vegetated patches on the inner bank of meander bends following
flood events; (ii) temporal progression from deposited trees, through small to larger elongated vegetated
patches (pioneer islands), to their coalescence into long, linear vegetated features that eventually
become absorbed into the continuous vegetation cover of the riparian forest; and (iii) a spatial correspondence
between the resulting scrolls and ridge and swale topography, and tree cover development and persistence.
We provide a conceptual model of the mechanisms by which vegetation can contribute to the
formation of sequence of ridges and swales on the convex bank of meander bends. We discuss how these
insights into the biomorphological processes that control meander bends advance can inform modeling
activities that aim to describe the lateral and vertical accretion of the floodplain during the evolution of vegetated
river meanders