woodjam

English

Etymology

wood +‎ jam

Noun

woodjam (plural woodjams)

1. (ecology) An accumulation of wood and debris from vegetation that slows the flow of a river or stream.
   • 1977, Harmon Henkin, The Complete Fisherman's Catalog, page 65:

     Straining against the last light, I finally got it tied on and tossed it out to the top of the woodjam.

   • 1993, Robert Doppelt, Mary Scurlock, Entering the Watershed, page 67:

     […] to treat potential chronic and catastrophic sedimentation problems caused by forest roads, restore riparian areas and re-establish large woodjams at ecologically appropriate sites.

   • 2012, Tim Beechie, Philip Roni, Stream and Watershed Restoration:

     Fishes (especially small ones) often use complex hiding cover such as roots,wood jams, or aquatic macrophytes to avoid predators.

   • 2020, Ellen Wohl, Rivers in the Landscape, page 286:

     In the anastomosing river model, stable alluvial deposits associated with woodjams can resist lateral channel erosion for hundreds of years, providing sites for tree germination.