Comment on “Progressive abandonment and planform changes of the central Platte River in Nebraska, central USA, over historical timeframes”

The recent work of Horn et al. (2012) presents a channel abandonment model for the central Platte River in Nebraska, central USA. A commentary was developed to discuss two aspects of the publication. The first part of the commentary focuses on the inference of direct relationships between mean annual discharge, channel width, and dominant fluvial features that occur in the channel. The second addresses the channel abandonment model. Alternative models are presented from the existing literature that appear to be more consistent with observed channel change over time. •Original publication presents model of central Platte River channel abandonment.•Inferred causal linkages between mean annual flow and alluvial features are examined.•Alternative existing channel abandonment models are presented for consideration.