Wildfires are an important factor of landscape dynamics in fireprone environments of the world. In the Mediterranean, one of the most firesusceptible environments globally, between 45,000 and 50,000 wildfires are recorded every year, causing disturbances in forest and grassland ecosystems. As a Mediterranean country, Croatia faces these problems, averaging over 1000 registered wildfires annually, with the coastal areas dominated by forest fires and continental Croatia by fires on agricultural lands. This research combines various landscape and socioeconomic factors in the analysis of fire occurrence in Croatia's southernmost region of Dalmatia. Around 275 of the largest fires (encompassing 98% of the total burnt area) registered in 2013 were investigated using OLS, and different spatial indices were employed to analyse regional variability of fire distribution. The results revealed that areas more prone to fires are the northern inland areas of Dalmatia and its entire coastal zone. Altitude and vegetation type demonstrated a correlation with fire occurrence, but an increase in population in the study area was also correlated with wildfire occurrence.Regarding vegetation, the grasslands and Mediterranean shrubland (maquis) were found to be the most fire-prone vegetation types in the study region, the distribution of which can be linked to different socio-economic and demographic processes occurring in the Eastern Adriatic.
This study presents methodologically consistent length measurements of rivers with a total length of 40 kilometres or more in the Republic of Croatia. These measurements were performed by vectorising river channels from a topographic map at a scale of 1:25,000. Contemporary orthophoto maps were used as additional cartographic sources for verification. The approaches used to determine the starting and ending points of rivers, i.e. sources and mouths or confluences, have been explained and their spatial coordinates were listed. The results showed that in terms of total river length, the 21 rivers in this study differed from the available official data by less than 5%. Considerable differences were found for rivers where significant river engineering works had been carried out to channelize and divert flow, as well as for rivers in the Adriatic Basin where there have been methodological differences in determining the river mouth, and for large lowland rivers where changes in channel planform are common due to natural dynamics and engineering interventions. Moreover, this research revealed that the longest Croatian river, with its source, confluence, and both river banks situated entirely within the territory of Croatia, is the Karašica River, with a total length of 148 km.
Water Framework Directive (WFD) guidance documents from 2019 provide a comprehensive review of methods and guidelines to improve the comparability of heavily modified water bodies (HMWBs) in the European Union. However, there is currently no common, single methodology for monitoring HMWBs and artificial water bodies (AWBs) or for determining maximum (MEP) and good ecological potential (GEP). This study presents the first assessment of hydromorphological conditions of HMWBs and AWBs in Croatia based on type-specific indicators. The typology of HMWBs and AWBs was based on distinct hydromorphological characteristics and modifications in order to be easily related to the uses of the water bodies. The classes of hydromorphological potential were graded from the theoretical MEP, which was determined by the score scale as the tolerated deviation from natural reference conditions, considering potential mitigation measures. The use of the water body and/or the effects on the wider environment were considered while determining MEP and choosing indicators included in monitoring and assessment. In the case of AWBs, the parameters dependent on natural reference conditions, which are non-existent, were omitted from the assessment. Only 27% of HMWBs and 2 out of 51 AWBs achieved good potential for all three hydromorphological elements. The most significant hydromorphological modifications include channelization, straightening, deepening and removal of riparian vegetation due to flood-protection management practices. In order to achieve the environmental objectives set out by the WFD, the Croatian water management system has to start implementing mitigation measures, especially related to natural flood management.
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