Healing and therapeutic landscape design proposals are particularly suitable for medical facilities and, in general, facilities for people with health disorders, where they become a major support in difficult situations and can serve as a supplement to treatment. They do not replace medical help and different therapies, and neither do they exclude their need. However, their effects can improve and accelerate the recovery process in patients. In Slovakia, medical facilities do not often meet modern medical care requirements in terms of their technologies and equipment. For this reason, it is necessary to mainly transform hospital facilities and their exteriors in order to create the required natural foundation for patients in the form of healing and therapeutic landscape design. Using the example of the Philippe Pinel Psychiatric Hospital in Pezinok (Slovakia, Central Europe), we present a proposal for a green vegetation-scaping using the existing space, adding elements that highlight and support the therapeutic effect of the proposed space. The aim of the proposal is to create an environment that will bring positive changes for patients while serving as a relaxation space for employees.
A natural channel differs from a prismatic one by its rich variability. Regulated rivers have a geometrically regular shape that is not suitable for the instream biota. The morphology of a regulated river is the main cause of habitat changes. The article provides the results of research that was focused on assessing the impact of a channel's morphology on the instream habitat preferences by ichthyofauna. In the article the ichthyofauna is represented by brown trout (Salmo trutta m. fario). During the years 2015 and 2016, research was carried out for 13 reaches of mountain watercourses in Slovakia. These reaches were geodetically measured, and a hydraulic model was created. The ichthyological survey was focused on the fish's habitat preferences. A set of data was created from the results that was statistically evaluated by cluster analysis, and the correlation relations for the abiotic and biotic characteristics of the watercourses were evaluated. The individual evaluations provide mutually compatible results. It can be concluded from the results that bioindications by fish provide reliable results in relationship to the changes in habitats in regulated rivers. There was an unambiguous statistical correlation in the preferences of brown trout in the regulated and natural rivers.
Abstract:In this study, the quality of the aquatic habitats of mountain and piedmont streams was evaluated using the 'Instream Flow Incremental Methodology (IFIM)' decision-making tool. The quality of habitats was interpreted from the behaviour of bioindicators in the form of habitat suitability curves (HSCs). From 1995 until the present, 59 different reaches of 43 mountain streams in Slovakia and 3 validation reaches were evaluated, and the results analysed. The aim of this study was to generalize the parameters of the HSCs for the brown trout. The generalized curves will be useful for water management planning. It is difficult and time-consuming to take hydrometrical and ichthyological measurements at different water levels. Therefore, we developed a methodology for modifying suitability curves based on an ichthyological survey during a low flow and a flow at which fish lose the ability to resist the flow velocity. The study provides the information how such curves can be modified for a wider flow range. In summary, this study shows that generalized HSCs provide representative data that can be used to support both the design of river restoration and the assessment of the impacts of the water use or of climate change on stream habitat quality.
The article aims at assessing the impact of hydraulic characteristics on the habitat quality of mountain and piedmont watercourses. The solution results from the Riverine Habitat Simulation model, where the quality of the aquatic habitat is represented by the weighted usable area (WUA), which is determined using brown trout as the bioindicator. Flow velocity and water depth are basic abiotic characteristics that determine the ratio of suitability of the instream habitat represented by the weighted usable area. The influence of these parameters on the objective evaluation of the habitat quality is the essence of the paper. The measurements were carried out during the summer period at minimum discharges for 17 mountain and piedmont streams in Slovakia. Three methods for assessing the habitat quality were tested, and differences in the results were found to be significant. The evaluation shows the optimum design methods for calculating the weighted usable area.
Globally, invasive species represent a serious threat to biodiversity and to the ecosystem. As an undesirable part of riparian ecosystems, invasive plants form continuous growths on the banks of watercourses. One of the biggest problems at river bank sites is Japanese knotweed, Fallopia japonica (Houtt.) Ronse Decr, which is an extremely invasive and aggressive weed. The topic of the interaction of flow and invasive plant species in shore stands is rich and presents a wide range of possibilities for research. The presented paper brings the results of our studies on the invasions of F. japonica in chosen riparian vegetation sites in Austria and Slovakia from 2011–2020 (36 stands). Our research was aimed at the survey on the changes in the distribution (spread) of F. japonica at the selected river sites; assessment of the impact of the watercourse regime on the spread of F. japonica; monitoring of the population growth dynamics of F. japonica and assessment of possibilities for effective eradication of F. japonica in context of the riparian vegetation management. We used standard techniques of field survey, mapping, flow modeling/simulation, and laboratory experiments. Our research results showed that water streams are not primary invasion starters until there is a flood. As long as flooding does not exceed the critical speed of the water stream, there is no direct damage to the invasive plant. The water body can be a secondary trigger for plant invasion at normal speeds. In addition, F. japonica reproduction ability directly conditions its population dynamic growth. We can report that selective invasion removal adapted to local conditions can be most suitable and beneficial for municipalities.
This study evaluated the relationship between abiotic flow characteristics and habitat quality. Habitat quality was assessed using the Instream Flow Incremental Methodology (IFIM), which uses bioindication. Brown trout was selected as a bioindicator because of its sensitivity to morphological changes and its occurrence in sufficient reference reaches. The correlation between the morphological characteristics of the stream and the area-weighted suitability (AWS), which represents habitat quality, was evaluated. Fifty-nine reference reaches of fifty-two mountain and piedmont streams in Slovakia were analysed. The correlation analysis demonstrated the strongest relationship between the AWS and the stream depth and width. The relationship between the water surface area and the AWS indicated that, for mountain streams, there is a significantly increasing trend of the AWS value with increasing surface area. Considering piedmont streams, the AWS variation with a change in the water-surface area was minimal. These results can form the basis for deriving regression equations to determine habitat quality. Such a procedure can significantly simplify the evaluation of the quality of aquatic habitat, making it much more accessible for design practice.
Many municipalities in Central Europe deal with the problem of invasive species in their natural
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.