Flood Detention, Nature Development and Water Quality along the Lowland River Sava, Croatia

Abstract

The construction or designation of detention areas along lowland rivers is considered along many European rivers. Since Croatia accommodates large detention areas, both natural (e.g., Mokro Polje) and controlled (Lonjsko Polje), it serves as an excellent example for planned detention areas elsewhere in Europe. This modelling study focuses on the controlled detention area of Lonjsko Polje. The flooding characteristics of the area are assessed in combination with the vegetation development and the transport and storage of sediment and phosphorus. Results of the modelling show that it is not so much the intake capacity that determines the flood duration time of a detention area, but the drainage capacity. A too long inundation duration following a flood event is shown to lead to major shifts in the vegetation composition. The results further indicate that about 30% of the sediment and adsorbed phosphorus that enters the detention area during an extreme (1:100 years) flood is retained within the area; this is about 10% of the total sediment and adsorbed phosphorus load of the Sava. Results of this study can be used to properly design and manage detention areas along lowland rivers.

Observer‐bias and sampling uncertainties in riverine wood flux and volume estimation from video monitoring technique

“…Prunus ‐ Crataegus shrubs (11% of the studied area) occupied intermediate stages between grassland and hardwood forest (6% of the studied area) (Garófano‐Gómez et al, 2017). The reach is a very diverse landscape mosaic with complex vegetation patches of different sizes and ages (Baptist et al, 2006; Breedveld et al, 2006).…”

Combining a conceptual framework and a spatial analysis tool, HABITAT, to support the implementation of river basin management plans

“…Its applicability is not restricted to ecological purposes, it can be used for any spatial analyses where grid operations are needed such as flood risk maps or damages to agriculture or urban areas in case of floods and droughts. The tool has been built around PCRaster, a software package for map-calculations [23], and is developed by WL | Delft Hydraulics and Ministry of Transport, Public works and Water management, The Netherlands. The main characteristic of HABITAT is that it provides a platform for grid operations without highly advanced programming skills from the user via the user interface (Figure 2), which makes it usable for a broad audience.…”

Living rivers: trends and challenges in science and management

“…Ecotope diversity remained stable at a minimum river stretch of about 1.5 meander lengths for several years (a type of dynamic equilibrium or meta-stability state). The framework and approach of linking hydrological and ecological models allowed predictions and comparisons of the consequences of alternative naturalization scenarios of moist-soil plant species for the Illinois floodplain-river system (Ahn et al, 2006) and of vegetation composition for the Sava River (Baptist et al, 2006).…”