Perspectives of land evaluation of floodplains under conditions of aridification based on the assessment of ecosystem services

Abstract

Global climate change has discernible impacts on the quality of the landscapes of Hungary. Only a dynamic and spatially differentiated land evaluation methodology can properly reflect these changes. The provision level, rate oftransformation and spatial distribution of ecosystem services (ESs) are fundamental properties of landscapes and have to be integral parts of an up-to-date land evaluation. For agricultural land capability assessment soil fertility is a major supporting ES, directly associated with climate change through greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration as regulationg services. Since for Hungary aridification is the most severe consequence of climate change, water-related ESs, such as water retention and storage on and below the surface as well as control of floods, water pollution and soil erosion, are of increasing importance. The productivity of agricultural crops is enhanced by more atmospheric CO2 but restricted by higher drought susceptibility. The value of floodplain landscapes, i.e. their agroecological, nature conservation, tourism (aesthetic) and other potentials, however, will be increasingly controlled by their water supply, which is characterized by hydrometeorological parameters. Case studies are presented for the estimation of the value of two water-related regulating ESs (water retention and groundwater recharge capacities) in the floodplains of the Kapos and Drava rivers, Southwest Hungary. It is predictable that in the future land evaluation techniques based on the FAO framework will be more dynamic and integrated with the monetary valuation of ESs. The latter task, however, still involves numerous methodological problems to solve.

Spatial-Temporal Water Balance Components Estimation Using Integrated GIS-Based Wetspass-M Model in Moulouya Basin, Morocco

“…Evaluation of water balance components is important for land and water management such as the estimation of water availability, quantification of the sustainable amount of groundwater depletion, or prevention of desertification and land degradation [12,13]. Several techniques are traditionally applied to quantify groundwater recharge, including experimental methods, hydrological budget (HB), empirical methods, statistical approaches such as the recession curve displacement method (Rorabaugh method), water table fluctuation (WTF) and numerical methods like water balance simulation [14][15][16][17].…”

How Many Real Islands Have Existed along a Mid-Danube Section during the Past 250 Years?

“…The existence of gravel bars and their dynamic surface changes are sensitive indicators of human influence in fluvial morphology [15]. The value of floodplain landscapes is increasingly determined by their water supply [16]. Connectivity enhancement has also become a conservation priority, both longitudinal and lateral [17].…”