The Impact of Microtopography and Drainage on Land Use and Settlement Development in the Hungarian Drava Plain

Abstract

The physical environment and society are closely interrelated and the role of physical conditions can be detected in the economic development and spreading of settlements in the Hungarian section of the Drava Plain. Throughout the history of the region, land use has always been fundamentally controlled by the topographic and hydrographic situation. Even relief of a metre or two has been decisive in delimiting areas suitable for fishing, gathering, forests or crop cultivation. Although the flow regulation of the Fekete-víz and the drainage of swamp-lands at the end of the 19 th century reduced flood hazards and made new land available for cultivation, at the same time, they made the traditional life-style of gathering, fishing and hunting unfeasible for the poorer layers of society. Settlements formed on the higher-lying flood-free mounds ("ormány"-s). The paper employs GIS techniques in the study of spatial expansion of the largest of the settlements, the town of Sellye. It is concluded that the areas below 100 m elevation could only be developed following drainage measures.Key words: relief, land use, land drainage, human settlement, settlement development, South-western Hungary Utjecaj mikrotopografije i dreniranja na uporabu zemljišta i razvoj naselja u mađarskom dijelu dravske ravnicePrirodni okoliš i društvo tijesno su povezani, a uloga prirodnih obilježja izravno se odražava na ekonomski razvoj i širenje naselja u mađarskom dijelu dravske ravnice. Topografska i hidrografska obilježja oduvijek utječu na način uporabe zemljišta istraživanog područja. Denivelacija od metra ili dva imala je odlučujuću ulogu u razgraničavanju površina pogodnih za ribarenje od onih pogodnijih za sakupljanje plodova, šumarstvo ili uzgoj usjeva. Iako se regulacijom toka rijeke Fekete-viz i drenažom močvarnog zemljišta krajem 19. stoljeća smanjila opasnost od poplava i dobilo novo obradivo zemljište, siromašnije stanovništvo nije moglo nastaviti tradicionalni način života, tj. sakupljanje plodova, ribarenje i lov. Naselja su se razvila na ocjeditim uzvišenjima, gdje nema opasnosti od poplava (ormány). U ovom se radu analizira prostorno širenje najvećeg naselja, grada Sellye, uz pomoć geografskoga informacijskog sustava (GIS). Zaključeno je da se površine ispod sto metara nadmorske visine mogu razvijati samo nakon što ih se drenira.

Evolution of river planforms downstream of dams: Effect of dam construction or earlier human‐induced changes?

“…Most hydro‐technical works were conducted between 1842 and 1846. A map dating from the beginning of the 19th century (see Gyenizse and Lóczy, ) shows that the Drava valley was a wetland area at that time, cut by small tributaries with numerous mills on their courses. However, the wetlands disappeared at the end of the 19th century after the construction of a network of drainage ditches.…”

“…() show that the lower Drava meandered (Figures and (a)), with sinuosity of the river bed equal to 2.00. At the time of the drawing of these maps the river valley had already been transformed by humans via the construction of flood defence dikes in 1740–1750 (Gyenizse and Lóczy, ). Between 1787 and 1806 the river bed was artificially straightened to improve navigation conditions, as shown on the maps from the Second Military Survey (1806–1869).…”

“…The valley is built of silts, silty sands and aeolian sands (cf. Gyenizse and Lóczy, ); terrace levels are preserved in the modern land surface in some places. The floodplain is surrounded by flood protection dikes.…”

The evolution of meandering rivers in sedimentary basins: Insights from the lower Drava (Hungary/Croatia)

“…Constructions of flood dense dikes took place in the years 1740-1750 (Gyenizse & L oczy, 2010). Next, the Drava river bed was straightened by hydro-technical works and a network of drainage ditches was constructed to dry the riverine wetlands in the 19th century (cf.…”

“…The formation of the meander belts in the lower Drava was terminated by channel straightening followed by the constructions of irrigation canals and dams (cf. Gyenizse & L oczy, 2010;Słowik et al, 2018).…”