Environmental change, hydromorphological reference conditions and the restoration of Polish Carpathian rivers

Auteur(s) et Affiliation(s)

WYŻGA, B.

Inst. of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Pologne

ZAWIEJSKA, J.

Inst. of Geography, Pedagogical Univ., Kraków, Pologne

RADECKI-PAWLIK, A.

Dep. of Hydraulic Engineering and Geotechnique, Agriculture Univ., Kraków, Pologne

HAJDUKIEWICZ, H.

Inst. of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Pologne

Description :
Environmental changes that took place in the catchments of Carpathian rivers during the twentieth century invalidate the historical state of the rivers as reference for their restoration. This is illustrated by a change from bar-braided to island-braided channel pattern that occurred in the past century in unmanaged sections of the Czarny Dunajec in response to a reduction in flow and sediment dynamics of the river. The AA. indicate that reference conditions should be defined as those which exist or would exist under present environmental conditions in the catchment but without human influence on the channel, riparian zone and floodplain of the river which is to be restored. This assumption was tested through the evaluation of hydromorphological river quality of the Czarny Dunajec according to the European Standard EN-14614. The evaluation confirmed a high-status hydromorphological quality in an unmanaged channel section, which can thus be used as a reference for restoration of impacted river sections.

Type de document :
Article de périodique

Source :
Earth surface processes and landforms, issn : 0197-9337, 2012, vol. 37, n°. 11, p. 1213-1226, nombre de pages : 14, Références bibliographiques : 2 p.

Date :
2012

Editeur :
Pays édition : Royaume-Uni, Chichester, Wiley

Langue :
Anglais