Hydromorphological index for rivers as an indicator of land use impact on watercourses in southern Poland

Borek, Łukasz

doi:10.1016/j.ejrh.2023.101546

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Areas adjacent to lowland rivers are generally accessible and fertile, which translates into intensive agricultural activities and high urbanisation. Changes related to modification of riverbeds and banks are observed here, as well as interference with riparian zones affecting biodiversity (Feld et al 2014, Kałuża et al 2020, Knehtl et al 2021, Kupiec et al 2021, Borek 2023, Denic et al 2023, Garbowski et al 2023). In the case of lowland rivers, a dominance of laminar flow is observed and this in turn translates into habitats for macrophytes and macroinvertebrates (Guareschi et al 2014, Kujanová et al 2018, Vilenica et al 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

The impact of the geographical environment on the hydromorphological conditions of watercourses in southern Poland

Borek

2024

geol

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Hydromorphological assessment of watercourses provides much valuable information about the riverbed and its immediate surroundings, including the influence of geographical environmental factors along with anthropogenic pressures in the catchment area. This paper presents diversity of hydromorphological conditions of 77 sections located on 39 watercourses in southern Poland in three European ecoregions: Eastern Plains, Central Plains and the Carpathians. The study was based on the Hydromorphological Index for Rivers (HIR) method and two sub-indices: Hydromorphological Diversity Score (HDS) and Hydromorphological Modification Score (HMS). Basic and multi-dimensional statistical analyses were performed to identify the main gradients of the geographical environment and the variables that contribute most to the total variability of HIR. The highest mean HIR values were recorded in the Carpathians ecoregion, then in the Central Plains and the lowest in the Eastern Plains, 0.70, 0.67 and 0.58, respectively. Significant differences were found between the Carpathians and Eastern Plains ecoregions in HIR values obtained. Hydromorphological differentiation is most influenced by altitude and geological type. The cluster analysis enabled two main groups of watercourses to be distinguished – the first one was dominated by variables showing HMS > HDS relationship, while the second one was dominated by HDS > HMS relationship. Multi-dimensional analysis provided additional information on the relationships between the variables and the sections studied. The greatest positive impact on the formation of the final HIR value had the variation of the riverbed slope and natural morphological elements of the bed bottom, while the greatest negative impact on HIR had the transformations observed in spot-check.

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