Rivers, regulation and restoration: land use history of floodplains in a peri-urban landscape in Luxembourg, 1777 - 2000

Abstract

This paper discusses the historical changes to and the uses of floodplain landscapes in Luxembourg from 1770-2000 as a case study of a region with a rural past and a peri-urban present. Based on the historical landscape analysis approach, the study comprises historical evidence of written, cartographic and oral sources collected at a regional (Gutland) and a local (Syr Valley) level. The floodplains investigated were old cultural landscapes, shaped by agriculture, livestock husbandry, river regulation measures, land improvement, milling, navigation, mining and fisheries. Landscape change has been characterised by different periods of intensity, however it was not until the last century that these changes had a large-scale impact, inducing a complete loss of several ecological and socio-economic functions. A historical perspective of local landscape conditions and land use change is needed to maintain landscape identity in a contemporary peri-urban environment, and to base planning and restoration activities on reliable data.

Predicting probabilities of streamflow intermittency across a temperate mesoscale catchment

“…measures and increased runoff velocity through e.g. straightened stream channels ultimately changing the periods with streamflow presence in ephemeral and intermittent streams (Schaich et al, 2011). Shifts in hydrological regime from intermittent to perennial can appear on the plateaus of the Ardennes, where some wastewater treatment plants are located (Le Gouvernment du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg, 2018).…”

“…The maps in Figure 6 reveal key areas with agricultural land use that contain substantially more modelled intermittent streams than the topographic map. The modelled streams may not be completely wrong when assuming a natural environment but streamflow in these areas was heavily altered by artificial surface and subsurface drainage (Schaich et al, 2011). Sites which are located in catchments with merely agricultural land use are underrepresented in our dataset.…”

Monitoring ephemeral, intermittent and perennial streamflow: a dataset from 182 sites in the Attert catchment, Luxembourg

“…Surface flow in the area is impacted by different anthropogenic influences. Tile drains, installation of dams and ditches, and other river regulation measures in the agricultural areas in the central marl-dominated regions of the catchment lower the groundwater table and increase runoff velocity (Schaich et al, 2011). Thus, anthropogenic impacts can alter the behaviour of ephemeral and intermittent streams, resulting in shorter periods of streamflow.…”

“…Various measurement methods of streamflow at the point scale were established for continuous, automated recording of stage height at weirs or flumes at perennial streams (e.g. Sauer and Turnipseed, 2010). While pressure transducers have been used in studies of temporary stream monitoring (Gupta, 2001;Svec et al, 2005), this monitoring method has some drawbacks: the determination of accurate rating curves and thus correct measurements of zero flow in temporal streams can be challenging due to the unpredictability of the active flow channels within the streambed and often significant erosion or deposition (Shanafield and Cook, 2014).…”

Monitoring ephemeral, intermittent and perennial streamflow: A data set from 182 sites in the Attert catchment, Luxembourg

“…Surface flow in the area is impacted by different anthropogenic influences. Tile drains, installation of dams and ditches as well as other river regulation measures in the agricultural areas in the central marl dominated regions of the catchment lower the groundwater table and increase runoff velocity (Schaich et al 2011). Thus, anthropogenic impacts can alter the behaviour of ephemeral and intermittent streams, resulting in shorter periods of streamflow.…”