SUPERVISOR: Christoph HAUER

PROJECT ASSIGNED TO: Lisa SCHMALFUß

Since humans first began to settle and utilize natural resources, our actions have significantly impacted adjacent river systems, especially over the past two centuries. This has permanently changed both the appearance and the functioning of river systems (Wang and He, 2022; Lemm et al. 2020), putting freshwater ecosystems at risk. Channelization, in particular, has, next to the desired effects (like increases in navigability, accessible land, flood safety, etc.), also caused numerous problems: Increased transport capacity due to increases in water depth and velocity has, in many places, led to changes in planform channel morphology (Mandarino et al., 2021) and riverbed incision (Arnaud et al., 2019, Simon and Rinaldi, 2006), resulting in an overall homogenization of channel cross-sections and instream processes which causes severe losses in habitat diversity (Dutta et al., 2018). By examining the historical co-evolution of human society and the affected river systems, we can better understand the morphological and developmental changes that have occurred without neglecting societal demands.

It is, in this aspect, crucial to view river systems holistically, considering them as socio-ecohydrological systems (Hein et al., 2021). This perspective allows us to fully grasp the complex interactions between human activities and river ecosystems. This research therefore aims to achieve four main objectives:

  1. A systematic analysis of the ecohydrological and morphological consequences of industrialization on various river types.
  2. Assessing the consequences of altered instream processes on functional habitats of selected aquatic organisms.
  3. Reassessing river system vulnerability with respect to the co-evolution of rivers and society.
  4. Anticipating the potential of climate change adaptation strategies to mitigate the vulnerability of industrialized riverine landscapes.

A hydromorphological characterization of selected multi-stressor industrialized rivers and the associated processes within their catchments (first and foremost changes in land use and land cover) at different points in time will serve as basis for the further analyses, like the evaluation of sediment dynamics and their development.

Understanding the impacts of previous industrialization processes is essential for establishing adaptive strategies to combat the degradation of riverine ecosystems. The proposed research will contribute to this understanding by identifying additional information that must be integrated in sustainable river management to avoid further negative developments. It will, thus, help pave the way for more sustainable management of our vital river systems.

The proposed research is related to the vulnerability and connectivity clusters of HR21.

References

Arnaud, F., Schmitt, L., Johnstone, K., Rollet, A. J., & Piégay, H. (2019). Engineering impacts on the Upper Rhine channel and floodplain over two centuries. Geomorphology 330, 13-27. doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2019.01.004

Dutta, V., Sharma, U., Iqbal, K., et al. (2018). Impact of river channelization and riverfront development on fluvial habitat: evidence from Gomti River, a tributary of Ganges, India. Environmental Sustainability 1, 167–184. doi.org/10.1007/s42398-018-0016-0

Hein, T., Hauer, C., Schmid, M., Stöglehner, G., Stumpp, C., Ertl, T., Graf, W., Habersack, H., Haidvogl, G., Hood-Novotny, R. Laaha, G., Langergraber, G. et al. (2021). The coupled socio-ecohydrological evolution of river systems: Towards an integrative perspective of river systems in the 21st century. Science of The Total Environment 801, 149619. doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149619

Lemm J.U., Venohr M., Globevnik L., et al. (2021). Multiple stressors determine river ecological status at the European scale: Towards an integrated understanding of river status deterioration. Global Change Biology 27, 1962-1975. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15504

Mandarino, A., Pepe, G., Cevasco, A., & Brandolini, P. (2021). Quantitative assessment of riverbed planform adjustments, channelization, and associated land use/land cover changes: The Ingauna alluvial-coastal plain case (Liguria, Italy). Remote Sensing 13(18), 3775. doi.org/10.3390/rs13183775

Simon, A., & Rinaldi, M. (2006). Disturbance, stream incision, and channel evolution: The roles of excess transport capacity and boundary materials in controlling channel response. Geomorphology 79(3-4), 361-383. doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2006.06.037

Wang, H. & He, G. (2022). Rivers: Linking nature, life, and civilization. River 1(1), 25-36. doi.org/10.1002/rvr2.7