Wood storage in a wide mountain river: case study of the Czarny Dunajec,Polish Carpathians

Storage of large woody debris in the wide, mountain, Czarny Dunajec River, southern Poland, was investigated following two floods of June and July 2001 with a seven‐year frequency. Within a reach, to which wood was delivered only by bank erosion and transport from upstream, wood quantities were estimated for eighty‐nine, 100 m long, channel segments grouped into nine sections of similar morphology. Results from regression analysis indicated the quantity of stored wood to be directly related to the length of eroded, wooded banks and river width, and inversely related to unit stream power at the flood peak. The largest quantities of wood (up to 33 t ha^?1) were stored in wide, multi‐thread river sections. Here, the relatively low transporting ability of the river facilitated deposition of transported wood while a considerable length of eroded channel and island banks resulted in a large number of trees delivered from the local riparian forest. In these sections, a few morphological and ecological situations led to the accumulation of especially large quantities of wood within a small river area. Very low amounts of wood were stored in narrow, single‐thread sections of regulated or bedrock channel. High stream power facilitated transport of wood through these sections while the high strength of the banks and low channel sinuosity prevented bank retreat and delivery of trees to the channel. Considerable differences in the character of deposited wood existed between wide, multi‐thread channel sections located at different distances below a narrow, 7 km long, channellized reach of the river. Wood deposited close to the downstream end of the channellized reach was highly disintegrated and structured into jams, whereas further downstream well preserved shrubs and trees prevailed. This apparently reflects differences in the distance of wood transport and shows that in a mountain river wider than the height of trees growing on its banks, wood can be transported long distances along relatively narrow, single‐thread reaches but is preferentially deposited in wide, multi‐thread reaches. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Taxonomic composition and seasonality of diatoms in three Dinaric karstic lakes in Croatia

The composition and temporal distribution of planktonic diatoms were studied in three small shallow karstic lakes – Modro Oko, Desne, and Kuti – throughout the seasons in 1994, 1995, 1997, and 1998. Physico-chemical parameters did not differ among the three lakes, except for NO₃ concentrations. Altogether, 137 diatom taxa within 41 genera were found in all three lakes combined. The highest number of taxa belonged to the genera Surirella (13), Navicula (12), andCymbella (9). Most taxa were tychoplanktonic, with true panktonic taxa contributing only 14% of the total. Despite their physical-chemical similarity, the lakes showed differences in the structure and dynamics of their diatom communities. Blooms occurred at different times in each of the lakes, and community similarity (Jaccard index) among all three was low (17.6–29.1%). The highest mean values of surface diatom abundance in Modro Oko (2199 cells L⁻¹), Desne (7900 cells L⁻¹), and Kuti (20690 cells L⁻¹) were not significantly different. Margalef's species richness index did not differ either among the lakes or seasonally. Only five diatom taxa in quantitative samples, and 22 taxa in net-samples, were common to all lakes. The most frequent diatoms were Cyclotella striata (56–93%), Fragilaria ulna (50–67%), and Asterionella formosa (27–83%). The most abundant taxa in Modro Oko, Desne, and Kuti were, respectively, Cymbella sp. 1 (402 cells L⁻¹), Cyclotella striata (3000 cells L⁻¹) and Asterionella formosa (20690 cells L⁻¹). Eighteen taxa were recorded for the first time in Croatia: Amphora commutata, Caloneis amphisbaena var. subsalina, C. silicula var. peisonis, Campylodiscus echeneis, Coscinodiscus lacustris, Denticula elegans, Gyrosigma acuminatum var. lacustre, G. distortum var. parkeri, G. fasciola, Navicula menisculus var. menisculus, N. pusilla, N. helensis, Stauroneis parvula var. prominula, Staurosira construens f. subsalina, Stephanodiscus sp. 1, Surirella gracilis, S. ovalis, and S. striatula. The genus Stephanodiscus was recorded for the first time in Croatia.     

Impacts of land use changes on groundwater resources in the Heihe River Basin

Land use and land cover changes have a great impact on the regional hydrological process. Based on three periods of remote sensing data from the 1960s and the long-term observed data of groundwater from the 1980s, the impacts of land use changes on the groundwater system in the middle reach of Heihe River Basin in recent three decades are analyzed by the perspective of groundwater recharge and discharge system. The results indicate that with the different intensities of land use changes, the impacts on the groundwater recharge were 2.602×108 m3/a in the former 15 years (1969-1985) and 0.218×108 m3/a in the latter 15 years (1986-2000), and the impacts on the groundwater discharge were 2.035×108 m3/a and 4.91×108 m3/a respectively. When the groundwater exploitation was in a reasonable range less than 3.0×108 m3/a, the land use changes could control the changes of regional groundwater resources. Influenced by the land use changes and the large-scale exploitation in the recent decade, the groundwater resources present apparently regional differences in Zhangye region. Realizing the impact of land use changes on groundwater system and the characteristics of spatial-temporal variations of regional groundwater resources would be very important for reasonably utilizing and managing water and soil resources.     

Stochastic Modelling of the Impact of Flood Protection Measures Along the River Waal in the Netherlands

River flooding is a problem of international interest. In the past few years many countries suffered from severe floods. A large part of the Netherlands is below sea level and river levels. The Dutch flood defences along the river Rhine are designed for water levels with a probability of exceedance of 1/1250 per year. These water levels are computed with a hydrodynamic model using a deterministic bed level and a deterministic design discharge. Traditionally, the safety against flooding in the Netherlands is obtained by building and reinforcing dikes. Recently, a new policy was proposed to cope with increasing design discharges in the Rhine and Meuse rivers. This policy is known as the Room for the River (RfR) policy, in which a reduction of flood levels is achieved by measures creating space for the river, such as dike replacement, side channels and floodplain lowering. As compared with dike reinforcement, these measures may have a stronger impact on flow and sediment transport fields, probably leading to stronger morphological effects. As a result of the latter the flood conveyance capacity may decrease over time. An a priori judgement of safety against flooding on the basis of an increased conveyance capacity of the river can be quite misleading. Therefore, the determination of design water levels using a fixed-bed hydrodynamic model may not be justified and the use of a mobile-bed approach may be more appropriate. This problem is addressed in this paper, using a case study of the river Waal (one of the Rhine branches in the Netherlands). The morphological response of the river Waal to a flood protection measure (floodplain lowering in combination with summer levee removal) is analysed. The effect of this measure is subject to various sources of uncertainty. Monte Carlo simulations are applied to calculate the impact of uncertainties in the river discharge on the bed levels. The impact of the “uncertain” morphological response on design flood level predictions is analysed for three phenomena, viz. the impact of the spatial morphological variation over years, the impact of the seasonal morphological variation and the impact of the morphological variability around bifurcation points. The impact of seasonal morphological variations turns out to be negligible, but the other two phenomena appear to have each an appreciable impact (order of magnitude 0.05–0.1 m) on the computed design water levels. We have to note however, that other sources of uncertainty (e.g. uncertainty in hydraulic roughness predictor), which may be of influence, are not taken into consideration. In fact, the present investigation is limited to the sensitivity of the design water levels to uncertainties in the predicted bed level.     

松花江上游地区汞污染的化学生态效应

采样分析了吉林省东部松花江上游金矿开采区及其附近水、土壤、动植物及河流沉积物样品中汞的含量，发现河流沉积物中汞的污染相当严重；受其影响当地的植物和两栖类动物——中国林蛙体内总汞和甲基汞含量也明显高于对照组。实验表明，林蛙内脏对汞的富集能力大于肌肉；秋季对汞的富集大于春季；河流沉积物中甲基汞的含量与林蛙体内甲基汞的含量有较好的正相关。汞污染的来源与区域内个体金矿的滥采滥排有直接关系，表明人类活动所产生的有毒重金属在地表过程中出现了化学生态效应。     

黄陵穹隆周缘岩溶水流系统特征及成因

岩溶水流系统特征研究有助于地下水资源的合理评价和开发利用。借鉴水文学的研究方法,统计并量化了典型岩溶水流系统的空间特征以及其水文动态响应、温度场和电导率特征。划分了扇状、树枝状、平行状、梳状4种地下水系来综合反映岩溶水流系统的地表-地下岩溶特征,前两者主管道垂直于地层走向,构造裂隙起汇水作用,后两者主管道平行于地层走向,层面裂隙起汇水作用。黄陵穹隆西北翼、西翼和南翼以平行状和树枝状为主,东翼和北翼则以扇状水系和平行状水系为主。不同地下水系结构的形成及区域差异与含水系统和水系的空间关系和级次性密切相关,并表现出不同的动态特征。扇状和平行状岩溶水流系统对降雨响应最为敏感,而梳状水系岩溶水流系统响应和衰减过程最慢;基于岩溶地下水温度与出露高程和循环深度显著相关的关系建立了鄂西山区地下水温度线。这一基础性研究可为岩溶地下水流系统研究和当地工程实践提供一定的理论支持。     

GIS支持下长江口南支河道百年来的演变

利用长江口南支河道1900—2001年的5幅海图资料,在GIS的支持下,建立了百年来长江口南支河道的水下数字高程模型(DEM),在此基础上对其演变特征进行了计算和分析。结果表明:(1)1900—2001年间南支河道表现为微冲,不同时段的冲淤状况不同。(2)南支河道的冲淤演变主要表现为5个水道和4个成形沙体的冲淤变化,各水道的最大水深和成形沙体的总面积和总体积都呈不断增大趋势。(3)南支河道各主要断面以复式河槽为主,主槽位于南岸,且最大水深不断增大。位于南支河道入口处和出口处断面的变化比中段断面的变化剧烈。(4)南支河道的演变是自然演变和人工控制共同作用的结果。     

黄河现行清水沟流路汊河运用方案探讨

对黄河河口现行清水沟流路范围内不同汊河的形成、演化及其特征进行了梳理总结,围绕汊河不同运用方案的影响效应进行了论证分析。研究表明:现行清水沟流路范围内的汊河运用方案不适用于多汊河轮流行河模式、同时行河与轮流行河联合模式和同时行河模式,而采用单一汊河轮流行河模式可以充分发挥海洋输沙动力,保证河口海域向外海的较大输沙量,对延长清水沟流路使用年限更有利,更为科学和经济合理。在现行清8汊河达到改道标准后,应优先使用老河道汊河,该方案不仅有利于未来海岸线的均衡发展,而且更有利于延长清水沟流路的使用年限。     

广饶县河流污染带地下水水质现状评价与污染分析

多年来由于接纳上游和境内工业、生活污废水,淄河、阳河、织女河三条河流大部分时间水质为劣V类,沿河两测形成2km左右的浅层地下水污染带。对污染带内地下水水质现状进行评价与分析、应用模糊综合评价法进行污染程度评价。得出的结论是河流两岸浅层地下水水质由以优良或良好为主变为以较差或极差为主,污染和微污染的地下水井占81．2％,石油类、亚硝酸盐氮、氨氮、挥发酚、硝酸盐氮、高锰酸盐指数等主要污染参数超标率均在30％以上。