Effect of the Gabčíkovo Waterworks (Slovakia) on riparian floodplain forest ecosystems in the Danube inland delta: vegetation dynamics and trends
-
Mária Petrášová-Šibíková
, Igor Matečný
Abstract
Human alteration of watercourses is global phenomenon that has had significant impacts on local ecosystems and the services they provide. Monitoring of abiotic and biotic changes is essential to mitigating long-lasting effects, and the 23-year dataset from the Gabčíkovo Waterworks provided a rare opportunity to assess the impact of groundwater regimes on vegetation. The main aim of this study was to describe the effect of the Gabčíkovo Waterworks on vegetation structure and species composition of the adjacent riparian floodplain forests over the past 23 years. The results are based on studies of three permanent monitoring plots (PMPs) located in the Danube inland delta – two outside (PMP 1 and 3) and one (PMP 2) fully under the influence of the artificial supply system. Our results demonstrate that the Danube inland delta was negatively affected by the Gabčíkovo construction, particularly for sites outside of the artificial supply system. There was a significant decrease in soil moisture and increase in nitrogen at both external PMPs (1 and 3). Alter soil conditions were accompanied by negative changes in plant species composition demonstrated by decreases in the number of typical floodplain forest species that are characteristic for the alliance Salicion albae and either number or cover of neophytes. These changes resulted in slow degradation of the riparian floodplain forests. Vegetation in the artificially-fed PMP 2 was the most stable in terms of the evaluated parameters, however even this site did still experience negative trends in some site characteristics, including soil moisture fluctuations and the number and cover of neophytes. The artificial supply system is not sufficiently replacing previous natural floods, but in some aspects it helped to decrease the negative effect of the Gabčíkovo Waterworks on softwood floodplain forests in the studied area.
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the Grant Agency of Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic and Slovak Academy of Sciences VEGA (grant no. 2/0008/13 and grant no. 2/0051/15).
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© 2017 Institute of Botany, Slovak Academy of Sciences
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Articles in the same Issue
- Botany
- Comparative morphoanatomical analysis of the leaves and stems of Daphne (Thymelaeaceae) species
- Botany
- Effect of the Gabčíkovo Waterworks (Slovakia) on riparian floodplain forest ecosystems in the Danube inland delta: vegetation dynamics and trends
- Botany
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- Identification and expression analyses of two lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) dehydrin genes in response to adverse temperatures, ABA and IAA treatments
- Botany
- Characterization and expression analysis of a chalcone isomerase-like gene in relation to petal color of Actinidia chrysantha
- Cellular and Molecular Biology
- Citrus flavonoids collectively dominate the α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitions
- Zoology
- Distribution, diversity and some ecological characteristics of ostracods (Crustacea: Ostracoda) in Gökçeada (Imbros) Island (Northern Aegean Sea, Turkey)
- Zoology
- Native crab and crayfish co-occurrence: First evidence in Europe
- Zoology
- DNA barcoding and first records of two rare Adicella species (Trichoptera: Leptoceridae) in Croatia
- Zoology
- Occurrence of Tomicobia seitneri (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) and Ropalophorus clavicornis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in Ips typographus adults (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) from Austria, Poland and France
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