The present paper reviews selected outcomes of the FLORIST project devoted to flood risk in the region of the northern foothills of the Tatra Mountains in Poland and summarizes novel results. The project encompassed theoretical, field, and modeling work. It was focused around observation-based hydroclimatology; projections for the future; dendrogeomorphology; as well as influence of transport of large wood on fluvial processes. The project improved understanding and interpreting changes in high-flow frequency and magnitude as well as changes in flood risk in the region, related to the presence of large wood in mountain streams. A unique database on past episodes of intense precipitation and flooding was created, harnessing multiple sources. The project showed that the analysis of tree rings and wood logs can offer useful information, complementing and considerably enriching the knowledge of river floods in the region of northern foothills of the Tatra Mountains. Retrospective and scenario-defined modeling of selected past fluvial events in the region was also performed.
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Planning and implementation of effective restoration projects require appropriate assessment of a river’s hydromorphological status. Two European standards on hydromorphological assessment of rivers and hydromorphological assessment methods used in Poland are reviewed in the context of their applicability for river restoration purposes. River Hydromorphological Quality assessment method is presented with a case study of the Biała River, Polish Carpathians, where this assessment was used as basis for a restoration project aimed to establish an erodible river corridor. The results of the assessment revealed significant differences in hydromorphological quality between unmanaged and channelized river cross-sections, indicating channel regulation as a major cause of the hydromorphological degradation of the Biała and confirming the choice of the erodible river corridor as an appropriate method of its restoration. The assessment indicated hydromorphological features of the river that were severely modified within the channelized reaches and which are likely to improve the most with the removal of bank protection and allowing free channel migration.
Przedstawiono skutki wielkoskalowej eksploatacji żwiru prowadzonej w latach powojennych w kilku rzekach i wskazano na zagrożenia związane ze współczesną eksploatacją. Usystematyzowano środowiskowe i gospodarcze konsekwencje eksploatacji osadów z koryt rzecznych i wskazano sytuacje, w których mogą one być szczególnie dotkliwe i trudne do odwrócenia. Podkreślono konieczność przeprowadzania oceny oddziaływania planowanej eksploatacji osadów z koryt rzecznych na środowisko i wskazano istotne elementy takiej oceny.
EN
The article presents the effect of exploitation of gravel carried out on a large scale after the war in several rivers and indicates the threats related to the contemporary exploitation. It systemi-ses environmental and economic consequences of exploitation of sediments from river-beds and gives examples of situations where they can be particularly acute and difficult to reverse. It udnerlines the necessity to carry out the environmental impact evaluation of the planned exploitation of sediments and indicates the key elements of such assessment.