the geology and geomorphology of floodplains

Institute of Hydrobiology University of Natural Resources

& Aquatic Ecosystem Management 1 & Applied Life Sciences Vienna

Historical change of European floodplains:

the Danube River in Austria

Severin Hohensinner 1 & Anton Drescher

2

1 Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management, University of Natural

Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna, Max Emanuel-Str. 17, A-1180 Vienna, Austria,

e-mail: [email protected], Phone: 0043-1-47654-5209

2 Karl-Franzens University Graz, Austria

For centuries, rivers in Europe have been intensively used for transportation, water supply,

irrigation, fisheries, mill operations, hydropower production and numerous other human

demands. In order to safeguard the different forms of human uses, early attempts were made

to regulate the flow of running waters, to control morphological channel dynamics as well as

to improve flood prevention (Busnita 1961; Decamps et al. 1988; Gregory et al. 1992;

Dynesius & Nilsson 1994; Arthington & Welcomme 1995; Bravard & Petts 1996). In

Western and Central Europe, first attempts to locally implement river engineering measures

go back to the Early or High Middle Ages. These mostly encompassed the construction of

weirs at smaller rivers and embankments in order to prevent bank erosion or flooding of

nearby settlements (Petts 1989; Duel et al. 2001; Wolfert 2001).

Large-scale land use changes, i.e. forest clearance, which in some regions were already

initiated in the Iron Age (2800 – 2100 BP) or during Roman times, led to the gradual removal

or transformation of the natural vegetation cover in most parts of the drainage basins and also

contributed to the man-made modifications of the alluvial river landscapes (Küster 1996;

Brown 1999; Williams 2000). All these human activities not only affected the river channels

and their fringing floodplains at the local scale, but also strongly altered the hydrological and

geomorphological characteristics of the whole alluvial corridors, even in remote downstream

sections of the river systems (Starkel 1995; Macklin & Lewin 1997; Knighton 1998).

Analyses of palaeochannel patterns and sediment deposits in valley floors and lakes indicate

that deforestation associated with human land reclamation – along with changing climatic

conditions – increased the frequencies and magnitudes of floods, intensified soil erosion on

hillslopes and augmented sediment loads of rivers (Wex 1873, 1879; Knox 1987; Hollis 1979;

Higgs 1987; Klimek 1987; Starkel 1987; Kern 1994). As a consequence, the severe changes

of the physical environment amplified the aggradation of sediments in the alluvial river

corridors. This, in turn, apparently favoured the development of braiding river types and

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caused added vertical accretion of the floodplains. Such “post-settlement alluviums” have

been widely recorded in European and North American floodplains (Strautz 1959, 1962;

Wolman 1967; Trimble 1974; Szumanski 1983; Brown 1987, 2002; Starkel 1991; Schellmann

1994; Lajczak 1995; Walling 1995; Lewin 1996).

Although more complex river engineering measures were already accomplished along certain

longer sections of slow-flowing lowland rivers from the 11th

century onwards (especially in

Italy and the Netherlands), it was not until the 19th

century that hydraulic engineers were able

to successfully cope with larger and highly dynamic gravel-bed rivers (Petts 1989;

Middelkoop 1997; Wolters et al. 2001; Hesselink 2002). Furthermore, the realisation of an

ambitious river channelisation program was an extraordinarily money- and time-consuming

endeavour (as it remains today) and could therefore only be achieved during periods of

political and economic stability. For those reasons, the first systematic large-scale

channelisation schemes at the Upper Danube River and the Upper Rhine River were initiated

after the Napoleonic Wars (1805 – 1815), when the national territories were reorganised in

Western and Central Europe (Pasetti 1862). At the Upper Rhine River downstream from

Basel, the river straightening program initiated by Tulla in 1817 led to the shortening of the

river course by 23 % (80 km). It also led to substantial channel incision accompanied by a

drawdown of the groundwater table by an average of 6 – 8 m in the 19th

century and an

additional 2 – 3 m in the 20th

century (Gallusser & Schenker 1992). Consequently, almost 90

% of the original floodplains of the Upper Rhine have vanished (Armbruster et al. 2006).

The floodplains of the Danube river system are in a similar critical state: due to

channelisation, flood protection measures and construction of chains of hydropower plants,

large parts of the floodplains were hydrologically and/or morphologically decoupled from the

main channel. Therefore, they no longer fulfill their original ecological functions within the

Danube hydrosystem. From approx. 42 000 km² of former floodplains in the early 19th

century, only 19 % (ca. 8 000 km²) have remained in the entire Danube basin until today

(UNDEP/GEF 1999). For example, the largest tributary of the Danube River, the lowland

Tisza River that drains the Carpathian mountains, lost more than 400 km of its length due to a

river straightening and flood protection program carried out between 1846 and 1879 in

Hungary (Botári & Károlyi 1971). The construction of lateral flood levees at that time

reduced the floodplain by approx. 95 % of its original area (Horváth et al. 2001).

In the large floodplains of the middle and lower course of the Danube River (in present

Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania), first larger dike systems for flood protection were

already set up in the 16th

century (ICPDR 2005). By the late 18th

century, considerable efforts



had been made to install flood protection levees in Vienna in order to protect the settlements

in the large Marchfeld floodplain. Here, several villages were already abandoned in the 15th

and 16th

centuries because of repeated devastations by catastrophic floods (Trimmel 1970).

Until 1850 these efforts were all in vain (as dramatically shown by the ice jam flood in 1830).

It was not until the early 19th

century that the era of systematic river straightening began along

the Austrian-Hungarian Danube River. This began hesitatingly from 1823 onwards, when a

new navigable main channel cut-off was excavated at the Lower/Upper Austrian border, and

significantly increased after 1850. By 1861, already 55 % of the river banks in the alluvial

river sections between the Austrian/German border and the confluence of the Rába River at

the city of Györ in Hungary had been embanked, whereas the downstream Danube section

was less channelised. The main purpose for river straightening in the highly dynamic alluvial

river sections in Austria was to improve navigation as well as prevent channel migration and

bank erosion. Thus, the channelisation measures were designed mainly for mean flow and

small floods, while the focus in the lowland Danube section between Györ and the Iron Gate

was more on land reclamation and flood protection (Pasetti 1862; Weber-Ebenhof 1896). By

1890, mid-flow channelisation was largely accomplished at the Austrian Danube section and

shortly after also at the downstream Slovak and Hungarian sections.

More than a century thereafter, what do we know today about the original

hydromorphological and ecological characteristics of floodplains at larger rivers prior to

channelisation and hydropower plant construction ?

For the Danube River, attempts have recently been made to reconstruct the general

conditions, complex structures and processes that govern the natural floodplain ecosystems as

well as to analyse the impacts of human interventions based on historical records (e.g. Pisút

1995, 2002; Eberstaller-Fleischanderl & Hohensinner 2004; Hohensinner et al. 2004, 2005).

Reconstructions of spatial and temporal habitat turnover in two alluvial sections of the Upper

Danube River in Austria emphasise the key role of hydromorphological dynamics for the

development of aquatic and terrestrial biocoenoses in riverine ecosystems.

The eastern Machland floodplain in Lower/Upper Austria (river-km 2094 – 2084) represents a

smaller but highly dynamic alluvial system, whereas the Lobau floodplain in the Alluvial

Zone National Park directly downstream from the city of Vienna (river-km 1924 – 1908) is

one of the alluvial Danube sections with the largest lateral extension in Austria and was

naturally less dynamic (Fig. 1). The river morphologically active zone (AZ) that was formed

by the climate conditions and the flow regime of Modern times since approx. 1500 AD (water

bodies and the genetic or contemporary floodplain according to Nanson & Croke 1992; Kohl



1973, 1991) in the Machland is on average 2 100 m broad with a maximum width of 2 800 m.

The AZ in the Lobau is much broader, with an average width of 3 800 m and a maximum of 5

900 m. According to the classification schemes of Nanson & Knighton (1996) and Nanson &

Croke (1992), in their original state, both studied Danube sections can be designated as

gravel-dominated, laterally active anabranching rivers that developed medium-energy non-

cohesive floodplains, i.e. wandering gravel-bed river floodplains. Highly variable flow

regimes are only one factor behind the development of such river-floodplain systems. Other

common causes and characteristics include additionally intensified floods or backwater

effects because of ice jams in winter, large woody debris and/or downstream channel

constrictions as well as high loads of coarse bed material possibly due to larger upstream

tributaries.

In the eastern Machland, first river engineering measures were implemented around 1826. In

the 20th

century, two hydropower plants were constructed (Ybbs-Persenbeug in 1957,

Wallsee-Mitterkirchen in 1968), leading to hydrological decoupling of the floodplain from the

main channel. In the Lobau, first measures were carried out in the 1830s. Today, the upper

part of the Lobau is hydrologically separated from the main channel due to a flood protection

levee and a hydropower plant put into operation in 1998.

The analysis of historical maps and surveys in the Machland from 1715 onwards reveals that

90 % of the AZ area was at least once covered by water bodies (water or gravel/sand bars)

within the total observed time period from 1715 to 1991. Concentrating on the much shorter

period prior to channelisation from 1775 to 1821, still 76 % of the AZ once featured a water

body. In other words, within 46 years, only in 24 % of the AZ older floodplain vegetation

survived. The distinct disturbance regime in the alluvial Machland Danube section is well

documented for the early 19th

century and shows a temporally fluctuating pattern of

morphological dynamics: from 1812 to 1817, 7 % of the AZ were affected by erosion or

aggradation processes per year. This represents an annual gross turnover rate of approx. 5.6

million m³ of bed material and floodplain sediments. The balance of erosion und aggradation

volumes yields a net erosion of 0.4 million m³ per year. In contrast, during the following 4

years from 1817 to 1821, gross turnover volume fell to approx. 1.5 million m³ a-1

with a net

aggradation rate of less than 0.1 million m³ a-1

(calculated based on historical surveys using

digital terrain models and profiles; unpublished data, Hohensinner). This clearly indicates a

morphologically more stable period characterised by the domination of sedimentation

processes that followed a highly fluvial active period with enforced erosion and bed material

turnover. The originally high fluvial activity in the eastern Machland floodplain can mainly be



explained by the immediately downstream, narrow, canyon-section of the Danube River

through the Bohemian Massif. Here, substantial backwater effects occurred during floods and

led to the deposition of large quantities of bed material (Gruber 1960; Kohl 1963). As a

consequence, channel migration and channel avulsions were common phenomena that were

additionally intensified by ice jam floods during winter (Höchsmann 1848; Streffleur 1851).

Historical records from 1540 and 1770 – 1779 indicate that large amounts of wood were

repeatedly deposited in the Danube river bed and caused the accretion of new gravel bars and

islands (Slezak 1975). According to reconstructions based on surveys from 1812, the surface

of the floodplain terrain was on average only 1.6 m above the mean water/groundwater level

in the AZ (comp. Fig. 2; Hohensinner et al. in press). Thus, the pristine floodplain was

frequently inundated by overbank flooding that, in some areas, was additionally reinforced by

backwater effects caused by large woody debris and by groundwater inflow in isolated terrain.

The perpetual cycle of aggradation, reshaping and erosion over time repeatedly rejuvenated

most parts of the Machland floodplain, which therefore showed a very young morphological

age structure. Accordingly, prior to channelisation in 1817 and 1821, 75 % of the terrain with

perennial vegetation in the AZ were presumably younger than 60 years and 50 % even

younger than 30 years (Fig. 3a; Hohensinner & Jungwirth in prep.). These specific site

conditions with frequent disturbances fostered the development of a very young riverine

vegetation and hindered the succession to riverine hardwood forests. Models on the potential

natural vegetation (omitting human land uses) show that, in 1812, 97 % of the perennial

vegetation were formed by different types of softwood forests (willow shrubland, willow and

alder forests) (Egger et al. 2007). Larger areas with advanced succession stages (ash-alder

forests) developed only on the older terrace of the lower postglacial valley floor outside of the

AZ that originated in Roman times or in the Early/High Middle Ages (Kohl 1991).

The Lobau floodplain, located 160 km downstream, exhibited a different morphological

development and, correspondingly, other vegetation ecological conditions. Here, in 1809, 50

% of the vegetated floodplain terrain in the AZ featured a much higher morphological age –

up to approx. 200 years (Fig. 3b). In the 47-year period 1770 – 1817 (analogous to the pre-

channelisation period 1775 – 1821 in the Machland), only 55 % of the AZ once featured

water bodies. Consequently, the annual turnover rates between 1805 and 1817 with 4.5 % of

the AZ affected by aggradation or erosion processes were also much lower (based on

Eberstaller & Hohensinner 2004). The main reasons for the substantially lower morphological

turnover compared to the Machland floodplain are probably (1) the location and basic

geological conditions of the Lobau in the Vienna basin downstream from the Wiener Pforte



Gap (short Danube break-through section), which enabled the formation of a broader

floodplain, (2) the absence of a distinct downstream channel constriction, and (3) a greater

distance to the larger upstream tributaries Inn, Traun and Enns with high bed material loads

and the presence of floodplains in between that function as flood retention areas. Due to the

extensive lateral extension of the river morphologically active zone in the Lobau (almost

twice as broad as in the eastern Machland), large parts in the north of the AZ (i.e. the Lobau

island) remained rather stable at least through the 18th

and early 19th

centuries, when river

dynamics were largely restricted to the southern and central parts of the floodplain. In contrast

to the eastern Machland, the significantly reduced morphological disturbances enabled a

succession of vegetation and/or long-term aging of riverine vegetation communities in large

areas of the AZ. In reality, however, extensive areas of the floodplain forest were already

cleared prior to the 18th

century and used as meadows or pastures (Marinoni 1726-1729).

As various historical documents (estate and tax records, maps) prove, the floodplain forest in

the Machland region also experienced substantial human alterations since the Middle Ages.

At the beginning of the river straightening program, already 52 % of the vegetated area in the

AZ were used for extensive forms of farming such as hayfields and pastures; only 3 % were

used as arable farm land. In the floodplain forests, extraction of timber and firewood was a

common practice (based on Haidvogl et al. in prep.). After the major channelisation measures

had been carried out, by 1870, large softwood forests (young willow communities) developed

on the newly reclaimed floodplain areas. Due to the artificially narrowed main channel, the

river bed incised by up to 1.7 m by the beginning of the 20th

century. This was additionally

intensified in the 1960s by channel bottom dredging during hydropower plant construction.

Hence, from the mid-19th

century onwards, the groundwater table gradually dropped by an

average of 1.4 m in the Machland floodplain (comp. Fig. 2). At the same time, enormous

quantities of sediments aggraded behind the river embankments during floods and led to a

vertical accretion of the floodplain terrain. Today, compared to 1812, a total volume of almost

14 million m³ of sediments has been naturally or artificially deposited in the whole eastern

Machland floodplain (ca. 1.3 million m³ per river-km; Hohensinner et al. in press). The

largely reduced fluvial dynamics are clearly reflected in the calculated age structure of the

vegetated floodplain terrain: the median age (50 %-age) increased from formerly 30 years in

1817 to 160 years in 1991 (Fig. 3a). It is now similar to that of the naturally more stable

Lobau floodplain prior to or during channelisation (Fig. 3b). The hydromorphological

conditions today would facilitate the development towards hardwood forests (ash-alder

forests) in approx. 35 % of the AZ (compared to 3 % in 1812; Egger et al. 2007). In reality,



both river channelisation and hydropower plant construction enabled a substantial expansion

of agricultural land use in the floodplain. Between 1827 and 2000 the area of arable farm land

increased from 3 % to 17 % of the AZ in the eastern Machland (based on Haidvogl et al. in

prep.).

In contrast to the Machland, the more stable floodplain in the Lobau aged only little

morphologically (Fig. 3b). The 50 %-age of the vegetated floodplain terrain increased only

slightly between 1809 and 2001. During channelisation (1841 – 1875), the newly aggraded

terrain that was overgrown within a few years even led to a slight rejuvenation of the overall

age structure. Nevertheless, the younger parts of the floodplain aged significantly, i.e. the

youngest 25 % that were originally only up to 35 years old. By 2001 this value considerably

increased to 145 years (unpublished data, Hohensinner). Thus, although the Lobau floodplain

in its pristine state was rather stable – besides the major decrease in hydrological connectivity

between the main channel and the various floodplain water bodies – river channelisation also

significantly altered the site conditions for the riverine vegetation.

The examples from the Austrian Danube River illustrate the historical anthropogenic changes

during the last centuries and the resulting major threats to riverine floodplains in Europe

today: enormous losses of intact aquatic, semi-aquatic and terrestrial habitats, substantially

reduced hydrological and morphological dynamics, significant drop in the groundwater table,

and severely reduced hydrological connectivity between main channel and remaining

floodplain water bodies (habitat fragmentation). Based on a rough estimation in selected

European countries, up to 95 % of the riverine floodplains have been lost and most of the

remaining areas are morphologically, hydrologically or ecologically modified by humans

(Tockner & Stanford 2002). Overall, the current situation of the riverine ecosystems is

characterised by the replacement of dynamic processes with unidirectional developments such

as ongoing sedimentation in floodplains, terrestrialisation and obsolescence of floodplain

habitats and their alluvial forest communities. In combination, this results in a major decline

in riverine biodiversity.



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Figures

Figure 1.

Overview of the Danube drainage basin (grey shaded) with its main tributaries; bottom left

corner: location of the described alluvial Danube sections in Austria – eastern Machland,

Upper/Lower Austria (river-km 2094 – 2084) and Lobau downstream from Vienna (river-km

1924 – 1908).

Hohensinner, Severin



Figure 2.

Eastern Machland: area shares of the floodplain terrain in the active zone (%) in relation to

depths of the groundwater table below the terrain surface (m) in 1812 and 1991. Depths refer

to the mean water situation (MW) and are presented as half-meter classes (Hohensinner et al.

in press).

Hohensinner, Severin



Figure 3a-b.

Age distributions of the floodplain terrain with perennial vegetation in the active zone (AZ)

expressed as cumulative area shares (%) in relation to the morphological age (years);

(a) eastern Machland 1817 – 1991, (b) Lobau 1809 – 2001; black graphs: prior to

channelisation; arrows indicate the maximum ages corresponding to 25 %, 50 % or 75 % of

the total vegetated terrain (Hohensinner & Jungwirth in prep.).

(a)

(b)

the geology and geomorphology of floodplains

Documents