Issues of Meander Development: Land Degradation or Ecological Value? The Example of the Sajó River, Hungary
The extensive destruction of arable lands by the process of lateral bank erosion is a major issue for the alluvial meandering type of rivers all around the world. Nowadays, land managers, stakeholders, and scientists are discussing how this process affects the surrounding landscapes. Usually, due to...
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MDPI AG
2018-11-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/10/11/1613 |
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| author | László Bertalan Tibor József Novák Zoltán Németh Jesús Rodrigo-Comino Ádám Kertész Szilárd Szabó |
| author_facet | László Bertalan Tibor József Novák Zoltán Németh Jesús Rodrigo-Comino Ádám Kertész Szilárd Szabó |
| author_sort | László Bertalan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The extensive destruction of arable lands by the process of lateral bank erosion is a major issue for the alluvial meandering type of rivers all around the world. Nowadays, land managers, stakeholders, and scientists are discussing how this process affects the surrounding landscapes. Usually, due to a land mismanagement of agroforestry activities or urbanization plans, river regulations are designed to reduce anthropogenic impacts such as bank erosion, but many of these regulations resulted in a degradation of habitat diversity. Regardless, there is a lack of information about the possible positive effects of meandering from the ecological point of view. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to investigate a 2.12 km long meandering sub-reach of Sajó River, Hungary, in order to evaluate whether the process of meander development can be evaluated as a land degradation processes or whether it can enhance ecological conservation and sustainability. To achieve this goal, an archive of aerial imagery and UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)-surveys was used to provide a consistent database for a landscape metrics-based analysis to reveal changes in landscape ecological dynamics. Moreover, an ornithological survey was also carried out to assess the composition and diversity of the avifauna. The forest cover was developed in a remarkable pattern, finding a linear relationship between its rate and channel sinuosity. An increase in forest areas did not enhance the rate of landscape diversity since only its distribution became more compact. Eroding riverbanks provided important nesting sites for colonies of protected and regionally declining migratory bird species such as the sand martin. We revealed that almost 70 years were enough to gain a new habitat system along the river as the linear channel formed to a meandering and more natural state. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T11:37:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5392a513ff72414d880d4de9e04f3f9c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T11:37:28Z |
| publishDate | 2018-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-5392a513ff72414d880d4de9e04f3f9c2022-12-22T03:34:48ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412018-11-011011161310.3390/w10111613w10111613Issues of Meander Development: Land Degradation or Ecological Value? The Example of the Sajó River, HungaryLászló Bertalan0Tibor József Novák1Zoltán Németh2Jesús Rodrigo-Comino3Ádám Kertész4Szilárd Szabó5Department of Physical Geography and Geoinformatics, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, HungaryDepartment of Landscape Protection and Environmental Geography, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, HungaryDepartment of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, HungaryDepartment of Geography, Instituto de Geomorfología y Suelos, Málaga University, Campus of Teatinos, 29071 Málaga, SpainGeographical Institute, Research Center for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budaörsi út 45, H-1112 Budapest, HungaryDepartment of Physical Geography and Geoinformatics, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, HungaryThe extensive destruction of arable lands by the process of lateral bank erosion is a major issue for the alluvial meandering type of rivers all around the world. Nowadays, land managers, stakeholders, and scientists are discussing how this process affects the surrounding landscapes. Usually, due to a land mismanagement of agroforestry activities or urbanization plans, river regulations are designed to reduce anthropogenic impacts such as bank erosion, but many of these regulations resulted in a degradation of habitat diversity. Regardless, there is a lack of information about the possible positive effects of meandering from the ecological point of view. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to investigate a 2.12 km long meandering sub-reach of Sajó River, Hungary, in order to evaluate whether the process of meander development can be evaluated as a land degradation processes or whether it can enhance ecological conservation and sustainability. To achieve this goal, an archive of aerial imagery and UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)-surveys was used to provide a consistent database for a landscape metrics-based analysis to reveal changes in landscape ecological dynamics. Moreover, an ornithological survey was also carried out to assess the composition and diversity of the avifauna. The forest cover was developed in a remarkable pattern, finding a linear relationship between its rate and channel sinuosity. An increase in forest areas did not enhance the rate of landscape diversity since only its distribution became more compact. Eroding riverbanks provided important nesting sites for colonies of protected and regionally declining migratory bird species such as the sand martin. We revealed that almost 70 years were enough to gain a new habitat system along the river as the linear channel formed to a meandering and more natural state.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/10/11/1613bank erosionlandscape metricsdiversitySajó RiverUAV |
| spellingShingle | László Bertalan Tibor József Novák Zoltán Németh Jesús Rodrigo-Comino Ádám Kertész Szilárd Szabó Issues of Meander Development: Land Degradation or Ecological Value? The Example of the Sajó River, Hungary Water bank erosion landscape metrics diversity Sajó River UAV |
| title | Issues of Meander Development: Land Degradation or Ecological Value? The Example of the Sajó River, Hungary |
| title_full | Issues of Meander Development: Land Degradation or Ecological Value? The Example of the Sajó River, Hungary |
| title_fullStr | Issues of Meander Development: Land Degradation or Ecological Value? The Example of the Sajó River, Hungary |
| title_full_unstemmed | Issues of Meander Development: Land Degradation or Ecological Value? The Example of the Sajó River, Hungary |
| title_short | Issues of Meander Development: Land Degradation or Ecological Value? The Example of the Sajó River, Hungary |
| title_sort | issues of meander development land degradation or ecological value the example of the sajo river hungary |
| topic | bank erosion landscape metrics diversity Sajó River UAV |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/10/11/1613 |
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