Catalogue

The Schwarzer Schöps case study is located at the East of Germany. The catchment area is about 136 km², most of which is used as cropland (54%) and grassland (20%). The area is facing an increase of severe floods, soil erosion, and droughts, with negative implications for crop yield stability.

The case study area “Petite Glâne” belongs to the Broye catchment in the southwestern part of the Swiss Plateau. The river Petite Glâne is about 30 km long, repeatedly crosses borders between the cantons of Vaud and Fribourg, and has a catchment area of 94 km2. Its upper reaches have remained fairly natural and are lined with forest, whereas its lower reaches in the Broye plain have been canalized and straightened. The soils and climate here are highly suitable for arable farming.

The Csorsza case study is located in Veszprém County, Hungary.  The size of the study site is 21.3 km2, where 29% of the total catchment area is forest, 29% orchards and vineyards, 17% shrubs, 13% is arable land, 6% is grassland, and 5% is urban. 

Some selected analysis are performed at the Felső-Válicka catchment, too. The Felső-Válicka study site is located in Zala County, flows in south-north direction into the River Zala. The size of the catchment is 131 km2. 27% of the total catchment area is forest, 35% is cropland, 11% is grassland, 3% is wetland and 11% is urban.

The case study is located in the north central Poland, in Kuyavian-Pomeranian province. The catchment area is about 150 km2. Due to highly fertile soils, arable land prevails (nearly 90%) in the catchment.The main crops are cereals, maize, oilseed rape, sugar beet, alfalfa, vegetables and herbal crops. An area covered by catch crops is increasing. Share of irrigated crops is small. The catchment is coping with an increasing water deficit for crop production and high nitrate loads and concentrations in water.

The Pesnica river catchment is characterized by intensive agricultural production, mainly cattle/pig breeding and arable farming. In spring and summer, the catchment is exposed to drought, while in autumn and winter to severe precipitation events. Soils with a high proportion of clay, which are subject to rapid surface runoff, erosion and nutrient leaching, are further contributing to unfavorable conditions.

The Hungarian part of Kebele catchment with its 209 km2 size is located in the south-western corner of the country, in the West-transdanubian Water Directorate’s operational area, as part of the Drava sub-basin and Mura sub-unit.

About 60% of the area is agricultural land, typically with wheat, barley, corn cultivation and pasture management. The Kebele Valley and Szentgyörgyvölgyi stream valley is NATURA 2000 classified. Main challenges identified in the area: management of nitrate-sensitive areas, prevention and mitigation of soil erosion and flash floods.

The Wimbe basin is about 112 km2 in size and is classified as a continental bioregion. The basin consists of the water bodies LE8-10. The municipalities within the basin are Daverdisse, Wellin, Beauraing, Gedinne and Rochefort. The basin’s land use is 2% urban, 21% arable, 11% pasture and 66% forest. The region where the stream flows is representative of the Famenne schisteuse and the landscape is open. The region is vulnerable to both floods and low flows.

Dotnuvėlė river basin covers192.7 km2. Four reservoirs are situated in the area: near Mantviliškis, Akademija, Dotnuva and near Kėdainiai. The Dotnuvėlė basin is in the Central Lowlands of Lithuania, which is rich in moist soils. Agricultural areas account for 69.2%, forests and other natural areas for 24.5%, artificial surfaces - 5.8%, and water bodies make up only 0.5%. State river monitoring is carried out for this river. The ecological status of the Dotnuvėlė river corresponds to poor (upstream) and medium (downstream) classes.

The Cherio River basin is located in the eastern part of Bergamo province, Lombardy region. It extends from the pre-alpine reliefs to the irrigated plain area, down to the confluence of Cherio River into Oglio River. The catchment area is about 153 km2, broken down mainly into forest (42%) and agricultural (39%) land. The territory is vulnerable to overflows and flooding events, which requires constant reclamation activities.

The Kråkstadelva catchment, as case study area, is located within the Hobølelva watershed, located ca. 30km S-SE of Oslo, Norway. The area of the Kråkstadelva catchment is approximately 51 km2. Agricultural land covers ca. 43% of the catchment (22km2) and it is dominated by cereal production. Forest covers ca. 45% of the catchment. Heavy clay soils dominate in the area (up to 80% of clay content). Mean annual temperature is 5.3°C and average annual precipitation is c.a. 864 mm.

The study site is the sub catchment of Tetves, which is a priority area from the point of water protection, because it belongs to the catchment of Lake Balaton. The size of the study site is 68 km2. 49% of the total catchment area is forest, 39% is arable land, 1% orchards, 1% vineyard, 1% is grassland and 2% is urban.

The Cechticky stream catchment case study is located at the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. The catchment area is about 72 km2, most of which is used as agricultural land (69%); cropland covers 59% of catchment area.

River Dviete Basin: Catchment area – 254 km²; Annual runoff – 0,057 km3; Length – 37 km; Slope of the riverbed – 4 m · km-1 at the upland and 0,2 m · km-1 at the lowland; The Dviete floodplain area is also the Natura-2000 site (5000 ha): Main nature values are the eutrophic floodplain meadows, which provide nesting sites for the corn-crake (Crex crex) and other rare bird species. Local partnership building: Union of the Dviete Valley Municipalities (DSPA) founders are five municipalities (Bebrene, Dviete, Eglaine, Pilskalne and Sedere parishes).

Sävjaån catchment is a lowland mixed land use catchment characteristic of central Sweden. Headwaters in the catchment drain a mixture of forest and agricultural land. Streams draining agricultural land are general deepened and straightened to promote drainage. Localized spring floods are common and summer droughts are increasing. Eutrophication is an issue throughout the catchment.

Reduced tillage, involving no plowing in the autumn, preserves stubble or plant cover during the autumn and winter to prevent soil erosion, and particle and nutrient loss from cropland to watercourses.

Grass buffer zones are established along waterways in cropland to reduce the surface runoff rate, and the amounts of sediment, nutrients and pesticides in the runoff.

Afforestation is planting trees on previously non-forested land. Trees hold the soil and reduce runoff, and thus prevent erosion of the most fertile layers. It is an effective way to rehabilitate degraded lands, being a nature-based solution which addresses flood and soil erosion impacts.

A constructed wetland connected to tile drains that slows drainage flow, removes nitrogen and pesticides from drainage waters, and improves biodiversity. Formed from a substrate of matured birch chips and gravel, and is planted with reeds (Phalaris arundinacea) and reed manna grass (Glyceria maxima).

Small retention ponds, located in the forest, are ponds or pools with sufficient storage capacity to store the surface runoff to prevent flooding during heavy rainfall events. Ponds contain limited or no water during dry weather, but are designed to retain water during rain events.

Grassed waterways are shallow channels (natural or constructed) with grass cover, used to drain surface runoff from cropland and prevent erosion.

Establishment of grass - or retaining stubble - on arable land that is prone to erosion and flooding to reduce the risk of soil and nutrient losses.

Accumulating coarse woody debris in stream beds reduces flow velocity and levels of flood peaks. As a consequence the speed and energy of water flow is reduced, allowing greater deposition of sediments. In addition the technology has ecological advantages.

No-till agriculture replaces conventional soil tillage in order to reduce costs and labour - and to provide a mulch layer on the soil surface from the residues of the previous crop: this protects the soil surface and its ecology.

All machinery traffic uses the same lane network within the field to reduce the total compacted area, to improve connections, and to optimise overlapping of following runs resulting in more efficient use of labour and inputs. Risks from environmental pollution are also reduced.

Buffer strips and hedges comprise natural vegetation of grass, bushes or trees. They are sited at the edges of fields, roads and surface water bodies. Their main function is to provide a natural buffer to control nutrient and sediment transport from agricultural fields by promoting water infiltration and slowing runoff, as well as preserving undisturbed green corridors.

Vegetative riparian buffers are strips of trees, bushes and grass alongside surface water bodies such as streams or ponds. Their main function is to provide a natural buffer strip to filter out nutrient and sediment transported from agricultural fields and prevent it reaching the water bodies - as well as maintaining undisturbed green corridors.

Subsoiling is defined as tillage below a depth of about 35-40 cm which doesn't invert the soil. It breaks up compacted layers to improve rooting and infiltration. Subsoiling is not needed on light soils, because these are rarely at risk of compaction.