Watercourses

  • Watercourses are dynamic ecosystems that shape the landscape while simultaneously providing a wide range of benefits to society. Their functioning is driven by hydrological and morphological processes and by close interactions between the channel, the floodplain and the surrounding landscape.
  • In the past, however, many watercourses were significantly modified. Alterations to channel morphology, disruption of longitudinal and lateral continuity, and changes in the hydrological regime have limited their natural development, simplified the structure of channels and floodplains, and weakened their ecological functions. These changes have also been reflected in the extent and quality of the ecosystem services provided by watercourses.
  • Sustainable management of watercourses therefore requires an understanding of the processes taking place within them and a systematic assessment of their condition. We focus on evaluating the hydromorphological characteristics of watercourses and on the analysis of ecosystem services.
  • The aim of our work is to contribute to improve understanding of watercourse functioning and to support decision-making that respects both natural processes and societal needs.

Research and projects

AV21 Strategy: Flash Floods under Conditions of Environmental Change

  • The aim of the research activity is to assess the potential use of remote sensing methods for analyzing grain-size distribution and clast orientation in river channels
  • Ongoing project

WAMPES project – ecosystem services in water management plans

  • Implementation of the ecosystem services concept into future water management plans
  • Ongoing project

HYMOS project – hydromorphology of watercourses

  • New methodology for assessing the hydromorphological status of watercourses
  • Software for automated assessment
  • Database of hydromorphological parameters