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Ecosystem characteristics documented to influence the 'preventing' type of flood regulation
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Riverine floods cause increasingly severe damages to human settlements and infrastructure. Ecosystems have a natural capacity to decrease both severity and frequency of floods. Natural flood regulation processes along freshwaters can be attributed to two different mechanisms: flood prevention that takes place in the whole catchment and flood mitiga...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... to Czúcz et al. (2021), we do not regard the extent of ecosystem type or the management type as EC indicators, but as 'ancillary' data. However, as much of the literature reviewed focuses on these features, and, at the same time, they might be very well of relevance for management decisions, we do note them in the review tables (Tables 3 and 4). ...Context 2
... though this can be conceptualized as a different benefit or ES, the underlying mechanism (water retention) is the same. Tables 3 and 4 provide an overview on the characteristics of the main ecosystem types that were found to influence the two sub-types of flood regulation respectively. According to the scientific literature sampled in the underlying systematic review, the most relevant characteristic influencing the flood prevention ES is vegetation cover (or biomass; structural ecosystem characteristics), whereas flood mitigation ES is most influenced by the opportunities for stream water to spread out (availability of 'retention space', water storage capacity). ...Similar publications
Rapid urbanization and growing transportation infrastructure in cities negatively affect ecosystems and their functions. Quantifying these effects is a prerequisite for integrating environmental considerations into all phases of transportation planning. However, in many developing or newly developed countries, research is lacking that helps to unde...
Citations
... How does agricultural production depend on rainfall and on rainfall distribution? [66] drought How resilient is the system to drought? [66,67] flood Is agricultural production resilient to excessive rainfall and flooding? [66] climatic impacts ...
This study investigated the implementation of agroecological principles on three organic farms in Hungary, focusing on four resource-focused, nature conservation-related agroecological basic elements identified by the FAO: biodiversity, interactions, recycling, and resilience. This research employed a mixed-methods approach, utilising in-depth interviews as a technique to explore farmers’ practices and a questionnaire survey as a tool to assess consumer perspectives (with 63 respondents). The interviews facilitated a qualitative exploration of how agroecological practices are applied on farms, providing rich insights into the farmers’ experiences. Meanwhile, the questionnaire survey served as a structured instrument to measure consumer awareness and motivations concerning environmentally friendly farming methods. NVivo 12 software was employed for qualitative data analysis, assisting in coding and organizing responses to better understand recurring themes and patterns. The researchers found that all farms exhibited high biodiversity levels, facilitated through practices such as companion planting, crop rotation, and maintaining natural habitat patches. Agroecological farmers focus on practices suited to the landscape, fostering beneficial organisms and enhancing interactions between nature and agriculture. Integrating farm components (e.g., crops, livestock, water) promotes synergies that improve productivity and reduce reliance on external inputs. Recycling resources (like organic waste) within the farm increases efficiency, while resilience is strengthened through biodiversity, allowing farms to better withstand environmental stress. Direct marketing builds connections between producers and consumers, raising awareness of conservation practices. Consumer awareness regarding environmentally friendly agricultural practices was notably high, with findings indicating that health and ecological conservation motivations drive their purchasing decisions. This study highlights the context-dependent nature of agroecological practices, revealing that while implementation is robust, economic sustainability constraints may limit the extent to which all elements can be effectively applied. Since this research has certain limitations due to the limited sample size, expanding the study to include more farms would strengthen the findings. Nonetheless, these findings underscore the importance of integrating agroecological principles in organic farming to enhance biodiversity and foster sustainable agricultural practices.
... NbS correspond to actions that address societal challenges through the protection, sustainable management and/or restoration of ecosystems, benefiting both people and biodiversity (IUCN 2020). Leveraging the inherent capacities of natural ecosystems, NbS offer a multifaceted approach to floodwater regulation (Vári et al 2022). Wetlands, forests, and grasslands are among the key ecosystems that play this important role, especially in upstream areas, whereas wide floodplains are essential for mitigating the effects of flood peaks or of water already accumulated in streams (Kiedrzyńska et al 2015, Vári et al 2022 that could have negative effects on downstream populations and infrastructure. ...
... Leveraging the inherent capacities of natural ecosystems, NbS offer a multifaceted approach to floodwater regulation (Vári et al 2022). Wetlands, forests, and grasslands are among the key ecosystems that play this important role, especially in upstream areas, whereas wide floodplains are essential for mitigating the effects of flood peaks or of water already accumulated in streams (Kiedrzyńska et al 2015, Vári et al 2022 that could have negative effects on downstream populations and infrastructure. In addition, including NbS into flood management strategies holds substantial potential to create synergies between human and biodiversity needs, given that natural ecosystems and their associated natural flow regimes serve as unique habitat for diverse species (Bunn andArthington 2002, Turkelboom et al 2021). ...
... Roots then enhance soil infiltration, reducing both surface runoff volume and speed , Zhang et al 2014. Hence, natural ecosystems act as buffers, retaining excess precipitation, slowing down downstream runoff, diminishing the amount of water that accumulates in floodplains, and thereby partially preventing floods (Crossman et al 2019, Vári et al 2022. Additionally, topographic, soil, and imperviousness features also play a role in determining the efficiency of flood prevention benefits (Vári et al 2022, Vallecillo et al 2020. ...
The escalating impacts of climate change have heightened concerns about the frequency and severity of natural disasters, particularly extreme flooding events. Future projections underscore the necessity for innovative flood prevention strategies, including broad-scale nature-based solutions. Here, we present the first comprehensive assessment of the flood prevention benefits provided by Canadian natural ecosystems and identify key areas crucial for human well-being. Using spatially explicit modeling, we (1) evaluated the potential runoff retention by natural ecosystems and (2) identified downstream urban and agricultural areas critically dependent on these natural benefits, particularly those in floodplains and close proximity to upstream natural ecosystems. The natural ecosystems within the top 5 % of sub-basins, representing regions with a high priority for conservation practices aimed at flood prevention, play a crucial role in safeguarding approximately 54 % (∼6,000 km2) of the total built-up area and 74 % (∼16,900 km2) of the total cropland situated within floodplains. Additionally, they are positioned upstream of floodplain-based urban zones belonging to 358 population centers, directly benefiting 3.7 million people (∼10 % of the Canadian population) and indirectly benefiting almost 20.1 million people (∼56 % of the Canadian population). Moreover, among Canada’s 5.2 million km2 of flood-preventing natural ecosystems, we identified a small fraction (10 %) whose loss or degradation would result in a significant (>50 %) increase in runoff. Several of these crucial ecosystems are situated in less populated northern regions, where local governments might want to incentivize conservation initiatives to support flood prevention. Our research underscores the imperative to integrate nature-based solutions into national strategies that consider the results of spatial planning analyses. Establishing other effective area-based conservation measures in the priority regions highlighted in this study can contribute towards reaching current ambitious environmental goals and provide critical flood prevention benefits. Additionally, our methods are transferable to other regions worldwide, leveraging globally available datasets and ensuring computational feasibility.
... To understand the necessity of integrating climate extremes and biodiversity, we initially consider two specific examples. The first involves heavy precipitation events, which can lead to catastrophic outcomes such as flooding, erosion, and landslides, dependent on the water retention capacity of catchments and their geomorphological characteristics (Brunner et al., 2021;Saco et al., 2021;Vári et al., 2022). In these scenarios, the importance of biodiversity is evident as the structure of vegetation, both above and below ground, plays a crucial role in controlling water flows and overall hydrological dynamics. ...
Climate extremes are on the rise. Impacts of extreme climate and weather events on ecosystem services and ultimately human well‐being can be partially attenuated by the organismic, structural, and functional diversity of the affected land surface. However, the ongoing transformation of terrestrial ecosystems through intensified exploitation and management may put this buffering capacity at risk. Here, we summarize the evidence that reductions in biodiversity can destabilize the functioning of ecosystems facing climate extremes. We then explore if impaired ecosystem functioning could, in turn, exacerbate climate extremes. We argue that only a comprehensive approach, incorporating both ecological and hydrometeorological perspectives, enables us to understand and predict the entire feedback system between altered biodiversity and climate extremes. This ambition, however, requires a reformulation of current research priorities to emphasize the bidirectional effects that link ecology and atmospheric processes.
... A more ''joined up'' and holistic approach to water management throughout the hydrological cycle has been recognized as crucial (Collentine and Futter 2018) as well; accordingly, the issues of spatial fit, scale, and relations such as the upstream-downstream ones (Seher and Löschner 2018;Raška et al. 2022) are emphasized, including the need for an integrated, catchment-wide perspective (Collentine and Futter 2018;Hartmann et al. 2018). The interrelatedness of water management and land is highlighted as well; floods can be caused or exacerbated by (inappropriate) land use (Vári et al. 2022), while floodprotection/mitigation measures by themselves impact the ways the land is used (Walczykiewicz 2015;Albrecht and Hartmann 2021). Stronger integration of FRM with spatial and land-use planning is thus called for (Albrecht and Hartmann 2021;Slámová et al. 2021;Raška et al. 2022;Solín and Sládeková Madajová 2023). ...
... The option was also seen as a means of preventing numerous negative repercussions for the local landscape (Geršl and Konečný 2018) which constituted, eventually, the key point of concern of the wet variant's opposition. Repeatedly referring to Bečva as ''a gravel-bearing river'', detrimental effects of the on-flow project construction on the run-off regime, transport of materials, or local biodiversity, altogether affecting the floodplains' ecosystem functions (Jakubínský et al. 2021;Vári et al. 2022), have been highlighted. Consistent with the crucial role attributed to catchment-wide perspectives (Hartmann et al. 2018;Matczak and Hegger 2021;Máčka et al. 2022), the emphasis placed on the complex landscape components' relations led to the probably decisive ''against the dam'' argument, namely the endangerment of the ground/mineral waters and local spa and karst. ...
... Nevertheless, dam opponents believed that the polder was economically more advantageous, so ''even if it would be more expensive, the costs of the dam's consequences would exceed it'' (NGO1). While specifics of each case always need to be taken into account (Ungvári and Kis 2022), findings from elsewhere indeed imply that retention-centred solutions are more cost-effective due to higher co-benefits for people and biodiversity, and lower maintenance costs and chances of catastrophic failure (Turkelboom et al. 2021;Vári et al. 2022); the view is underlined if-as in the SWW case-the housing and agriculture opportunity costs are low (Turkelboom et al. 2021), and the land is available (Hartmann et al. 2019). ...
This study focuses on the Skalička Waterwork (SWW), a largely debated and media-covered water-related/flood-protection project in the Czech Republic. Relying primarily on stakeholder interviews, we traced back and reconstructed the project’s development, including its key tipping points reflecting the changing societal preferences for particular measures, yet also the involvement of individual actors/stakeholders, and their differing views. The case eventually crystallized into the “dam versus polder” dispute; concerned by the repercussions for the local landscape, a joint initiative of NGOs, local activists, and politicians not only opposed the dam variant proposed by the state river basin administration but also succeeded in pushing through the alternative scheme of side dry polder. While in many ways specific (e.g. not entailing local resistance), the case exemplifies recent shifts (and respective struggles) within flood risk management, including the increasing importance attributed to complex, catchment-wide perspectives, joint local and scientific knowledge, participatory decision-making processes, or implementation of nature-based and hybrid solutions.
... Floodplains are hotspots of biodiversity (Schindler et al., 2016;Stanford et al., 2005), nutrient turnover (McClain et al., 2003) and productivity (Tockner and Stanford, 2002). They represent valuable sponges in a river landscape during stormwater and drought periods (Jakubínský et al., 2021;Vári et al., 2022), are dynamic areas of sediment deposition and erosion (Wohl, 2021), and act as sinks and sources of greenhouse gases (Schindlbacher et al., 2022;Zehetner et al., 2009). However, human colonialization and the need for food, security, energy, materials, and transport have severely transformed rivers and their floodplains worldwide Tockner et al., 2010), controlling their ecosystem functions (Brauns et al., 2022;Moi et al., 2022) and services (Rillig et al., 2023). ...
Floodplains provide an extraordinary quantity and quality of ecosystem services (ES) but are among the most threatened ecosystems worldwide. The uses and transformations of floodplains differ widely within and between regions. In recent decades, the diverse pressures and requirements for flood protection, drinking water resource protection, biodiversity, and adaptation to climate change have shown that multi-functional floodplain management is necessary. Such an integrative approach has been hampered by the various interests of different sectors of society, as represented by multiple stakeholders and legal principles. We present an innovative framework for integrated floodplain management building up on ES multi-functionality and stakeholder involvement, forming a scientifically based decision-support to prioritize adaptive management measures responding at the basin and local scales. To demonstrate its potential and limitations, we applied this cross-scaled approach in the world's most international and culturally diverse basin, the Danube River Basin in Europe. We conducted large-scale evaluations of anthropogenic pressures and ES capacities on the one hand and participatory modelling of the local socio-ecohydrological systems on the other hand. Based on our assessments of 14 ES and 8 pressures, we recommend conservation measures along the lower and middle Danube, restoration measures along the upper-middle Danube and Sava, and mitigation measures in wide parts of the Yantra, Tisza and upper Danube rivers. In three case study areas across the basin, stakeholder perceptions were generally in line with the large-scale evaluations on ES and pressures. The positive outcomes of jointly modelled local measures and large-scale synergistic ES relationships suggest that multi-functionality can be enhanced across scales. Trade-offs were mainly present with terrestrial provisioning ES at the basin scale and locally with recreational activities. Utilizing the commonalities between top-down prioritizations and bottom-up participatory approaches and learning from their discrepancies could make ecosystem-based management more effective and inclusive.
... pressure variables) acceptable. Integration of the EC indicators into the modelled flow of ES can be ensured by selecting EC variables that feed into the ES models (La Notte et al., 2022bVári et al., 2022a). Neither quantifying, nor integrating EC variables into ES models was often performed in the past (Schröter et al., 2016). ...
... Currently, 85 % of the national MAES surveyed reported integration between some EC variables and the ES models. Finding and especially quantifying these links is challenging (Rendon et al., 2019;Vári et al., 2022a), while it is broadly acknowledged that only healthy ecosystems can provide ES at the appropriate levels (EC, 2020). ...
Backed by the Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 and 2030, numerous ‘Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystem Services’ (MAES) projects have been completed in recent years in the member states of the European Union, with substantial results and insights accumulated. The experience from the different approaches is a valuable source of information for developing assessment processes further, especially with regard to their uptake into policy and more recently, into ecosystem accounting. Systematic approaches towards best practices and lessons learned from national MAES projects are yet lacking. This study presents the results of a survey conducted with participants of national MAES projects overviewing 13 European MAES processes. Focus hereby is put on the types of methods used, the assessed ecosystem services, and the perceived challenges and advancements. All MAES projects assessed ecosystem services at several levels of the ecosystem service cascade (69% at least three levels), using a diverse set of data sources and methods (with 4.7 types of methods on average). More accessible data was used more frequently (e.g., statistical and literature data being the most popular). Challenges regarding policy uptake, synthesizing results, and data gaps or reliability were perceived as the most severe. Insufficient evaluation of uncertainty was seen as a major critical point, and emphasized as crucial for uptake and implementation. Moving towards accounting for ES in the frame of environmental-economic accounts, considering uncertainties of ES assessments should be even more important.
... pressure variables) acceptable. Integration of the EC indicators into the modelled flow of ES can be ensured by selecting EC variables that feed into the ES models (La Notte et al., 2022bVári et al., 2022a). Neither quantifying, nor integrating EC variables into ES models was often performed in the past (Schröter et al., 2016). ...
... Currently, 85 % of the national MAES surveyed reported integration between some EC variables and the ES models. Finding and especially quantifying these links is challenging (Rendon et al., 2019;Vári et al., 2022a), while it is broadly acknowledged that only healthy ecosystems can provide ES at the appropriate levels (EC, 2020). ...
Backed by the Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 and 2030, numerous 'Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystem Ser-vices' (MAES) projects have been completed in recent years in the member states of the European Union, with substantial results and insights accumulated. The experience from the different approaches is a valuable source of information for developing assessment processes further, especially with regard to their uptake into policy and more recently, into ecosystem accounting. Systematic approaches towards best practices and lessons learned from national MAES projects are yet lacking. This study presents the results of a survey conducted with participants of national MAES projects overviewing 13 European MAES processes. Focus hereby is put on the types of methods used, the assessed ecosystem services, and the perceived challenges and advancements. All MAES projects assessed ecosystem services at several levels of the ecosystem service cascade (69% at least three levels), using a diverse set of data sources and methods (with 4.7 types of methods on average). More accessible data was used more frequently (e.g., statistical and literature data being the most popular). Challenges regarding policy uptake, synthesizing results, and data gaps or reliability were perceived as the most severe. Insufficient evaluation of uncertainty was seen as a major critical point, and emphasized as crucial for uptake and implementation.
... This type of flooding is usually local and can cause significant damage in urban areas, especially if the drainage system is inadequate or overwhelmed [10,11]. Due to unsustainable land management practices coupled with climate change, floods have become more frequent and severe at a global level over the past few decades [12][13][14], and the problem is exacerbated in the built environment as impervious surfaces of urban areas reduce adaptation to flooding that is otherwise provided by vegetation and soil [8,12]. At the same time, we are observing exponential urbanization [15], which, amongst other things, will further intensify land-use transformation, potentially turning even more green areas into urban built-up land [5]. ...
... Land 2024, 13, 143 ...
Due to unsustainable land management and climate change, floods have become more frequent and severe over the past few decades and the problem is exacerbated in urban environments. In the context of climate-proofing cities, the importance of nature-based solutions (NBSs), obtaining relevant outcomes in the form of ecosystem services, has been highlighted. Although the role of ecosystem services in building resilience against negative climate change effects is widely recognized and there is an identified need to better integrate ecosystem services into urban planning and design, this has proven difficult to operationalize. A critical limitation is that modeling is a time-consuming and costly exercise. The purpose is to roughly estimate the ecosystem service of water run-off mitigation through simplified, cost-effective, and user-friendly modelling at three nested biophysical scales, under four climate change scenarios. Using the Swedish city of Gothenburg as an example, we propose an approach for navigating NBS-oriented flooding adaptation strategies, by quantifying the ecosystem service of water run-off mitigation at three nested biophysical scales, under four climate change scenarios, hence, proposing an approach for how to navigate nature-based solutions in a multi-scale, social–ecological urban planning context against present and future flooding events. Our findings validate the effectiveness of employing an ecosystem service approach to better comprehend the significant climate change issue of flooding through user-friendly and cost-efficient modeling.
... Зокрема, у цій роботі було обґрунтовано набір індикаторів у відповідності до яких проводилась оцінка. Цими індикаторами стали: тип рослинності; тип ґрунту; типи земних покривів (вони дозволяють визначати тип геосистеми, що можна інтерпретувати як інтегральний індикатор в оцінюванні ЕП) (Vári et al., 2022); співвідношення різних типів геосистем та природокористування в межах басейну (Syrbe & Walz, 2012). ...
Ecosystem services (ES) for water flow regulation provided by urban green spaces (UGS) are an effective mechanism for keeping the ecological balance of the city. The volumes of ES depend on the effectiveness of the UGS. If the assessment of ES is based on the efficiency of the functioning based on general natural laws, universal methods can be achieved, which can be applied to any territory. It is also important to use open remote sensing data, which will allow this assessment to be used not only by scientists but also by urban planners. The purpose of the paper is to assess the effectiveness of UGS in regulating water flow based on remote sensing data and the use of open source GIS tools on the example of Kyiv. The effectiveness of each green space (or the whole blue-green infrastructure (BGI) in providing water regulation is the level of its impact on the overall water balance within the basin. Effectiveness should be assessed at two territorial levels: city-wide and local. At the city-wide level, the whole city's BGI will be assessed, and at the local level – individual UGS. The results of modeling at the city-wide level show that the BGI in sub-basins on the city's outskirts is above average in its effectiveness in regulating water flow. At the local level, it was determined that the soil and vegetation cover in most of the UGS of Kyiv determines similar efficiency levels. Converting the obtained efficiency values into volumes of ES showed that 10 % of UGSs provide ES in maximum volumes, 70 % – in volumes above average. At the city-wide level, the BGI of Kyiv provides ES in average and below the average volumes, which is observed in 19 and 2 sub-basins correspondingly. Such an assessment of the effectiveness of green spaces is a good way to demonstrate their role and value in regulating water flow, as well as to identify ways to design BGI effectively and prioritise management decisions to achieve the greatest flood control effect.
... Вступ, актуальність теми дослідження. Частота повеней, а також збитки, яких вони завдають, в останні десятиліття стабільно збільшуються в усьому світі [30]. Так, зареєстрований збиток від повеней, що складав близько 7 мільярдів доларів США у 1980х роках, на 2011 рік зріс у 3,5 разимайже до 24 мільярдів [11]. ...
... Також при проведенні оцінки зважатимемо на: -тип рослинності. Рослинність впливає на водорегулювання за рахунок процесів: евапотранспірації, транспірації, перехоплення тощо [30]. Як йдеться у [26], у разі використання рослинного покриву як додаткової змінної, у моделюванні впливу на водорегулювання кореляційні зв'язки посилюються з 0,62 до 0,74. ...
... -Тип ґрунту, адже інфільтрація тісно пов'язана з такими ґрунтовими характеристиками, як: пористість, водопроникність, вологоємність, вміст органічної речовини тощо [20,30]. Наприклад, болотні ґрунти мають неоднорідну структуру, що призводить до утворення великого порового простору. ...
In the course of its functioning, the city’s blue-green infrastructure (BGI), among other ecosystem services (ES), provides water flow regulation services. These are not only economic benefits associated with minimizing flood mitigation losses, but also environmental benefits, which include the normalization of the water cycle. To justify decisions on preventing or reducing the effects of floods in cities, it is very important to quantify the ES of water flow regulation. However, to present time, there is no universal structure and clear mechanism for conducting such an assessment in difficult urban conditions. The purpose of this study is to develop a methodology for geoinformation assessment of water flow regulation ES provided by urban green spaces (UGS) based on remote sensing data using open-source GIS tools. In accordance with the goal, the study developed a methodology based on determining the effectiveness of the relevant function of both individual UGS and the entire city’s BGI. In accordance with the indicators that characterize the properties of green spaces that mainly affect water regulation within the basin, a set of estimated indicators for the assessment was substantiated. These are the characteristics that determine the volume of water runoff, which were generalised and combined into a single calculation parameter (Fall), the coefficient of water regulating capacity due to the quality characteristics of vegetation cover (ω_veg); the coefficient of water regulating capacity due to soil properties (K_soil); the coefficient of water regulating capacity due to the type of underlying surface (ω). These parameters make it possible to implement an assessment methodology that consists in the step-by-step determination of: water flow indicators within small river basins (sub-basins); the efficiency of performing the water flow control function of each individual green area (E_water control (g_a)), and the efficiency of water flow control within the river basin by all available BGI within its boundaries (E_water control). Effectiveness indicators, based on the Harrington’s desirability function, allow to determine the volume of ES water control provision (ES_water_control(BGI) / ES_water_control(g_a)). The assessment based on this methodology can be a useful tool in urban planning decision-making. It allows identifying green areas that require priority actions to improve their capacity to provide flood control and adaptation of urban areas to climate change.
