LONG TERM SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH OF THE …
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The Machland basin as case study for a rural Danube floodplain The Machland reach of the Austrian Danube formed a basin with a braided, highly dynamic river system before the systematic channelization in the 19th century (Hohensinner et al. 2004). Maps from the 18th and 19th century as well as written documents from earlier periods demonstrate that all river banks and islands were used intensively for agriculture and forestry. Agrarian literature from the mid-19th century clearly indicates that societies depending on natural fertilizers considered the richness of nutrients in the Danube floodplains as compensation for the risk of erosion and flooding. For humans, coping with the dynamic river and its floodplains meant that land and water were in constant flux: cultivated land was eroded from one location while new land emerged somewhere else due to aggregation processes. The consequences of fluvial dynamics are reflected in laws regulating property rights or in tax registers from the 17th century. Regularly the payment of taxes for a parcel ceased due to its erosion, or new taxes had to be paid for aggregated and cultivated land. Land use patterns, i.e. the distribution of different categories such as arable land, meadows, pastures or forests, were mainly determined by environmental conditions such as persistence of land, groundwater table or water level of floods. Land use in the Danube floodplains in the Machland section 1820 – 2000 (10-year flooding area) Comparison of land use in the Machland floodplains and in the Viennese national park Lobau 1820 and 2000/2006 Urban development along the Viennese Danube The Viennese Danube floodplains are a contrasting example to those from Machland. With few exceptions the river was, until its channelization, an obstacle for urban development. In addition, various reasons, in particular property and use rights, hampered the development of agriculture at least in the immediate vicinity of the river. Until the 19th century, people settled in the Viennese Danube floodplains mainly for specific reasons, for example because they depended on access to water for professional purposes. In the 18th century it also became popular for wealthy Viennese residents to establish “summer homes” in the floodplains. This situation changed upon completion of the Danube regulation along the city between 1870 and 1875. The channelization of the Danube was mainly designed to improve the navigation route. In the decision regarding the final river bed, the potential for urban development was part of the considerations. From the 1880 onwards the former floodplains became an important land resource in the fast- growing, industrializing city. Reclamation of the former floodplains for built-up areas is an ongoing process. Urban development in the Viennese Danube floodplains (1770, 1850, 1913, 2000) How natural is a national park? While most of the former Viennese Danube floodplains were claimed for settlements after the channelization, the area of the Lobau was kept free from buildings due to its long-term function as an imperial hunting ground. Today, this area forms the Viennese section of the Danube “Alluvial Zone national park” (Lobau). A study of land use change revealed that only 20% of the area have the same land use category (arable land, meadows/pastures, forests) as in 1820. Analysing land use for five different years (1820, 1875, 1934, 1986, 2006) demonstrates that on about 4 % of the area the land use category changed at each analysed point in time; this means that from 1820 to 2006, land use changed here at least four times between arable land, meadow or forest. LONG TERM SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH OF THE DANUBE RIVER: URBAN vs. RURAL development within dynamic floodplain systems Haidvogl, Gertrud 1 ; Verena Winiwarter 2 ; Martin Schmid 2 ; Mathias Jungwirth 1 ; Didier Pont 3 1 University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU); Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management; Vienna, Austria; 2 Alpen-Adria Universität Klagenfurt-Graz-Wien, IFF; Institute of Social Ecology, Vienna, Austria; 3 Cemagref, HBAN, France Socio-ecological systems emerge through the continuous interaction of human societies with ecosystems (Haberl et al., 2006; Redman et al., 2004). Long-term socio-ecological research (LTSER) developed out of LTER to go beyond disciplinary approaches. Social activities are no longer considered as mere ecological impacts or disturbances but as a key part of the system. Adding the human dimension should support future sustainable development. The Danube is an interesting case study of LTSER. From an environmental point of view the river can be split into three large sections depending on slope, velocity, discharge and water temperature. From a social viewpoint it links 10 different countries; the catchment covers an area (817 000 km 2 ) with different social, political, economic and cultural histories. Human interventions into the river system can be considered as a reaction to particular environmental conditions (the potential for fishing, hydropower production, navigation) but also as a result of diverse cultural histories. The spatial focus of the case studies presented here is on the Austrian Danube. The temporal emphasis is on the transition from the agrarian to the industrial period, when the river turned from the most important navigation route and food supplier to the country´s main energy resource. Over the last approx. 150 years, the Danube flood plains have been increasingly claimed for settlements, especially in large and growing urban agglomerations like Vienna. Insights into the long-term evolution of the Austrian Danube show how agrarian societies already modified the river for their needs and how they coped with the dynamics of the river before the systematic channelization. The Danube catchment and the Austrian study sites (Machland: green arrow; Vienna: blue arrow; © ICPDR). Eigner & Schneider, 2005 0,0 10,0 20,0 30,0 40,0 50,0 60,0 70,0 Water Sedimentareas Floodplain forests Meadows/food plots Arable land Orchards Infrastructure Buildings Land use category % around 2005 Machland Lobau 0,0 10,0 20,0 30,0 40,0 50,0 60,0 70,0 Water Sedimentareas Floodplain forests Meadows Arable land Orchards Infrastructure Buildings Land use category % around 1820 Machland Lobau
Transcript of LONG TERM SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH OF THE …
The Machland basin as case study for a rural Danube floodplain The Machland reach of the Austrian Danube formed a basin with a braided, highly dynamic river system before the systematic channelization in the 19th century (Hohensinner et al. 2004). Maps from the 18th and 19th century as well as written documents from earlier periods demonstrate that all river banks and islands were used intensively for agriculture and forestry. Agrarian literature from the mid-19th century clearly indicates that societies depending on natural fertilizers considered the richness of nutrients in the Danube floodplains as compensation for the risk of erosion and flooding. For humans, coping with the dynamic river and its floodplains meant that land and water were in constant flux: cultivated land was eroded from one location while new land emerged somewhere else due to aggregation processes. The consequences of fluvial dynamics are reflected in laws regulating property rights or in tax registers from the 17th century. Regularly the payment of taxes for a parcel ceased due to its erosion, or new taxes had to be paid for aggregated and cultivated land. Land use patterns, i.e. the distribution of different categories such as arable land, meadows, pastures or forests, were mainly determined by environmental conditions such as persistence of land, groundwater table or water level of floods. Land use in the Danube floodplains in the Machland section 1820 – 2000 (10-year flooding area) Comparison of land use in the Machland floodplains and in the Viennese national park Lobau 1820 and 2000/2006
Urban development along the Viennese Danube The Viennese Danube floodplains are a contrasting example to those from Machland. With few exceptions the river was, until its channelization, an obstacle for urban development. In addition, various reasons, in particular property and use rights, hampered the development of agriculture at least in the immediate vicinity of the river. Until the 19th century, people settled in the Viennese Danube floodplains mainly for specific reasons, for example because they depended on access to water for professional purposes. In the 18th century it also became popular for wealthy Viennese residents to establish “summer homes” in the floodplains. This situation changed upon completion of the Danube regulation along the city between 1870 and 1875. The channelization of the Danube was mainly designed to improve the navigation route. In the decision regarding the final river bed, the potential for urban development was part of the considerations. From the 1880 onwards the former floodplains became an important land resource in the fast-growing, industrializing city. Reclamation of the former floodplains for built-up areas is an ongoing process. Urban development in the Viennese Danube floodplains (1770, 1850, 1913, 2000) How natural is a national park? While most of the former Viennese Danube floodplains were claimed for settlements after the channelization, the area of the Lobau was kept free from buildings due to its long-term function as an imperial hunting ground. Today, this area forms the Viennese section of the Danube “Alluvial Zone national park” (Lobau). A study of land use change revealed that only 20% of the area have the same land use category (arable land, meadows/pastures, forests) as in 1820. Analysing land use for five different years (1820, 1875, 1934, 1986, 2006) demonstrates that on about 4 % of the area the land use category changed at each analysed point in time; this means that from 1820 to 2006, land use changed here at least four times between arable land, meadow or forest.
LONG TERM SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH OF THE DANUBE RIVER: URBAN vs. RURAL development within dynamic floodplain systems
Haidvogl, Gertrud1; Verena Winiwarter2; Martin Schmid2; Mathias Jungwirth1; Didier Pont3
1University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU); Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management; Vienna, Austria; 2Alpen-Adria Universität Klagenfurt-Graz-Wien, IFF; Institute of Social Ecology, Vienna, Austria; 3Cemagref, HBAN, France
Socio-ecological systems emerge through the continuous interaction of human societies with ecosystems (Haberl et al., 2006; Redman et al., 2004). Long-term socio-ecological research (LTSER) developed out of LTER to go beyond disciplinary approaches. Social activities are no longer considered as mere ecological impacts or disturbances but as a key part of the system. Adding the human dimension should support future sustainable development. The Danube is an interesting case study of LTSER. From an environmental point of view the river can be split into three large sections depending on slope, velocity, discharge and water temperature. From a social viewpoint it links 10 different countries; the catchment covers an area (817 000 km2) with different social, political, economic and cultural histories. Human interventions into the river system can be considered as a reaction to particular environmental conditions (the potential for fishing, hydropower production, navigation) but also as a result of diverse cultural histories. The spatial focus of the case studies presented here is on the Austrian Danube. The temporal emphasis is on the transition from the agrarian to the industrial period, when the river turned from the most important navigation route and food supplier to the country´s main energy resource. Over the last approx. 150 years, the Danube flood plains have been increasingly claimed for settlements, especially in large and growing urban agglomerations like Vienna. Insights into the long-term evolution of the Austrian Danube show how agrarian societies already modified the river for their needs and how they coped with the dynamics of the river before the systematic channelization.
The Danube catchment and the Austrian study sites (Machland: green arrow; Vienna: blue arrow; © ICPDR).
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