Groundwater dependent forest and wet meadow characteristics in a changing climate

Eco-hydrology of hydrophyte forests and wet meadows are very important question in changing climate. Hydrological extremes can cause in these habitats droughts, intense rainfall events and floods. In this study, we investigated a riparian alder forest and its edge, and a neighbouring meadow in Hidegvíz Valley experimental catchment to compare different surface cover type hydrological and botanical characteristics. The research has conducted in 2018-2019 hydrological year.
Throughout the botanical study, a list has been made of the various plant species – trees, bushes, and herbs - of the elder woodland and its edge, and the grassland, in each vegetation period. The classifications of the habitats were made by the Á-NÉR system, which is a Hungarian classification system for Hungarian habitats.
The hydrological research was focused on three important factors in the one-year period: precipitation, the changes of the groundwater levels, and the soil moisture values. We summarised the monthly data, and from all this, we calculated an annual water balance graph. This graph showed us a correlation between hydrological extremes and soil moisture value changes.
The research was supported by the “EFOP-3.6.1-16-2016-00018 – Improving the role of research+development+innovation in the higher education through institutional developments assisting intelligent specialization in Sopron and Szombathely” project.