Displays

As a result of climate change, improving the efficiency of our water management has become a key social goal in recent decades. In many regions, water management problems are becoming more common as the result of hydrologic extremes, such as water scarcity, drought or floods.

Countries and regions dealing with water problems, like some parts of Hungary, could avoid major damage by land use change. The possibility of land use change is obviously not an option in certain instances, especially in populated areas or areas with major infrastructure (roads, railways, airports, factories, etc.). At the same time, non-populated areas (primarily agricultural land) may be transformed in the future, in the hope of better water management.

Complex, multi-dimensional assessment of ecosystem services can be a step forward in the evaluation and planning of future land use changes with the aim of improving water resources management. The strength of this approach is multi-disciplinarity, which requires the collaboration of representatives of the technical, economic, social and ecological sciences.

In our study, we quantified and mapped the most important water resources related indicators and services of the Zala River basin in Western Hungary. Zala River is the largest sub-catchment of Lake Balaton, Central-Europe’s largest standing water. The lake has great economic and social importance in Hungary, primarily due to its recreational and cultural services, so it is necessary to have sufficient quantity and quality of water.  The catchment area is 1521 km², land use conditions are dominated by agricultural and forest areas (around 57% and 37% respectively).

For the quantification of ecosystem services indicators, we used the GIS based, static model package InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs). InVEST is suggested to describe the socio-ecological state of several services, under various periods or land use conditions. The strength of the model lies in its solid data requirements and low computational demand. In our work, we mapped the following services and indicators: annual water yield, seasonal water yield, quickflow, nutrient retention, sediment retention and agricultural crop yields.

We examined the impact of different interventions on the ecosystem services. We intervened primarily in areas where agricultural land use is not justified due to different environmental conditions. In these areas, we analyzed the introduction of natural surfaces with afforestation and meadows. We built up a reference (based on a novel LULC map representing actual conditions) and some fictive model variants. These model variants differed in the amount and location of the new semi-natural areas. The variants were compared for two temporal periods: 1980-2010 and 2020-2050 (based on climate models).

We quantified the tradeoffs as a result of a given land use change. As expected, the future negative effects of climate change could be mitigated by increasing semi-natural areas. All ecosystem services would improve except for crop yields. At the same time, however, farmers would be deprived of significant yields in areas, which are excluded from agriculture. Our research highlights that the positive effects or tradeoffs due to land-use change will be needed in the future.

How to cite: Decsi, B. and Kozma, Z.: The impact of fictitious land use changes on water management related ecosystem services in a Hungarian catchment , EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-1090, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-1090, 2020.

The reconstruction of a wood pasture area and a marsh meadow and thereby achieve a more complex biodiversity are the aims of an ongoing project in Western Hungary (Kőszeg Mountains, Őrség National Park Directorate). Previously, the project area (70 hectares) was used as pasture and as meadow. Later it was abandoned, resulted in an increased spread of shrubs and weeds. Climate change may harm the water balance of the vulnerable wetlands. To ensure and manage the water supply and retention in the project area several interventions are planned. The hydrological investigations started in April 2019. Groundwater levels and surface soil moisture (at the surroundings of the wells) are monitored manually once a week at the four selected points in the area. According to the initial results, the groundwater levels and the surface soil moisture values follow the typical seasonal change. A decrease can be detected during the vegetation period, while an increase started in the dormant season. Since the measurements started before the installation of the water control structures and the grazing, the current results can be interpreted as the results of the control period. Thus, the effects of the water supply and retention will be subsequently analyzed.

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.

How to cite: Szőke, E., Csáki, P., Kalicz, P., Zagyvai-Kiss, K. A., Primusz, P., and Gribovszki, Z.: Water supply of an ecologically vulnerable wood pasture area at Kőszeg (Hungary), EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-5430, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-5430, 2020.

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.

How to cite: Nevezi, C., Bazsó, T., Csáki, P., Kalicz, P., Zagyvai-Kiss, K. A., and Gribovszki, Z.: Groundwater dependent forest and wet meadow characteristics in a changing climate, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-6861, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-6861, 2020.

Organic matter, the most complex and heterogeneous component of soil. SOM is a very relevant indicator for soil quality, as it can change the behavior and direction of many properties, soil functions, transformation processes. Less water reduces the amount of biomass produced, resulting in lower production and less plant residue in the soil. Under drier conditions, organic matter decomposes faster due to dominant aerobic processes, thereby reducing soil organic matter content. As the temperature rises, the rate of degradation processes and the intensity of soil respiration increases, which may further increase the reduction of soil carbon stock. Our forests are under high pressure due to climate change, especially in the Carpathian Basin. Therefore, beech and sessile oak are expected to replace with Turkey oak and the afforestation may lead to a change in carbon storage of forests.

To create a database and estimate the changes, we measured the carbon stock of soil in three different regions in Hungary, where the research sites formed on loess bedrock, on 150 and 250 m a.s.l., 650-710 mm precipitation sum with 10-10.4 °C annual temperature.

We took a 1.1 m soil column with soil borer and divided it into 11 samples in each column. Physical (texture, bulk density, water holding capacity) and chemical (pH, CaCO₃) soil properties and SOM were determined based on the methods of the Hungarian Standard in the soil laboratory.

During the evaluation, the amount of SOC was the highest in the topsoil layers. In summary, we found a larger amount (104 C t/ha) of SOC in the soil of stands, where sessile oak were the main stand-forming tree species. The amount of carbon was lower where turkey oak was dominant in sessile oak stands (70 C t/ha on average).

To conclude, the SOC order in case of the stand-forming tree species: sessile oak (/hornbeam) > beech > Turkey oak. We detected that different forest utilization and tree species have an effect on the forest carbon as the litter as well (amount, composition). Our measurements are not representative of the whole stand, but the homogenous loess bedrock demonstrates the impact of different mixture forests on carbon stock. After all, vegetation depends on site conditions (e.g. moisture) and not vice versa. The effects of future climatic changes on soil carbon storage are difficult to predict. In the future, it would be important to expand the use of continuous forest cover farming modes.

How to cite: Horváth, A., Bene, Z., Gálos, B., and Bidló, A.: How can climate change modify the carbon stock of forest soils?, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-12933, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-12933, 2020.

At present, the occurrence of extreme precipitation events is becoming more and more frequent and therefore it is important to quantify their impact on the landscape and soil degradation processes. Until now a wide range of soil erosion models have been developed and many significant studies performed to evaluate soil erosion processes at local and regional level, but there are still many modeling principles that suffer from a range of problems. The general problem in soil erosion modelling lies in the validation and verification of the methodologies used. The validation of erosion models is a very complicated and complex process due to lack of suitable sites, financial demands and due to the high temporal and spatial variability. The paper points to validate the physically and event-based Erosion-3D model predominantly developed to calculate the amounts of soil loss, surface runoff, and depositions resulting from natural and design rainfall events. In the study two different erosion assessment methods were chosen in order to compare diverse evaluation approaches. Both water erosion assessment methods used have certain advantages and disadvantages, but nowadays the use of physically-based models, which are a younger generation of models, are regarded to be a more innovative and effective technique for the evaluation of complex runoff-erosion processes, deposition and transport processes. The significant contribution of physically-based models is seen in their more precise representation of the erosion and deposition processes, a more proper calculation of the erosion, deposition and sediment yields and the application of more complicated characteristics, including fluctuating soil conditions and surface properties in comparison with empirical models. The validation of the models was performed based on the continuous rainfall events for the period selected (2015, 2016 and 2017). The extreme rainfall events occurring during the period were chosen and their serious impact on the agricultural land was modeled. The modelled sediment data were compared with the measured sediment deposition data obtained by a bathymetry survey of the Svacenicky Creek polder. The polder is situated in the middle of the Myjava hill lands in the western part of Slovakia and the bathymetry measurement were conducted using a hydrographical survey using the EcoMapper Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) device. The results of the study include a comparison between the modelled and measured data and an assessment of the impact of the intensive rainfall events on the investigated territory.

Key words: intensive rainfall events, agricultural land, soil degradation processes, hydrological extremes, physically-based model

How to cite: Kohnová, S. and Németová, Z.: Modelling of impacts of erosion processes on agricultural landscapes due to intensive rainfall events, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-13692, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-13692, 2020.

The aim of the study was an integrated application of methods for the identification and complex assessment of ecosystem responses to abiotic stress factors as extreme runoff, muddy floods and soil erosion processes.  The protection of land with flysch geological structures with regard to and the problems caused by extreme runoff are a very important task in water management. The unsuitable management of land and irresponsible land use causes the formation of flash floods on watersheds and results in accelerated soil erosion. The decreasing soil quality and excessive sedimentation of eroded material in the water structures, which are components of flood protection structures, are a consequence of accelerated soil erosion. Research on and the design of measures were realized on five small watersheds in the cadastral area of the village of Vrbovce, which is situated in western Slovakia, on the edge of the flysch zone of the White Carpathians. Flash floods regularly recur in the village of Vrbovce, and extreme runoff causes the formation of rill erosion on the arable land. The soil erosion was modelled by the Universal Soil Loss Equation and the topographic factor was calculated by the Usle2D program. The results of the calculations show that 96.19 % of the agricultural land is endangered by accelerated soil erosion, with the values of the average annual soil loss greater than the limit for the tolerance of soil erosion. We calculated the direct runoff for five selected watersheds of the Teplica river tributaries with the CN-SCS method. The flooded areas in the village were modelled by the 2D hydrodynamic model MIKE21. A set of measures, i.e., polders, an infiltration trench and agrotechnical measures on the arable land, was designed outside the built-up areas of the village of Vrbovce for the reduction of the extreme runoff and accelerated soil erosion. Measures for the Teplica river revitalisation in the village were proposed. From the estimation of effectiveness of the measures proposed follows that we were able to reduce the amount of the soil erosion to values permissible for the norm by the proposed measures.

Key words: soil erosion, flash floods, flood protection, erosion control and river revitalisation practices

How to cite: Výleta, R., Rattayová, V., Hlavčová, K., Danáčová, M., Škrinár, A., Kohnová, S., and Szolgay, J.: Integrated methods and a complex solution for flood protection and erosion control – A case study of the village of Vrbovce, Slovakia, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-13722, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-13722, 2020.

Riparian zone forests are a special type of agro-forestry systems. As buffer zones protect stream systems against stress factors. These ecosystems are diverse so ecologically valuable, on the other hand, they are valuable (because of high productivity) from an economic viewpoint as well.

Riparian forests are very vulnerable because they strongly depend on surplus water (shallow groundwater or seasonally flooded condition). Long drought periods caused by changing climate induce lowering of the water table and shortening flooded periods. With reasonably designed water supply systems, these negative processes can be stopped, and valuable ecosystems can be preserved.

The effect of an artificial structures (new lakes and bottom thresholds) induced water supply was evaluated in Kaszó Forest (Somogy county, Hungary). Eco-Hydrological monitoring (groundwater and phenological) was conducted on 14 regular (under the effect of water supply interventions) and 4 control plots in different forest ecosystems. The impact of water supply interventions was interpreted with spatio-temporal groundwater level difference analysis and found that surplus water had a positive effect on the riparian zone water table (40-50 cm rise in the neighbourhood of new lakes) and vegetation.

A complex field monitoring (hydro-meteorological and phenological measurements) was conducted on three representative locations. 1-D Hydrus model was successfully calibrated for an alder and two common oak forest plots. Diurnal signal of groundwater levels was used for ET estimation in the model. Model results showed that groundwater uptake of forest vegetation was significantly increased (30%) regarding water supply interventions.

Acknowledgements: The research was supported by EFOP-3.6.2-16-2017-00018 in University of Sopron project.

Keywords: riparian forest, water supply, groundwater monitoring, 1-D Hydrus model

How to cite: Gribovszki, Z., Cseke, C., Csáki, P., Horváth, L., Kalicz, P., Nagy, L., Szőke, E., and Zagyvai-Kiss, K. A.: Evaluation of riparian forest water supply with groundwater monitoring and numerical modelling, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-13934, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-13934, 2020.

Spatially distributed evapotranspiration (ET) data are crucial for the water balance calculations of the different ecosystems. The increasingly used remote sensing-based ET estimation methods allow to obtain information about spatial variability of ET at the field and regional scales. For Hungary, the most reliable actual evapotranspiration mapping model is the CREMAP (Calibration-Free Evapotranspiration Mapping), which uses MODIS surface temperature data. However, its 1 km² resolution is too coarse to be effectively used for smaller scale operations such as precision forest management or agroforestry systems. Therefore, the CREMAP ET was statistically downscaled to the resolution of 250 m * 250 m with MODIS NDVI data as a co-variable. The downscaled data were used for the comparison of ET of different forest stand types during a dry period and a wet period.

The research was supported by the EFOP-3.6.2-16-2017-00018 for the University of Sopron project.

How to cite: Csáki, P., Czimber, K., Király, G., Kalicz, P., Zagyvai-Kiss, K. A., and Gribovszki, Z.: Enhancing the spatial resolution of actual evapotranspiration maps for Hungary, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-17549, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-17549, 2020.

Climate extremes affect the vitality and health of the berry species. In some regions, if enough water is available, the impacts can be reduced. Long-lasting stress effect causes sunscald in case of leaves and berries. There are resistant and susceptible varieties of berry species. The disorder, likely caused by ultra-violet radiation, appears on susceptible varieties when the temperature suddenly increases (above about 30 °C), but the humidity is low. It can easily occur in the presence of wind.

Agroforestry systems offer a possible way to reduce direct sunlight by shading to sensitive agricultural crops. The humidity of the tree canopy can decrease the effect of hot dry air. Trees protect the berry species by slowing wind speed. This ongoing research focuses on how trees can influence the hydrological conditions.

We installed a research plot to study the spatial and temporal variability of soil moisture and groundwater level in an agroforestry system compared with agricultural field without trees (Fertőd, Hungary). The measurement is completed with local climatic parameters such as precipitation, air temperature, and relative humidity. The species of the measured plots are blackberry (Rubus fruticosus ‘Dirksen’), raspberry (Rubus idaeus ‘Fertődi zamatos’), and blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum ‘Otelo’) with integrated shadowing trees: hybrid poplar (Populus x euramericana).

Acknowledgements: The project was supported by EFOP-3.6.2-16-2017-00018 for the University of Sopron.

How to cite: Zagyvai-Kiss, K. A., Csáki, P., Kalicz, P., Szőke, E., Varga, J., Zagyvai, G., and Gribovszki, Z.: Reducing the impact of extreme environmental factors on berry plantations, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-18054, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-18054, 2020.

Assessment of the impacts of climate change on hydrological regime is important for sustainable water resources management. The objective of this study is to assess the impacts of future climate changes on the hydrological regime of the headwater catchment of the Vistucky Creek (area 9.8 km2) in south-western Slovakia. Changes in climatic characteristics (i.e. precipitation and air temperature) for periods 2022-2060 and 2062-2100 were prepared by two regional climate models KNMI and MPI using the A1B emission scenario (average related to fossil carbon production). Both climatic scenarios assume increase in the air temperature and precipitation (higher in winter than in summer). A lumped conceptual rainfall-runoff model (the HBV-based TUW model) was used to simulate the catchment hydrological behaviour. The TUW model was calibrated for the reference period of 1982 – 2008. The calibration of the model was performed 50 times with a differential evolution algorithm. After obtaining the collection of the 50 parameter sets, the best set (in terms of Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency and the volume error) was chosen. This set of model parameters was used for the simulation of long-term mean monthly runoff for the three periods (i.e. 1982-2008, 2022-2060, and 2062-2100). The results show that changes in the long-term runoff seasonality and extremality of hydrological cycle could be expected in the future if the climate changes as the scenarios assume. The runoff should increase in autumn and winter months (i.e. from September to February) and decrease in spring and summer months (i.e, from April to August) compared to the reference period. Peakflows should increase in period 2062-2100 while discharge minima should slightly decrease (only for the climatic data from the KNMI model). It indicates possible increase in flow extremality. Catchment water storage as expressed by the soil moisture index and baseflow should decrease in period 2062-2100, especially according to climatic data from the KNMI model. Our contribution will discuss these changes in hydrological regime in the climate change context.

How to cite: Hlavcova, K., Kubán, M., Sleziak, P., and Szolgay, J.: Modeling of climate change impact on hydrological regime in small headwater mountainous catchments in Slovakia, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-21583, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-21583, 2020.