Mitigating the Effects of Climate Change through Water Retention: A Case Study from the Hidegvíz Valley, Hungary

Precipitation patterns have become increasingly extreme in recent decades, leading to more frequent droughts. For certain vegetation types, such as the riparian alder forest (Alnus glutinosa), surplus water is essential for survival. To address this, we investigated the effects of temporary water retention in the Hidegvíz Valley, located in the Sopron Hills.

A detailed groundwater monitoring network has been operational in this area for over a decade, focusing on the impacts of temporary water retention. As part of this study, the network was expanded to include 21 groundwater wells, some of which were equipped with automatic water level recorders. Data from six and a half years of manual measurements were analyzed, and automatic data loggers recorded the water table for one month following the installation of a log weir.

The water retention intervention resulted in a 40 cm rise in streamwater levels and a several-decimeter (dm) increase in groundwater levels within 3–4 meters of the streambed within a few hours. This rise provided a more favorable groundwater table for the alder forest along the stream during the typically dry months of July and August.

Acknowledgement: The research was supported by the OTKA grant 143972SNN and the associated project TKP2021-NKTA-43.