Hydrology and Earth System Sciences www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net 1027-5606 1607-7938 13 2 2009 10.5194/hess-13-273-2009 http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/13/273/2009/ http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/13/273/2009/hess-13-273-2009.html http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/13/273/2009/hess-13-273-2009.pdf 273 284 2009-02-25 Hydrologic and landscape changes in the Middle Ebro River (NE Spain): implications for restoration and management A. Cabezas acabezas@ipe.csic.es F. A. Comín S. Beguería M. Trabucchi Pyrenean Institute of Ecology, IPE-CSIC, Zaragoza, Spain Aula Dei Experimental Station, EEAD-CSIC, Zaragoza, Spain The changes of landscape (1927–2003), discharge regime and anthropic activities with the river-floodplain of one reach at the Middle Ebro River (NE Spain) were investigated with the objective to identify the factors that best explain the natural ecotope succession and propose a realistic restoration option with consideration of the landscape dynamics during the last century and the socio-economic context. Our results indicate that hydrological and landscape patterns have been dramatically changed during the last century as a consequence of human alteration of the fluvial dynamics within the studied reach. The magnitude and variability of river discharge events have decreased at the end of the last century, and flood protection structures have disrupted the river floodplain connectivity. As a result, the succesional pathways of riparian ecotopes have been heavily modified because natural rejuvenation no longer takes place, resulting in decreased landscape diversity. It is apparent from these data that floodplain restoration must be incorporated as a significant factor into river management plans if a more natural functioning wants to be retrieved. The ecotope structure and dynamics of the 1927–1957 period should be adopted as the guiding image, whereas current hydrologic and landscape (dykes, raised surfaces) patterns should be considered. Under the current socio-economic context, the more realistic option seems to create a dynamic river corridor reallocating dykes and lowering floodplain heights. The extent of this river corridor should adapt to the restored flow regime, although periodic economic investments could be an option if the desired self-sustained dynamism is not reached. Abaurrea, J., Asín, J., and Centellea, A.: Caracterización espacio-temporal de la evolución de la precipitación anual en la cuenca del Ebro, in: El agua y el Clima, edited by: Guijarro, J. A., Grimalt, M., Laita, M., and Alonso, S.:, Publicaciones de la Asociación Española de Climatología, 113–124, 2002. Amoros, C. and Wade, P. M.: Ecological succesions, in: Fluvial Hydrosystems, edited by: Petts, G. E., and Amoros, C., Chapman & Hall, London, 211–241, 1996. Baptist, M. J., Penning, W. E., Duel, H., Smits, A. J. M., Geerling, G. W., van der Lee, G. E. M., and Van Alphen, J. S. L.: Assessment of the effects of cyclic floodplain rejuvenation on flood levels and biodiversity along the Rhine river, River Res. Appl., 20, 285–297, 2004. Begueria, S.: Uncertainties in partial duration series modelling of extremes related to the choice of the threshold value, J. Hydrol., 303, 215–230, 2005. Bendix, J. and Hupp, C. R.: Hydrological and geomorphological impacts on riparian plant communities, Hydrol. Process., 14, 2977–2990, 2000. Braun-Blanquet, J. and de Bolòs, O.: Las comunidades vegetales de la depresión del Ebro y su dinamismo, Delegación Medio Ambiente – Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, 278 pp., 1987. Castro, P., Guerrero, J., and Muñoz, M. A.: Plan de Restauración del Bosque de Ribera en la Reserva Natural de los Galachos (Zaragoza), Investigacion, Consejo de Proteccion de la Naturaleza de Aragon, Zaragoza, 165 pp., 2001. Comín, F. A.: Management of the Ebro River Basin: Past, present and future, Water Sci. Technol., 40, 161–168, 1999. Cunnane, C.: A particular comparison of annual maxima and partial duration series methods of flood frequency prediction, J. Hydrol., 18, 257–271, 1973. Dury, G. H.: Magnitude-Frequency analysis and Channel Morphology, in: Fluvial Geomorphology, edited by: Morisawa, M., Allen and Unwin, London, 91–121, 1981. Forman, R. T. T. and Godron, M.: Landscape Ecology, John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1986. Frutos, L. M., Ollero, A., and Sánchez Fabre, M.: Caracterización del Ebro y su cuenca y variaciones en su comportamiento hidrológico, in: Alteración de los regimenes fluviales peninsulares, edited by: Gil Oncina, A., Fundación Caja Murcia, Alicante, 223–280, 2004. Geerling, G. W., Ragas, A. M. J., Leuven, R., van den Berg, J. H., Breedveld, M., Liefhebber, D., and Smits, A. J. M.: Succession and rejuvenation in floodplains along the river Allier (France), Hydrobiologia, 565, 71–86, 2006. Hale, B. W. and Adams, M. S.: Ecosystem management and the conservation of river-floodplain systems, Landscape Urban Plan., 80, 23–33, 2007. Hohensinner, S., Habersack, H., Jungwirth, M., and Zauner, G.: Reconstruction of the characteristics of a natural alluvial river-floodplain system and hydromorphological changes following human modifications: The Danube River (1812–1991), River Res. Appl., 20, 25–41, 2004. Hughes, F. M. R. and Rood, S. B.: Allocation of river flows for restoration of floodplain forest ecosystems: A review of approaches and their applicability in Europe, Environ. Manage., 32, 12–33, 2003. Ibañez, C., Prat, N., and Canicio, A.: Changes in the hydrology and sediment transport produced by large dams on the lower Ebro river and its estuary, Regul. Rivers Res. Manag., 12, 51–62, 1996. Jungwirth, M., Muhar, S., and Schmutz, S.: Re-establishing and assessing ecological integrity in riverine landscapes, Freshw. Biol., 47, 867–887, 2002. Junk, W. J., Bayley, B., and Sparks, R. E.: The flood pulse concept in river-floodplain systems, in: Proc. Intern. Large River Symposium, Special Issue of J. Canad. Fish. Aquat. Sci., edited by: Dodge, D. P., 106, 11–27, 1989. Kondolf, G. M.: Lessons learned from river restoration projects in California, Aquat. Conserv., 8, 39–52, 1998. Lamers, L. P. M., Loeb, R., Antheunisse, A. M., Miletto, M., Lucassen, E. C. H. E. T., Boxman, A. W., Smolders, A. J. P., and Roelofs, J. G. M.: Biogeochemical constraints on the ecological rehabilitation of wetland vegetation in river floodplains, Hydrobiologia, 565, 165–186, 2006. Lopez-Moreno, J. I., Begueria, S., and Garcia-Ruiz, J. M.: Influence of the Yesa reservoir on floods of the Aragon River, central Spanish Pyrenees, Hydrol. Earth. Syst. Sci., 6, 753–762, 2002. Losada, J. A., Montesinos, S., Omedas, M., Garcia, M. A., and Galvan, R.: Cartografía de las inundaciones del Río Ebro en Febrero de 2003: Trabajos de Fotointerpretación, teledetección y analisis SIG en el GIS-EBRO, Metods Cuantitativos, SIG y Teledeteccion., Murcia, 207–218, 2004. Miller, J. R., Schulz, T. T., Hobbs, N. T., Wilson, K. R., Schrupp, D. L., and Baker, W. L.: Changes in landscape structure of a southestearn Wyoming riparian zone following shifts in stream dynamics, Biol. Conserv., 72, 371–379, 1995. McGarigal, K. and Marks, B.: FRAGSTATS: Spatial Analysis Program for Quantifiying Landscape Structure, USDA For. Serv. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-351., 1995. Ollero, A.: Los meandros libres del Ebro medio (Logroño-La Zaida): geomorfología fluvial, ecogeografía y riesgos., Dep. Geografía y Ordenación del Territorio, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, 1992. Ollero, A.: Dinámica reciente del cauce de el Ebro en la Reserva Natural de los Galachos, Rev. C. & G., 9, 85–93, 1995. Ollero, A.: Channel adjustments, floodplain changes and riparian ecosystems of the middle Ebro River: Assessment and management, Int. J. Water Resour. D., 23, 73–90, 2007. Owens, P. N., Batalla, R. J., Collins, A. J., Gomez, B., Hicks, D. M., Horowitz, A. J., Kondolf, G. M., Marden, M., Page, M. J., Peacock, D. H., Petticrew, E. L., Salomons, W., and Trustrum, N. A.: Fine-grained sediment in river systems: Environmental significance and management issues, River Res. Appl., 21, 693–717, 2005. Pinilla, V.: The development of irrigated agriculture in twentieth-century Spain: a case study of the Ebro basin, Agr. Hist. Rev., 54, 122–141, 2006. Poff, N. L., Allan, J. D., Bain, M. B., Karr, J. R., Prestegaard, K. L., Richter, B. D., Sparks, R. E., and Stromberg, J. C.: The natural flow regime, Bioscience, 47, 769–784, 1997. Rohde, S., Hostmann, M., Peter A., and Ewald, K. C.: Room for rivers: An integretive search strategy for floodplain restoration, Landscape Urban Plan. 78, 50-70, 2006. Regato, P.: Contribucion al estudio de la flora y la vegetación del galacho de la Alfranca en relación con la evolución del sistema fluvial, Naturaleza en Aragon, Diputación General de Aragon, Zaragoza, 189 pp., 1988. Rovira, A. and Ibañez, C.: Sediment Management Options for the lower Ebro River and its Delta, J. Soils Sediments, 7, 285–295, 2007. Stanford, J. A., Lorang, M. S., and Hauer, F. R.: The shifting habitat mosaic of river ecosystems, Ver. Int. Verein. Limnol., 29, 123–136, 2005. Steiger, J., Gurnell, A. M., Ergenzinger, P., and Snelder, D.: Sedimentation in the riparian zone of an incising river, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 26, 91–108, 2001. Stromberg, J. C., Beauchamp, V. B., Dixon, M. D., Lite, S. J., and Paradzick, C.: Importance of low-flow and high-flow characteristics to restoration of riparian vegetation along rivers in and south-western United States, Freshwater Biol., 52, 651-679, 2007. Tockner, K., Malard, F., and Ward, J. V.: An extension of the flood pulse concept, Hydrol. Process., 14, 2861–2883, 2000. Tockner, K. and Stanford, J. A.: Riverine flood plains: present state and future trends, Environ. Conserv., 29, 308–330, 2002. Ward, J. V. and Stanford, J. A.: Ecological Connectivity in Alluvial River Ecosystems and Its Disruption by Flow Regulation, Regul. Rivers Res. Manage., 11, 105–119, 1995. Ward, J. V., Malard, F., and Tockner, K.: Landscape ecology: a framework for integrating pattern and process in river corridors, Landscape Ecol., 17, 35–45, 2002. Whited, D. C., Lorang, M. S., Harner, M. J., Hauer, F. R., Kimball, J. S., and Stanford, J. A.: Climate, hydrologic disturbance, and succession: Drivers of floodplain pattern, Ecology, 88, 940–953, 2007.