Wetlands in River Valleys as an Effect of Fluvial Processes and Anthropopression - Wetlands and Water Framework Directive: Protection, Management and Climate Change - page 72

the local villages: skie and Gorzyce. Floods indicate that

retention areas are too small within the reach of Sandomierz but also in the
upstream reaches. While the

Ż upawa, Por ę by Furma ń

flood passes the reach with unnaturally high water
levels, congested embankments may easily brake. In these cases, inundation was
much bigger than expected, appearing as a water retention area of an exceptional
importance retention area. At present, the Vistula river

fl

flows in the incised channel.
This river, however, had favoured the wetland creation due to high frequency of
fl

fl

floods as well as impermeable substratum with hight content of organic matter
created by inundations. In spite of the fact that the embankments between Krak ó w

and Sandomierz were finalized in the 1920s, there are still oxbow lakes found

upstream Sandomierz ( flora still

treat the Vistula River as a green corridor. There are environmental protection areas
established within the presented reach of the Vistula River and its valley: the
Pieprzowe Mountains Nature Park, Nature 2,000 habitat protection area (the Tar-
nobrzeska Valley of the Vistula River

Ł ajczak 2014 ). After regulation works, fauna and fl

— PLH 18,049), Nature 2,000 habitat pro-

tection area (the Pieprzowe Mountains — PLH 260,022) (Source http://geoserwis.

gdos.gov.pl/mapy/ ) .
The Nida River
The investigated reach of the Nida River is located between the village of R

ę b ó w and

the town of Pi —

can be predominantly regarded as close to nature. Flowing through the central part of
Poland it had created in its middle run an

ń cz ó w. This lowland river — the left tributary of the Vistula River

“ inland delta ” , a unique multichannel

system with numerous wetlands (Fig. 5.6 ).
The regulation works done in the 1980s become an example of unnecessary and
wrong management of the river valley. Spring fl floods are characteristic for this river.

Nida 5 years. Additionally, during inundations the

embankments are often broken and the

fl floods its valley every 3

-

“ middle delta ” stays underwater for a few

days (Stru ski 2006 ). These facts force the local community to adjust their

agricultural habits to the existing

ż y ń

flow regime. Thanks to this, the main objects
found in the Nida river and valley are: regulated channel, oxbow lakes, old chan-
nels, wetlands, bogs and grasslands. Besides the Nida itself, there are more water
sources in this region: Hajdaszek, Branka and stream from the village of Stawy.
Hajdaszek is currently redirected by the local community to the Smuga Umia-
nowicka stream, the Old Nida branch, whose channel bottom is localized lower than
the Old Nida branch and drains the valley, which results in marching processes in
the middle part of the valley. Branka, the left Nida tributary,

fl

flows currently across
the valley directly to the regulated Nida channel. In the past the stream supplied left
branch of the river called Old Nida (Smuga Umianowicka) in the neighbourhood of
the village of Skowronno G

fl

ó rne. The stream fl flowing from the village of Stawy goes

into the old branch near Sobowice village.
The Old Nida system (oxbow lakes or channels supplied currently by Nida
tributaries) is characterized by smaller channels of the width ranging from 8 to
15 m. The slope and curvature are responsible in this reach for intensive bedload