Wetlands in River Valleys as an Effect of Fluvial Processes and Anthropopression - Wetlands and Water Framework Directive: Protection, Management and Climate Change - page 81

Fig. 5.15 The riverbed incision of the braided reach of the Czarny Dunajec

and a limited supply of the material from the regulated upper sections of the Czarny
Dunajec River.

5.5 Conclusions

Human changes in culty of

restoring the natural river morphology. Probably the worst are caused by narrowing
of river migration zone. When river cannot erode banks and create new branches,
the only way to get material for transportation is bed erosion. This is directly
connected to the incision processes. Incised river cannot create wetlands.
At a short distance from the town of Sandomierz, the Vistula River had formed
meanders which are nowadays in the process of land-transformation. The river is
embanked and does not form new hydromorphological structures on the inundation
terraces. The reasons of embankment creation were the

fl fluvial processes are very complex. This results in dif

flood disasters in XIX and
XX centuries. During river training, the environmentally precious areas were cut-
off. The reason of the agricultural as well as industrial development on the sur-
roundings of the town of Sandomierz where very good soils created by the per-
manent water logging. The

fl

floods, however, encounter negative implications of
human accommodation within the river migration zone. While those areas are
highly investigated for agricultural use, it might be not easy to restore oxbow lakes
or wetlands there. The Water Framework Directive, however, favours restoring of
the environment. This is partially still possible. Further development within this
area can be designed as sustainable, including works with purposes to refresh
existing oxbow lakes with the use of water from local streams or from Vistula itself.

fl