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River Basin Management and River Evolution Research

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A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydrology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 22709

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Prof. Dr. Daniel Bucur

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Department of Pedotechnics, Faculty of Agriculture, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iasi University of Life Sciences (IULS), 3 Aleea Mihail Sadoveanu, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Interests: land planning; water exces removal; irrigation; soil erosion control; soil fertility; environment protection
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Dr. José María Senciales-González

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Department of Geography, University of Malaga, 29010 Málaga, Spain
Interests: river; geography; hydrography; fluvial geomorphology; soil geography; climate change
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Dear Colleagues,

Along with the society development, the human actions in the natural environment - at first isolated and insignificant - have gradually increased so lately, anthropogenic intervention on relatively large areas has become decisive in the soil degradation by erosion and landslides processes and affected the water conditions in terms of quality and quantity.

In addition, water resources in the hydrographic network are irregular distributed throughout the territory of many countries and show large variations, both in the volumes of water drained in rainy or dry years - compared to the average year - and in streamflow during a year. In recent decades, the frequency of extreme hydrological phenomena with particularly damaging effects has considerably complicated the river basin management in many regions of the world.

On the other hand, river evolution provides important evidence of the dynamic cycles along the Earth’s landscape. However, in addition to natural factors, human activities are affecting river and catchment evolution with geomorphological and hydrological consequences. Rivers and catchments are being subjected to changes and modifications, resulting in the development of significant hazards or risks in the forms of gullies, landslides, flash floods and sediment mobilisations. These phenomena are able to drastically change fluvial areas in a very short period of time by modifying river beds, banks, vegetation or biodiversity, among other effects. Also, peri-urban, urban and rural areas can be affected by non-controlled river changes. Therefore, understanding the past, present and future processes of each catchment evolution could aid in the protection of human and natural entities, including river ecosystems.

Therefore, the aim of this Special Issue is to foster advances in soil conservation and preventing or mitigating the destructive consequences of floods or prolonged droughts, including through forecasting and warning actions, as well as for the optimal use of water by consumers.

We will also collection of state-of-the-art of river and catchment evolution studies. Authors are invited to submit studies focused on changes in drainage density, fluvial profiles, fluvial processes, flash floods or effects of human structures on fluvial behaviour. We also welcome research analysing river and catchment evolution related to climate change, deforestation and changes in riparian vegetation or studies on the effects of geomorphological dynamics at the hillslope and catchment scales.

Prof. Dr. Daniel Bucur
Dr. José María Senciales-González
Guest Editors

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Keywords

climate change, water quality, flood, drought, hydrological modelling, surface runoff, soil erosion, landslide hazard, reservoir sedimentation, land use/cover change

river evolution; catchment evolution; flash flood; river profiles; bank erosion; fluvial drainage; river ecosystem; watershed management; vegetation restoration

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 8777 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Low-Cost, UAV-Based, Methodological Approach for Morphometric Analysis of Belci Lake Dam Breach, Romania

by Andrei Enea, Marina Iosub and Cristian Constantin Stoleriu

Water 2023, 15(9), 1655; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w15091655 - 23 Apr 2023

Viewed by 1326

Abstract

The greatest challenges encountered in geospatial studies are related to the availability, accuracy, relevance and cost of the data used. The main mapping techniques currently employed are based on digital data, which are used to create digital elevation models (DEMs). The aim of the present study is to devise and apply methodologies for the generation and validation of high-resolution mapping materials, usable both for local, large-scale analyses, and for the calculation of certain morphometric parameters based on structure from motion (SFM) techniques, applied to images acquired by means of a drone at low cost. As a case study, the ruins of the Belci dam, located in Romania, were analysed, where, with the help of a drone, GIS measurements were performed on the arborescent vegetation of the study area, and a digital terrain model (DTM) of the dam was generated. The costs of such a methodological endeavour are low, which allows for the repetition of the steps involved in devising the maps necessary for such studies on a weekly, seasonal, or annual basis, or after extreme events (floods, landslides etc.). The cartographic materials created in the present study allowed us to calculate the active section of the left earthfill dike of the Belci dam, as well as the volume of material removed by the flood of 1991. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue River Basin Management and River Evolution Research)

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13 pages, 9104 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Accumulation of Heavy Metal Ions from Urban Soil in Spontaneous Flora

by Maria Harja, Ramona Carla Ciocinta, Gabrijel Ondrasek, Daniel Bucur and Marcel Dirja

Water 2023, 15(4), 768; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w15040768 - 15 Feb 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1989

Abstract

This study aimed to analyse the bioaccumulation of heavy metal ions in plants of spontaneous flora. An urban area was established from which soil samples were taken and analyses were performed on the content of heavy metal ions. The soil samples were collected from Iasi’s urban area to determine the heavy metal concentrations, obtain maps of sensitive land, and determine the content of heavy metals in spontaneous flora and transfer these into an aqueous extract. The investigation of heavy metal ion levels in certain plants revealed the following: (i) all plants from the Brassicaceae accumulate heavy metals, and B. juncea has a great ability to accumulate and transfer Cu, Cr(VI), Cd, Ni, Pb, and Zn towards the shoots; (ii) heavy metals (Fe, Cu, Cr, Mn, Zn) were present in variable concentrations, with mint and nettle being notable for their increased level of iron and thyme, and rattle for its zinc levels; (iii) toxic metals (Pb, Cd, Ni) are present in low concentrations in plants as well as in infusions, except for in primula and plantain, which do not have high levels of Pb and Cd. The results showed that values exceeded the maximum recommended values in areas with industrial pollution. Taking into account the potential for the bioaccumulation of heavy metal ions by plants from spontaneous flora and their use as medicinal plants, it is recommended, based on the studies conducted, to harvest and use plants from soils that do not contain heavy metal ions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue River Basin Management and River Evolution Research)

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20 pages, 3083 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Land Degradation and Soil Conservation Measures in the Moldavian Plateau, Eastern Romania: A Case Study from the Racova Catchment

by Lilian Niacsu, Ion Ionita, Claudia Samoila, Georgel Grigoras and Ana Maria Blebea-Apostu

Water 2021, 13(20), 2877; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w13202877 - 14 Oct 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3188

Abstract

Land degradation by soil erosion, gullying and landslides and reservoir sedimentation is a major environmental threat in the Moldavian Plateau of eastern Romania. The widespread development of these processes in the last two centuries was favored mainly by traditional agriculture focused on ‘up-and-down slope’ farming on small plots. However, soil conservation measures were actively undertaken between 1970 and 1989. More recent legislation (No. 18/1991 Agricultural Real Estate Act) includes two provisions that discourage maintaining and extending soil conservation practices. Hence, the former contour farming system has been abandoned in favor of the traditional, inadequate farming methods. Thus, this paper reviews the impact of land degradation and soil conservation measures in a representative 32,908 ha catchment located in the Central Moldavian Plateau. Based on field measurements, the results show that the estimated mean long-term (1973–2017) sedimentation rate reaches 4.7 cm y⁻¹ in the Puscasi Reservoir at the catchment outlet, resulting in an associated sediment delivery ratio of 0.28. The initial area of the Puscasi Reservoir at normal retention level has decreased by 32% and the water storage capacity has decreased by 39%. Consequently, land degradation remains a serious problem in the study area and effective soil conservation is urgently needed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue River Basin Management and River Evolution Research)

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24 pages, 7438 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development and Verification of the Available Number of Water Intake Days in Ungauged Local Water Source Using the SWAT Model and Flow Recession Curves

by Jung-Ryel Choi, Il-Moon Chung, Se-Jin Jeung, Kyung-Su Choo, Cheong-Hyeon Oh and Byung-Sik Kim

Water 2021, 13(11), 1511; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w13111511 - 27 May 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2331

Abstract

Climate change significantly affects water supply availability due to changes in the magnitude and seasonality of runoff and severe drought events. In the case of Korea, despite a high water supply ratio, more populations have continued to suffer from restricted regional water supplies. Though Korea enacted the Long-Term Comprehensive Water Resources Plan, a field survey revealed that the regional government organizations limitedly utilized their drought-related data. These limitations present a need for a system that provides a more intuitive drought review, enabling a more prompt response. Thus, this study presents a rating curve for the available number of water intake days per flow, and reviews and calibrates the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model mediators, and found that the coefficient of determination, Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), and percent bias (PBIAS) from 2007 to 2011 were at 0.92%, 0.84%, and 7.2%, respectively, which were “very good” levels. The flow recession curve was proposed after calculating the daily long-term flow and extracted the flow recession trends during days without precipitation. In addition, the SWAT model’s flow data enables the quantitative evaluations of the number of available water intake days without precipitation because of the high hit rate when comparing the available number of water intake days with the limited water supply period near the study watershed. Thus, this study can improve drought response and water resource management plans. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue River Basin Management and River Evolution Research)

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18 pages, 2911 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Simulation of Soil Water Dynamics in a Black Locust Plantation on the Loess Plateau, Western Shanxi Province, China

by Yuting Li, Yang Yu, Ruoxiu Sun, Mingshuang Shen and Jianjun Zhang

Water 2021, 13(9), 1213; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w13091213 - 28 Apr 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2113

Abstract

Soil moisture plays an important role in vegetation restoration and ecosystem rehabilitation in fragile regions. Therefore, understanding the soil water dynamics and water budget in soil is a key target for vegetation restoration and watershed management. In this study, to quantitatively estimate the water budget of the GFGP forests in a dry year and a wet year and to explore the recharge in deep profiles, the vertical and temporal soil moisture variations in a black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) plantation were simulated under typical rainfall events and two-year cycles in a loess area between April 2014 and March 2016. We calibrated and tested the HYDRUS-1D (Salinity Laboratory of the USDA, California, USA) model using the data collected during in situ field observations. The model’s performance was satisfactory, the R², Nash efficiency coefficient (NSE), root mean square error (RMSE), and mean absolute error (MAE) were 0.82, 0.80, 0.021, and 0.030, respectively. For the four rainfall events of 9.1 mm, 25 mm, 71.1 mm, and 123.6 mm, the infiltration amounts were 8.1 mm, 19.3 mm, 65.2 mm, and 95.3 mm, respectively. Moreover, the maximum infiltration depths were 30 cm, 100 cm, 160 cm, and >200 cm, respectively. Additionally, in the two-year model cycles, the upward average water flux was 1.4 mm/d and the downward water flux was 1.69 mm/d in the first-year cycle; the upward average annual water flux was 1.0 mm/d and the downward water flux was 1.1 mm/d in the second-year cycle. The annual water consumption amounts in the two-year cycles were 524.6 mm and 374.2 mm, and the annual replenishment amounts were 616.8 mm and 401 mm. The amounts of percolation that recharged the deep soil were only 28.1 mm and 2.04 mm. A lower annual rainfall would cause a water deficit in the deep soil, which was not conducive to the growth of Robinia pseudoacacia vegetation. To ensure the high-quality sustainable development of the forest land, it is suggested to adjust the stand density in a timely manner and to implement horizontal terraces to increase the infiltration and supply of precipitation. Our study provides an improved understanding of the soil water movement in Robinia pseudoacacia plantations and a simulated temporal moisture variation under different time scales. The results of our study provide a feasible approach for the sustainable management of Robinia pseudoacacia plantations during vegetation restoration. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue River Basin Management and River Evolution Research)

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17 pages, 3151 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Adsorption Performance of Modified Fly Ash for Copper Ion Removal from Aqueous Solution

by Gabriela Buema, Maria Harja, Nicoleta Lupu, Horia Chiriac, Loredana Forminte, Gabriela Ciobanu, Daniel Bucur and Roxana Dana Bucur

Water 2021, 13(2), 207; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w13020207 - 16 Jan 2021

Cited by 33 | Viewed by 3261

Abstract

The initial characteristics of Romanian fly ash from the CET II Holboca power plant show the feasibility of its application for the production of a new material with applicability in environmental decontamination. The material obtained was characterized using standard techniques: scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area, and thermogravimetric differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA). The adsorption capacity of the obtained material was evaluated in batch systems with different values of the initial Cu(II) ion concentration, pH, adsorbent dose, and contact time in order to optimize the adsorption process. According to the experimental data presented in this study, the adsorbent synthesized has a high adsorption capacity for copper ions (q_max = 27.32–58.48 mg/g). The alkali treatment of fly ash with NaOH improved the adsorption capacity of the obtained material compared to that of the untreated fly ash. Based on the kinetics results, the adsorption of copper ions onto synthesized material indicated the chemisorption mechanism. Notably, fly ash can be considered an important beginning in obtaining new materials with applicability to wastewater treatment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue River Basin Management and River Evolution Research)

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19 pages, 3823 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Short-Term Peak-Shaving Operation of Head-Sensitive Cascaded Hydropower Plants Based on Spillage Adjustment

by Shengli Liao, Yan Zhang, Benxi Liu, Zhanwei Liu, Zhou Fang and Shushan Li

Water 2020, 12(12), 3438; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w12123438 - 08 Dec 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1975

Abstract

There are many cascaded hydropower plants with poor regulation performance and sensitive water heads accompanied by water spillage during the wet season. Faced with the increasing load peak–valley differences, it is necessary to tap the peak-shaving potential of such head-sensitive cascaded hydropower plants (HSCHPs) because relying solely on hydropower plants with better regulation performance for peak shaving is inadequate. To address the modeling, solving, and water spillage treatment difficulties posed by HSCHPs, a new short-term peak-shaving method based on spillage adjustment is introduced. First, fuzzy cluster analysis is used to determine when to release more water spillage by automatically identifying valley periods of the daily load curve. Furthermore, a spillage adjustment strategy, implemented through an easy gate operation, is adopted to readjust the water release during each period of the load curve. The ratio of the water spillage released in advance in a certain period to its total water spillage is defined as the water spillage ratio (WSR) of the period. Finally, a mixed-integer linear programming model linearized by special ordered sets of type two is solved to determine the optimal WSRs, which achieves the optimal peak-shaving effect. HSCHPs in the Hongshui River Basin during the wet season were selected as case studies. The results demonstrate that the proposed method can achieve a good peak-shaving effect without significantly reducing the power generation and adding additional water spillage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue River Basin Management and River Evolution Research)

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16 pages, 3137 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on Landscape Patches Influencing Hillslope Erosion Processes and Flow Hydrodynamics in the Loess Plateau of Western Shanxi Province, China

by Ruoxiu Sun, Li Ma, Shouhong Zhang, Yang Yu, Mingshuang Shen, Haibo Zhang, Dandan Wang, Yunbin Yang, Jianan Zhang, Yizhou Zhang and Jianjun Zhang

Water 2020, 12(11), 3201; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w12113201 - 16 Nov 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2129

Abstract

Although vegetation restoration plays an important role in the management of surface runoff and soil erosion, the large-scale restoration of vegetation can increase water consumption and reduce surface water resources, thus affecting the health of river ecosystems. Therefore, vegetation restoration should aim to achieve a vegetation landscape pattern that optimizes protection of soil resources while limiting water consumption. This study established field runoff plots with different landscape patch types, including bare land, S-road patches, strip patches, grid patches, and random patches, as well as different quantities patches of 5, 10, 15, and 20. An artificial rainfall experiment was conducted to determine the effect of different vegetation patches in reducing runoff and sediment, and the relationship between the types and number of vegetation patches and hydrodynamic parameters. The results showed that the runoff yields of the four vegetation patch types decreased by 16.1–48.7% compared with that of bare land, whereas sediment yields decreased by 42.1–86.5%. In addition, the resistance coefficients of the poorly connected patch patterns, including strip patches, grid patches, and random patches, ranged between 0.2–1.17 times higher than that of the well-connected S-road patch pattern, and the stream power decreased by 33.3–50.7%. Under a set vegetation coverage rate, an increase in the number of vegetation patches resulted in a significant reduction in runoff velocity, runoff yield, and sediment yield, increases in surface roughness and flow resistance, and reductions in runoff shear force and stream power. Besides, the sensitivity of soil to erosion decreased with an increasing number of the patch in the vegetation landscape, whereas the sensitivities of patch combinations with poor connectivity were lower than those with good connectivity. The results of this study highlight the importance of vegetation patch type and quantity for control of soil erosion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue River Basin Management and River Evolution Research)

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25 pages, 8864 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Systematic, Automated Approach for River Segmentation Tested on the Magdalena River (Colombia) and the Baker River (Chile)

by Andrea Nardini, Santiago Yépez, Bruno Mazzorana, Héctor Ulloa, María Dolores Bejarano and Alain Laraque

Water 2020, 12(10), 2827; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w12102827 - 12 Oct 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2576

Abstract

This paper proposes a systematic procedure to identify river reaches from a geomorphic point of view. Their identification traditionally relies on a subjective synthesis of multi-dimensional information (e.g., changes of slope, changes of width of valley bottom). We point out that some of the attributes adopted to describe geomorphic characters of a river (in particular sinuosity and confinement) depend on the length of reaches, while these latter are not yet identified; this is a source of ambiguity and introduces, at least conceptually, an unpleasant, implicit, iterative procedure. We introduce a new method which avoids this difficulty. Furthermore, it is simple, objective, and explicitly defined, and as such, it is automatable. The method requires to define and determine a set of intensive attributes, i.e., attributes that are independent of the segment length. The reaches are then identified by the intersection of the segmentations induced by such attributes. We applied the proposed procedure in two case studies, the Magdalena River (Colombia) and the Baker River (Chile), and investigated whether the adoption of the traditional approach for the definition of reaches would lead to a different result. We conclude that there would be no detectable differences. As such, the method can be considered an improvement in geomorphic river characterization. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue River Basin Management and River Evolution Research)

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