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Project 3.09: Vegetation shift in German estuaries due to climate change and consequences for bank protection and maintenance

Dr Eva-Maria Bauer, BfG,
Department U3 – Vegetation Studies, Landscape Management

Dipl. Geoökol. (Graduate Geoecologist) Maike Heuner, BfG,
Tel. +49 (0) 261/1306-5960, heuner@bafg.de

Also participating in the project:
Dr Elmar Fuchs, Dipl.-Geogr. (Graduate Geographer) Uwe Schröder, Dr Andreas Sundermeier


Objectives

In this project we will study to what extent climate change may cause an alteration of estuarine vegetation as well as the respective ecological functions of tidal floodplains. Recommendations based on scientific analyses will be made as to how current maintenance strategies can be adapted to changing conditions in order to safeguard the function of this floodplain and bank vegetation.

Near-natural bank vegetation at tidal waterways fulfils important functions both for the balance of nature and for people: it provides habitats, filters solid and suspended substances from the water and protects the banks from erosion. In historical perspective, structure and species composition of the estuarine vegetation obviously have been shifted successively by agriculture, hydraulic engineering, and water management. Climate change may cause additional changes in the vegetation and its functions. If hydrological extreme events become more frequent and if the tidal range does increase, this presumably will affect the dynamics of the bank and floodplain vegetation. As a consequence, bank protection may be degraded due to narrowed or fragmented reed belts.
This project will identify floodplain areas of the tidal rivers Elbe and Weser, which might be sensitive to future climate scenarios. Remote sensing methods will be combined with in situ studies. Habitat models will provide an impression of how future climate scenarios may affect the bank and floodplain habitats. Furthermore the impact of utilisation will be analysed.
Finally, options for adaptation will be derived for the maintenance of the estuaries and their floodplains, so that in future both the waterway as an environmental friendly mode of transport and the bank and floodplain vegetation can sustainably be secured


Publications

Heuner, M., Mosner, E., Schröder, U., Kleinschmit, B. (2011): The effect of bank slope types on reed species distribution patterns along marsh edges. – Poster 02.-05.2011, Hydroeco 2011, Wien.

Heuner, M & Schröder, U. (2011): Neue Sensoren, neue Methoden - Neue Wege der Fernerkundung in der Vegetationskunde. – In BfG-Veranstaltungen 3/2011: „Zeitgemäße Erfassung und Bereitstellung von Geobasisdaten für die WSV“, 06./07.04.2011, Koblenz, 10 pp. (im Druck).

Faude, U., Heuner, M., Bauer, E.M., Kleinschmit, B., Schiewe, J., Schröder, U. & Schmidtlein, S. (2011): Detektion von Störstellen und Neophyten im Ästuarvorland der Elbe
mittels neuartiger Fernerkundungsdaten und -verfahren. – In: Traub, K.P., Kohlhus, J. & Lüllwitz, T. (Hrsg): Geoinformationen für die Küstenzone, Beiträge des 3. Hamburger
Symposiums zur Küstenzone, 8. Strategie-Workshop zur Nutzung der Fernerkundung im Bereich der BfG/ WSV, HCU Hamburg, 06.-08.10.2010, pp. 213-224 (im Druck).

Bauer, E.M. & Heuner, M. (2010): Ästuarvegetation und Vorlandschutz im Klimawandel. – Poster, 06./07.10.2010, 3. Hamburger Symposium "Geoinformationen für die Küstenzone", HCU Hamburg

Bauer, E.M., Heuner, M., Schröder, U., Kleinschmit, B., Schiewe, J. & Schmidtlein, S. (2010): Ästuarvegetation und Vorlandschutz im Klimawandel. Nutzung von Fernerkundungsmethoden. – Poster, 06./07.10.2010, 3. Hamburger Symposium "Geoinformationen für die Küstenzone", HCU Hamburg.

Bauer, E.M., Heuner, M., Fuchs, E., Schröder, U. & Sundermeier, A. (2010): Vegetation shift in German estuaries due to climate change? – Conference Proceedings “Deltas in Times of Climate Change”, 29.9.-1.10.2010, Rotterdam, pp. 84-85

Heuner, M., Bauer, E.M., Fuchs, E., Schröder, U. & Sundermeier, A. (2010): Climate adapted marsh management on German estuaries. – Proceedings of the PIANC MMX Congress, 10.-14.5.2010, Liverpool, 8 pp.

Heuner, M., Bauer, E.M., Fuchs, E., Schröder, U. & Sundermeier, A. (2010): Anpassungsoptionen für das Vorlandmanagement deutscher Ästuare angesichts des Klimawandels. – PIANC-Kongress 2010, 10.-14.5.2010, Liverpool, Deutsche Beiträge, pp. 125-130.

Heuner, M., Bauer, E.M., Fuchs, E., Schröder, U. & Sundermeier, A. (2010): Climate adapted marsh management for German estuaries. – Poster, 10.-14.05.2010, PIANC MMX Congress, Liverpool.

Heuner, M., Bauer, E.M., Fuchs, E., Schröder, U. & Sundermeier, A. (2010): Klimawandel in Flussmündungen: Anpassungsoptionen für den Uferschutz. – Poster, 21.-22.08.2010, BMVBS, Berlin.

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