FloDeMec introduces itself

FloDeMEc is a project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The full title is "Hydraulically and ecologically defined floodplain boundaries as a basis for the development of an integrated approach to quantifying ecosystem services in floodplains at the landscape level". And because that is too long and bulky, FloDeMEc is derived from the english title "Floodplain boundary definition and method Development of Modeling their Ecosystem services". And that is exactly what this project is about: To find out which floodplain boundaries are useful for modeling floodplain ecosystem services and then to develop a method to model the various ecosystem services.

Brief overview

Floodplains are the areas next to rivers that flood more or less frequently depending on the height of the landscape and water level of the river and thus offer a diverse habitat in a small area. Alluvial areas are ecologically valuable, but they are also severely threatened and only exist in fractions of their original size. We humans use floodplains and rivers intensively for agricultural purposes, live there and spend our free time there. Naturally floodplains provide areas that reduce flood waves and retain nutrients. Because different floods inundate different areas with different frequency and length of time, it is difficult to determine the actual area of a floodplain, especially when examining different ecosystem services. And that is exactly what is done in FloDeMEc: For which floodplain boundaries of which ecosystem services an investigation makes sense and which methods need to be developed in order to evaluate the different ecosystem services?

Projektnummer: 390612937

Connected science

Finally enough water!

After a short flood the denitrification campaign could be carried out: 17 plots were sampled and almost 350 samples were prepared in the laboratory. Aim: How does denitrification contribute to the cleaning performance in floodplains (PhD A. Kra)? Thanks again to the infrastructure of UFZ!

No water

The denitrification measurement campaign planned for November 2021 had to be postponed to March 2022. The reason: there isn't enough water. The winter regulation level was reduced to the summer level because a new DEM is created and therefore no water can enter the floodplain right now.

Implementation of a test campaign with soil samples from the Gülper Aue, which has been postponed several times, in mid-June 2021. Aim: How does denitrification contribute to the cleaning performance in floodplains (PhD A. Kra)? Thanks to the infrastructure of the UFZ and experts of the AZOTE project.

Several times postponed vegetation workshop from May 30th to June 2nd, 2021 in the research station of the University of Potsdam in Gülpe an der Havel. Exchange of scientists from all over Germany through hybrid lectures and discussions, real excursions through the floodplain.

Summer 2019: Research stay at the Institute for Hydrobiology and Water Management at BOKU Vienna. Result: Model comparison of the nutrient retention calculation in the tributaries of the free flowing Danube near Vienna. Scientific output: Natho et al. 2020, lectures at the IAD 2021.