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Analysis of the relationship between the stream regulations and the geomorphologic effects of floods

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Abstract

This article presents the results of analysis of relationships between stream regulations and the geomorphic effects of floods for the case of the Blanice river basin in the Czech Republic, which was at the center of an extreme flooding event that impacted Central Europe in August 2002. The assessment is based on a geostatistical analysis of data on the distribution of flood effects and stream modifications acquired by field survey and completed by historical maps and digital cartography. Using the cluster analysis and regression tree classification, relationships between the occurrence of erosion and deposition forms, and the parameters of stream modification and general physiography were tested. The results indicate a limited relationship between stream modifications and the occurrence of geomorphic effects of the flood. The cluster analysis detected different sets of parameters linked to erosion and accumulation. The accumulation was related to physiographic properties of stream, while erosion was related to the presence of weirs in the stream segment. The regression tree classification demonstrates the potentially critical combinations of stream modifications related to the occurrence of flood effects.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Research Scheme MSM 0021620831, “Geographical Systems and Risk Processes in the Context of Global Changes and European Integration.” and the project QH82078 Water retention in floodplains and its stimulation. The author would like to thank the field mappers who assisted with data collection and digitizing.

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  1. Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

    Jakub Langhammer

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  1. Jakub Langhammer
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Correspondence to Jakub Langhammer.

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Langhammer, J. Analysis of the relationship between the stream regulations and the geomorphologic effects of floods. Nat Hazards 54, 121–139 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-009-9456-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-009-9456-2

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