Wetland Restoration in The Netherlands

Hugo Coops ReCCLE, Shimane University, Japan RIZA, The Netherlands

Wetland restoration in the Netherlands

Development of wetland conservation Peat lake restoration Significance of wetland dynamics Rehabilitation of riverine floodplains Reference rivers and deltas Estuarine rehabilitation Water Management of the 21st Century

Wetlands in the Netherlands

Wetlands in the Netherlands

Naardermeer 1905

Management of the Naardermeer nature reserve

Naardermeer conservation issues

eutrophication disturbance

hydrology

fragmentation

Naardermeer: creation of buffer wetland on former pasture

OBN Laagveenwateren

Aim: restoration methods for peat lakes Tackling eutrophication, sediment breakup, lack of succession, spatial fragmentation Research consortium, working under auspices of waterand nature managers

Peat lake restoration research

Water and sediment quality Landscape transition zones

Fish removal

Macrophyte colonisation

Shifts in lake state

Management of trophic state

Nutrient management

Water-level management

P-inflow
(emergent) vegetation

Fisheries management

P-lake algae

(submerged) vegetation filter-feeders (zooplankton)

filter-feeders (mussels) resuspended sediments

turbidity

resuspended sediments

Decline of Reedbeds
-Destruction of natural shorelines -Wave action (erosion) -Eutrophication -Succession (litter accumulation)

Reedbed dynamics

Oostvaardersplassen

Keystone species

Water-level experiments in Volkerak-Zoommeer

Stabilized water levels have a negative effect on reedbeds (die-back, lack of regeneration) Artificial establishment by planting is expensive and unsustainable Can reedbeds be managed by manipulation of water levels on a lake-wide scale? Demonstration project (experimental area) and modelling Feasibility depends on many other factors!

April 1995

July 1997

Emergent vegetation establishment after drawdown

50

Typha angustifolia
1995

50

40

Typha latifolia Schoenoplectus lacustris Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani Bolboschoenus maritimus Phragmites australis

1997
40

30 20

30

20

10

10

-80
50

-70

-60

-50

-40

-30

-20

-10

10

20

0 -80
50

-70

-60

-50

-40

-30

-20

-10

10

20

1996
40
40

1998

30

30

20

20

10

10

0 -80

-70

-60

-50

-40

-30

-20

-10

10

20

0 -80

-70

-60

-50

-40

-30

-20

-10

10

20

10

management model
to assess the effects of water-level manipulations on reed expansion on the shoreline of VolkerakZoommeer
water depth in summer

germination ungrazed rhizome biomass in spring

biomass production rhizome mass at start of fall

herbivores Rhizome loss due to grazing water depth in winter

Scenario 1: Current WL-regime NAP 0 cm

0.2 Water levels

Biomass (g/m2) 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989

Water level (m)

-0.2

1000 800 600 400 200 0-1

Biomass

-0.75

-0.4

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

-0.5 Level (m)

-0.25

Biomass (g/m2) 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989

1000 800 600 400 200 0 -1

Biomass

-0.75

-0.5 Level (m)

-0.25

11

Scenario 2: WL-range min/max 25 cm

0.2 Water levels

Biomass (g/m2) 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989

Water level (m)

-0.2

-0.4

1000 800 600 400 200 0 -1

Biomass

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

-0.75

-0.5 Level (m)

-0.25

Biomass (g/m2) 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989

1000 800 600 400 200 0 -1

Biomass

-0.75

-0.5 Level (m)

-0.25

Scenario 3: WL-range min/max 45 cm

0.2 Water levels

Biomass (g/m2) 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989

Water level (m)

-0.2

-0.4

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1000 800 600 400 200 0-1

Biomass

-0.75

-0.5 Level (m)

-0.25

Biomass (g/m2) 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989

1000 800 600 400 200 0-1

Biomass

-0.75

-0.5 Level (m)

-0.25

12

Scenario 4: Initial 3 years drawdown WL-range min/max 45 cm

0.2 Water levels

Biomass (g/m2) 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989

Water level (m)

-0.2

1000 800 600 400 200 0-1

Biomass

-0.75

-0.5 Level (m)

-0.25

-0.4

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

Biomass (g/m2) 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989

1000 800 600 400 200 0-1

Biomass

-0.75

-0.5 Level (m)

-0.25

Wetland creation in regulated lakes with stable water levels

13

Dredged sediment wetlands

Floodplain rehabilitation
First projects in the late 1980s: Extensive grazing, Floodplain forest 1990s: increase connectivity: secondary channels After 1995: Room for Rivers (flood protection program)

14

Remnants of active floodplain

Target Ecotopes
Ecotopes 1990 Shallow main or side channel Oxbows and floodplain lakes Sandy or clayey beaches and shalllows River dunes Hardwooded floodplain forest Softwooded floodplain forest Marsh/swamp Herbaceous floodplain Natural pasture
High > 80% Good 60-80%

Ecotopes 2000 443 (12%) 605 (50%) 183 (20%) 146 (31%) 342 (43%) 845 (70%) 522 (46%) 960 (35%) 2439 (73%)

Target * 3710 1220 920 475 790 1200 1140 2770 3340
Bad < 20%

390 560 131 132 343 829 543 819 1905

* Targets according to the explorative study of Postma et al. 1996 A stream of nature Moderate 40-60% Poor 20-40%

15

Rhine
STRONGLY REGULATED AND NORMALISED Flood plains reclaimed and embanked Winter dikes against flooding Summer dikes for agricultural use Flooding less frequent, more abrupt and amplified Main channel shortened and adequate deep for navigation Groynes prevent free meandering

Danube

16

Pristine status (Hartley 1887)

1880-1989 Polders for fish culture and agriculture; canals for navigation and lake flushing

Tudor Vladimirescu

Lakes
SULINA TULCEA

Legend Agriculture Fishculture Forestry

rceasc Grla Tu

Tudor Vladimirescu

SULINA TULCEA

1994-2000 Polder restoration and blocking canals

Legend Polder restoration

rceasc Grla Tu

Blocking channels

100%

14000

Gibel carp

Carp
50% 7000

3500

Pike
0%
19 60 19 62 19 64 19 66 19 68 19 70 19 72 19 74 19 76 19 78 19 80 19 82 19 84 19 86 19 88 19 90 19 92 19 94 19 96 19 98

0 S. glanis P. fluviatilis T. tinca A. brama.+B. bjoerkna total yield E. lucius C. carpio R. rutilus+S.erythr. Chinese cyprinids S. lucioperca C.carassius C.a.gibelio other species

Total yield (x 1000 kg)

Crucian carp

Bream
10500

17

Gradients in Danube Delta lakes

Number Size Depth Water level amplitude Hydrological distance from the river Cumulative residence time Soil type Reed to open water ratio Aquatic vegetation coverage Potamogeton trichoides Nitellopsis obtusa Chlorophyll-a Filamentous algae 13 14 - 1400 ha 1.6 - 3.8 m 0.7 - 1.7 m <1 - 90 days 9 - 361 days organic, sand, clay 0.6 - 23.3 3 - 92 % 0 - 100 % 0 - 76 % 7 - 54 g.l-1 0 - 58 %

100

0 Esox lucius

80

Eurytopic

20

60

40

Scardinius erythrophthalmu s Tinca tinca Carassius carassius Perca fluviatilis

40

Limnophilic

60

20

80

Carassius auratus gibelio Blicca bjoerkna Rutilus rutilus

100

Um La br ke ei C Se ui rb bu at lc a u le be de La La ke ke Pl in Ra du cu La le ke t Ta ta ru La ke Ro La su ke Ra du cu La ke La Is ac ke Fu La rt ke un Ba a cl an es ti

La ke

18

Zonation
Type 2 Type 1 Type 3

RIVER

REED

Clay

Organic

Sand-silt

Danube Delta - present state

All lakes are interconnected in a riverine environment along an extensive hydrological gradient Lakes range from pristine to moderately influenced All lake types present, but shift in dominance from clear to turbid increased river influence on remote lakes

19

Classification (RS & ground-truthing)

type 1 type 2 type 3

Danube Delta - reference

Many similarities with upstream floodplain lakes due to large river and small marine influence tidal amplitude of the Black Sea = 20 cm Most floodplains along European rivers have declined due to land-reclamation Danube Delta has a rich and semi-pristine lacustrine biodiversity reference for floodplains of lowland rivers

20

Danube
14000 12000
1994

discharge (m3.s-1)
1991 1997

Danub

10000 8000

1996

1995

6000 4000 2000 0 8-Aug 28-Aug 16-Nov 10-Apr 30-Apr 7-Oct 10-Feb 29-Jun 17-Sep 21-Jan 27-Oct 19-Jul 9-Jun 1-Jan 6-Dec
199 199 199 199 199
1990 1993 1992

20-May

21-Mar

date

Rhine
12000 11000 10000 9000 8000 2 7000 6000
199

discharge (m3.s-1)

Rhine

20 50 150

5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0

199 199 199

199

1/1 21/110/2 1/3 21/310/430/420/5 9/6 29/619/7 8/8 28/817/97/10 27/10 16/11 26/12 6/12 date

26-Dec

1-Mar

21

Flood pulse
Rhine Delta Danube Delta winter/early spring spring short and abrupt more pronounced events and prolonged dikes separate main intact hydrological channel from connectivity floodplain. Do flow pulses still have any ecological effect or do only floods/spates have impact?

365 days per year 150 - 365 50 - 150 20 - 50 2-20 <2

5 km

50 km

22

120%

100%

80%

summer bed floodplain water bodies -1 150-365 days.yr 50-150 20-50 2-20 <2

21% 10% 1% 5% 9% 34% 21% 384 km

2

Aquatic Terrestrial Transition Zone

TOTAL

60%

main channel and permanent floodplain water bodies

40%

20%

Bovenrijn en Waal Pannerdens kanaal, Neder Rijn en Lek IJssel

0% 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 Area of aquatic components (days.yr-1)

Lakes in flood-pulsed environments

Aim of the study
Design guidelines concerning location and morphometry of floodplain lakes are required to combine flood protection and ecological restoration of floodplains.

Information need
Design guidelines for flood plain lakes Ecological functioning of flood plain lakes

23

Lakes in flood-pulsed environments

Various time and spatial scales Surveys monthly monitored for process studies
10 lakes * 3 years (1998-2000)

multi-lake survey for a broad spatial snapshot

100+ lakes

Historical data on aquatic vegetation community structure

1950s, 1980s, 2000s

250

Chloride (mg.l-1)

200

main channel permanently connected lake frequently connected lake rarely connected floodplain lake

150

100

50

0 Aug-99 Nov-98 Jul-98 Sep-97 Feb-99 Jan-98 Apr-98 Dec-99 May-99 Mar-00 Jun-00
8000

Chlorinity in the River Rhine, 19522000 400 mg.l -1 300 200 100 0 1952 1958 1964 1970 1976 1982 1988 1994 2000

Chloride vs discharge 250 200 Cl (mg.l -1) 150 100 50 0 0 2000 4000 6000 3 -1 Discharge (m .s ) 10000 y = 15994.78x-0.65 R2 = 0.74

24

Fish community in floodplain lakes along the Rhine

50-150 100% 2-20 Bream Roach 75% Pikeperch Pike 50% Other Rudd 25% Sunbleak / Crucian Carp Tench Aquatic vegetation

0% OX1 CP14 OX5 CP13 CP11 CP8 CP7 CP2 CP3 CP5

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

submerged

< 0.2 ha 0.2 - 1 ha > 1 ha

Macrophyte species (alpha) diversity vs lake size and inundation duration

<2

2 -20

20- 50

50 - 150

> 150

2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 <2 2 -20 20- 50 50 - 150 > 150

floating

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 <2 2 -20

helophyte s
20- 50 50 - 150 > 150

25

Connectivity and species richness

source: Tockner et al. 1998

Floods in the 1990s

1995 Rhine 2002 Elbe 1993/4 Meuse

2001 Vistula 1997 Oder

2003 Rhone

2002 Danube

26

Possible measures

Secondary channels

-Combination of flood discharge functions and nature development -Very attractive for recreation -Successful habitat creation for flora and fauna -After pilot projects, 7 flowing side-channels realised

27

Gameren: 3 side channels with periodic and permanent flow

Gameren 1999

3 channels with periodic and permanent flow

28

1990

2000

Gameren
Deep water Shallow riverbed Floodplain channel Bar/beach/bank Hardwood forest Sof twood forest Marshland Herbaceous floodplai n Natural pasture Production meadow and arabl e land Built up fl oodplain
Auteur Afdeling Datum : Jan van der Hout : WSE : 29 januari 2002

N
Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat Directoraat-Generaal Rijkswaterstaat Rijksinstituut voor Integraal Zoetwaterbeheer en Afvalwaterbehandeling RIZA

Fish ontogenetic niche shifts Floodplains are used during parts of their life-cycle

Rheophilic Open connections Eurytopic

Limnophilic

29

BenedenLeeuwen 1994-97
regulated with 2 culverts

branched side channel

Ecological state and development of the Rhine from Lobith to the North Sea
Development Biodiversity Riverine landscape Flora Macroinvertebrates Fish Birds Spatial coherence Ecological state (sensu WFD)

+
+ + + 0

0/+
n.a.

+ ++
n.a.

r poo to

te era d mo

red=bad, orange=poor, yellow=moderate, green=good, blue=high

30

Cyclic rejuvenation

25-30 years

The Grensmaas-project

A plan for flood protection, nature development, gravel mining, and new economic impulses for the transboundary Meuse

31

The Grensmaas-project
Reference: Upper Meuse (France)

Reference: River Allier (France)

The Grensmaas-project

32

The Grensmaas-project

Rehabilitation of the Rhine-Meuse Estuary

33

Water management for the 21st century

Keep

Retain

Discharge

Field data collection

34