title: Shore zone in protection of water quality in agricultural landscape-the Mściwojów Reservoir, southwestern Poland.
abstract: Shore zones are transition areas (ecotones) between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Their function in the environment is crucial because they serve as buffer zones that capture pollutants and slow down erosion of reservoir and watercourse banks provided that they are managed properly. Research on a shore zone was conducted at the Mściwojów retention reservoir with an innovative water self-purification system. After several years of its operation, an increased phosphate concentration in the main part of the reservoir was reported. The mapping of the terrain's surface and modeling of hydrological processes in the direct catchment area of the said reservoir were done using the digital elevation model (DEM). The DEM was created from LiDAR data obtained in 2012 by airborne laser scanning. Analyses of the surface runoff led to identification of surface runoff transport pathways, along which the eroded material from cultivated fields is discharged directly to the reservoir. Surface runoff transport pathways gather the eroded material from a maximum area of 45,000 m(2) in the western part of the direct catchment and 40,000 m(2) in the eastern part of it. Due to the reservoir management negligence, the riparian zone designed for the Mściwojów Reservoir no longer exists. The percentage of the natural shore that undergoes erosion processes is over 54. The said processes and fluctuations of the water level in the reservoir, as well as degradation of the shore zone caused by human activity, bring about limited plant development in the littoral zone, which in turn lowers the reservoir's resistance to degradation.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Engineering, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 24 Grunwaldzki Sq, 50-363, Wrocław, Poland. jolanta.dabrowska@up.wroc.pl.
authors.forename: Jolanta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dąbrowska
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Resources and Geohazards, Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization, Polish Academy of Sciences, 19 Kopernika Str, 87-100, Toruń, Poland. halina@geopan.torun.pl.
authors.forename: Halina
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kaczmarek
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Engineering, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 24 Grunwaldzki Sq, 50-363, Wrocław, Poland.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Markowska
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Resources and Geohazards, Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization, Polish Academy of Sciences, 19 Kopernika Str, 87-100, Toruń, Poland.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tyszkowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Spatial Economy, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 53 Grunwaldzka Str, 50-357, Wrocław, Poland.
authors.forename: Olgierd
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kempa
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Engineering, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 24 Grunwaldzki Sq, 50-363, Wrocław, Poland.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gałęza
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 31 Norwida Str, 50-375, Wrocław, Poland.
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kucharczak-Moryl
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Engineering, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 24 Grunwaldzki Sq, 50-363, Wrocław, Poland.
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moryl
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods*; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D017753:Ecosystem; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D062070:Hydrology; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011044:Poland; D060753:Water Quality / Q000592:standards*
keywords: Agricultural water pollution; Bank abrasion; Buffer zones; Dam reservoir; Ecotones; Phosphorous; Shore zone