title: An environmental assessment of water replenishment to a floodplain lake.
abstract: There are numerous wetland rehabilitation projects worldwide, but their efficiency is seldom assessed comprehensively. Oxbow lakes are wetlands of particular sensitivity. Within a large-scale floodplain rehabilitation project in Hungary, the Old Drava Programme, water replenishment was first carried out for the Cún-Szaporca oxbow lakes, a key area in the project. To assess its sustainability, the entire hydrological system has been monitored. From the data of hydrological monitoring (infiltration, soil moisture, groundwater/lakewater interaction) it is claimed that water replenishment involves significant losses through seepage (4.1 and 1.46 mm d-1) and evaporation (3.01 and 1.44 mm d-1) in the studied pre-intervention and replenishment periods, resp. Infiltration alone is insufficient to replenish groundwater and raise oxbow lake levels. In the critical summer half-year evaporation is intensive in the neighbouring agricultural fields. Groundwater table dynamics are controlled by hyporheic and groundwater flow. Major impact on the water balance of the oxbow lakes is exerted by the regime of the Drava River. A deepened lakebed is recommended to ensure more effective water retention in the oxbow lake. From the local study conclusions are drawn for the feasibility of rehabilitation at floodplain scale and in areas with similar hydromorphological conditions.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geography, University of Pécs, Ifjúság útja 6, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary. Electronic address: loczyd@gamma.ttk.pte.hu.
authors.forename: Dénes
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lóczy
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geography, University of Pécs, Ifjúság útja 6, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary.
authors.forename: József
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dezső
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geography, University of Pécs, Ifjúság útja 6, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary.
authors.forename: Szabolcs
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Czigány
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geography, University of Pécs, Ifjúság útja 6, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary.
authors.forename: Hedvig
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Prokos
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geography, University of Pécs, Ifjúság útja 6, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary.
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tóth
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006814:Hungary; D060106:Lakes; D014867:Water; D014872:Water Movements
chemical_list: D014867:Water
keywords: Groundwater dynamics; Groundwater/surface water interaction; Hyporheic flow; Oxbow lake; Water losses