The paper is the overview to the methods of river valleys’ hydro-morphological (eco-morphological) evaluation, which have been used in Poland and other countries since 1980-ies. Author takes up the problem of evaluation accuracy and subjectivity in particular methods and the role of “biological” parameters in different valley zones. The usefulness of vast-area surveys and detailed studies are being analysed in the relation to the Water Framework Directive and sustainable development demands. The controversies about the key and particularly valuable species in river valley ecosystems are also discussed. ...
Detailed hydrological and biological studies were carried out in 2002-2005 on chosen, typical reaches of Wkra River, representing middle-sized lowland one. The results show that the biodiversity of the riverbed does not depend on the fact of river regulation as itself, but on the presence of unique, repeatable microhabitats of peculiar hydromorphological parameters. The relationships between the microhabitat types and invertebrate taxa were analysed. The paper shows the results of those analyses and the divagations about possible connections of microhabitats, invertebrates and mosaic of river eco-systems. ...
Rivers with adjoining valleys are one of the most valuable habitat elements of the landscape. Over the ages human interference has led to various types of transformations in river ecosystems. The necessity of repair works called restoration was noticed. Thus, the need for evaluation of the current state of running water has arisen. Such evaluation should help find the most transformed sections as well as the sections closest to the natural state, which are worth protective interventions. Over the years many original methods were created in different countries. In Poland these were Lewandowski's and Ilnicki's methods and also Oglęcki's and Pawłat's methods. Recently a new method has appeared called RHS, which is an adaptation of British protocol to Polish conditions. This protocol is going to facilitate the implementation of the Water Framework Directive. With the help of these three methodologies the ecomorfological evaluation was conducted among selected reaches of middle Wkra River. The analysis of obtained results has been presented in this paper. ...
