FLOODPLAIN FORESTS AND RIVER RESTORATION

An 'expert-system' evaluation of the ecological condition of the river s of the Morava catchment shows that the majority of river sections fl owing through industrial or agricultural landscapes are in a very poor ecological condition. Agriculture is the primary factor behind the cl earing of the original floodplain forest and is most significantly imp licated in the degradation of rivers and their aquifers. The importanc e of forests for preserving the optimum ecological condition of river ecosystems is stressed. One of the main concerns of river restoration should, therefore, be the recreation of forest along the riverbanks as similar as possible to the original forest type.