A. Chovanec et al., Constructed inshore zones as river corridors through urban areas - The Danube in Vienna: Preliminary results, REGUL RIVER, 16(2), 2000, pp. 175-187
Over the last 125 years, river regulation has considerably changed the ecol
ogical conditions of the Austrian Danube and its floodplains such that the
system is now very fragmented. Within the municipal area of Vienna, these c
hanges have been particularly severe: river embankments and a bypass channe
l (the 'New Danube'), separated from the main river by an artificial island
('Danube Island'), are the key elements of flood control, and river levels
are controlled by the Vienna hydroelectric power plant ('Freudenau'). Duri
ng construction of the hydroelectric power plant, the previously straight s
horeline of the 21-km long Danube island, with its steep embankments, was r
estructured by creating shallow water areas, gravel banks, small permanent
backwaters and temporary waters. This paper describes the scheme and the re
sults from the first year of a 4-year monitoring programme ('Danube Island
Monitoring Programme', DIMP) investigating the colonization and successiona
l processes of these areas by monitoring relevant indicator groups (vegetat
ion, dragonflies, amphibians, reptiles, waterfowl). Copyright (C) 2000 John
Wiley & Sons, Ltd.