Changes in soil properties due to land reclamation and climate change in South Moravian Floodplain Forest

Abstract

Climatic extremes combined with specific soil hydrological conditions affect the existence and vitality of floodplain forests. Former land reclamation measures and bed river regulations were done to control the annual floods in the studied area. Later subsequent revitalization measures, transboundary controlled river management, wetland restoration, and integrated planning were realized to reduce groundwater dropping and other environmental problems. This study aimed to follow the dynamic of groundwater level and soil hydrophysical properties as affected by climatic change, and regarding forest production. The continuous dataset (2019-2022) of soil physical, and hydrophysical properties, and the parameters of tree radial growth were obtained. The monthly assessment of soil parameters and climatic conditions showed that the lack of precipitation and temperature increase significantly affected groundwater level and forest production. Groundwater level was evaluated by z-score and the means, and standard deviation values were considered. Lack of water has not only negative economic and financial effects on forest production but also ecological ones. Continual monitoring is necessary to improve the revitalization measures (e.g. artificial floodings) and prepare future soil models, which can help better understand both the soil and tree growth in the changing environment.