Historical development of the March-Thaya floodplain along the Austrian state border

Like many other rivers, the Morava and the Thaya River have been used by humans for centuries. This was accompanied by significant changes in abiotic and biotic processes. Human influence on the river-floodplain ecosystem increased since industrialization in the 19th century. Nevertheless, valuable floodplain zones with high biodiversity have been preserved in some stretches. For several years, renaturation projects have been implemented on the March River to ensure the survival of animal and plant communities in the 21st century. The aim of this project is to reconstruct the river morphological and aquatic ecological development of the March-Thaya floodplains along the Austrian state border since the 18th century and, based on this, to investigate the once river-typical habitats and dynamic fluvial processes. The results will serve as a sound basis for further projects on the renaturation of the Morava and the Thaya River.