CLIMATE-FIT vegetation on flood control dams

Approximately 80 km of flood protection dams run along the rivers March and Thaya, which have been rehabilitated in recent decades. These dams run through the landscape as linear infrastructure elements, on the one hand they fulfill protective functions, on the other hand they also form habitats for ecosystems running through sensitive areas of the floodplain landscape. An intact vegetation cover of the dam structures is essential both for ensuring stability and for long-term and permanent protective functions. The vegetation on these dams goes through several stages. With revegetation measures in the construction phase, a vegetation community is initiated and, depending on internal and external factors, a dynamic development takes place. Significant influencing factors are the seed mixture used, the soil properties, both chemical and physical and biological, the maintenance measures set, the climatological conditions and their changes, and other external factors (occurrence of invasive species, extreme weather events, etc.). The system of dam vegetation is thus subject to a dynamic development and is also subject to constant changes during the operating phase. Maintenance measures and times influence the species composition, the biomass production as well as the underlying soil water balance and, with the removal of the mown material, the nutrient balance as well as other soil properties of the dam slopes. Currently, we know that climate change will alter climatic conditions. Temperature increase and changes in precipitation conditions have a great impact on site and microclimatic conditions. It is therefore necessary to be prepared for potential changes in dam embankments and to implement measures to ensure that the desired ecosystem services can be provided in the future.