Project name: Restoration plan for the old bed of Mirna River – biological and ecological research and data preparation
Client: Hrvatske vode – legal entity for water management
Period: 06/2013 – 03/2016
Funding: State Budget
Location: Istria, Croatia
An interdisciplinary research project where the main goal is determination, analysis of the current state of the ecosystem and ecological modelling of optimum ecological status of Motovun Forest, as a baseline study for the revitalisation of the old river bed of Mirna River. During the project implementation, the following services were provided:
- Condition and description of Motovun Forest ecosystems:
1.1. The key processes that define habitat – Hydrological data analysis with presentation of historical changes; Assessment of water quality according to biological indicators (macrozoobenthos, fishes, microphytobenthos; hydromorphology) and physical & chemical indicators (in accordance with the Water Frame Directive); Measurement and analysis of the groundwater level and the groundwater quality in the Motovun forest; Sediment analysis; Pedology (Pedophysical and Pedochemical properties); Description of Climate of the area; Spatial distribution parameters of micro relief.
1.2. Biological communities and species in the current habitat – analysis of forest communities (vegetation types, bioindicators species, physiological condition, vitality and productivity of the canopy of edificator tree species; projection of future bio-ecological dynamics); Analysis of the population conditions and the habitat conditions of other endangered and protected species from Motovun Forest and Mirna River; Description of temporal status and habitats of the truffles in Motovun Forest; Description of conservation objectives of Natura 2000)
- Definition of the optimal conditions of the ecosystem (including Natura 2000 areas and conservation objectives)
- The impact of air quality on the stability of the forest ecosystem in Motovun Forest
Within the project, the following methods were implemented: Ichthyofauna standard sampling methods using direct current (dc) fields (STARFISH protocol); Macroinvertebrate and phytobenthos sampling (AQEM protocol); Hydrogeomorphology assessment, water quality assessment (Water Framework Directive); Pizeometer installation and measurement; Dendrometry sampling and analysis; Vegetation survey and analysis; Soil sampling and analysis; Hydrology and climate data analysis; Time series analysis of dominant tree species throughout application of spatial series satellite imagery; Rare and endangered species analysis; Air pollution monitoring through lichenoflora analysis (and mapping); GPS/GIS data integration and analysis, ecological modelling; Definition of optimal ecological conditions.
Services provided:
- Consolidation and analysis of existing literary data
- Establish geoinformation system
- Baseline survey of vegetation types and state of bioindicator population
- Detect time trends of state indicators including growth parameters and canopy vitality parameters
- Projection of future biological-ecological dynamics of forest ecosystem.
Photo: Mapio.net