sustainability-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

The Natural and Technical Aspects of Water Management with Special Attention to Protected Areas

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Social Ecology and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 April 2023) | Viewed by 6551

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Poznan, Poland
Interests: freshwater protection; eutrophication; river sediments; mine waters; hydromorphology; bioindication; water quality
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Management, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-787 Warszawa, Poland
Interests: water management; Natura 2000; river valleys; rural landscape
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection, Poznan University of Life Sciences, 60-624 Poznań, Poland
Interests: iomonitoring; bioaccumulation; water quality; tourism; protected areas; rare earth elements

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Increasing human pressure on the environment, including protected areas, opens up new questions about the status of protected habitats, the necessity to maintain or modify existing forms of protection, and the search for new possible approaches. The dissemination of scientific knowledge concerning problems occurring during water management, especially in protected areas, is necessary due to the difficulties of legal, technical, natural, and organizational nature.

The observed climate changes additionally affect water management, intensifying water shortages and increasing the risk of extreme weather events at regional and global scale. The global growth of tourism (now weakened by the pandemic situation) together with the ongoing degradation of water resources (plastics, metals, toxins) intensify an already difficult situation in many parts of the world.

Recent years have brought new methods and tools for the monitoring of aquatic ecosystems for environmental protection and tourism purposes. The development of biological indication (macrophytes, algae, macroinvertebrates) approaches for field and laboratory studies was followed by remarkable advances in remote sensing techniques, which can both be successfully utilized for the evaluation of the actual state of the environment and for planning activities.

This Special Issue invites authors to contribute reviews and research papers on freshwater ecology and protection, water management, sustainable development, and modern techniques and tools for monitoring aquatic ecosystems (rivers, lakes, wetlands) localized within or close to protected areas.

The Special Issue aims to publish research results from the following areas:

  • Inventory and monitoring of natural habitats;
  • Water management of river valleys;
  • Implementation of sustainable development principles;
  • Environmental impact assessments in protected areas;
  • Remote sensing in protected areas;
  • Climate changes;
  • Protected areas;
  • Protection of water resources;
  • Problems associated with the exploitation of hydrotechnical devices;
  • Inland water transport;
  • Best river restoration practices.

Dr. Ryszard Staniszewski
Dr. Bogumiła Pawluśkiewicz
Prof. Dr. Mariusz Sojka
Prof. Dr. Klaudia Borowiak
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • protected area
  • river valleys
  • lakes
  • freshwater ecology
  • water quality
  • eutrophication
  • heavy metals
  • anthropogenic pressures
  • sustainable water resources management
  • remote sensing

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

18 pages, 2384 KiB  
Article
Effect of Water Level Reduction on the Littoral Zone in Terms of Its Efficiency in Lake Protection
by Agnieszka Ławniczak-Malińska
Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5563; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065563 - 22 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1939
Abstract
Decreased water levels due to climate change cause many negative effects on lake ecosystems. The aim of this study was to (a) assess the effect of the reduction of water levels on nutrient availability in the sediment in the littoral zone; (b) evaluate [...] Read more.
Decreased water levels due to climate change cause many negative effects on lake ecosystems. The aim of this study was to (a) assess the effect of the reduction of water levels on nutrient availability in the sediment in the littoral zone; (b) evaluate the effect of changes in water level on biomass productivity and nutrient concentrations in the aboveground biomass of four emergent species: Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud., Typha angustifolia L., Carex acutiformis L., Glyceria maxima (C. Hartm.) Holmb; and (c) assess the efficiency of the littoral zone in the reduction of nutrient pollution. The study hypothesis was that water level reduction has a positive effect on the plant biomass of high productive species. The study was carried out in the littoral zone of Tomickie Lake, situated in the western part of Poland. This lake is located in the protected area—the buffer zone of Wielkopolska National Park, and at the international level—Natura 2000. Six transects, perpendicular to the shoreline, were selected at two subzones—permanently and seasonally flooded. Analyses of nutrient concentrations in sediments and plant species were performed. The results show the higher productivity of reeds in the zone where water occurs seasonally at the site through the year, which reached 1193 g dry weight/m2. The decline of the water level may lead to the increased growth of highly productive species as emergent vegetation with a broad ecological scale in terms of nutrient concentrations and changes of water depth, i.e., Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. Species that prefer growth in the deeper part of the lake will be characterized by lower productivity, despite the high availability of nutrients. Changes in the availability of nutrients may cause the intensification of lake overgrowth by very productive species, which may affect biodiversity, which is particularly high in protected areas. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

11 pages, 2182 KiB  
Article
The Mercury Content in the Upper Layers of Soils in the Selected Area of the Masovian Landscape Park
by Marcin J. Małuszyński and Ilona Małuszyńska
Sustainability 2022, 14(1), 405; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010405 - 31 Dec 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1606
Abstract
Due to the high toxicity of the element itself and its compounds, mercury poses a significant threat to the human natural environment, in particular to the soil and water environment. An additional risk is the possibility of mercury accumulation in various elements of [...] Read more.
Due to the high toxicity of the element itself and its compounds, mercury poses a significant threat to the human natural environment, in particular to the soil and water environment. An additional risk is the possibility of mercury accumulation in various elements of the environment. Soil is one of the most important elements of the natural environment and is the main link in the mercury cycle. The cycle of this element is related to both the natural processes taking place in the environment and human activity. The presence of mercury in the natural environment poses a particularly high risk of its re-accumulation as a result of its re-emission. The aim of the research was to determine the mercury content in the upper layers of soils collected from the area and buffer zone of the Mazowiecki Landscape Park as a potential source of this element’s re-emission to the environment. The paper presents the results of research on mercury content in the upper soil layer from the areas adjacent to the communication routes running through the area of the Mazowiecki Landscape Park and its buffer zone. The mercury content in the analyzed soil samples collected from the area of the Mazowiecki Landscape Park ranged from 0.082 mgHg·kg−1 dm to 0.183 mgHg·kg−1 dm, and in the soils from the cover, these values were slightly higher and ranged from 0.125 mgHg·kg−1 dm up to 0.362 mgHg·kg−1 dm. In order to avoid uncontrolled re-emission and, consequently, possible accumulation of this element in the environment, it is necessary to continue monitoring the level of mercury contamination, among others, in soil. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 1803 KiB  
Article
Natura 2000 Network vs. Tourism and Investment Potential of Communes—A Case Study of Czarnkowsko-Trzcianecki County
by Marta Lisiak-Zielińska, Arlinda Cakaj, Anna Budka, Maria Drapikowska, Klaudia Borowiak, Jolanta Kanclerz and Ewelina Janicka
Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 11668; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111668 - 22 Oct 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1808
Abstract
The Natura 2000 is a network of protected areas established in the European Union on the basis of EU Directives. Simultaneously it is the youngest form of protected areas in Poland. Hence conflicts between conservation objectives and opportunities as well as needs of [...] Read more.
The Natura 2000 is a network of protected areas established in the European Union on the basis of EU Directives. Simultaneously it is the youngest form of protected areas in Poland. Hence conflicts between conservation objectives and opportunities as well as needs of community economic development are quite common. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the tourism and investment potential of Czarnkowsko-Trzcianecki County and determine whether the Natura 2000 network is a factor in increasing the tourism and investment development of the commune or limiting it. We evaluated the tourism and investment potential based on modification of the Gołembski method (i.e., multidimensional comparative analysis) and measured the proportion of the Natura 2000 network in the total area of the commune. The Trzcianka commune was found to have the greatest tourism development and investment potential, but the Wieleń commune was the most attractive in terms of tourism, and Czarnków (municipal commune) was found to have the highest investment attractiveness. Moreover, there was no correlation between the Natura 2000 network and tourism and investment potential of communes. However, these areas had a negative impact on the investment attractiveness of communes, due to socio-economic and technical aspects, which may cause future potential limitation of development. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop