Supposed Effects of Wetland Restoration on Hydrological Conditions and the Provisioning Ecosystem Services—A Model-Based Case Study at a Hungarian Lowland Catchment

Zsolt Kozma (), Bence Decsi, Tamás Ács, Máté Krisztián Kardos, Dóra Hidy, Mátyás Árvai, Péter Kalicz, Zoltán Kern and Zsolt Pinke
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Zsolt Kozma: Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Műegyetem rkp. 3, H-1111 Budapest, Hungary
Bence Decsi: Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Műegyetem rkp. 3, H-1111 Budapest, Hungary
Tamás Ács: Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Műegyetem rkp. 3, H-1111 Budapest, Hungary
Máté Krisztián Kardos: Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Műegyetem rkp. 3, H-1111 Budapest, Hungary
Dóra Hidy: MTA-MATE Agroecology Research Group, Department of Plant Physiology and Plant Ecology, Hungarian University for Agriculture and Life Sciences, H-2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
Mátyás Árvai: Institute for Soil Sciences, Centre for Agricultural Research, Herman Ottó út 15, H-1022 Budapest, Hungary
Péter Kalicz: Faculty of Forestry, Institute of Geomatics and Civil Engineering, University of Sopron, H-9400 Sopron, Hungary
Zoltán Kern: Institute for Geological and Geochemical Research, Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, H-1112 Budapest, Hungary
Zsolt Pinke: Department of Physical Geography, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter Sétány 1/C, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 15, 1-18

Abstract: Climate change and water scarcity increase the vulnerability of crop production and other ecosystem services (ES) in flood-protected lowlands under a continental climate. Restoration of wetlands leads to a higher water-buffering capacity of the landscape, strengthening various ecosystem services, and fostering adaptation to climatic, ecological, and agricultural challenges. Such restoration efforts require extensive land-use change, leading to trade-offs in provisioning and regulating ES. However, knowledge is limited about these situations, especially in the case of lowland areas. Here, we introduce a hydrological analysis in a 243 km 2 flood-protected catchment in the Great Hungarian Plain, mapping the potential hydrological effects of water-retention scenarios on groundwater levels. We point out how the simulated groundwater levels will be used for estimating the changes in crop yields and tree growth (provisioning services). The introduced hydrological analysis and preliminary results for crop-yield estimates suggest a significant and scalable capacity for a nature-based hydrological adaptation: the extent of inundated areas could be increased stepwise and water retention could locally compensate dry periods due to the buffering effect of inundated meanders.

Keywords: climate-change mitigation; crop yield; groundwater recharge; hydrologic modelling; provisioning ecosystem service; wetland (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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