Evaluation of the Ecomorphological Quality of Running Waters

摘要

High standards of the ecomorphological quality of running waters as well as the biochemical water quality are vital to living organisms in this environment. This article presents a GIS-based software tool for the evaluation of the ecomorphological quality of running waters. The procedure which has been implemented for this purpose consists of four steps for each river or creek under consideration. First a reference system is defined which addresses the potentially natural state of the river or creek. The compilation of data for determining the current ecomorphological quality of the river or creek comprises step two. Thirdly an evaluation of the ecomorphological quality of the river or creek takes place. And finally in the fourth step objectives for enhancing the ecomorphological quality of the river or creek are identified and documented. The latter comprises the basis for engineering redesign works of selected river sections