The winter season is ideal for traversing the original river arms. Exposed majestic poplars and willows let us know where their paths used to lead. Nowadays, most of the side branches are only supplied with water for a very limited period of increased flows in the Danube. The arms are thus degraded in the long term, clogged with sediment and losing their important function in relation to groundwater recharge, there are no suitable spawning grounds for fish and, last but not least, no water for floodplain forest habitats. Fragments of these rare habitats of European importance have been preserved only to a limited extent. All the efforts to tame our rivers, including the regulation of flows, the construction of dams and drainage, have led to a significant fall in the water table, the drying up of stands closely connected to the water and thus to a general deterioration in the condition of the soft floodplain forest habitats.
River side arms in Medveďovská river branch system, which will be restored in the project LIFE WILDisland
In the project LIFE WILDisland, we plan to restore and connect two original relics of the arms that once formed the very dynamic and varied Medvedovsko-Klucovska river arm system with the main course of the Danube. This will create new abstraction facilities allowing water to flow for most of the year. Sediments will be removed from the degraded channel of the arms and the island will be restored. The increased groundwater infiltration is also expected to improve conditions for the adjacent floodplain forests.
Crossing an river arm, that will be restored and reconected to the Danube in the project LIFE WILDisland
Crossing an river arm, that will be restored and reconected to the Danube in the project LIFE WILDisland