Human Impact on Danube Watershed Biodiversity in the XXI Century (Geobotany Studies)

Contents
Introduction
Overview of the Environment and Vegetation of the Danube Basin
	1 Plant Geography
	2 Biodiversity
	3 Vegetation
	4 Mountains and Hills (Fig. 7)
	5 Plains (Fig. 7)
		5.1 Swamps
		5.2 Lakes (Including Ponds and Marshes)
		5.3 Mires
		5.4 Coastal Halophilous Environments
		5.5 Continental Halophilous Environments
		5.6 Danube Delta (Fig. 8)
		5.7 Hydrographic Network
	6 Conclusions
	References
The Habitats Along the Upper Danube in Germany and Changes to Them Induced by Human Impacts
	1 The Upper Danube Stretch in Germany: General Remarks
	2 Basic Ecological Conditions on the German Stretch of the Upper Danube River
		2.1 Hydrological Characteristics
		2.2 Morphological Dynamics
	3 Climate Gradients in the Danube River Basin
	4 Climatic-Biogeographical Differentiation of the Danube Sections
	5 Human Impacts and Their Consequences
	6 Measures for Improvement: Studies, Programmes and Plans for Restoration
	7 Present State of the Habitats on the German Upper Danube
	8 The Natura 2000 Network on the Upper Danube
	9 Future Perspectives
	References
The Upper Engadine: Headwater Region of the River Inn. A Swiss Hot Spot of Plant Diversity and Premium Tourism Region
	1 Geography
	2 Climate
	3 Geology
	4 Glacier and Vegetation History
	5 Flora
	6 Hot Spots of Flowering Plants Diversity
	7 Altitudinal Vegetation Zonation
		7.1 Sub-alpine (including supra-sub-alpine) belt (1600-2300 m)
		7.2 Alpine belt (2300-2900 m)
		7.3 Sub-nival belt (2900 m)
		7.4 Nival Belt (3000 m)
	8 Premier Swiss Tourism Region
		8.1 Population of the Upper Engadine Area (permanent residents)
		8.2 Economic structure (years 2005, 2008 and 2011)
		8.3 Building construction activities 2000-2013 (holiday apartments)
		8.4 Tourism (opportunities, accommodations, overnight stays)
	References
Vegetation and Flora Near the Danube in Austria
	1 Vegetation at the Danube
		1.1 Softwood Flood Plain
		1.2 Salicetum albae
		1.3 Hardwood Flood Plain
		1.4 Try Spots (``Heißländen´´)
		1.5 Ecology of the Flood Plain
		1.6 The Occurrence of Mountain Plants
	2 The Occurrence of Thermophilous Plants
		2.1 Thermophilous Plants with a Wider Distribution
		2.2 Thermophilous Plants Growing Mainly Downstream of Vienna
		2.3 Mainly in the Flood Plain of March (Morava) Growing Plants
	3 Vegetation of Steep Slopes Above the Danube
		3.1 Example of the Vegetation of Tributary Rivers Flowing into the Danube
		3.2 Examples of the Vegetation at Slopes Near the Danube
	4 Plants in the Harbours of the Danube
	5 Plants of the River Valleys (Stromtalpflanzen)
	6 Table of the Nature Conservation Areas at the Danube in Austria
	References
Italy in the Danube Geography: Territory, Landscape, Environment, Vegetation, Fauna, Culture, Human Management and Outlooks fo...
	1 The Danube and Italy
	2 Raetian Sector
		2.1 Livignasco or the Valle di Livigno (Lombardia)
			2.1.1 Geographical and Administrative Information
			2.1.2 Altitudinal Belts
			2.1.3 The Vegetation Landscape
			2.1.4 Thematic Maps of the Area
			2.1.5 Important Fauna Aspects
			2.1.6 Protected Areas, History of the Territory and Anthropogenic Impact
		2.2 Incuneata dei tre confini (Trentino Alto Adige Region)
	3 Valle Della Drava (Trentino-Alto Adige)
		3.1 Geographical and Administrative Information
		3.2 The Vegetation Landscape
		3.3 Thematic Maps
		3.4 Important Fauna Aspects
		3.5 Protected Areas, History of the Territory, and Anthropic Impact
	4 The Tarvisano or the Valle della Slizza (Friuli-Venezia Giulia)
		4.1 Geographic and Administrative Information
		4.2 The Vegetation Landscape
		4.3 Thematic Maps of the Area
		4.4 Important Fauna Aspects
		4.5 Protected Areas, History of the Territory and Land Uses
	5 General Discussion
	6 Final Conclusions
	References
Forest Vegetation Along the Mura River in Slovenia
	1 Introduction
	2 The Area
	3 Bedrock and Soils
	4 Fauna
	5 Endangered Flora
	6 Invasive Species
	7 Overview of Non-forest Vegetation
	8 Forest Vegetation
		8.1 General Overview
			8.1.1 Forests on the Alluvial Plain
			8.1.2 Riverine forests
			8.1.3 Moorland Forests
	9 Conclusions
	References
The Response of Fish Assemblages to Human Impacts Along the Lower Stretch of the Rivers Morava and Dyje (Danube River Basin, C...
	1 Introduction
	2 General Characteristics of the Morava River Basin
	3 Current Situation as Regards Habitat and Water Quality Degradation Along the Lower Morava and Dyje
		3.1 Physical Habitat Degradation
		3.2 Water Quality Development
		3.3 History of Ichthyological Research
	4 Material and Methods
		4.1 Study Sites
		4.2 Fish Monitoring
	5 Results
		5.1 Species Composition
		5.2 Angling Yield
	6 Discussion
	References
Human Impacts on the Dobra River (Croatia)
	1 Introduction
	2 Hydrology and Speleology
	3 Fauna of the Dobra Catchment
		3.1 Subterranean Fauna
		3.2 Limnofauna
	4 Fish Fauna
		4.1 Upper Dobra
		4.2 Lower Dobra
	5 Human Impacts
	References
Anthropogenic Impact and Environmental Quality of Different Tributaries of the River VRBAS (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
	1 Introduction
		1.1 General Characteristics of the Vrbas Watershed
		1.2 Topography
		1.3 Climate
		1.4 Air Temperatures
		1.5 Precipitations
	2 Hydrology
		2.1 Basic Hydrological Characteristics
	3 River Suturlija
		3.1 Hydrographic Characteristics
	4 River Jakotina
		4.1 Hydrographic Characteristics
	5 River CRNA Rijeka
	6 River Dragočaj
	7 Biodiversity
		7.1 Zoobenthos
	8 Ichthyofauna
		8.1 River Suturlija
		8.2 River Jakotina
		8.3 River Crna Rijeka
		8.4 River Dragočaj
		8.5 Water Quality and Hematological Parameters of Fish Inhabiting the Vrbas Watershed
	9 Conclusion
	References
Assessment of Long-Term Changes in the Szigetköz Floodplain of the Danube River
	1 Introduction
	2 The Natural System of the Szigetköz Floodplain
		2.1 Hydrology
		2.2 Hydro-Morphology
		2.3 Aquatic Habitats
	3 Biota, Biodiversity
		3.1 Ecological Processes
		3.2 Vegetation
		3.3 Aquatic Invertebrates
		3.4 Fish
	4 Historical Overview of River Utilisation and Land Use
		4.1 River Engineering
		4.2 Fisheries
		4.3 Agriculture
		4.4 Forestry
	5 Alterations of the River-Floodplain Ecosystem
		5.1 Hydrological and Hydro-Morphological Dynamics
		5.2 Aquatic Habitats
		5.3 Long-Term Changes of the Fish Fauna
	6 Environmental Objectives of River Restoration
	References
Anthropogenic Pressures on Watercourses of the Danube River Basin in Montenegro
	1 Introduction
	2 Anthopogenic Pressures that Affect Surface Waters
	3 The Danube Basin in the Territory of Montenegro
	4 The Most Important Rivers of the Danube Basin
	5 Sources of Watercourse Pollution
	6 Biological Indicators of Water Quality
		6.1 Oligochaeta, as Representatives of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates
	7 Other Group of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates, as a Bioindicators
	8 Fishes as an Adequate Bioindicators for Water Quality Assessment
	References
Human Impacts on Fish Fauna in the Danube River in Serbia: Current Status and Ecological Implications
	1 The Danube River in Serbia
	2 Water Quality
	3 Commercial and Recreational Fishery
	4 River Regulation and Habitat Fragmentation
	5 Invasive Species
	6 Fish Genetic Diversity and Supportive Stocking
	7 Diversity of Fish Parasite Fauna and Their Use for Monitoring Purposes
	8 Endangered Fish Species in the Danube River Basin in Serbia
	9 Future Perspectives
	References
Assessment of the Aquatic Ecosystem in the Slovak Stretch of the Danube River
	1 Introduction
		1.1 Danube River Basin in Slovakia
			1.1.1 General Characteristics
			1.1.2 Socio-Economic Data
			1.1.3 Water Services
	2 Slovak Stretch of the Danube River
		2.1 Geomorphology
		2.2 Hydromorphology
	3 Investigation of the Slovak Stretch of the Danube River
		3.1 Benthic Invertebrates
		3.2 Phytobenthos
		3.3 Diatoms
		3.4 Non-diatom Community
		3.5 Phytobenthos Biomass
		3.6 Phytoplankton
		3.7 Macrophytes
		3.8 Other Aquatic Communities
			3.8.1 Zooplankton
			3.8.2 Fish
			3.8.3 Invasive Alien Species
			3.8.4 Ecological Status Assessment
	4 Conclusions
	References
State and Changes of Natural Environment in Polish Part of the Danube River Basin Poland
	1 Introduction
	2 Location
		2.1 Administrative
		2.2 Physical and Geographical
		2.3 Climate
		2.4 Hydrographic
	3 The Characteristics of the Natural Environment
		3.1 Abiotic
			3.1.1 Geological Structure
			3.1.2 Soil
			3.1.3 Climate
			3.1.4 Waters
				Surface Waters
				Underground Waters
			3.1.5 Land Use Forms
		3.2 Biotic
			3.2.1 Types of Nature Protection
			3.2.2 Fauna
			3.2.3 Flora
	4 Changes of Natural Environment
		4.1 Changes of Water Quality Parameters
		4.2 Changes in the Biosphere
		4.3 Potential Threats
	References
Pressures and Impacts on Ecological Status of Surface Water Bodies in Ukrainian Part of the Danube River Basin
	1 Introduction
		1.1 Tisza Basin Analysis
			1.1.1 Classification
			1.1.2 Hydromorphological Assessment/Status
		1.2 Aquatic Biodiversity
			1.2.1 Phytoplankton
			1.2.2 Water Plants
			1.2.3 Invertebrates
			1.2.4 Fish Fauna
			1.2.5 Organic and Nutrient Pollution
			1.2.6 Hazardous Substances Pollution
			1.2.7 Hydromorphological Alterations
			1.2.8 Littering of the Riverbeds and Floodplains by Communal Waste
			1.2.9 Expansion of Invasive Species
		1.3 Ecological Status Assessment
	2 Danube Delta Basin Analysis
		2.1 Classification
		2.2 Aquatic Biodiversity
		2.3 Pressures
		2.4 Ecological Status Assessment
	References
Drina River (Sava´s Tributary of Danube River) and Human Impact in Albania
	1 Introduction
	2 General Characterization of the Drina River
	3 Palaeogeography
	4 Climate
	5 Hydrology and Biogeochemistry
	6 Flora and Fauna
	7 Albanian Economic Transition and the Environmental Impact
	8 Economic Importance
	References
Characteristics of the Danube Drainage Area in the Republic of Macedonia
	1 Introduction
	2 Hydrological and Geographical Characteristics
		2.1 Ključeva River
		2.2 Tanusevska River
		2.3 Igriska River
		2.4 Ibrisimska River
		2.5 Crvena Voda River
	3 Geological Characteristics
	4 Characteristics of the Climate
	5 Distribution of Vegetation
	6 Fauna
		6.1 Invertebrate Fauna
			6.1.1 Crayfish
		6.2 Vertebrate Fauna
			6.2.1 Fish
			6.2.2 Amphibians and Reptiles
			6.2.3 Birds
			6.2.4 Mammals
	7 Threats to Wildlife
	References
Long-Term Changes in the Ecological Conditions of the Iskar River (Danube River Basin, Bulgaria)
	1 Introduction
	2 The Iskar River Basin: Geographical, Geomorphological and Climatic Characteristics
	3 Water Use in the Iskar River Basin
	4 Human Impact in the Iskar River Basin
	5 Hydrological Conditions
		5.1 Water Discharge Regime
		5.2 Suspended Sediment Discharge and Fluvial Processes
	6 Water Chemistry
	7 Biodiversity
		7.1 Benthic Macroinvertebrates
		7.2 Fish
	8 Ecological Conditions in the Iskar River: Assessment of Ecological Status Based on Macroinvertebrates-Long-Term Changes-A Ca...
		8.1 Material and Methods
			8.1.1 Study Periods
			8.1.2 Sampling Sites
			8.1.3 Methods
		8.2 Results and Discussion
			8.2.1 Historical View
			8.2.2 Current Environmental Conditions
	9 Conclusions
	References
Human Impact Effects on Târnava River Basin Aquatic Biodiversity (Transylvania, Romania)
	1 Human Impact
	2 Hydrotechnical Works
	3 Nonpoint and Point Waste Water Sources
	4 Riverbed Mineral Exploitation
	5 Overall Human Impact on the Basin Aquatic and Semi-aquatic Biodiversity
	6 Management and Conservation Issues, Based on Identifying the Major Contributors to the Târnava Basin Studied Lotic Systems B...
	References