Background

Over the last 200 years, the courses of most European rivers have experienced significant irreversible changes. These changes are connected to different kinds of anthropogenic river use and exploitation, which have varied from running water mills and rafting to large-scale hydroelectric power plants, industrial water withdrawal and flood protection measures. Today, in most developed countries, water quality and ecological river development are important factors in water management. The aim of this study is to evaluate the specific impacts of different time periods during the last 200 years on river courses and their effects on current river management using the example of the 165-km-long German Rur River (North Rhine-Westphalia). The Rur River is a typical central European upland-to-lowland river whose catchment has been affected by various phases of industrial development.

Methods

In this study, a range of morphological changes over the last 200 years are determined based on historic maps and up-to-date orthophotos. River length, sinuosity, oxbow structures, sidearms and the number of islands are used to investigate human impact. The results are correlated with historic time periods.

Results

This analysis shows that river straightening increases, especially during the Industrial Revolution, even without direct hydraulic channelization. The period and grade of river straightening have a direct morphodynamic impact on today’s river restorations. Since the Rur River is a typical upland-to-lowland river, the results show an additional impact by geofactors, such as landform configurations.

Conclusions

Morphodynamic development is correlated with five historic periods of industrial development between 1801 and 2019 up to the introduction of the EU—Water Framework Directive (EU-WFD). Each period shows a different influence on the watercourse, which is connected with human intervention. Even if worldwide comparisons show that the five historical phases differ slightly in their timing between regions, they are applicable to other study areas.

中文翻译：

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200年水资源管理对一条典型的中欧河流的影响。工业化会拉直河吗？

背景

在过去的200年中，大多数欧洲河流的河道经历了不可逆转的重大变化。这些变化与各种人为河流的利用和开发有关，从流水厂和漂流到大型水力发电厂，工业取水和防洪措施不等。今天，在大多数发达国家，水质和生态河流发展是水管理的重要因素。这项研究的目的是使用165公里长的德国Rur河（北莱茵-威斯特法伦州）为例，评估过去200年中不同时间段对河道的具体影响及其对当前河道管理的影响。

方法

在这项研究中，根据历史地图和最新的正射影像确定了过去200年中的一系列形态变化。河流长度，弯曲度，牛弓结构，侧臂和岛屿数量用于调查人类影响。结果与历史时间段相关。

结果

该分析表明，即使没有直接的水力渠化，河流的矫直度也会增加，特别是在工业革命期间。河流矫直的时期和坡度对当今的河流修复具有直接的形态动力学影响。由于Rur河是一条典型的高地到低地河，因此结果显示地理因素（例如地形配置）还会产生其他影响。

结论

形态动力学发展与1801年至2019年的五个工业发展历史时期相关，直到欧盟引入水框架指令（EU-WFD）。每个时期对水道的影响都不同，这与人为干预有关。即使全球范围内的比较表明五个历史阶段在区域之间的时间安排上略有不同，它们也适用于其他研究领域。