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Nature-Based Solutions for Flood Mitigation pp 263–288Cite as

Hydrological Aspects of Nature-Based Solutions in Flood Mitigation in the Danube River Basin in Croatia: Green vs. Grey Approach

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Part of the The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry book series (HEC,volume 107)

Abstract

Flood protection based around “grey” infrastructure measures, such as dikes and dams, comprise traditional flood alleviation schemes. Besides their advantages, reflected in well-established design principles and construction techniques, they cannot fully respond to the challenge of increasing trends of flood magnitudes driven by impacts of climate and land use changes. The application of nature-based solutions for flood mitigation, such as providing “space for water” and inclusion of natural retention areas, provides more flexible and effective solution that may also enhance local biodiversity. This chapter presents a short overview of large flood risk management schemes in the Republic of Croatia with the focus on schemes that utilize nature-based solution aspects on larger scale. The contribution of nature-based solutions was studied through a comparison of longitudinal distribution of peak flows in the two 20-year periods along the major schemes in the Danube River basin in Croatia. The lower sections of the Sava, Mur, Drava and Danube Rivers host exceptional examples of large natural retention areas, such as Lonjsko polje, Kopački rit and Drava floodplains. In addition to flood alleviation impact, the conservation of biodiversity in the Lonjsko polje and Kopački rit wetland areas is also emphasized.

Keywords

  • Croatia
  • Danube River Basin
  • Flood mitigation
  • Nature-based solutions
  • Wetlands

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  • DOI: 10.1007/698_2021_770
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Notes

  1. 1.

    Croatian waters is the legal entity for water management in Republic of Croatia.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful for the hydrological time series and data provided by Croatian Waters. This work has been supported by the Croatian Science Foundation under the project number DOK-2020-01.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hydroscience and Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

    Kristina Potočki, Damir Bekić & Tin Kulić

  2. Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Geodesy, University of Split, Split, Croatia

    Ognjen Bonacci

Authors
  1. Kristina Potočki
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  2. Damir Bekić
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  3. Ognjen Bonacci
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  4. Tin Kulić
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kristina Potočki .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Geography and Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    Carla S. S. Ferreira

  2. Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering (SEED), KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

    Dr. Zahra Kalantari

  3. School of Spatial Planning, Fachgebiet BBV, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany

    Dr. Thomas Hartmann

  4. Environmental Management Center, Mykolas Romeris University, Vilnius, Lithuania

    Paulo Pereira

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Potočki, K., Bekić, D., Bonacci, O., Kulić, T. (2021). Hydrological Aspects of Nature-Based Solutions in Flood Mitigation in the Danube River Basin in Croatia: Green vs. Grey Approach. In: Ferreira, C.S.S., Kalantari, Z., Hartmann, T., Pereira, P. (eds) Nature-Based Solutions for Flood Mitigation. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, vol 107. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2021_770

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