Potential for floodplain rehabilitation based on historical maps and present-day processes along the River Rhine, The Netherlands

Abstract

Abstract For the purpose of restoration, a process-based geomorphological and ecological classification of rivers and river reaches has been developed to help identify both past and present-day geomorphological processes along lower branches of the Rhine. Historical maps are used to analyse floodplain development since 1600. The series of maps shows development and erosion of bars and floodplains, and land use reflects both vegetation and geomorphological patterns and indicates that the ecological succession was strongly related to geomorphology. Historical measurements (early 19th century) of the water depth and water levels are used to derive historical river profiles and water duration curves. Present-day hydraulic parameters were calculated which show that they are not related to the geomorphological patterns in floodplains. Changes in the geomorphological activity of the river are strongly related to changes of the width-depth ratio of the main channel. Potentials for bar and levee development are therefore based on differences between the width-depth ratio of the Rhine branches.