Assessment of Lateral Connectivity in the Former Floodplain Isolated by Levee Construction: Mangyeong-gang River case study

초록

New attempts to restore former floodplains isolated by artificial levees are being made recently for the recovery of the lateral connectivity in Korea. We developed the assessment system of the lateral connectivity in streams from the ecological aspects of hydrology, habitat quality and wildlife movement. The assessment system was divided into the remote and field assessment. The remote assessment evaluates potential lateral connectivity of isolated floodplain using spatial resources and GIS. The field assessment estimates the connectivity between channels and floodplains and the habitat condition of the isolated former floodplains with field survey. The connectivity was evaluated by hydrological exchange and biological movement. The habitat condition was assessed the preservability of wetland and terrestrial zones in the isolated former floodplains. The assessment system was applied to Mangyeong-gang River. The results of these application showed that the assessment system can be utilized as an objective and effective tools for evaluating the current floodplain condition and selecting the priority restoration sites. This research was supported by a grant (12-TI-C02) from Advanced Water Management Research Program funded by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korean government.