Biological monitoring started

2015-04-28

The spring arrived to the Old-Drava oxbow, and the assessment of the ecological status started. The baseline study of the habitat is important, since we would like to monitor the results of the project at a later stage. The baseline study is the first assessment of this activity, which define the reference status. The assessment will be completed both Hungarian and Croatian side of the Old-Drava.

The monitoring in the Hungarian side is lead by experts, who have experiences in monitoring of freshwater habitats. The passed winter was really wet along Drava, and the flora and fauna is in good condition. But, since there was no long cold periods, the invasive species is probably also in good condition. Its number will hopefully be reduced during the project, because the favourable water supply of the oxbow will improve status of ancient species, and by planting native tree and shrub species we will improve diversity of forest habitats.

Water gauge was set up this spring on the project site. This water gauge will provide reference data of the oxbow water levels, which doesn’t change rapidly, but there are significant differences between wet and dry seasons’ water levels. The project goal is that the minimum water levels increase with 1,0-1,5 meter due to the restoration measures.