Middle Mulde River Basin

Einzugsgebiet der mittleren Mulde
Mulde

The catchment area of the middle River Mulde (2,700km²) is situated in the western part of the German state of Saxony, in the loess region. It is located in the area between the Pleistocene lowlands made up of glacial and glaciofluvial sediments to the north, and the northern edge of the Erzgebirge basin to the south. The area contains a diverse geological substratum but has a uniform character mainly due to the recent Aeolian sediment cover, the loesses and sandy loesses from the Weichselian glacial period.

The area under investigation can be divided into natural areas with sandloess, loess parabraunerde and loess pseudogley, and into parts of the neighbouring Pleistocene lowland with glacial sands in the north and the Erzgebirge basin and the eastern Erzgebirge with mountain soils in the south. The average annual precipitation in the catchment area varies between 577 and 770 mm/yr. Land use is predominantly agricultural. Relief in the north is characterised by slope gradients of less than 11, in the south slope gradients of over 51 can be found where the rivers cut into the bedrock. The Mulde river basin has been affected several times by floods, with a catastrophic event in 2002.

Projects

BiodivERsa-project TALE - Towards multifunctional agricultural landscapes in Europe: Assessing and governing synergies between food production, biodiversity, and ecosystem services"


Duration: 2015-2018

Objectives:
  • to disentangle and quantify the multifaceted links between agricultural production, biodiversity and ecosystem services in different European landscapes
  • provide a learning environment that supports the design and evaluation of policy options that can help to reconcile conflicting demands, while at the same time ensuring the provision of ESS and conservation of biodiversity.
Contact:

Prof. Dr. Martin Volk (Department Computational Landscape Ecology), Dr. Nina Hagemann (Department Economics)

Colleagues:

Dr. Michael Strauch, Dr. Anna Cord, Dr. Anne Jungandreas, Andrea Kaim (all Department Computational Landscape Ecology), Dr. Nele Lienhoop (Department Economics)


"FLOODMED" - Monitoring, forecasting and best practices for FLOOD Mitigation and prevention in the CADSES region. - EU Community Initiative INTERREG III CADSES


Duration:2006-2008

Objectives:
  • Compilation of existing and future monitoring networks and flood protection measures within the basin
  • Simulation of the impact of land use on the water balance using SWAT
  • Hydro-dynamic modelling in a selected study using TRIMR3D
  • Linkage of SWAT and TRIMR3D 
Contact:

Prof. Dr. Martin Volk

Former colleague:

Martin Steinert


"Ecological research in the riverine landscape of the River Elbe". Funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)


FKZ: 0339586
Duration: 1998-2001

Objectives:
  • Meso-scale estimation of nitrogen input from point- and non-point sources into the water bodies of the Middle Mulde River Basin.
Former colleagues:

Dr. Ulrike Hirt, Antje Ullrich


Cooperations

  • LfULG - Saxonion State Agency for the Environment, Agriculture and Geology
  • UBG - Environmental Operation Service
  • International partners: See project homepages