Adapting to climate change: stabilization the oxygen balance of water bodies in urban areas

The aim of this project is to develop and test an eco-technology to improve the climate resilience of small urban water bodies.

The Kreuzhorst: an hardwood floodplain forest along the Elbe River, located southeast of the city of Magdeburg

The significantly lowered groundwater level has caused substantial damage to the tree population.
Without hydrological countermeasures, the habitat for many animal and plant species is at risk of being lost.
The only way to achieve a sustainable solution is to channel water in during flood events and then retain it for as long as possible.

River Floodplains as Natural Carbon Dioxide sinks:

Although they account for only 0.5–1% of the land area, river basins sequester 3–7% of the total carbon stored on land annually. Unlike forest wood, this carbon is removed from the atmosphere for the long term—spanning centuries to millennia. Furthermore, restoring wetlands and reconnecting floodplains not only sequesters CO2 but also attenuates peak runoff and fosters biodiversity. This project quantifies the amount of carbon stored in floodplains over the long term.