Chapter 14
Climate-Induced Challenges
for Wetlands: Revealing the Background
for the Adaptive Ecosystem Management
in the Biebrza Valley, Poland
Mateusz Grygoruk, Urszula Bierez ˙noj-Bazille, Michał Mazgajski,
and Jadwiga Sienkiewicz
14.1 Introduction
Although climate change has already been recognised as a challenge for European
wetlands, with regard to their hydrology (Acreman 2012; Okruszko et al. 2011;
Winter 2000), ecology (Keddy 2010), agriculture (Hardig et al. 1997) and even
tourism (Wall 1998), the management of protected wetlands still faces a fusion of
problems regarding the definition and implementation of effective, climate-changeorientated conservation and adaptation strategies. In cases of broad wetlands, such
as the Biebrza Valley (NE Poland; Fig. 14.1), environmental and socio-economic
management problems are often related to hydrological processes and a chain
reaction of ecosystems and stakeholders to (climate-change induced) the temporal
alteration of groundwater levels, flood frequency and duration of regular floods and
their volume (Schneider et al. 2011). Those hydrological factors strongly depend on
M. Grygoruk (*)
Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Warsaw University of Life Sciences,
ul. Nowoursynowska 159, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Biebrza National Park, Osowiec-Twierdza 8, 19-110 Gonia ˛dz, Poland
e-mail: m.grygoruk@levis.sggw.pl
U. Bierez ˙noj-Bazille
Institute of Biology, University of Białystok, ul. S ´ wierkowa 20B, 15-950 Białystok, Poland
Biebrza National Park, Osowiec-Twierdza 8, 19-110 Gonia ˛dz, Poland
e-mail: ubiereznoj@biebrza.org.pl
M. Mazgajski
Division of the Measurement and Observation Service in Warsaw, Institute of Meteorology
and Water Management, ul. Podles ´na 61, 01‐673 Warsaw, Poland
e-mail: michal.mazgajski@imgw.pl
J. Sienkiewicz
Department of Nature and Landscape Conservation, Institute of Environmental
Protection – National Research Institute, ul. Krucza 5/11d, 00-548 Warsaw, Poland
e-mail: sienkiewicz@ios.edu.pl
S. Rannow and M. Neubert (eds.), Managing Protected Areas in Central
and Eastern Europe Under Climate Change, Advances in Global Change Research 58,
DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-7960-0_14, © The Author(s) 2014
209
Climate-Induced Challenges
for Wetlands: Revealing the Background
for the Adaptive Ecosystem Management
in the Biebrza Valley, Poland
Mateusz Grygoruk, Urszula Bierez ˙noj-Bazille, Michał Mazgajski,
and Jadwiga Sienkiewicz
14.1 Introduction
Although climate change has already been recognised as a challenge for European
wetlands, with regard to their hydrology (Acreman 2012; Okruszko et al. 2011;
Winter 2000), ecology (Keddy 2010), agriculture (Hardig et al. 1997) and even
tourism (Wall 1998), the management of protected wetlands still faces a fusion of
problems regarding the definition and implementation of effective, climate-changeorientated conservation and adaptation strategies. In cases of broad wetlands, such
as the Biebrza Valley (NE Poland; Fig. 14.1), environmental and socio-economic
management problems are often related to hydrological processes and a chain
reaction of ecosystems and stakeholders to (climate-change induced) the temporal
alteration of groundwater levels, flood frequency and duration of regular floods and
their volume (Schneider et al. 2011). Those hydrological factors strongly depend on
M. Grygoruk (*)
Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Warsaw University of Life Sciences,
ul. Nowoursynowska 159, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Biebrza National Park, Osowiec-Twierdza 8, 19-110 Gonia ˛dz, Poland
e-mail: m.grygoruk@levis.sggw.pl
U. Bierez ˙noj-Bazille
Institute of Biology, University of Białystok, ul. S ´ wierkowa 20B, 15-950 Białystok, Poland
Biebrza National Park, Osowiec-Twierdza 8, 19-110 Gonia ˛dz, Poland
e-mail: ubiereznoj@biebrza.org.pl
M. Mazgajski
Division of the Measurement and Observation Service in Warsaw, Institute of Meteorology
and Water Management, ul. Podles ´na 61, 01‐673 Warsaw, Poland
e-mail: michal.mazgajski@imgw.pl
J. Sienkiewicz
Department of Nature and Landscape Conservation, Institute of Environmental
Protection – National Research Institute, ul. Krucza 5/11d, 00-548 Warsaw, Poland
e-mail: sienkiewicz@ios.edu.pl
S. Rannow and M. Neubert (eds.), Managing Protected Areas in Central
and Eastern Europe Under Climate Change, Advances in Global Change Research 58,
DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-7960-0_14, © The Author(s) 2014
209