the Biebrza Wetlands is the fact that they are considered a representative reference for
wetland restoration (Wassen et al. 2002). To protect this valuable geoecosystem, the
Biebrza National Park (BNP) was founded in 1993. Since then, almost 60,000 ha of
unique wetland habitats have been covered by protection of the highest national
priority. Despite that, more than 40 % of the area of BNP remains privately-owned.
Therefore, along with environmental conservation priorities, stakeholder pressures
aimed at the intensification of agriculture polarises the goals of wetland management
in the Biebrza Valley. The dominant demands of stakeholders are aimed at increasing
agricultural production (haymaking) and draining the wetlands. This would entail a
dramatic loss of biodiversity and deterioration in wetland habitats. The drainage
pressure has increased in the last few years of the first decade of the twenty-first
century, when extreme weather conditions (heavy rainfall in the summer, extensive
droughts in the autumn and frosty winters) entailed summer flooding, which – while
formerly rare – became a frequent obstacle to agriculture. Thus, not only has the
primary impact of climate change (hydrological processes alteration due to climate
change) recently appeared as a challenge for wetland ecosystems in the Biebrza
Valley, but also this secondary impact (considered as a climate-change-induced
stakeholder pressure) became an aspect to be widely-discussed in the preparation
and application of appropriate management strategies for the BNP. Hence, wishing to
establish an appropriate diagnosis of the Biebrza Wetlands’ functioning in regard to
contemporary and prospective habitat dynamics and facing increasing stakeholder
pressures, special emphasis should be given to a long-term temporal analysis of the
hydrology and climate of the Biebrza Valley.
The implementation of the HABIT-CHANGE project (“Adaptive management of
climate-induced changes of habitat diversity in protected areas”), started in 2010,
allowed the establishment of an international, interdisciplinary analytical approach to
potential challenges for the environment and their socio-economic aspects induced by
climate change. This study, by considering the climate-induced impacts on wetlands
and stakeholders, presents the most important results of the project’s implementation
in the BNP. Although some general analysis on temporal variability of hydrometeorological phenomena were considered by Grygoruk et al. (2011b), Ignar
et al. (2011), Kossowska-Cezak (1984), Kossowska-Cezak et al. (1991), Maksymiuk
(2009) and Maksymiuk et al. (2008), the context of climate change in ecosystem
management and habitat development in the Biebrza Valley has so far not been
considered in the literature. Therefore, this chapter becomes the first step towards a
measurable estimation of the challenges, which come along with both the so far
observed and projected climate change impacts, to wetland ecosystem management
in the Biebrza Valley.
The main aim of this chapter is to provide elementary information on climateinduced challenges for ecosystems and stakeholders of wetlands in the Biebrza
Valley. In the first part of this chapter, we analyse hydro-meteorological phenomena recorded in the Biebrza Valley within the years 1970–2011 (with respect to
the precipitation analysis) and 1951–2011 (in order to define flooding frequency
and temporal dynamics). In the next step, we analyse the projected climate change
for the Biebrza Valley in the time horizon 2070–2100 on the basis of ten different
14 Climate-Induced Challenges for Wetlands: Revealing. . .
211
wetland restoration (Wassen et al. 2002). To protect this valuable geoecosystem, the
Biebrza National Park (BNP) was founded in 1993. Since then, almost 60,000 ha of
unique wetland habitats have been covered by protection of the highest national
priority. Despite that, more than 40 % of the area of BNP remains privately-owned.
Therefore, along with environmental conservation priorities, stakeholder pressures
aimed at the intensification of agriculture polarises the goals of wetland management
in the Biebrza Valley. The dominant demands of stakeholders are aimed at increasing
agricultural production (haymaking) and draining the wetlands. This would entail a
dramatic loss of biodiversity and deterioration in wetland habitats. The drainage
pressure has increased in the last few years of the first decade of the twenty-first
century, when extreme weather conditions (heavy rainfall in the summer, extensive
droughts in the autumn and frosty winters) entailed summer flooding, which – while
formerly rare – became a frequent obstacle to agriculture. Thus, not only has the
primary impact of climate change (hydrological processes alteration due to climate
change) recently appeared as a challenge for wetland ecosystems in the Biebrza
Valley, but also this secondary impact (considered as a climate-change-induced
stakeholder pressure) became an aspect to be widely-discussed in the preparation
and application of appropriate management strategies for the BNP. Hence, wishing to
establish an appropriate diagnosis of the Biebrza Wetlands’ functioning in regard to
contemporary and prospective habitat dynamics and facing increasing stakeholder
pressures, special emphasis should be given to a long-term temporal analysis of the
hydrology and climate of the Biebrza Valley.
The implementation of the HABIT-CHANGE project (“Adaptive management of
climate-induced changes of habitat diversity in protected areas”), started in 2010,
allowed the establishment of an international, interdisciplinary analytical approach to
potential challenges for the environment and their socio-economic aspects induced by
climate change. This study, by considering the climate-induced impacts on wetlands
and stakeholders, presents the most important results of the project’s implementation
in the BNP. Although some general analysis on temporal variability of hydrometeorological phenomena were considered by Grygoruk et al. (2011b), Ignar
et al. (2011), Kossowska-Cezak (1984), Kossowska-Cezak et al. (1991), Maksymiuk
(2009) and Maksymiuk et al. (2008), the context of climate change in ecosystem
management and habitat development in the Biebrza Valley has so far not been
considered in the literature. Therefore, this chapter becomes the first step towards a
measurable estimation of the challenges, which come along with both the so far
observed and projected climate change impacts, to wetland ecosystem management
in the Biebrza Valley.
The main aim of this chapter is to provide elementary information on climateinduced challenges for ecosystems and stakeholders of wetlands in the Biebrza
Valley. In the first part of this chapter, we analyse hydro-meteorological phenomena recorded in the Biebrza Valley within the years 1970–2011 (with respect to
the precipitation analysis) and 1951–2011 (in order to define flooding frequency
and temporal dynamics). In the next step, we analyse the projected climate change
for the Biebrza Valley in the time horizon 2070–2100 on the basis of ten different
14 Climate-Induced Challenges for Wetlands: Revealing. . .
211