Chapter 3
Effects of Climate Change
on the Hydrological Cycle
in Central and Eastern Europe
Judith Stagl, Elisabeth Mayr, Hagen Koch, Fred F. Hattermann,
and Shaochun Huang
3.1 Introduction
Water is involved in all components of the climate system: the atmosphere,
hydrosphere, cryosphere, land surface and biosphere. The dynamics of the water
cycle are one of the key variables that determine the distribution and productivity of
ecosystems. Changes in hydrology influence plant and animal species in various
ways. Almost all land-dependent life, habitats and ecosystems depend of freshwater. Similarly, water plays a key role in the climatic system. The water cycle is a key
process upon which other cycles of the climate system operate. It acts as an energy
transfer and storage medium through the hydrological cycle. Globally, changes in
water vapour content of the atmosphere, cloud cover and ice influence the radiation
balance of the earth and thus play an important role in determining the climate
response to increasing greenhouse gas emissions (Bates et al. 2008). Hence,
changes in climate are intricately interlinked with changes to the hydrological
cycle – the most important feedback cycle in the climate system.
For the management of protected areas knowledge about the water regime plays
a very important role, in particular in areas with wetlands, marches or floodplains as
well as lakes. The local hydrological conditions depend widely on temporal and
spatial variations of the main components of the hydrologic cycle and the physiographic conditions on site. In many protected areas, especially those with existing
J. Stagl (*) • H. Koch • F.F. Hattermann • S. Huang
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research,
P.O. Box 601203, 14412 Telegrafenberg, Potsdam, Germany
e-mail: judith.stagl@pik-potsdam.de; hagen.koch@pik-potsdam.de;
hattermann@pik-potsdam.de; huang@pik-potsdam.de
E. Mayr
Department of Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universita ¨t
Mu ¨nchen, Luisenstrasse 37, 80333, Munich, Germany
e-mail: e.mayr@geographie.uni-muenchen.de
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_3, © The Author(s) 2014
31
Effects of Climate Change
on the Hydrological Cycle
in Central and Eastern Europe
Judith Stagl, Elisabeth Mayr, Hagen Koch, Fred F. Hattermann,
and Shaochun Huang
3.1 Introduction
Water is involved in all components of the climate system: the atmosphere,
hydrosphere, cryosphere, land surface and biosphere. The dynamics of the water
cycle are one of the key variables that determine the distribution and productivity of
ecosystems. Changes in hydrology influence plant and animal species in various
ways. Almost all land-dependent life, habitats and ecosystems depend of freshwater. Similarly, water plays a key role in the climatic system. The water cycle is a key
process upon which other cycles of the climate system operate. It acts as an energy
transfer and storage medium through the hydrological cycle. Globally, changes in
water vapour content of the atmosphere, cloud cover and ice influence the radiation
balance of the earth and thus play an important role in determining the climate
response to increasing greenhouse gas emissions (Bates et al. 2008). Hence,
changes in climate are intricately interlinked with changes to the hydrological
cycle – the most important feedback cycle in the climate system.
For the management of protected areas knowledge about the water regime plays
a very important role, in particular in areas with wetlands, marches or floodplains as
well as lakes. The local hydrological conditions depend widely on temporal and
spatial variations of the main components of the hydrologic cycle and the physiographic conditions on site. In many protected areas, especially those with existing
J. Stagl (*) • H. Koch • F.F. Hattermann • S. Huang
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research,
P.O. Box 601203, 14412 Telegrafenberg, Potsdam, Germany
e-mail: judith.stagl@pik-potsdam.de; hagen.koch@pik-potsdam.de;
hattermann@pik-potsdam.de; huang@pik-potsdam.de
E. Mayr
Department of Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universita ¨t
Mu ¨nchen, Luisenstrasse 37, 80333, Munich, Germany
e-mail: e.mayr@geographie.uni-muenchen.de
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_3, © The Author(s) 2014
31