J. D. Sauerländer's Verlag, Bad Orb

This study is concerned with larger areas of floodplain forests that still exist today along the Rivers Danube, Elbe, Rhine, Oder as well as the rivers Weiße Elster/Pleiße/Luppe in the district of Leipzig. The historical development of these floodplain forests since the Holocene has been described for an early period (period of Holocene and older artificial floodplain areas 11.000 B.C. to 17th Century) and a more recent period (period of younger artificial floodplain areas ca. 1650 to present). The main focus was on the development of the hardwood floodplain forests. It could be shown that not only the well-known tree species of floodplain forests such as Carpinus betulus, Quercus robur, Tilia cordata and Ulmus spec. belong to the natural tree species of Central European floodplain forests but also Acer pseudoplatanus, Fagus sylvatica, Fraxinus excelsior and Pinus sylvestris. Anthropogenic influence of the earlier pristine floodplain forests of the Holocene period had been greater than previously assumed. Since the Middle Ages individual cases of changes to river courses have been reported.
In the period of younger artificial floodplain areas, a severe encroachment on the floodplain forests already existed before the rivers were regulated in the 19th century. Existing fluvial systems such as that of the Upper-Rhine were shifted for example. Dykes changed the use of the floodplain areas permanently and under agricultural pressure hardwood floodplain forests were very often converted into fields and the structure of the remnant floodplain forests drastically changed forever. For some river sections the loss of floodplain forests could be quantified from 1700 to 1840.
There has been a longer tradition of biotopes for the hardwood floodplain forests of the river Elbe and in the District of Leipzig compared to the Upper-Rhine and the river Danube near Neuburg. It was only the correction of the Upper-Rhine and Danube river courses that resulted in today’s floodplain forests there.
The floodplain forests in Germany and its bordering areas were altered and established with a diversity of tree species that is significantly important in the European context as a result of the modification and improvement of the alteration of river courses in the 19th century and the regulations of rivers in the 20th century. During this process the silvicultural management system changed from a coppice forest to a coppice-with standards forest to a high-value forest.
Based on the historical landscape analyses in floodplain areas and floodplain forests proposals could be made regarding nature conservation and flood protection. Open fields of research have been defined for some Central European floodplain areas and floodplain forests.

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