In recent years, non-point source pollution (NPSP) has become prominent in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) of China and seriously affects human survival and sustainable development. The Henan section was selected as an example region of the YRB in China, and the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model has been used to quantitatively evaluate nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). The results show that (1) the cultivated land (CL), grassland (GL), and unused land (UL) decreased, while forest land (FL), water areas (WAs), and built-up areas (BAs) increased in 2000–2020, and precipitation increased from the northeast to the southwest in 2000–2020; (2) the N export was much more than P export in 2000, 2010, and 2020, and the N and P exports increased in 2000–2020; the spatial distribution of N and P export changes was different in the whole basin in 2000–2010, 2010–2020, and 2000–2020; (3) the N and P exports decreased in
2000–2010, 2010–2020, and 2000–2020 with increasing precipitation; and (4) the N and P exports on CL and BAs were more than those on the other land-use types, and the overall change trends of N and P exports on all land-use types increased from 2000 to 2020.

A significant part of the world's population lives around rivers. The riparian zone is not only a source of drinking water for urbanised areas; streams and rivers are also sinks for wastewater. As a result of the increased consumption of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) in past decades, wastewater untreated and treated is a continuous load of these compounds (and their metabolites) to fluvial systems. The water supply for these kinds of urbanised areas is partly provided by riverbank filtration plants which can be significantly affected by PhACs loading. Riverbank filtration is effective for most pollutants. However, the filtering efficiency for these molecules is poorly known. This presentation focuses on the spatial and temporal distribution of more than a hundred PhACs in the streams and rivers of the Budapest Metropolitan Area. Our presentation demonstrates that bank filtration can also be effective for the filtration of organic micro-pollutants in highly urbanised areas.

Samples were collected during five sampling campaigns. The streams, rivers, and drinking water wells were sampled. The stream sediments were also sampled. Altogether 111 PhACs were measured. In small streams and rivers, eighty-one PhACs were systematically detected, while fifty-three PhACs were detected in the Danube. The quantification of 19 PhACs in the Budapest section of the river was without any precedent, and 10 PhACs were present in >80% of the samples. More PhACswere detectable in the small watercourses, and the concentrations were significantly higher than in the Danube. Sediments always contain fewer PhACs than water. This is mainly due to the high sorption capacity of sediments.

The most frequent PhACs showed higher concentrations in winter than in summer. In the drinking water wells 32 PhACs were quantified. For the majority of PhACs, the bank filtration efficiency was higher than 95%. Concentrations of the compounds did not influence the efficiency of filtering. For some PhACs (e.g. carbamazepine lidocaine, tramadol, and lamotrigine), low filtration efficiency was observed. These frequently occurring PhACs in surface waters have a relatively even distribution, and their sporadic appearance in wells is a function of both space and time, which may be caused by the constantly changing environment and micro-biological parameters, the dynamic operating schedule of abstraction wells, and the resulting sudden changes in flow rates.

This research was funded by the National Research, Development, and Innovation Office (NKFIH), grant numbers: K-142865, 2020-1.1.2-PIACI-KFI-2021-00309, 2021-1.2.4-TÉT-2021-00029.

DANSER aims at addressing the urgent need for sustainable sediment management solutions at the river basin scale, focusing on the Danube River-Black Sea system. Foci are demonstration of multidisciplinary innovative and holistic solutions and developing deeper insights into the sediment status and cause-effect relationships (e.g. via spatiotemporal mapping of natural and anthropogenic fluvial processes, sediment transport modelling, sediment dating, 3D historical reconstruction, river processes forecast simulations, sediment budget analysis, connectivity modelling and interventions, stakeholder-engaged sediment parametric evaluation and co-management, interlinkages with biodiversity (patterns), water quality and climate change effects.

This EU-funded (HORIZON-MISS-Danube & Black Sea Lighthouse) project seeks to restore sediment balance, improve sediment flow and quality together with EU- and other international stakeholders (existing bodies, digital platforms, events and know-how).

In an ample coverage throughout 3 DEMO (incl. 13 pilot) sites, 7 sibling locations, and 6 associated regions (AR), the DANSER approach will develop, validate, and promote key active and passive measures to mitigate human interference in the sediment flow, related biodiversity and ecological aspects and possibly recover the sediment balance and quality in critical stretches of the basin.

In this presentation, we aim to provide an overview of the strategies and actions that are foreseen for the Upper Danube region, specifically in DEMO area 1 located in Lower Austria with a specific focus on “urban” river sections.

Urbanization is strictly associated with severe geomorphic changes of fluvial systems.

The present work provides a quantitative and qualitative assessment of landscape changes driven by urbanization, which occurred from the mid-19th century to the present day along the lower reaches of the Bisagno and Polcevera rivers and their tributaries in the Mediterranean coastal city of Genova (NW Italy). This study is based on collection and review of historical data, photograph interpretation, GIS analysis, and field surveys.

Urbanization essentially occurred between the mid-19th century and the late 1930s. In this period the bankfull channel of the Bisagno and Polcevera rivers experienced large narrowing associated with widespread establishment of channelization structures. The minor hydrographic network essentially disappeared underground. After the 1930s, further minor anthropogenic interventions were implemented to accommodate urban expansion and consolidate channelization works; however, the overall geomorphological setting remained unchanged. Nowadays, the study area is completely urbanized, the fluvial stems flowing through the valley floor are totally disconnected from their adjacent areas, the main rivers show a relevant geomorphological stability induced by anthropogenic pressures, and the accessibility of river margins for people is rather limited.

The urban expansion that occurred over the valley floor of the Bisagno and Polcevera rivers, and overall over their catchments, resulted in flood risk increase, river ecosystem degradation and social disconnectivity.

Re-establishing the pre-urbanization landscape conditions is impossible as it would need social, political, and economic support far different from what it might have today. Thus, different management measures primarily focused on the reduction of vulnerability by increasing the community resilience to future hazardous events are required.