Research

The main objectives of the project are: + to further develop and demonstrate the principle of retentive construction methods as elements of climate change adaptation in settlement areas, transport routes and for the prevention of pluvial floods (passive flood protection) + to gain insights for numerical simulations and to utilise these for the planning and operation of passive flood protection systems + optimising the use of synergies with carbon storage and biodiversity The central research topics are: + thesis: with the exception of high-ranking transport routes, retentive construction methods can be used everywhere where there is a need to adapt the components of the water balance (infiltration, evaporation and runoff) to local requirements (incl. groundwater management) + How can synergies in climate change adaptation of the water balance, carbon storage (in the soil) and conservation or reactivation of biodiversity be optimised with the use of nature-based methods (blue-green-brown infrastructure)? Description and evaluation of ecosystem services + nature-based retentive measures are to be developed, tested and modelled for the areas of windbreaks, viticulture, peri-urban settlements, housing estates, traffic route drainage and car parks + What influence do soil additives and/or soil organisms have on improving the properties of retentive construction methods, e.g. in terms of cleaning performance or plant vitality? The various elements of the technical substrates need to be analysed with regard to their effect on geotechnics, hydrology/hydraulics or filters and cleaning performance, especially by means of soil life and plants. + Scaling, dimensioning and test methods It is therefore necessary to develop dimensioning procedures, test parameters and test procedures for different construction methods to ensure their functions. These test procedures and parameters serve to ensure that they can be used in hydraulic construction methods in hydrological-hydraulic calculation and simulation procedures. Representative demonstration objects are used for the reliable validation of the water flows, which are to serve as the basis for simulation programmes in small and large areas. The data should be usable for open source or licensed modelling programs. + Integral modelling and monitoring

The project "development in flood prone areas: assessment of flood management alternatives" has the goal to develope integrated strategies to reduce flood risk at the federal level to support the implementation of the EU flood risk directive. Previous project have shown the necessity to analyse and to assess the various flood risk management alternatives. There seems to be also the need for an improved communication and cooperation among the various actors in this domain. The instruments should be assesed with respect to legislative and economic criteria and their potential for integrated application to reduce flood risk. The deficits of the instruments should be assessed especially in APSFR regions.

Following the environmental disaster on the River Oder, an Oder data platform is being set up at IGB, which will contain biological data as well as chemical and other environmentally relevant data. The sub-project "oderDATA" will update the data portal of the Freshwater Information Platform (FIP) to the latest technical standard in order to publish the collected biological data of the Oder in compliance with the FAIR data principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) and thus enable, for example, the direct analysis of spatio-temporal patterns, investigations of time series and trends or appealing visualizations of biological and environmental data.