European Project for web-assisted Environmental Education
  freeyourriver Gymnasium Fallersleben OUR EXPLORATION OF THE RIVER Checklist   LANDSCAPE


LANDSCAPE

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THE VALLEY

1. Land morphology
The river or stream you are considering flows through: 		a flat territory
an undulating territory
between hills, so the valley is large and not deep
between mountains, so the valley is narrow and deep
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2. Land use
Indicate approx. % of land use, or if you prefer, put in a progressive order (with number 1,2,3 etc from the most important to the less one) the uses of the valley/land where your river flows, around the place of your observation

Natural forests and woods %
Timber plantations (poplars or conifer trees or others) %
Parks or renaturalized areas %
Meadows %
Pasture land – cattle, pigs, horses, etc. %
Crops %
Intensive
Estensive
Fallow field %
Industry %
m far from the river
Urbanised area %
m far from the river
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3.Infrastructures in the survey area
a) Are there roads and viaducts visible from your observation point? 		Motor-ways
Roads
Railways
Bridges and viaducts
How far are motorways or roads or railways from the river? m far from the river
Their impact on landscape, in our opinion are: High
Moderate
Low
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b) About buildings
Rural buildings (isolated)
Typical and well preserved
Lacking architectural value or not compatible with the landscape
Absent
Rural aggregated buildings
Typical and well preserved
Lacking architectural value or not compatible with the landscape
Absent
Farms
Large
Little
Absent
Town/city
Typical country town well preserved
Crowded town
Absent
Industrial/commercial buildings actually in use
Moderate
High
Absent
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c) Buildings of historical/architectonic/artistic interest Absent
Historical ruins/forts/castles
Wells
Aqueducts
Chapels/Churches/Monasteries
Villas of historical/archeological interest
Bridges
Dams – weirs
Mills
Industrial archeology
Others:
Are these buildings restored? yes
no, they are abandoned
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4. Vegetation elements
a) Take a picture or a drawing of trees you can find in the valley
If you can (optional work), classify them and search if they are native or exotic species

Arboreal native species listed by abundance

 
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b) How many species of trees can you find in the valley? No trees
1 - 3 species
4 – 8 species
More than 8 species
5. Looking at the river
a) Visible connecting waterways 		Streams
Ditches
Canals
Rivers
List the names (if they have one)
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b) Are there signals that the river changed its riverbed in last 100 years? No
Yes
Looking around, can you hypothesize some possible reasons of change: Natural causes
Actions taken for flood prevention
For agriculture intensive land use
For wastewater management
For expansion of urban areas
Looking around, can you hypothesize some possible reasons of change:

THE RIVERBANKS

6. Look of the riverbanks
a) If you observe 300 meters of riverbanks you can see: 		winding and/or natural looking banks
re-naturalised banks
some artificial elements
artificial banks:
soil
stonewalls or wood
concrete
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b) Is there any floodplain? No
Yes
If Yes: m wide
c) What about land use of the floodplain, if present ? (observe the land from the riverbed to the main dike) Contains natural vegetation
No vegetation
Partially cultivated
Mainly cultivated
No noticable dykes to prevent flooding
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c) Roads and viaducts along the riverbanks There are roads over the embankments
High
Moderate
There are roads/railways over bridges
High
Moderate
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7. Vegetation elements in the riparian zone
a) Examine the vegetation along the banks: 		Trees and/or shrubs are continuous from the riverbed to the edge of the riparian zone
Trees and/or shrubs are scattered/casual presence
 
Only grass
No vegetation along the riverbanks (concrete, bare soil)
 
Trees and/or shrubs only along the banks
Trees and/or shrubs only behind the banks
 
Riparian woods/shrubs
Non riparian woods/shrubs
Riparian species lined up by abundance
b) Reeds Present
Absent
c) Take a picture or a drawing of plants/flowers you can find along the riverbanks. If you can, classify them.
Plants listed by abundance
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Protected species
d) How many species of plants can you find? Less than 10
10-20 species
21-30 species
More than 31 species
8. Animals
a) Vertebrates:
Mammals
Visible
Tracks
Burrows
Number of species found:
(list if possible)
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Birds
Visible
Birds vocalizations
Nests
Number of species found:
(list if possible)
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Reptiles
Visible
Tracks
Number of species found:
(list if possible)
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Amphibious
Visible
Vocalizations
Tracks
Number of species found:
(list if possible)
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b) Invertebrates Insects
Spiders
Molluscs
Earthworms
Millipedes
Other
Number of species found:
(list if possible)
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9. Human elements observed from the riverbanks
a) Infrastructures 		Absent
Electric lines – pylons
Sewage treatment plants
Sedimentation of water intakes, reservoirs
Electric plants
b) Artificial dams across the river Wood
Stones
Concrete
Others:
c) Extraction and pipe-lines for hydroelectric power management, agricultural uses or drinking water Absent
Buried
On the ground
Elevated
d) Artificial water emmissions into the river Absent
Water from a sewage system
Industrial wastewater (no purified)
Farm wastewater (no purified)
Urban wastewater (no purified)
Other (specify)
e) Mining/Caves Absent
Tailings
With local gravel-yard and processing
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THE RIVER

10. River islands Stable
Often modified by floods (evidently)

Natural
Cultivated

Absent
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11. Loops and meanders Present
Absent
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12. Pools and riffles Present with regularity
Casual presence
Absent
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13. Nature of soil in riverbed Stones
Gravel
Sand
Mud/Silt
Artificial riverbed
Stones
Concrete
Presence of natural elements like trunks, submersed plants, wood debris, foliage accumulation, organic materials.
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14. Visible vegetation in wet riverbed
a) Are there aquatic plants (Macrophytae) inside the wet riverbed? 		Absent
Modest covering of riverbed (less than 30%)
Extensive covering of riverbed (between 30 and 70%)
Almost total covering of riverbed (more than 70 %)
Number of species found:
(list if possible)
b) Are there algae? Absent
Modest covering of riverbed (less than 30%)
Extensive covering of riverbed (between 30 and 70%)
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15. Animals into the river
a) Aquatic invertebrates (NOTE: if you like, you can use the simplified Biotic index for Macroinvertebrates, available under FYR Ecological chapter!)
Number of species found:
 
(list if possible)
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b) Fish
Number of species found:
 
(list if possible)
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16. Recreational activities/Sports (even seasonal) Absent
Boat sports: motorboats – presence of docks
Moderate
Remarkable
Canoes/sailing/kayak
Moderate
Remarkable
Fishing
Naturalistic paths/bird-watching
Jogging paths
Bicycle paths
Natural parks – protected areas
Recreational areas (gardens)
Bathing
Moderate
Remarkable
Presence of tourists
Moderate
Remarkable
Others
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17. Landscape attracting/detracting elements
a) Riverbanks accessibile to the general public 		Yes
No
b) Detracting elements – elements of inconvenience Noise
Bad smell
Waste dumps
List waste elements
Others: List the worst three elements you find along your river
 
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c) Attracting landscape elements Attractive sounds
Landscape mosaic (variety of landscape)
Colour variations
Others: List the best three elements you find along your river
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What would you do to make the river more enjoyable?
Put here your suggestions about landscape and river use as recreational area
What would you do to make the river more enjoyable?
Put here your suggestions about landscape and river use as recreational area
Notes about the collection of data
and first assessement of the results *