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ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Geomorphological changes of the Cetina River channels since the end of the nineteenth century, natural vs anthropogenic impacts (the Dinarides, Croatia) Katarina Pavlek1 · Sanja Faivre1  Received: 13 December 2019 / Accepted: 14 September 2020 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020

Abstract This study investigates changes in channel morphology of the Cetina River over the last 130 years affected by climate changes and various human impacts. A detailed digitalisation and analysis of the channel features was performed by using historical maps from the 1880s, archival aerial images from the 1950/60s, and contemporary orthophoto maps from the 2010s. According to these sources, we defined three study periods, and distinguished changes in the pre-dam phase (1880s–1950/60s) and the post-dam phase (1950/60s–2010s). In the pre-dam phase, a partial channel narrowing and drying of marsh zones in the source area were recorded, possibly due to reduced humidity and discharge following the end of the Little Ice Age. A drop in discharge and an increase in sediment supply caused by agricultural intensification most probably affected the expansion of fluvial bars. The increase in sediment supply is particularly evident in considerable river delta progradation of 500 m during this period. In the last 50 years, five hydroelectric power plants were built in the catchment. Consequently, severe reductions in discharge led to channel narrowing by about 50% which occurred in the third of the river length. Apart from the dam construction, a reduction in the area of bars by 85% and an increase in the number of islands by 103% can be related to decreased sediment supply following land abandonment and natural reforestation. This study adds to the knowledge on river morphology and channel adjustments following natural and strong human disturbances in the Mediterranean environment. Keywords  Southern Croatia · Channel changes · Fluvial geomorphology · Aerial images · Historical maps

Introduction Since the end of the nineteenth century, human impact on environment has been increasing due to socioeconomic development. Intensive channel degradation has mostly occurred in the last 50 years on numerous rivers across Europe due to river channelization, dam and embankment construction, intensive urbanisation, gravel mining, or anthropogenically induced land cover changes (Liébault and Piégay 2002; Surian and Rinaldi 2003; Hajdukiewicz and Wyżga 2019). The major processes involved, channel incision and narrowing, affect the modification of fluvial ecosystems and associated habitat loss (Graf et al. 2016).

* Sanja Faivre [email protected] 1



Department of Geography, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Marulićev trg 19/II, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Rivers of the Mediterranean basin are considered to be particularly vulnerable, especially due to the rising influence of climate change (Nunes et al. 2008; Bangash et al. 2013; Kaniewski et al. 2016). In the last decades, temperatures in the Mediterranean regi

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