IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i2p814-d722673.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Restoring Natural Forests as the Most Efficient Way to Water Quality and Abundance: Case Study from Želivka River Basin

Author

Listed:
  • Josef Seják

    (Department of Environment, Faculty of Environment, Jan Evangelista Purkyne University, 400 96 Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic)

  • Ivo Machar

    (Department of Development and Environmental Studies, Faculty of Science, Palacky University Olomouc, 771 47 Olomouc, Czech Republic)

  • Jan Pokorný

    (ENKI, o.p.s., Dukelska 145, 379 01 Trebon, Czech Republic)

  • Karl Seeley

    (Department of Economics, Hartwick College, Oneonta, NY 13820, USA)

  • Jitka Elznicová

    (Department of Geoinformatics, Faculty of Environment, Jan Evangelista Purkyne University, 400 96 Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic)

Abstract

This article shows how to restore Central European natural capital effectively. Water in the landscape is primarily sustained by vegetation and soil, most effectively by natural forests and only secondarily by artificial reservoirs. The authors document these facts using a case study from the Želivka River basin (Švihov reservoir), which collects surface water for the metropolitan region of Prague and Central Bohemia. With the Energy-Water-Vegetation Method, the authors demonstrate that the cultural human-changed landscape of the Želivka river basin is able to utilize only about 60% of its solar energy potential. In 1.5% of the territory of the Czech Republic, society annually loses supporting ecosystem services at a level higher than 25% of the annual GDP of the CR 2015. Water retention in the landscape needs to be re-evaluated and addressed in accordance with the thermodynamic principles of life and ecosystem functioning in the biosphere. It is necessary to begin restoring the most efficient natural capital in the landscapes and to return the broad-leaved deciduous forests by intelligent forestation methods to the cultural landscape to the extent justified; this is especially true of the Želivka River basin, which is Czechia’s biggest surface drinking-water collecting area.

Suggested Citation

  • Josef Seják & Ivo Machar & Jan Pokorný & Karl Seeley & Jitka Elznicová, 2022. "Restoring Natural Forests as the Most Efficient Way to Water Quality and Abundance: Case Study from Želivka River Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-15, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:2:p:814-:d:722673
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/2/814/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/2/814/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Josef Seják & Jan Pokorný & Karl Seeley, 2018. "Achieving Sustainable Valuations of Biotopes and Ecosystem Services," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-14, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Elina Viirret & Kaisa J. Raatikainen & Nora Fagerholm & Niina Käyhkö & Petteri Vihervaara, 2019. "Ecosystem Services at the Archipelago Sea Biosphere Reserve in Finland: A Visitor Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-18, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:2:p:814-:d:722673. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.