Analysis of water management measures in the Dovine River Basin, Lithuania; possibilities to restore a natural water regime

Abstract

The Zuvintas Lake, located in southern Lithuania in the basin of the Dovine River is one of the biggest lakes and oldest nature reserves of the country. Both the lake as well as the adjacent wetland is a potential Site of Community Interest (SCI) according to the EU Habitats Directive. However, the changes in the hydrology of the Dovine River Basin, because of large scale melioration and water management works carried out in the 20th century, have significantly changed the water regime as well as a decrease in biodiversity of Zuvintas Lake and surrounding wetlands. In order to prevent the ongoing deterioration of Zuvintas Lake and adjacent wetlands solutions have to be found at a basin level. Therefore, various scenarios to evaluate the impact of water management alternatives in the Dovine River basin have been analyzed to get insight in the impact of changes on the water regime in Zuvintas Lake and adjacent wetlands. For these scenarios the SIMGRO model was used