Restoration of floodplains' natural vegetation of Polissia to reduce the effects of climate change
Abstract
Global climate change has a wide range of regional-level consequences. The most sensitive environmental parameters are those related to the water cycle. A t the same time, several natural stabilizers reduce the negative impact of climate change. One of the most prevalent stabilizers is the vegetation of river floodplains. Using geobotanical methods, we surveyed the floodplains of the P ry p i at, Stohid, Horyn, Sluch, Ubort, Slovechna, Noryn, Uzh, Irsha, Teteriv, Dnipro, and Desna rivers and their main tributaries within the Ukrainian Poliss i a. According to Braun-Blanquet's ecological-floristic classification, we found that this vegetation consists of 11 classes, 32 orders, 57 alliances, and 204 associations. Synphytoindicative analysis revealed that these plant communities strongly stabilize climate change and its consequences. These plant communities absorb and accumulate carbon from the atmosphere in the form of phytomass or peat deposits. They also slow the passage of precipitation water, which prevents water erosion and the eutrophication of water bodies. They also create a specific microclimate around water bodies, preventing increased evaporation of moisture from the soil and rivers. However, this vegetation suffers from direct anthropogenic pressure and the same climate changes. If climatic factors deviate from submicrotheral ( mild cold ) , subaridophyt ic -subumbrophyti c ( moderate drought and shading ) , semi oceanic, and subcryophytic ( moderate dryness and cold ) , the functioning of typical floodplain vegetation is suppressed and its recovery is slowed down. Currently, climate change has progressed to a point where floodplain vegetation is unable to fully perform its stabilizing function. Even if we immediately implement measures to restore floodplain vegetation, it will take time to regain its capacity to stabilize the climate. In this regard, it is important to use hydroengineering measures and projects alongside the restoration of natural processes. The success of this combination will have a global impact on the quality and quantity of natural resources, the prese r vation of habitat and species diversity, and the stabilization of climate change.References
Beguería, S., Trullenque‐Blanco, V., Vicente‐Serrano, S. M., & González-Hidalgo, J. C. (2025). Aridity on the rise: Spatial and temporal shifts in climate aridity in Spain (1961–2020). International Journal of Climatology, 45(6), e8775.
Braun-Blanquet, J. (1928). Grundzüge der Vegetationskund. In: Braun-Blanquet, J. (Ed.). Pflanzensoziologie. Verlag von Julius Springer, Berlin.
Didukh, Y. P. (2012). Osnovy bioindykatsiyi [Basics of bioindication]. Naukova Dumka, Kyiv (in Ukrainian).
Dubyna, D. V., Dziuba, T. P., Yemelianova, S. M., Bahrikova, N. O., Borysova, O. V., Borsukevych, L. M., Vynokurov, D. S., Hapon, S. V., Hapon, I. V., Davydov, D. A., Dvoretskyi, T. V., Didukh, Y. P., Zhmud, O. I., Kozyr, M. S., Konishchuk, V. V., Kuzemko, A. A., Pashkevych, N. A., Ryff, L. E., Solomakha, V. A., Felbaba-Klushyna, L. M., Fitsailo, T. V., Chorna, H. A., Chornei, I. I., Sheliah-Sosonko, Y. R., & Yakushenko, D. M. (2019). Prodromus roslynnosti Ukrayiny [Prodromus vegetation of Ukraine]. Naukova Dumka, Kyiv (in Ukrainian).
Fang, Z., Zhang, W., Brandt, M., Abdi, A. M., & Fensholt, R. (2022). Globally increasing atmospheric aridity over the 21st century. Earth's Future, 10(10), e2022EF003019.
Gosling, S. N., & Arnell, N. W. (2016). A global assessment of the impact of climate change on water scarcity. Climatic Change, 134(3), 371–385.
Harbar, O., Khomiak, I., Kotsiuba, I., Demchuk, N., & Onyshchuk, I. (2021). Anthropogenic and natural dynamics of landscape ecosystems of the Slovechansko-Ovruchsky ridge (Ukraine). Socijalna Ekologija, 30(3), 347–367.
Jain, S., Srivastava, A., Khadke, L., Chatterjee, U., & Elbeltagi, A. (2024). Global-scale water security and desertification management amidst climate change. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 31(49), 58720–58744.
Khomiak, I. V., Onyshchuk, I. P., Kychkyruk, О. Y., Vakerych, M. M., Hasynets, Y. S., & Schwartau, V. V. (2025). The impact of strike UAV explosions on soil acidity and vegetation dynamics. Biosystems Diversity, 33(2), e2530.
Khomiak, I. V., Onyshchuk, I. P., Vakerych, M. M., & Hasynec, Y. S. (2024). Adaptation strategies of Heracleum sosnowskyi in Ukrainian Polissia. Biosystems Diversity, 32(1), 99–106.
Khomiak, I. V., Onyshchuk, I. P., Vakerych, M. M., Hasynets, Y. S., Khomiak, О. I., & Sabadosh, V. I. (2024). Change in the general aboveground phytomass as a basis for modeling dynamics of recovery of vegetative cover. Biosystems Diversity, 32(2), 225–232.
Khomiak, I., Harbar, O., Kostiuk, V., Demchuk, N., & Vasylenko, O. (2024). Synphytoindication models of the anthropogenic transformation of ecosystems. Natura Croatica: Periodicum Musei Historiae Naturalis Croatici, 33(1), 65–77.
Li, L., Knapp, J. L., Lintern, A., Ng, G. H. C., Perdrial, J., Sullivan, P. L., & Zhi, W. (2024). River water quality shaped by land-river connectivity in a changing climate. Nature Climate Change, 14(3), 225–237.
Liu, J., Fu, Z., & Liu, W. (2023). Impacts of precipitation variations on agricultural water scarcity under historical and future climate change. Journal of Hydrology, 617, 128999.
McKeon, C. M., Kelly, R., Börger, L., De Palma, A., & Buckley, Y. M. (2023). Human land use is comparable to climate as a driver of global plant occurrence and abundance across life forms. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 32(9), 1618–1631.
Mosyakin, S. L., & Fedoronchuk, M. M. (1999). Vascular plants of Ukraine: А nomenclatural checklist. National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, M. G. Kholodny Institute of Botany, Kiev.
Pendergrass, A. G., & Knutti, R. (2018). The uneven nature of daily precipitation and its change. Geophysical Research Letters, 45(21), 11980–11988.
Saleem, A., Anwar, S., Nawaz, T., Fahad, S., Saud, S., Ur Rahman, T., ... & Nawaz, T. (2024). Securing a sustainable future: The climate change threat to agriculture, food security, and sustainable development goals. Journal of Umm Al-Qura University for Applied Sciences, 11, 595–611.
Sarchani, S., & Tsanis, I. (2024). Climate change impact on flood inundation along the downstream reach of the Humber River basin. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 53, 101829.
Scholz, M. J., Obenour, D. R., Morrison, E. S., & Elser, J. J. (2025). A critical eutrophication-climate change link. Nature Sustainability, 8(3), 222–223.
Walsh, G. E. (1978). Toxic effects of pollutants on plankton. In: Butler, G. C. (Ed.). Principles of Ecotoxicology. Wiley, New York. Pp. 257–274.
Wang, L., Jiao, W., MacBean, N., Rulli, M. C., Manzoni, S., Vico, G., & D’Odorico, P. (2022). Dryland productivity under a changing climate. Nature Climate Change, 12(11), 981–994.
Wohl, E. (2025). Conceptualizing river floodplains. Earth's Future, 13(3), e2024EF005681.
Yakubenko, B. I., Popovych, S. I., Ustymenko, P. M., Dubyna, D. V., & Churilov, A. M. (2020). Heobotanika: Metodychni aspekty doslidzhen’ [Geobotany: Methodological aspects of research]. Lira, Kyiv (in Ukrainian).
Yao, S., Chen, C., Chen, Q., Zhang, J., & He, M. (2023). Combining process-based model and machine learning to predict hydrological regimes in floodplain wetlands under climate change. Journal of Hydrology, 626, 130193.
Zhou, S., Williams, A. P., Lintner, B. R., Berg, A. M., Zhang, Y., Keenan, T. F., ... & Gentine, P. (2021). Soil moisture-atmosphere feedbacks mitigate declining water availability in drylands. Nature Climate Change, 11(1), 38–44.
