Hydraulic Efficiency of Green-Blue Flood Control Scenarios for Vegetated Rivers: 1D and 2D Unsteady Simulations
Giuseppe Francesco Cesare Lama,
Matteo Rillo Migliorini Giovannini,
Alessandro Errico,
Sajjad Mirzaei,
Roberta Padulano,
Giovanni Battista Chirico,
Federico Preti
Affiliations
Giuseppe Francesco Cesare Lama
Department of Agricultural Sciences, Water Resources Management and Biosystems Engineering Division, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy
Matteo Rillo Migliorini Giovannini
Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Forestry Sciences and Technologies, University of Florence, 50144 Firenze, Italy
Alessandro Errico
Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Forestry Sciences and Technologies, University of Florence, 50144 Firenze, Italy
Sajjad Mirzaei
Faculty of Natural Resources and Marine Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, 14115-111 Noor, Iran
Roberta Padulano
Impacts on Agriculture, Forests and Ecosystem Services (IAFES) Division, Fondazione Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Giovanni Battista Chirico
Department of Agricultural Sciences, Water Resources Management and Biosystems Engineering Division, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy
Federico Preti
Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Forestry Sciences and Technologies, University of Florence, 50144 Firenze, Italy
Flood hazard mitigation in urban areas crossed by vegetated flows can be achieved through two distinct approaches, based on structural and eco-friendly solutions, referred to as grey and green–blue engineering scenarios, respectively; this one is often based on best management practices (BMP) and low-impact developments (LID). In this study, the hydraulic efficiency of two green–blue scenarios in reducing flood hazards of an urban area crossed by a vegetated river located in Central Tuscany (Italy), named Morra Creek, were evaluated for a return period of 200 years, by analyzing the flooding outcomes of 1D and 2D unsteady hydraulic simulations. In the first scenario, the impact of a diffuse effect of flood peak reduction along Morra Creek was assessed by considering an overall real-scale growth of common reed beds. In the second scenario, riverine vegetation along Morra Creek was preserved, while flood hazard was mitigated using a single vegetated flood control area. This study demonstrates well the benefits of employing green–blue solutions for reducing flood hazards in vegetated rivers intersecting agro-forestry and urban areas while preserving their riverine ecosystems. It emerged that the first scenario is a valuable alternative to the more impacting second scenario, given the presence of flood control areas.
