Rivers have always been a unique space in urban landscapes. Regrettably, the river-town relationship was disturbed in the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th century as industrial plants and districts were established at banks, which changed the urban structure. This resulted in degradation of riverscapes among other things. Today, attempts are made to revitalise the areas and use them for ecological, recreational, and other purposes. The paper presents an integrated approach to river valley revitalisation – demonstrated on the Skawinka river, flowing through Skawina, an industrial town in Poland. An integrated approach could indicate local development possibilities of river valley and thereby strengthen the competitiveness of the area. The study employed the Landscape and Hydromorphological Assessment of River Valleys Method, focusing on hydromorphological, landscape, and integrated factors. Proposing an integrated approach to the Skawinka river valley revitalisation presents a procedure that indicates possibilities for local development and thereby strengthening the competitiveness of this region. The guidelines for the revitalisation project for this river indicate that if the river was made generally accessible, it may become an important location for social and economic life. At the same time it might have a recreational and educational function.

W pracy przedstawiono ocenę hydromorfologiczno-krajobrazową doliny rzeki Białki. Badania przeprowadzono zgodnie z metodą oceny hydromorfologiczno-krajobrazowej dolin rzecznych (metoda LSHM), która służy do oceny i identyfikacji cennych obszarów w dolinach rzecznych, ze wskazaniem możliwości rozwoju tych obszarów. Metoda LSHM rozróżnia trzy główne grupy czynników: hydromorfologiczne (H), krajobrazowe (L) i zintegrowane (I). Wszystkie czynniki są oceniane przy użyciu 10-punktowej skali. Do tej pory elementy hydromorfologiczne i elementy krajobrazowe były oceniane osobno. Metody oceny hydromorfologicznej skupiały się jedynie na korycie cieku, a metody krajobrazowe oceniały obszar do granicy z ciekiem. Zastosowanie metody LSHM oferuje bardziej „holistyczne”, zintegrowane podejście przy ocenie dolin rzecznych, pokazujące, co i gdzie należy poprawić. Rzeka Białka jest rzeką górską, a co za tym idzie, zmiany w całej dolinie następują bardzo szybko. Na podstawie wyników stwierdzono, że dolina rzeki Białki charakteryzuje się krajobrazem o znaczeniu regionalnym, o bardzo wysokim potencjale turystycznym. Ponadto rzeka Białka jest rzeką roztokową, którą należy chronić.

Hydromorphological and landscape valorization of the Poprad river valley. The paper presents the results of hydromorphological and landscape valorization. The research was carried out in the Valley of the Poprad River, in the section from Piwniczna-Zdrój to Rytro (Małopolska voivodship). The hydromorphological valorization was made using the method of the evaluation of hydromorphological quality of the river. ECOVAST method was used for landscape valorization. On the basis of the research, Authors concluded that the research area is characterized by considerable hydromorphological variability, in particular in relation to the floodplains terraces and their connectivity with the main channel of the river. At the same time the valley of the Poprad river is characterized by the landscape of regional significance, with a very large tourist potential.

Rivers and their surroundings significantly affect the character and quality of the landscape. These landscapes have been created or defined to a considerable degree by the river. This specific quickly changing type of landscape is in a need of decision making as to which parts of it should be protected. This article is an attempt to assess the landscape of a reach of the Vistula river in Poland, considering the hydromorphological components of the riverbed. Moreover, the aim of this research was to determine which vistas should be protected. We have used landscape and hydromorphological assessment. The method integrates the ECOVAST landscape assessment for evaluating quality and identification with the hydromorphological assessment method for assessing river quality. Hydromorphological, landscape, and integrated elements were assessed at cross-sections. The cross-sections were marked at 500 m interval. Additional cross-section was chosen based on the local characteristics. The values assigned to the parameters during the landscape and hydromorphological assessment varied significantly. Following the landscape and hydromorphological assessment, we delineated zones of the Vistula river landscape in need of protection along the Piekary–Ściejowice–Kraków (Tyniec) reach. Integrating landscape and hydromorphological characteristics is efficient in the assessment of riverbeds. Such assessment should be used while shaping landscape of the river valleys by local development plans and landscape protection programmes.