Elbe River Research Articles

Factors controlling soil organic carbon stocks in hardwood floodplain forests of the lower middle Elbe River

We assessed key relationships of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks to hydromorphic features, soil texture, C/N ratio, pH, and forest age in hardwood floodplain forests. Floodplain ecosystems play a significant role in the global carbon cycle, particularly due to their SOC storage potential. Interactions between heterogeneous micro-relief and anthropogenically affected vegetation and the hydrologic situation of floodplains make predicting SOC stocks difficult without field validation. Especially within hardwood floodplain forests, the controlling factors for SOC storage remain understudied, whereas these floodplain types can be the largest reservoir for carbon and have a substantial SOC sequestration potential. To determine the controlling factors for SOC storage, we selected 38 hardwood floodplain forest and 11 floodplain grasslands of the lower middle Elbe River and categorized them according to vegetation type (grassland, young forest, or old forest) and hydrologic situation (low-lying or high elevated and active or former floodplain). Profile SOC stocks were determined to a depth of 1 m, and topsoil SOC stocks were related to vegetation and soil characteristics, particularly pedological traits (e.g., hydromorphic features).Forest SOC stocks ranged between 99 and 149 t ha−1. SOC stocks decreased with depth throughout all categories and were unaffected by vegetation type within the same hydrologic situation. Vegetation parameters such as age, basal area, or leaf litter carbon stock had no direct effect on SOC stocks. An active connection to the river had the strongest effect on SOC stocks, with former floodplain sites storing 33% less SOC than the active sites. Within the active floodplains, low sites stored 50% more SOC than high sites. This effect was mainly controlled by relief-affected features such as flooding duration and fine texture, which also were the strongest univariate predictors for SOC stocks (R2 = 0.39 and 0.63). A multiple linear regression showed that fine texture, pH, C/N ratio and forest age can be used to explain 86% of variance in SOC stocks.We conclude that proxies for relief and sedimentation (i.e., hydromorphic features, flooding duration, soil texture, C/N ratio, and pH) are the strongest factors controlling SOC stocks in hardwood floodplain forests. Both can be related to allochthonous carbon inputs, increasing SOC stabilization through the accumulation of fine soil particles, and decreasing aerobic carbon mineralization potential through oxygen scarcity, while vegetation plays only a subordinate role.

Management of Global Warming Effects in the European Water Framework Directive: Consideration of Social–Ecological System Features in the Elbe River Basin District

In this study, we examined the extent to which global warming management is currently integrated into the European Water Framework Directive (WFD), the central legal framework for water management in the EU. We focused on the Elbe River Basin District and how global warming is addressed in its water management. We used the social–ecological systems (SES) approach as our theoretical framework, representing an eminent analytical frame of biosphere-based sustainability science. In our study, we analysed core characteristics of SES in the context of global warming to evaluate the effectiveness of current water management in the Elbe River basin concerning long-term changing climate conditions. To determine to what extent each SES feature is considered in the Elbe water management, we applied a scale of 1 to 5. Our results show that the SES feature “scale and openness” is best addressed (score 4.0) by the Elbe River basin management, followed by “context dependency” (score 3.9); however, “non-linearity, uncertainty, unpredictability” (score 3.2), “self-organisation and adaptability” (score 3.1), and “dynamics” (score 3.0) have only moderate impacts. SES features can only be considered comprehensively if global warming is accounted for in an integrated way at a European level. In order to ensure effective implementation, explicit regulations and legally binding obligations are most likely required.

Anthropogenic Transformation Disconnects a Lowland River From Contemporary Carbon Stores in Its Catchment

Rivers transport carbon from continents to oceans. Surprisingly, this carbon has often been found to be centuries old, not originating from contemporary plant biomass. This can be explained by anthropogenic disturbance of soils or discharge of radiocarbon–depleted wastewater. However, land enclosure and channel bypassing transformed many rivers from anabranching networks to single–channel systems with overbank sediment accumulation and lowered floodplain groundwater tables. We hypothesized that human development changed the fluvial carbon towards older sources by changing the morphology of watercourses. We studied radiocarbon in the Elbe, a European, anthropogenically–transformed lowland river at discharges between low flow and record peak flow. We found that the inorganic carbon, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and particulate organic carbon was aged and up to 1850 years old. The ∆14C values remained low and invariant up to median discharges, indicating that the sources of modern carbon (fixed after 1950) were disconnected from the river during half of the time. The total share of modern carbon in DOC export was marginal (0.04%), 72% of exported DOC was older than 400 years. This was in contrast to undisturbed forested subcatchments, 72% of whose exported DOC was modern. Although population density is high, mass balances showed that wastewater did not significantly affect the ∆14C-DOC in the Elbe river. We conclude that wetlands and other sources of contemporary carbon were decoupled from the anthropogenically transformed Elbe stream network with incised stream bed relative to overbank sediments, shifting the sources of fluvial carbon in favor of aged stores.

The Crop Generator: Implementing crop rotations to effectively advance eco-hydrological modelling

CONTEXTCrop rotations considerably affect the hydrological regime of river basins used for agricultural production and are key for sustainable land and water management. However, eco-hydrological modelling usually neglects crop rotations. OBJECTIVEIn this paper, we present a Crop Generator to reproduce the stochastic characteristics of crop rotations at regional scale. METHODSThe Crop Generator emulates farmers’ decision making on crop rotation planning. We combined the Crop Generator with the eco-hydrological Soil and Water Integrated Model to show the hydrological relevance of considering crop rotations in a study region in central Europe including the Elbe River basin. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSA spatial validation showed that the Crop Generator reproduced the given cropping patterns well. Higher daily discharge, runoff and groundwater seepage and lower evapotranspiration were simulated based on crop rotations compared with a simplified representation of cropping patterns. The Crop Generator is a solution to simulate more realistic cropping patterns in large-scale eco-hydrological modelling. It closes the gap between aggregated agricultural statistics and the requirement of representing crop rotations in a realistic way in eco-hydrological modelling. SIGNIFICANCEThe Crop Generator enables smart projections of future adjustments in crop rotations in view of climate and socio-economic changes as a basis for improving eco-hydrological projections and designing more sustainable agricultural systems.

Simple modelling for a large-scale assessment of total phosphorus retention in the floodplains of large rivers

Floodplains provide a multitude of ecosystem functions and services with water purification being one of them. For this study we modelled the retention of total phosphorous (TP) in the floodplains of the river Rhine and the river Elbe, looking at sediment deposition as the main process responsible for removing TP from rivers during inundation events. We applied two different approaches: a proxy-based approach (PBA) and a one-dimensional model based approach (MBA). We used both to calculate the yearly TP retention and compared it with the annual TP load in the rivers. Compared to the transported river load the Elbe floodplains investigated retained approx. 4.9% TP resp. 1.4% (PBA vs. MBA) while in the floodplains of the river Rhine about 1.8% vs. 0.3% TP was retained. We found that the greatest difficulty in quantifying TP retention in floodplains is due to the lack of spatial detail on the hydrological connectivity between rivers and their adjacent floodplains and that a sound validation of the results is absolutely necessary. Long-term monitoring data for floodplains, especially on hydrological connectivity, are of crucial importance in this respect.

Seasonal Stratification and Biogeochemical Turnover in the Freshwater Reach of a Partially Mixed Dredged Estuary

The Elbe estuary is a substantially engineered tidal water body that receives high loads of organic matter from the eutrophied Elbe river. The organic matter entering the estuary at the tidal weir is dominated by diatom populations that collapse in the deepened freshwater reach. Although the estuary’s freshwater reach is considered to manifest vertically homogenous density distribution (i.e., to be well-mixed), several indicators like trapping of particulate organic matter, near-bottom oxygen depletion and ammonium accumulation suggest that the vertical exchange of organic particles and dissolved oxygen is weakened at least temporarily. To better understand the causal links between the hydrodynamics and the oxygen and nutrient cycling in the deepened freshwater reach of the Elbe estuary, we establish a three-dimensional coupled hydrodynamical-biogeochemical model. The model demonstrates good skill in simulating the variability of the physical and biogeochemical parameters in the focal area. Coupled simulations reveal that this region is a hotspot of the degradation of diatoms and organic matter transported from the shallow productive upper estuary and the tidal weir. In summer, the water column weakly stratifies when at the bathymetric jump warmer water from the shallow upper estuary spreads over the colder water of the deepened mid reaches. Enhanced thermal stratification also occurs also in the narrow port basins and channels. Model results show intensification of the particle trapping due to the thermal gradients. The stratification also reduces the oxygenation of the near-bottom region and sedimentary layer inducing oxygen depletion and accumulation of ammonium. The study highlights that the vertical resolution is important for the understanding and simulation of estuarine ecological processes, because even weak stratification impacts the cycling of nutrients via modulation of the vertical mixing of oxygen, particularly in deepened navigation channels and port areas.

High irradiation and low discharge promote the dominant role of phytoplankton in riverine nutrient dynamics

AbstractRivers play a relevant role in the nutrient turnover during the transport from land to ocean. Here, highly dynamic planktonic processes are more important compared to streams making it necessary to link the dynamics of nutrient turnover to control mechanisms of phytoplankton. We investigated the basic conditions leading to high phytoplankton biomass and corresponding nutrient dynamics in eutrophic, 8th order River Elbe (Germany). In a first step, we performed six Lagrangian sampling campaigns in the lower river section at different hydrological conditions. While nutrient concentrations remained high at low algal densities in autumn and at moderate discharge in summer, high algal concentrations occurred at low discharge in summer. Under these conditions, concentrations of silica and nitrate decreased and rates of nitrate assimilation were high. Soluble reactive phosphorus was depleted and particulate phosphorus increased inversely. Rising molar C:P ratios of seston indicated a phosphorus limitation of phytoplankton, so far rarely observed in eutrophic large rivers. Global radiation combined with mixing depth had a strong predictive power to explain maximum chlorophyll concentration. In a second step, we estimated nutrient turnover exemplarily for N during the campaign with the lowest discharge based on mass balances and metabolism‐based process measurements. Mass balance calculations revealed a total nitrate uptake of 423 mg N m−2d−1. Increasing phytoplankton density dominantly explained whole river gross primary production and related assimilatory nutrient uptake. In conclusion, riverine nutrient uptake strongly depends on the growth conditions for phytoplankton, which are favored at high irradiation and low discharge.

Residues of selected sulfonamides, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics-antipyretics in surface water of the Elbe river basin (Czech Republic)

The occurrence of human as well as veterinary drug residues in surface water is caused by their insufficient removal ability from wastewater. Drug residues disturb the natural balance of water ecosystem, have a negative effect on non-target organisms and pose a significant risk for human health. The main aim of this study was to determine the concentration of residues of eight drugs from the group of sulfonamides (sulfathiazole, sulfadiazine, sulfamethazine, sulfamethoxazole, sulfadimethoxine, sulfadoxine, sulfamerazine, sulfachlorpyridazine), four drugs from the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug group (ibuprofen, ketoprofen, naproxen, diclofenac) and one representative of the analgesics-antipyretics group [paracetamol (acetaminophen)] in the surface water of the Elbe river basin. A total of 65 samples of surface water from the Elbe river basin were taken during August 2018 when the weather was constant without any significant fluctuations. The analysis was performed by means of liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The results have shown the numerous occurrences of sulfamethoxazole, ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac and paracetamol (acetaminophen). A statistically significant negative correlation between the river flow rate in the monitored locations and the residue concentration was found for ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac and paracetamol (acetaminophen). The most significant findings of the monitored drug residues were mostly determined in samples from small streams below larger urban settlements with a hospital or other health facilities.

Mycoplankton Biome Structure and Assemblage Processes Differ Along a Transect From the Elbe River Down to the River Plume and the Adjacent Marine Waters.

Rivers are transport systems and supply adjacent ecosystems with nutrients. They also serve human well-being, for example as a source of food. Microorganism biodiversity is an important parameter for the ecological balance of river ecosystems. Despite the knowledge that fungi are key players in freshwater nutrient cycling and food webs, data on planktonic fungi of streams with higher stream order are scarce. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap by a fungi-specific 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene tag sequencing approach, investigating mycoplankton diversity in the Elbe River along a transect from shallow freshwater, to the estuary and river plume down to the adjacent marine waters (sections of seventh stream order number). Using multivariate analyses and the quantitative process estimates (QPEs) method, questions (i) of how mycoplankton communities as part of the river continuum change along the transect, (ii) what factors, spatial and environmental, play a role, and (iii) what assembly processes, such as selection or dispersion, operate along the transect, were addressed. The partitioning of mycoplankton communities into three significant distant biomes was mainly driven by local environmental conditions that were partly under spatial control. The assembly processes underlying the biomes also differed significantly. Thus, variable selection dominated the upstream sections, while undominated processes like ecological drift dominated the sections close to the river mouth and beyond. Dispersal played a minor role. The results suggest that the ecological versatility of the mycoplankton communities changes along the transect as response, for example, to a drastic change from an autotrophic to a heterotrophic system caused by an abrupt increase in the river depth. Furthermore, a significant salinity-dependent occurrence of diverse basal fungal groups was observed, with no clade found exclusively in marine waters. These results provide an important framework to help understand patterns of riverine mycoplankton communities and serve as basis for a further in-depth work so that fungi, as an important ecological organism group, can be integrated into models of, e.g., usage-balance considerations of rivers.

West and East in Ashkenaz in the Time of Judah he-\u1e24asid

The present study interprets and frames a long-standing question concerning Judah he-Ḥasid’s motivations in migrating to Regensburg against the social and geographical contexts of the Jews of Ashkenaz. By examining the use of Hebrew geographic terminology during the High Middle Ages (Loter, Ashkenaz, Ashkelonia), the article demonstrates that twelfth-century Jews perceived and were engaged in contemporary political and territorial processes of the surrounding kingdom. The Hebrew terms describe the cultural tripartite division of the German kingdom (Regnum Teutonicum) in Lotharingia, the five duchies of the earlier tribes (Saxony, Franconia, Thuringia, Swabia, and Bavaria), and the still Slavic territories of the East. These imperial territories were settled and Christianized by mostly German migrants from the west of the kingdom from the eleventh century onwards. Comparable developments are evident in the movement and expansion of Jewish settlement in the German Kingdom. After many Jewish communities were founded in the Ashkenazic heartlands, beginning in cities on the Rhine, Main, and the Danube, i.e., in the territories of the five duchies (Ashkenaz), Jewish settlers founded new communities and settlements in the still Slavic areas (Ashkelonia), beyond the Elbe and Saale rivers, as part of the German settlement movement. Judah he-Ḥasid’s family’s migration is part of this development. With his relocation to Regensburg, he lived on the border of the Ashkenazic heartland (Old/West Ashkenaz) and the new Ashkenazic settlement areas in Ashkelonia (New/Eastern Ashkenaz). In Regensburg he became one of the central spiritual and halakhic authorities for the communities of the eastern neighboring territories. Through his work Judah he-Ḥasid opened the way to an “Ashkenazation” of the Jewish communities in eastern Central Europe and Eastern Europe.

New Opportunities for Capturing the Topography of the River Elbe by Airborne Hydromapping in a Low Discharge Period 2018

New Opportunities for Capturing the Topography of the River Elbe by Airborne Hydromapping in a Low Discharge Period 2018

Thermal stability of arsenic complexes in soils

The release of soil arsenic (As) in an unsaturated zone under oxidative conditions and at two temperatures simulating the seasonal effect (15 °C and 23 °C) was studied in four cultivated soils from the Elbe River catchment (Czech Republic, Central Europe). The soils with a low geogenic As background contained from 10 to 50 µg.g−1 of As, mostly originating from atmospheric deposition in the past. The temperature effect on the stability of As in soils was studied in connection with the stability of hydrated iron (Fe) oxides and dissolved organic carbon (DOC), as essential binding partners of As in soils. The temperature impact on As release was related to the actual As binding in soil determined by the sequential leaching. With predominant As binding to amorphous and poorly crystalline Fe phases the higher temperature (23 °C) increased As release up to twice compare to 15 °C. In the soils with a low total Fe and the preferential As binding to well-crystallised Fe phases the temperature effect on As release was negligible. Unlike Fe, the release of DOC is strongly temperature dependent, therefore As mobilisation was controlled by the DOC concentration. A higher experimental temperature (23 °C) supported the formation of DOC and the consequent release of As and Fe into the soil solution.

Carbon Stocks of Hardwood Floodplain Forests along the Middle Elbe: The Influence of Forest Age, Structure, Species, and Hydrological Conditions

Hardwood floodplain (HF) forests can store a considerable amount of carbon (C), and floodplains may be good candidates for reforestation to provide natural C sinks. In this study, we use nondestructive inventory methods to estimate the C stocks of different tree species and C pools within HF forests of varying age and structure and located at sites differing in hydrological conditions (low and high active floodplain, seepage water zone, tributaries). The study was carried out along the Elbe river (Germany). Average C stocks for young plantations in the active floodplain were significantly lower (50.2 ± 10.8 SE Mg ha−1) than those of old dense (140.6 ± 11.6 SE Mg ha−1) and old sparse forests (180.4 ± 26.6 SE Mg ha−1) with comparable hydrological conditions. C stocks of old dense forests did not significantly vary from old sparse forests. Additionally, C stocks of old forests did not significantly vary according to hydrological conditions. The highest amount of C was stored in Quercus robur for all hydrological conditions. Ulmus laevis stored the second-highest amount of C on the active floodplain. We conclude that sparse and dense forests as well as forests under different hydrological conditions provide the same C storage function.

Phosphorous Supply to a Eutrophic Artificial Lake: Sedimentary versus Groundwater Sources

The eutrophic Lake Eichbaumsee, a ~1 km long and 280 m wide (maximum water depth 16 m) dredging lake southeast of Hamburg (Germany), has been treated for water quality improvements using various techniques (i.e., aeration plants, removal of dissolved phosphorous by aluminum phosphorous precipitation, and by Bentophos® (Phoslock Environmental Technologies, Sydney, Australia), adsorption) during the past ~15 years. Despite these treatments, no long-term improvement of the water quality has been observed and the lake water phosphorous content has continued to increase by e.g., ~670 kg phosphorous between autumn 2014 and autumn 2019. As no creeks or rivers drain into the lake and hydrological groundwater models do not suggest any major groundwater discharge into the lake, sources of phosphorous (and other nutrients) are unknown. We investigated the phosphorous fluxes from sediment pore water and from groundwater in the water body of the lake. Sediment pore water was extracted from sediment cores recovered by divers in August 2018 and February 2019. Diffusive phosphorous fluxes from pore water were calculated based on phosphorus gradients. Stable water isotopes (δ2H, δ18O) were measured in the lake water, in interstitial waters in the banks surrounding the lake, in the Elbe River, and in three groundwater wells close to the lake. Stable isotope (δ2H, δ18O) water mass balance models were used to compute water inflow/outflow to/from the lake. Our results revealed pore-water borne phosphorous fluxes between 0.2 mg/m2/d and 1.9 mg/m2/d. Assuming that the measured phosphorous fluxes are temporarily and spatially representative for the whole lake, about 11 kg/a to 110 kg/a of phosphorous is released from sediments. This amount is lower than the observed lake water phosphorous increase of ~344 kg between April 2018 and November 2018. Water stable isotope (δ2H, δ18O) compositions indicate a water exchange between an aquifer and the lake water. Based on stable isotope mass balances we estimated an inflow of phosphorous from the aquifer to the lake of between ~150 kg/a and ~390 kg/a. This result suggests that groundwater-borne phosphorous is a significant phosphorous source for the Eichbaumsee and highlights the importance of groundwater for lake water phosphorous balances.

Decabromodiphenylether trends in the European environment: Bird eggs, sewage sludge and surficial sediments

Concern on relatively high levels and the potential bioaccumulation of decabromodiphenylether (BDE209) has led to a European 8-year monitoring program on trends in BDE209 concentrations in birds, sewage sludge and sediments from seven countries. BDE209 was analysed in four environmental matrices: sparrowhawk eggs (UK), glaucous gull eggs (Bear Island, Norway), sewage sludge (UK, Ireland and the Netherlands) and sediment (France, Germany, the Netherlands, UK and Ireland). BDE209 was detected in most of the glaucous gull and sparrow hawk eggs but neither increasing nor decreasing trends in these BDE209 levels were observed. An indication for debromination of BDE209 in sparrowhawk eggs was found. BDE209 concentrations in sediments ranged from very low ng/g (88 ng/g on an organic carbon (OC) basis) concentrations, in the rivers Elbe, Ems, Seine and the Outer Humber, to high μg/g (120 μg/g OC), in the Western Scheldt, Liverpool Bay and River Mersey. Apart from decreasing values in the Western Scheldt sediment no further decreases in BDE209 concentrations were observed over time, neither in sediment nor in sewage sludge showing that the voluntary emissions control program of the bromine industry only had a local effect. In contrast to the sewage sludge samples from the Netherlands (mean 355 ng/g dry weight (dw) or 1026 ng/g OC), the BDE209 concentrations in the UK increased at all sites from 2006 to 2011 (8092 ng/g dw or 22,367 ng/g OC). The BDE209 levels in several UK sediments and sewage sludge were still very high at the end of the program in 2012, most likely caused by frequent use of BDE209 in the textile industry. This may be indicative of the persistence of BDE209 and the limited degradation into lower brominated congeners in sediment, although it cannot be excluded that ongoing BDE209 emissions have played a role as well.

Effluent decontamination by the ibuprofen-mineralizing strain, Sphingopyxis granuli RW412: Metabolic processes.

The high global consumption of ibuprofen and its limited elimination by wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), has led to the contamination of aquatic systems by this common analgesic and its metabolites. The potentially negative environmental and public health effects of this emerging contaminant have raised concerns, driving the demand for treatment technologies. The implementation of bacteria which mineralize organic contaminants in biopurification systems used to decontaminate water or directly in processes in WWTPs, is a cheap and sustainable means for complete elimination before release into the environment. In this work, an ibuprofen-mineralizing bacterial strain isolated from sediments of the River Elbe was characterized and assayed to remediate different ibuprofen-polluted media. Strain RW412, which was identified as Sphingopyxis granuli, has a 4.48Mb genome which includes plasmid sequences which harbor the ipf genes that encode the first steps of ibuprofen mineralization. Here, we confirm that these genes encode enzymes which initiate CoA ligation to ibuprofen, followed by aromatic ring activation by a dioxygenase and retroaldol cleavage to unequivocally produce 4-isobutylcatechol and propionyl-CoA which then undergo further degradation. In liquid mineral salts medium, the strain eliminated more than 2mM ibuprofen within 74h with a generation time of 16h. Upon inoculation into biopurification systems, it eliminated repeated doses of ibuprofen within a few days. Furthermore, in these systems the presence of RW412 avoided the accumulation of ibuprofen metabolites. In ibuprofen-spiked effluent from a municipal WWTP, ibuprofen removal by this strain was 7 times faster than by the indigenous microbiota. These results suggest that this strain can persist and remain active under environmentally relevant conditions, and may be a useful innovation to eliminate this emerging contaminant from urban wastewater treatment systems.

Partial migration of a maraena whitefish Coregonus maraena population from the River Elbe, Germany

The maraena whitefish Coregonus maraena is a threatened anadromous species in the North Sea, which in the past was decimated to near extinction. Since the late 1980s, several re-establishment programs have been implemented in rivers draining into the North Sea, but the scientific basis for sustainable conservation measures is often lacking, since little is known about the biology of this species. In this study, otolith microchemistry of fish ranging from 24.6 to 58.4 cm in total length (median 31.3 cm, SD 8.4 cm) was used to characterize the migration behavior of a reintroduced population of maraena whitefish from the River Elbe, Germany. Our analyses revealed the presence of 3 different migration patterns: (1) one-time migration into high-salinity habitat (North Sea) within the first year of life (29.6%), (2) multiple migrations between low- and high-salinity habitats starting in the first year of life (14.8%) and (3) permanent residency within low-salinity habitats, a pattern displayed by the majority (55.6%) of sampled individuals. Not only do these results reveal differential migration behavior, but they also indicate that permanent river residency is common in the River Elbe population of C. maraena. The role of the Elbe as both a feeding and a spawning habitat should thus be considered more explicitly in current conservation measures to support recovery of this species.

West Germany and the Iron Curtain: Environment, Economy, and Culture in the Borderlands by Astrid Eckert

Reviewed by: West Germany and the Iron Curtain: Environment, Economy, and Culture in the Borderlands by Astrid Eckert Kristin Poling West Germany and the Iron Curtain: Environment, Economy, and Culture in the Borderlands. Astrid Eckert. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019. Pp. xvi+422, black & white illustrations, endnotes. $105.00, hardcover, ISBN 978-0-1906-9005-2. $29.95, paperback, ISBN 978-1-1975-8231-2. In her book on West Germany's eastern borderlands, Astrid Eckert recounts the story of a tourist visiting the border in 1964, who, on being shown where East Germany lay across the Elbe River, cried out, "Why, there is no Iron Curtain!" (95). For this tourist, and not her alone, the global significance and powerful iconography of the Iron Curtain had shaped her expectations and obscured the reality of the border. The German-German border's very prominence as a Cold War frontier made it harder to see. From behind that powerful metaphor, Eckert seeks to restore the 1,400-kilometer border to visibility with all its complexity and materiality, its regional specificity, and its natural environments. Her project, drawing on extensive research in diverse archival and print sources, is to write the history of West Germany's borderlands as a place that provided homes for both people and nonhuman natures, existed before 1949, and continued to exist after 1990. The results are richly rewarding, as a study of the Federal Republic, a contribution to border studies, and an example of an integrated approach to environmental history that incorporates culture, politics, and economics. Unlike other landmark studies focused on the materiality and local experience of the German-German boundary, such as Daphne Berdahl's Where the World Ended: Re-Unification and Identity in the German Borderland (1999) and Edith Sheffer's Burned Bridge: How East and West Germans Made the Iron Curtain (2011), Eckert does not zoom in on a single exemplary place to illuminate the dynamics of the border. Instead, she takes as her subject the entirety of the 40-kilometer-wide strip defined as the "zonal borderlands" and eligible for federal borderland aid. Through her six thematic chapters, Eckert shows that while proximity to the German Democratic Republic gave the West German zonal borderlands a unified identity, the border remained a heterogeneous landscape. It included open land and rural areas, but also major cities from Lübeck to Hof. The strip intersected with the Harz Mountains, the Drömling wetlands, the Bavarian forest, and several major rivers, including the Elbe and the Werra. Through borderland [End Page 88] aid (chapter 2), border tourism (chapter 3), environmental diplomacy (chapter 4), landscape and wildlife management (chapter 5), and the controversy over a planned-but-never-built nuclear waste disposal center at Görleben in the northeastern corner of Lower Saxony (chapter 6), West German policies and attitudes set apart the borderlands as an exceptional zone, reflecting attitudes toward division and toward the German Democratic Republic. Eckert also shows, however, the ways in which Cold War politics and culture butted up against the materiality of the region's landscapes and features. The Iron Curtain comes and goes, both shaping and shaped by the environments it traversed. Throughout the book, Eckert attends to how the exceptional conditions of division were grounded in prewar circumstances. In one memorable example, she recounts how the language, planning expertise, and visual iconography used to describe the German-German boundary in the 1950s referenced the loss of territory after World War I. Gruesome metaphors of mutilation on the "bleeding border" resurfaced, and spatial planners like Gerhard Isenberg studied the economics of the newly drawn borders of 1919 in an attempt to better understand the borders of 1949. Justifications for borderland aid even directly referenced the precedent of Osthilfe, the aid provided by the Weimar government to bankrupt Junkers in East Prussia—a reference perhaps all the more telling for its inaptness, since the earlier relief program had aimed to shore up large agricultural estates and had ended in scandal (56–57). The value of Eckert's long-term view is especially evident in the chapters dealing with environmental issues. While inter-German environmental diplomacy made environmental concerns more visible and salient for...

Proper Names as Evidence in the History of the Slavs in Eastern Germany. Review of the book: Wenzel W. Die slawische Besiedlung des Landes zwischen Elbe und Saale. Namenkundliche Studien / Hrsg. von A. Brendler & S. Brendler. Hamburg : Baar, 2019. 333 S.

This book is an important contribution to the study of the early history of the Slavs in southern East Germany. As a professor at the University of Leipzig, the author spent more than 60 years at the core of the Leipzig Onomastic School which is internationally recognised for the works of its founders, Ernst Eichler and Hans Walter. As a language historian and Slavist, Walter Wenzel has authored numerous works on Slavic personal and place names in the area of distribution of Sorbian in the Middle Ages. For several years he has been the senior and the most influential figure in Slavic onomastic research in Leipzig. His endeavour is always directed towards an in-depth and exact evaluation of the sources of genuinely Slavic language forms, the historical works, and documents written in Latin from the 7th to the 14th century. The findings on Slavic-German language contact accumulated over many years of research allow to revisit and refine the results of the earlier publications of the Leipzig school, as well as to introduce new etymologies. With the new book, a further supplement to previously existing reference works is now available. A register of names also reveals the author’s new linguistic historical findings and their significance in understanding immigration and settlement history of the Slavs between the rivers Elbe and Saale in Central Germany.

Uzbrojenie znad dolnej Odry w okresie rzymskim na przykładach cmentarzysk w Czelinie (dawn. Zellin), Starych Łysogórkach (dawn. Alt Lietzegöricke) i Żelisławcu (dawn. Sinzlow), pow. gryfiński

Armaments from the Lower Oder Basin in the Roman Period on the Basis of Burial Grounds at Czelin (ex-Zellin), Stare Łysogórki (ex-Alt Lietzegöricke), and Żelisławiec (ex-Sinzlow), distr. GryfinoInvestigations of the burial ground at Czelin, Gryfino district, site 23 (AZP 45-04/5) yielded 191 features dated from phase A3 of the Late Pre-Roman Period to subphase C1b of the Roman Period. Cremation burials are in the majority. Only one inhumation grave was discovered. The collection of the recovered weapons includes nine swords (five single-edged, i.a. types Biborski B/1, D/1, and D/2), four double-edged (i.a. types Vimose-Illerup, Lachmirowice-Apa, and agladius), 29 heads of shafted weapons (i.a. groups Kaczanowski I, II, III, VIII, X, XVII), 19 shield-bosses (Jahn 5, Jahn 6, Jahn 7, and Jahn 8), 14 shield grips (Jahn 6, Jahn 7, and Jahn 9), four spurs, and two arrowheads. The most interesting weapons are the above-mentioned Vimose-Illerup sword, Pompeii gladius, and decorated spearheads. The typological identifications of the weapons refer to the Przeworsk culture ones, and the pottery vessels correspond with atradition from the Elbe River area. Scandinavian influence is also noticeable in the weapons (aHval-type head, an Illerup Ådal-type sword) and tools, such as needle-shaped strike-a-lights. This is typical situation in the lower Oder River region.