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More than half of the global river network is composed of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES), which are expanding in response to climate change and increasing water demands. After years of obscurity, the science of IRES has bloomed recently and it is being recognised that IRES support a unique and high biodiversity, provide essential ecosystem services and are functionally part of river networks and groundwater systems. However, they still lack protective and adequate management, thereby jeopardizing water resources at the global scale. This Action brings together hydrologists, biogeochemists, ecologists, modellers, environmental economists, social researchers and stakeholders from 14 different countries to develop a research network for synthesising the fragmented, recent knowledge on IRES, improving our understanding of IRES and translating this into a science-based, sustainable management of river networks. Deliverables will be provided through i) research workshops synthesising and addressing key challenges in IRES science, supporting research exchange and educating young researchers, and ii) researcher-stakeholder workshops translating improved knowledge into tangible tools and guidelines for protecting IRES and raising awareness of their importance and value in societal and decision-maker spheres. This Action is organized within six Working Groups to address: (i) the occurrence, distribution and hydrological trends of IRES; (ii) the effects of flow alterations on IRES functions and services; (iii) the interaction of aquatic and terrestrial biogeochemical processes at catchment scale; (iv) the biomonitoring of the ecological status of IRES; (v) synergies in IRES research at the European scale, data assemblage and sharing; (vi) IRES management and advocacy training.

Flooding caused by intensive precipitation has been in the centre of attention of both general public and scientists. From the flood risk management perspective, an integrated approach to catchment management is necessary, in particular with regards to water retention capacity. Our research has been focused on the high intensity rainfall, its short duration, and an adequate infiltration capacity into the soil profile in the upper parts of the catchment, the same as on the impact of soil characteristics such as moisture content and suction pressure, in particular. The five-year research period in two sub-catchments - Červík A and B - in the Beskydy Mts. enabled monitoring of about 300 events, and seventy of them with higher rainfall intensity were selected for further analysis. The analysis showed that the retention of an intensive precipitation was positively dependent on the instantaneous soil moisture and suction pressure. A continuous monitoring of these properties made it possible to quantify the potential runoff and the tendency to cause flooding. The analysis also showed an inverse situation in terms of the relationship between retention (and consequently runoff), suction pressure, and soil moisture content. It was therefore necessary to eliminate these by proposing suitable preventive bio-technical measures.