Assessment of the Aquatic Ecosystem in the Slovak Stretch of the Danube River

Abstract

The catchment area of the Slovak Danube River Basin (DRB), representing the main river basin of Slovakia is 47,084 km2. This area covers 96.0% of Slovak territory and creates 5.9% of the total DRB (Fig. 1; RBMPDD 2015). The rest of the Slovak territory belongs within the Vistula River Basin (4%). Agricultural land represents c. 50% of the DRB surface, forests and forest-related areas 45% and urbanised areas c. 5%. Average annual precipitation is 738 mm and average annual runoff reaches 228 mm. The territory of Slovakia is located in the temperate climate zone with regular changes of seasons, which is a typical feature of the middle latitudes.