Spatial and Temporal Variability of Bank Erosion during the Period 1930–2016: Case Study—Kolubara River Basin (Serbia)

The fluvial process is characterized by an intense meandering riverbed. The aim of this study was to perform a reconstruction of the lateral migration of a 15 km length of an active meandering river during the period 1930–2016. River morphological changes were analyzed and quantified from cadastral maps and aerial photographs as well as by geodetic survey and GIS. Hydrological characteristics and extreme hydrological events were evaluated in relation to bank erosion rate. The rate of bank erosion was markedly different from the long-term studied meanders, just like in the short-term period. During the 87 years of observation (from 1930 to 2016), the length of the Kolubara River was enlarged by 3.44 km. The average migration rate of the Kolubara River for monitored meanders in the period 1930–2010 was 1.9 m·year−1, while in the period 2010–2016, the average migration rate was 3.3 m·year−1. The rate of bank erosion was more intensive across the entire short-term period than during the longer period, and the maximum annual rate of bank erosion during the period 2010–2016 varied between 0.3 and 11.5 m. It is very likely that in the period from 2010, frequent discharge variations and rapid change of its extreme values caused more intensive bank erosion. These research results will be valuable for river channel management, engineering (soft and hard engineering), and planning purposes (predicting changes in river channel form) in the Kolubara River Basin