Holocene floodplains and their distribution in urban areas—functionality indicators for their retention potentials

Floodplains are among the natural areas in central Europe which—depending on the formative power of flowing water—possess a high natural potential for the regulation of water and matter flows. Many floodplains and urban development share a long common history in central Europe. Numerous, sharply varying historical views exist on how to distinguish European floodplains. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to examine relevant indicators such as floodloam expansion, groundwater table, relief and land use to see how useful they are for characterising current floodplain functionality in urban areas and to ‘flesh them out’ for a case study.