The most extensive dike relocation in Germany to date, encompassing an area of 4.2 km², was successfully carried out in the Nature conservation project “Lenzen Elb Valley Floodplain” in the year 2011. A development towards a diverse floodplain landscape, which is principally affected by natural factors, is taking place on former meadows and pastures throughout the entire area. The project aims to model the long-term development processes of floodplain vegetation for a variety of scenarios of hydrological (climate change) and morphological frameworks.

The condition of vegetation and the resulting effects of hydrological parameters (water level states, distribution of currents and current velocities, particularly for flood events) are represented, based on location factors of current and historical agricultural use, flood frequency and period, ground water and long-term morphological processes.

An interconnected version of the Casimir-Vegetation Software, which has been augmented by a 2D hydro-numerical model is utilized and compared to INFORM, an existing floodplain model from the Federal Institute of Hydrology, for optimization purposes.