The development of a European floodplain typology follows an ecological approach based on environmental factors like altitude and slope, which are known to govern floodplain habitats and biota but not affected by human alterations. Several environmental factors were selected a priori according to their relevance and data availability at European scales. A cluster analysis was used to identify the most important environmental factors (= typology factors) to distinguish between seven ecological floodplain types.

Type 1 ‘Very flat lowland floodplains’ and Type 2 ‘Flat lowland floodplains’ cover most parts of the European lowlands, while Type 3 ‘Mid-altitude high run-off floodplains’ and Type 4 ‘Mid-altitude low run-off floodplains’ are located in the hilly regions – with Type 3 mostly located in hilly areas exposed to higher precipitations, and Type 4 located in the Mediterranean and eastern parts of the continent. The Type 5 ‘Mid-altitude plateau floodplains’ are predominantly situated in the flat uplands of Spain and Turkey, but also in parts of the Scandinavian Mountains. Type 6 ‘Highland floodplains’ is distributed across the Alps and Pyrenees, while Type 7 ‘Nordic lowland floodplains’ is limited to Scandinavia and parts of the Baltic countries.

The development of a European floodplain typology follows an ecological approach based on environmental factors like altitude and slope, which are known to govern floodplain habitats and biota but not affected by human alterations. Several environmental factors were selected a priori according to their relevance and data availability at European scales. A cluster analysis was used to identify the most important environmental factors (= typology factors) to distinguish between seven ecological floodplain types.

Type 1 ‘Very flat lowland floodplains’ and Type 2 ‘Flat lowland floodplains’ cover most parts of the European lowlands, while Type 3 ‘Mid-altitude high run-off floodplains’ and Type 4 ‘Mid-altitude low run-off floodplains’ are located in the hilly regions – with Type 3 mostly located in hilly areas exposed to higher precipitations, and Type 4 located in the Mediterranean and eastern parts of the continent. The Type 5 ‘Mid-altitude plateau floodplains’ are predominantly situated in the flat uplands of Spain and Turkey, but also in parts of the Scandinavian Mountains. Type 6 ‘Highland floodplains’ is distributed across the Alps and Pyrenees, while Type 7 ‘Nordic lowland floodplains’ is limited to Scandinavia and parts of the Baltic countries.