Farm Ponds as Potential Complementary Habitats to Natural Wetlands in a Mediterranean Region

Abstract

We compared morphometric and physicochemical characteristics of farm ponds and natural wetlands in Andalusia (southern Spain) to determine whether artificial waterbodies might act as alternative and/or complementary habitats for aquatic biodiversity. Farm ponds were much smaller than natural wetlands, making them unsuitable for species requiring large waterbodies. However, we observed high farm pond density in areas lacking natural wetlands, which suggests a prime role for the conservation of species with low dispersal capacities. Natural-substrateponds were abundant in traditional extensive farming systems and showed shoreline complexity as high as the most complex natural wetlands. Areas with more intensive agriculture were dominated by artificial-substrate ponds and wetlands, with low physical complexity in both. The high copper load in sediments, due to the use of copper sulphate as biocide, differentiated the artificial-substrate ponds from natural-looking ponds and all natural wetland types. Aqueous mineral levels in farm ponds were much lower than in natural wetlands. We can conclude that farm ponds might play a principal role in region-wide habitat complementarity, by providing a relatively high density of small, permanent, oligohaline waterbodies that is not matched by natural wetland. To enhance this role, measures regulating both pond construction and management are needed, particularly for artificial-substrate ponds

Diversity in Mediterranean farm ponds: trade‐offs and synergies between irrigation modernisation and biodiversity conservation

“…Michel et al, 2007) and has had major impacts on inland aquatic ecosystems (Dudgeon et al, 2006). Knutson et al, 2004;Mushtaq, Dawe & Hafeez, 2007;Lutton, Sheldon & Bunn, 2010), which are potentially valuable for biodiversity conservation (Lutton et al, 2010;Casas et al, 2011bCasas et al, , 2012. This expansion has been accompanied in Spain, as well as in other world regions, by the construction of in-farm water storages (e.g.…”

Disturbance from pond management obscures local and regional drivers of assemblages of primary producers

“…Percentage cover of submerged aquatic vegetation (% SAV), including both filamentous green algae and macrophyte coverage, was estimated visually. Average belt width covered with hydrophytic marginal vegetation (MV) was measured using ortho‐images (Casas et al ., ). The number of ponds with presence of filamentous green algae and/or macrophytes is summarised in Table S2.…”

Efectos del tratamiento con sulfato de cobre (Cuso4) sobre la calidad del agua de balsas de riego

“…En la provincia de Almería, el conjunto de balsas ocupa una superficie total de lámina de agua de alrededor de 617 ha, algo menos de la mitad de la superficie total de humedales naturales existentes en la provincia, las cuales son alimentadas principalmente por aguas subterráneas (Casas, Toja, Peñalver, Juan, León y Fuentes-Rodríguez, 2012). Estos cuerpos de agua tienden a naturalizarse proporcionando hábitats alternativos para algas, plantas, invertebrados y vertebrados, frente a la acelerada pérdida y degradación de sus hábitats naturales (Casas, Toja, Bonachela, Fuentes-Rodríguez, Gallego y Juan, 2011a;Casas et al, 2012). Sin embargo, la diversidad biológica que pueden albergar las balsas agrícolas depende, en gran medida, de la gestión que los agricultores realicen en las mismas, y con frecuencia esta gestión no permite compatibilizar las funciones agronómicas con las ambientales (Casas, Sánchez-Oliver, Sanz, Furné, Trenzado y Juan, 2011b).…”