The influence of geomorphology on the composition of aquatic flora and fauna within a temporary pond network

Florencio, Margarita; Serrano, Laura Rubio i; Siljeström, Patricia; Fernández‐Zamudio, Rocío; García‐Murillo, Pablo; Díaz‐Paniagua, Carmen

doi:10.23818/limn.33.25

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 14 publications

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“…Mediterranean temporary ponds also serve as important reproductive sites for many amphibians (Beja & Alcázar, 2003; Jakob et al, 2003; Gómez‐Rodríguez et al, 2009; Díaz‐Paniagua et al, 2015) and odonatans (Thièry, 2004; Dijkstra & Lewington, 2006; Florencio et al, 2009). In addition, they provide essential habitat for numerous aquatic macroinvertebrates (Florencio et al, 2009; Florencio et al, 2014a; Florencio et al, 2014b), microcrustaceans (Florencio, Díaz‐Paniagua & Serrano, 2016) and aquatic plants (Pinto‐Cruz et al, 2009; Rhazi et al, 2012; Fernández‐Zamudio, García‐Murillo & Díaz‐Paniagua, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pond basin colonization by terrestrial vegetation indicates wetland deterioration

Díaz‐Paniagua

Ramírez-Soto

Aragonés

2023

Aquatic Conservation

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Efforts to conserve the pond network in the Doñana National Park are being threatened by groundwater overexploitation. The dramatic expansion of farming and tourism in nearby areas has caused a severe lowering of the water table, reducing pond hydroperiod length or even instigating pond desiccation. It is important to document the link between groundwater abstraction and pond deterioration with a view to decreasing human pressures on the park and preserving the pond network's singular biodiversity. Here, the gradual deterioration of one of the network's main ponds is described in detail by characterizing vegetation patterns within the pond's basin using orthophotos taken between 1956 and 2019. In the earliest images, the pond contained a wide central area of bare soil during its dry phase. This area was surrounded by reeds and had a line of Tamarix canariensis trees along its southern edge. Starting in 2000, the orthophotos showed the pond's gradual colonization by terrestrial vegetation. In tandem, pond hydroperiod decreased, as did the length of time the pond retained certain depths of water. In recent years, Tamarix trees finally fully invaded the pond's central area, which is surrounded by reeds and has scattered terrestrial bushes and pines. This invasion resulted from the pond's sparse inundation over recent decades, being the cover of trees related to the depth of groundwater, and is a clear sign of pond deterioration. More broadly, colonization by terrestrial vegetation has been observed in approximately 60% of the network's ponds. Colonization of temporary pond basins by terrestrial vegetation can be used as an indicator of deterioration and highlights the need for active restoration and management.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pond basin colonization by terrestrial vegetation indicates wetland deterioration

Díaz‐Paniagua

Ramírez-Soto

Aragonés

2023

Aquatic Conservation

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Evidence-based Risk Assessment of Ecological Damage due to Groundwater Abstraction; the Case of Doñana Natural Space, Spain

2022

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Many regions of the world are facing mounting water stress as competition increases for this vital resource that may become scarcer under future climates. More water is being allocated to our needs for food, public supply, hydro-electric power and industrial goods to support growing populations and mounting life-style expectations. To achieve this, less water is often being retained for water-dependent ecosystems. Environmental protection agencies and conservation organisations have highlighted the resulting threat to freshwater biodiversity and associated ecosystem services that support human livelihoods and well-being. Careful assessments are therefore required to advise on the optimum allocation of water and to determine the risk of developments that require redistribution of water resources.Along the northern fringes of the Guadalquivir River delta and estuary in southern Spain about 40% of all jobs derive from agriculture. The production of olives, fruit trees, rice and berries is a major component of the local economy producing large exports, but it requires significant water from local rivers and the underlying aquifers. The economy is also reliant on tourism that brings many thousands of people to the area in the summer for which groundwater abstraction is augmented. The delta is the location of the Doñana wetland complex of lagoons, marshlands, fixed and mobile dunes that was designated as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1980, as wetland of international importance (Ramsar Site) under the Convention on Wetlands in 1982 and as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994. Fears have been expressed that increasing human water use is putting the wetlands at risk of drying out, despite efforts by the river basin authority to limit abstraction to sustainable levels.This paper reports on a methodology that analyses best available eco-hydrological scientific knowledge together with information on the likely success of abstraction control measures to determine the risk to the wetland ecosystem of current and future planned water allocation. The method was applied to Doñana by the joint UNESCO/IUCN/Ramsar Reactive Monitoring mission to in 2020. The results are also provided in the paper, which raised many important scientific and related political, legal and social issues concerning the impacts of water withdrawals on the ecology of the wetlands. The methodology has wide application to environmental water allocation assessments.

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The influence of geomorphology on the composition of aquatic flora and fauna within a temporary pond network

Cited by 2 publications

References 14 publications

Pond basin colonization by terrestrial vegetation indicates wetland deterioration

Pond basin colonization by terrestrial vegetation indicates wetland deterioration

Evidence-based Risk Assessment of Ecological Damage due to Groundwater Abstraction; the Case of Doñana Natural Space, Spain

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