Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología-CSIC Wetlands Biodiversity ... · Wetlands Biodiversity and Services: Tools for Socio-Ecological Development is our motto which indicates our interest

International Conference Wetlands 2014

Wetlands Biodiversity and Services:Tools for Socio-Ecological Development

IX EUROPEAN WETLAND CONGRESS6.º European Pond Conservation Network

2014

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EDITED BY:

ASOCIACIÓN para la INTEGRACIÓNde los SERVICIOS de los ECOSISTEMAS

Francisco A. Comín, Adela Lamana, Cecilia Español, Mercedes GarcíaInstituto Pirenaico de Ecología-CSIC

PROMOTED BY:

ORGANIZED BY:

PARTNERS

This Conference Book has been elaborated by:

Francisco A. Comín, Adela Lamana, Cecilia Español, Mercedes García

Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología-CSIC

ConferenCe CommiTTees

Conference Chair

Francisco A. Comín. Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología-CSIC. Zaragoza, Spain.

Advisory Committee

Mauricio Borin. University of Padova

Jan Kvet. University of South Bohemia, ˇCeské Budˇejovice, Czech Republic

Edward Maltby. University of Liverpool, U.K.

Robert McInnes. RAMSAR representative, RM Wetlands & Environment Ltd, U.K.

Daniela Russi, Institute for European Environmental Policy, London-Brussels

scientific Committee

Hans Brix. Aarhus University. Arhus, Denmark

Hana ˇCíˇzková. University of South Bohemia. ˇCeské Budˇejovice, Czech Republic

Gordon H. Copp. Cefas-Lowestoft, UK and Bournemouth University, U.K.

Jorge A. Herrera. CINVESTAV-IPN. Mérida, México

Ülo Mander. University of Tartu. Tartu, Estonia

David Moreno. Ikerbasque-Basque Foundationfor Science. Bilbao, Spain.

Beat Oertli. University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland. Geneva, Switzerland

Jose M. Sánchez-Pérez. CNRS/INPT-ENSAT/Univ. Paul Sabatier. Toulouse, France

Laura Serrano . University of Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain

Jos Verhoeven. Utrecht University. Utrecht, The Netherlands

PierLuigi Viaroli. Università degli Studi di Parma. Italia

Jan Vymazal. Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague. Czech Republik

Dominik Zak. Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries. Berlin, Germany

Local organizing Committee

Dani Boix. Universitat de Girona, Girona, Spain

Gema Cacho. Comarca de Los Monegros. Sariñena, Huesca, Spain

Fabian Carranza. Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología. Zaragoza, Spain

Carmen Castañeda. Estación Experimental Aula Dei-CSIC

Nadia Darwiche. Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología. Jaca (Huesca) Spain

Cecilia Español. Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología. Zaragoza, Spain

Maria R. Felipe-Lucia. Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología. Zaragoza, Spain

Belinda Gallardo. Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC. Sevilla, Spain

Francisca Gallego. Comarca de Los Monegros. Sariñena, Huesca, Spain

Mercedes García. Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología. Zaragoza, Spain

Stéphanie Gascón. Universitat de Girona, Girona, Spain

Juan José Jiménez. Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología. Jaca (Huesca) Spain

Adela Lamana.Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología. Zaragoza, Spain

Enrique Navarro. Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología. Zaragoza, Spain

Adriá Masip. Parque Científico-Teconlógico Aula Dei. Zaragoza, Spain

Xavier Quintana. Universitat de Girona, Girona, Spain

Ricardo Sorando. Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología. Zaragoza, Spain

Claudia Teutli. University of Barcelona. Barcelona, Spain

TABLe of ConTenTs

Greetings and Welcome ............................................................................................. 5

Conference site: Huesca, Aragón, Spain ..................................................................... 6

Conference venue: Huesca Congress Palace .............................................................. 6

Program ..................................................................................................................... 7

Schedules at a Glance ............................................................................................. 7

Schedule at a Glance: Conference ....................................................................... 7

Schedule at a Glance: Sessions ........................................................................... 8

Schedule at a Glance: Authors ............................................................................ 12

Day by day Program ................................................................................................ 16

Accompanying persons program ............................................................................... 31

Mid Conference Field trips ......................................................................................... 32

Biographical notes of Plenary Lecturers ..................................................................... 34

Panel Discussion ......................................................................................................... 35

Abstracts of Plenary Lectures ..................................................................................... 36

Oral presentation abstracts of Concurrent Sessions, Symposia, Special Sessions

and Workshops .......................................................................................................... 38

Poster presentation abstracts .................................................................................... 131

Author´s index ............................................................................................................ 192

International Conference Wetlands 2014 5

GreeTinGsDear participants of the SWS Europe / EPCN conference in Huesca,

A warm word of welcome on behalf of SWS Europe! This meeting is dedicated to the ex-change of new research results and practical experiences on wetland ecosystem functionsand services and their policy and management implications. In Europe, we are increasinglyrecognizing the importance of our wetlands in these respects. In spite of the severe lossesof wetland habitats that have occurred on our continent, we are now in a phase of increas-ingly effective protection of the remaining wetland resources and of major restoration ini-tiatives. It is my wish that our meeting will contribute further to this positive development,in particular in the semi-arid region where we are hosted.

Hasta la vista (See you) in Huesca.

Jos Verhoeven

President of SWS Europe

WeLComeDear Colleagues,

Organizing a scientific-technical congress is a thrilling adventure because you don´t know inadvance the attraction capacity of the call and how the meeting will develop. The major chal-lenge of scientists is to make their results useful for the society. We prepared this meetingwith the objectives of attracting many colleagues from many countries and opening the per-spective towards a socio-ecological interpretation of wetlands.

Wetlands Biodiversity and Services: Tools for Socio-Ecological Development is our motto whichindicates our interest to integrate wetland functions and values as essential part of the peo-ple´s development, all this based on a sound scientific knowledge which we are sure will bepresent at this Conference.

We thank all those who are contributing to the organization of this Conference and to alldelegates for your participation. On behalf of the Organizing Committees, I wish you takethe most of this meeting and welcome you to enjoy the stay in Huesca.

Francisco A. Comín

Wetlands 2014 Chairperson

ConferenCe siTeHuesca, Aragón, spain: The city of Huesca is well known for its pleasant atmosphere andexcellent gastronomy. The city of Huesca is located at 488 m.a.s.l., in the center of a 20 kmdepression call Hoya of Huesca. Huesca (52,000 inhabitants) is a very pleasant and walkablecity. You can walk in a few minutes all around. We recommend you to visit the web pagehttp://www.huescaturismo.com to get more information of Huesca city and surroundings.

The province of Huesca: Huesca province is a 15,626 km2 administrative territory (Diputaciónde Huesca: http://ww.dphuesca.es) with beautiful landscapes. In the north, the PyreneesRange with high mountains (over 3,000 m.a.s.l., with alpine pastures, black pines and firtrees), down through holm oaks, dry and irrigated cereals, at mid altitudes and irrigatedmaize, rice and vegetables in counties where water from the rivers is transported throughcanals for irrigation. Huesca territory is well known because of the many possibilities to prac-tice active tourism (walks, routes, biking, fishing, horse riding) and adventure sports (canoe-ing, rafting, canyoning, paraglide, etc…). Visit: http://http://www.huescalamagia.es formore information. Also traditional and industrial agriculture (irrigated cereals, dry fruits, win-ery with excellent wine cellars) can be visited at the counties of Huesca Province,http://www.somontano.org/), Los Monegros (http://www.losmonegros.com) and othercountries.

The region Aragón is a 48,000 km2 territory (1,400,000 inhabitants) with a gradient of land-scapes from the Pyrenees Mountains to the lowlands at the Ebro River (200 m.a.s.l atZaragoza, the capital city (700,000 inhabitants). spain (48 million inhabitants) is the SW Eu-ropean country sharing the territory of the Iberian Peninsula with Portugal. Spain is one ofthe 25 biodiversity hotspots in the world and considered one of the most biodiverse countriesin the European Union. A high diversity of wetland types is distributed in Spain from northalpine peatlands and lakes to coastal lagoons in its coasts, including the Balearic and CanaryIslands. Wetlands are of major relevance in Spain because its general dry climates and lackof water makes this type of ecosystem most valuable. Also they are very representativeecosystems and evolutions laboratories for both species and people use of natural resources.

ConferenCe Venue Huesca Congress Palace

The Conference will take place at the Huesca Congress Palace (Palacio de Congresos deHuesca: http://www.palaciocongresoshuesca.es/) in the city of Huesca, Huesca Province,one of the three provinces of the Aragón Autonomous Community, in Spain (in northeastSpain). The Conference Venue is closed to a number of hotels. A short walk of 10-15 minutesis required for reaching the Conference Venue from any hotel in Huesca and a walk of 20-25minutes from the most distant places of Huesca.

The Satellite Session on EU Life Projects (Tuesday 16 September) will take place at the Meet-ing Hall of Comarca de Los Monegros (Monegros County) in Sariñena (Huesca). Sariñena isthe capital village of Monegros county, an area of high value because of its contribution toproduce food, particularly cereals and vegetables in irrigated lands. Monegros County, re-sponsible for the EU Life Project Creamagua, has huge interest on improving the environ-mental characteristics of its territory.

The Concurrent Sessions of the Conference will take place in the Auditorium (ground floor)and in Rooms 1, 2 and 3 (first floor). The Poster sessions will take place in the Posters Hall(ground floor). Breaks and lunches will take place in the basement floor of the CongressPalace.

6 International Conference Wetlands 2014

sCHeduLe AT A GLAnCe: ConferenCe

Hour sunday 14 monday 15 Tuesday 16 Wednesday 17 Thursday 18

08:00

08:30 Plenary lecture Plenary Lecture SWS-EuropeMeeting

09.30 Break Break Break

10:00 Concurrent Concurrent ConcurrentSessions Sessions Sessions

12:00 Panel Panel PosterDiscussion Discussion SessionSession Session

13:30 Lunch Lunch Lunch

15:00 Concurrent Concurrent ConcurrentSessions Sessions Sessions

17:00 Registration Break Break Closureand Farewell

17:30 Concurrent ConcurrentSessions Sessions

18:30 Poster Poster Session Session

19:00 Inauguration EPCNMeeting

20:00 Snack Conferenceevening Dinner Huescameal Congress Palace


Departure

HuescaCongress

Palace

Mid

Conference

Field

Trips

Satellite

Session

EU Life

Projects

ProGrAm

sCHeduLes AT A GLAnCe

Hour Auditorium room 1 room 2 room 3

08:30 Plenary Talk (E. Maltby)

09:30 B R E A K

12:00 Panel Discussion (Plenary)

13:30 L U N C H

17:00 B R E A K

18:30 P O S T E R S E S S I O N

10:30

Ponds-1

Symposium

The role of wetlands andbuffer zones as green in-frastructure elements of

agricultural landscapes inwatershed management-1

Ü. Mander & J. Tournebize

Biologicalfeatures-1

Management-1

15:00

Ponds-2

Symposium

Self-purification capacityin Riparian wetlands:the European Project

Interreg SudoeAttenagua-1

J.M. Sánchez-Pérez& S. Sauvage


Management-2

17:30

Ponds-3

Symposium

Self-purification capacityin Riparian wetlands:the European Project

Interreg SudoeAttenagua-2

J.M. Sánchez-Pérez & S.Sauvage


Management-3


sCHeduLe AT A GLAnCe: sessions

sunday 14 september

17:00-19:00 h. Registration

19:00-20:30 h. Inauguration

monday 15 september

Tuesday 16 september

Hour fieLd TriPssatellite session in sariñena-

eu Life Projects meeting

08:00 Departure from Congress PalaceDeparture from Huesca

(Congress Palace)

19:00 Back in Huesca

20:30 Conference dinner at Huesca Congress Palace

08:00 field trip A: Freshwater and saline wetlands & ponds(Huesca-Monegros (Sariñena-Bujaraloz-Sariñena)-Huesca).

field Trip B: River Ebro floodplain & wetland restoration(Huesca-Zaragoza-Monegros (Sariñena)-Huesca).

field Trip C: Ox-bow and gravel pit lakes in the Gállegoand Ebro Rivers (Zaragoza) & Wetland restoration to re-move nitrates exceeding agricultural irrigation (Huesca-Zaragoza (Juslibol)-Monegros (Sariñena)-Huesca)

Welcome by MonegrosCounty President.

Presentations of EU Life Projects

Exchange of experiencesby EU Life Projects

Lunch in sariñena

field trip visit to restored wetlands

(EU Life Project CReamagua)



Wednesday 17 september


08:30 Plenary Talk (G. Van Halsema)

09:30 B R E A K

12:00 Panel Discussion (Plenary)

13:30 L U N C H

17:00 B R E A K

10:00

Geo-Eco-Hydrology

Symposium

Self-purification capacity inRiparian wetlands:the Eu-

ropean Project InterregSudoe “Attenagua-3

J.M. Sánchez-Pérez& S. Sauvage

Biology related

to physicalfeatures-1

Socio-Ecological Issues

15:00Symposium

Biodiversity, ecology

and management of

Mediterraneanponds-1

S. Romo & L. Serrano

Symposium

The role of wetlands andbuffer zones as green

infrastructure elementsof agricultural landscapes

in watershedmanagement-2

Ü. Mander & J. Tournebize

Biologyrelated

to physicalfeatures-2

Climate Change


17:30

SymposiumBiodiversity, ecology

and managementof Mediterranean

ponds-2

S. Romo & L. Serrano

Symposium

Wetland processes andmetabolism: from

functioningto functions-1

P.L. Viaroli

Biology relatedto physicalfeatures-3

Workshop

Wetlands as newstages of modern

ecotourism

K.Laurén, M.Taskanen& A.Tolvanen

19:00 EPCN Meeting


Thursday 18 september


08:30 Society of Wetland Scientists-Europe Meeting

09:30 B R E A K


13:30 L U N C H

16:30 Closure

Plenary lecture (EU-D.G. Environment representative)

Publications

Conference summary

Next Meetings

10:00 Symposium

Wetland processes andmetabolism: from

functioningto functions-2

J. Vymazal& C.C. Hoffman

Symposium

Peatlands: Ecology,sustainable use and

contributions tosocio-ecologicaldevelopment-1

E. González & T. Bravo

Land Userelated

Biologicalfeatures

Restoration-1

15:00

Symposium

Wetland processesand metabolism:from functioning

to function-3

P.L. Viaroli

Symposium

Peatlands: Ecology,sustainable use and

contributions tosocio-ecologicaldevelopment-2

E. González & T. Bravo

Workshop:

New quantitative toolsfor the assessment of

anthropogenic eutrophi-cation in shallow waterbodies under increasing

human pressure

L. Serrano & S. Romo

Restoration-2

18:00 farewell

monday 15 september


08:30 maltby, e.(plenary lecture)

09:30 B R E A K


13:30 L U N C H

10:00 Zelnik et al. Mander et al. Dolinar & Gaberščik Berger

Franch-Gras et al. Arheimer & Pers Reuter et al. Germ et al.

Stewart & Zulsdorff Pokorný et al. Čížková et al. Mudarra & Andreo

Belo et al. Kronvang et al. Ágoston et al. Leemhuis et al.

Camacho et al. Boz et al. Van Onsem & Triest Martí-Cardona

Oertli et al. Darwiche et al. Kuczyńska-Kippen et al. Solé-Senán et al.

Armengol et al. Sánchez-Pérez et al. Špoljar et al. Jeffries

Ruocco et al. Antigüedad et al. García-Roger et al. Greaves et al.

Vaikre et al. Comín et al. Wiśniewska et al. Vad et al.

Ilg et al. Español et al. Čiampor et al. Lefebvre et al.

Péntek et al. Yao et al. Horváth et al. da Silva et al.

Waterkeyn et al. Sun et al. Roulet et al. Květ & Pokorný

15:00

Magalhäes et al. Bernard et al. Gallardo et al. Manton et al.

Kloskowsk & Nieoczym Bernard et al. Prenda et al. Ciocanea et al.

Palhas et al. Chamsi et al. Vehkaoja & Thompson Masuda

17:30

12:00 Panel discussion(plenary)

17:00 B R E A K


sCHeduLe AT A GLAnCe: AuTHors


Tuesday 16 september

Hour fieLd TriPs satellite session in sariñena-eu Life Projects

Departure from Huesca to Sariñena08:30 Departure from

Congress Palace

09:30


20.00 Conference Dinner

10:00

Salillas Welcome

Trokanova Life for wetlands

Del Río et al. La Mancha wetlands

Martín et al. Albufera

Giralda European mink

Simčič Wetman

Rodríguez et al. Los Tollos

Wednesday 17 september


08:30 Van Halsema, G.(plenary lecture)

09:30 B R E A K


13:30 L U N C H

10:00 Luna et al. Carranza et al. Serrano et al. Felipe & Comín

Kalettka et al. Brito et al. Hamerlik et al. Seják & Pokorný

López-Vicente et al. Bodoque et al. Reduciendo et al. Guerrero et al.

Grima et al. Sauvage et al. Pätzig & Kalettka Poddar

Rodríguez & Olarieta Sánchez Pérez et al. Campo-Bescós et al. Jiménez & Huertas

Rosset et al. Bensaci et al. Fernández-Rodríguez et al.

Gascón et al. Masip et al. Triadó et al. Sánchez & Iglesias

Caria et al. Tournebize et al. Matúšová et al. Taylor et al.

Bagella et al. Schachtschneider et al. Benito et al. Bolpagni et al.

Briffa et al. Pappalardo & Borin Goodyer et al. Dušek &Stellner

Sammut & Lanfranco Pinardi et al. Dinka et al. Ward et al.

Quintana et al. Kasak,K et al. Estupiñán et al. Calvo-Cubero et al.

15:00

Van den Broeck et al. Chen, Y. et al. Lopes Lázaro et al.

Díaz-Paniagua et al. Edwards et al. Zhao et al.

Olmo et al. Gilbert et al. Joniak & Kuczynska

Ortells et al.

17:30

12:00 Panel discussion(plenary)

19:00 european PondConservation network

meeting

17:00 B R E A K

Workshop:

Wetlands as new sta-ges of modern eco-

tourism

Tanskanen, Laurén &


Thursday 18 september


08:30 society of Wetlandscientists-europe

meeting

09:30 B R E A K

18:30 farewell

P O S T E R S E S S I O N

13:30 L U N C H

10:00 Stephansen et al. Bravo et al. Bart Koren & Simčič

Longhi et al. González et al. Novikmec et al. Menichino et al.

Vymazal & Březinová López-Días et al. Remm et al. Teutli et al.

Oliver et al. Urbanczyk et al. Casamayor et al. Yamashita & McInnes

Litaor, M. I. Bart & Davenport Minelgaite et al. Peralta et al.

Hoffmann & Kjaergaard Tolvanen Miguel et al.

Negrin et al. León et al. Herrera et al.

Bomfim et al. Giannini et al. Motamedi et al.

Catelotti et al. Zak et al. Rodríguez et al.

15:00

Closure session

Plenary lecture by Vallejo-Pedregal (eu d.G. environment-unit enV B.3 – nature)

Guest editors of special issues of journals offered for publication(mander & Tournebize, Viaroli & Bartoli, Boix)

Conference summary (Comín-Wetlands2014 Chairperson)

Perspectives (Verhoeven-President sWs-europe)

17:30

12:00

Workshop:

New quantitative toolsfor the assessment of

anthropogenic eutrophi-cation in shallow waterbodies under increasing

human pressure.

Serrano & Romo


dAy By dAy ProGrAm

sundAy 14 sePTemBer 2014

17:00-19:00 registration (posters will be able to be put at this time)

19:00-21:00 inauguration

mondAy 15 sePTemBer 2014

AudiTorium

08.30 maltby e. Wetlands in the 21st century: From research to practical actions to maintainand restore wetland ecosystem services.

09:30 Break

Auditorium. session: Ponds 1. Chair: Laura Serrano

10:00 Zelnik, igor; Alenka Gaberščik; mihael J. Toman. Macrophyte and macroinvertebrateassemblages in Karstic ponds and their relations to environmental factors.

10:20 franch-Gras, Lluis; eduardo m. García-roger; manuel serra; eva Tarazona; maría JoséCarmona. Variation in the propensity for sexual reproduction among facultatively sex-ual rotifer populations inhabiting ponds with different degree of environmental un-predictability

10:40 stewart, rebecca & Zulsdorff, Valentina. Linking ponds to pollination in an agriculturalecosystem

11:00 Belo, Anabela; Ana Lumbreras Corujo; Carla Pinto-Cruz. Soil seed bank evaluation: atool for temporary pond recovery

11:20 Camacho, Antonio; nayeli murueta; elena Blasco; stefano Colelli; Anna C. santamans;Antonio Picazo. Functional ecology of Laguna de Talayuelas, a model Mediterraneantemporary pond

11:40 oertli, Beat; demierre eliane; ilg Christiane. Promoting biodiversity in urban ponds:identification of the major determinants of species richness and implications for pondmanagement

12:00 AudiTorium

Panel discussion: Linking the wise use of wetlands with the challenges for sustainable de-velopment

moderator: Robert Mc Innes, Ramsar representative

Panelists: Edward Maltby (University of Liverpool); Brigitte Poulin (Station Biologique Tour duValat); Anne Tolvanen (Finnish Forest Research Institute and University of Oulu).

13:30 Lunch

Auditorium. session: Ponds 2. Chair: Beat Oertli


15:00 Armengol, Xavier; maría rodrigo; Luis Valls; Andreu Castillo-escrivà; silvia díez; Carlosrochera; José A. Gil-delgado; rafael u. Gosálvez; Ángel Velasco; máximo florín; An-tonio Camacho; francesc mesquita-Joanes. Hatching patterns of microinvertebratesin temporary ponds from Campo de Calatrava (Castilla-La Mancha, Spain)

15:20 ruocco, matteo; Luigi sala; roberto simonini; daniela Prevedelli; ivano Ansaloni.Macroinvertebrates colonization and evolution in the WWF protected area “LaFrancesa” (Pianura Padana, Italy): a new man-made pond

15:40 Vaikre, maarja; Liina remm; riinu rannap. Macroinvertebrate diversity and commu-nity structure in woodland pools and ditches and their response to artificial drainage

16:00 ilg, Christiane; demierre, eliane; diz salgado, Carmen; oertli, Beat. Assessing the roleof amphibians as surrogates for pond biodiversity

16:20 Péntek, Attila L.; Csaba f. Vad; Katalin Zsuga; Zsófia Horváth. Does pond size matter?Breeding site use of amphibian communities in a mixed landscape of Central Europe

16:40 Waterkeyn, Aline; Patrick Grillas; Brendonck Luc. The role of tadpole shrimp as com-munity structuring agents in temporary ponds

17:00 Break

Auditorium. session: Ponds 3. Chair: Susana Romo

17:30 magalhães, sónia; José Teixeira; Pedro segurado. Study of patterns of movement inEmys orbicularis and connectivity between ponds inside the PAVT

17:50 Kloskowski, Janusz; marek nieoczym. How to enhance animal diversity of ponds usedfor carp culture

18:10 Palhas, Jael; Armando Alves; eunice sousa; José Teixeira. Pond with life-an environmental education campaign for pond conservation and pedagogical explorationin Portugal

room 1

symposium: The role of wetlands and buffer zones as green infrastructure elements of agri-cultural landscapes in watershed management-1

Chairs: Ülo Mander and Julien Tournebize

10:00 mander, Ülo; Julien Tournebize; Bernard Vincent. Green infrastructure, a key of futurewatershed management

10:20 Arheimer, Berit; Charlotta B. Pers. Lessons learned? Simulated nutrient reduction bywetlands constructed 1996-2006 in Sweden

10:40 Pokorný, Jan; Petra Hesslerová; Hanna Huryna; Vladimír Jirka. Role of wetlands inwater cycling and local climate formation in agricultural landscapes

11:00 Kronvang, Brian; flemming Gertz; Annette Baattrup-Pedersen; Gitte rubæk; GoswinHeckrath; Henning Jensen; sara egemose; Carl Christian Hoffmann; Tommy dalgaard;søren B. olsen; Henrik B. møller; irene Wiborg; marc stutter. Experiences gained from2 years with mandatory 10 m buffer strips along all Danish watercourses: do we knowenough to evaluate their ecosystem services?

11:20 Boz, Bruno; Paolo Bazzoffi; silvia Carnevale; Bruna Gumiero. Efficiency of buffer zonesrecently inserted as CAP initiative in Italy

11:40 darwiche-Criado, n.; f.A. Comín; A. masip; m. García; s. Gutiérrez; r. sorando. Inshore and offshore restored wetlands as buffers zones for the improvement of water quality of the water exceeding irrigation in an agricultural territory

13:30 Lunch


symposium: self-purification capacity in riparian wetlands: the european Project interregsudoe Attenagua-1

Chairs: José Miguel Sánchez-Pérez and Sabine Sauvage

15:00 sánchez-Pérez, J.m.; sauvage, s; Teissier, s.; Bernard-Jannin, L.; sun, X.; yao, J.m ;Gerino m.; Amiche, C.; Chamsi, o.; Pinelli, e.; Jean, s.; Charcosset, J.y.; Barret, m.; At-tard, e.; Lauga B.; duran, r.; Antiguedad, i.; Zabaleta, A.; martinez-santos, m.; ruiz,e.; Comin, f.; Carranza, f.; español, C.; navarro, e.; Bodoque, J.m.; Ladera, J.; yela,J.L.; Alonso, J.; Brito,d.; neves, r. Self-purification capacity in Riparian wetlands

15:20 Antigüedad, iñaki; Ane Zabaleta; miren martinez-santos; estilita ruiz; Jesus uriarte;Tomas morales ; francisco Comin; fabian Carranza; Cecilia español; José mariaBodoque; Julian Ladera; Léonard Bernard-Jannin; Xiaoling sun; samuel Teissier;sabine sauvage ; José-miguel sanchez-Perez. The alluvial system as a framework forphysical-biogeochemical interactions

15:40 Comín, f.A.; sauvage, s.; Antiguedad, i.; Bodoque J.m.; neves r. ; Brito, d.; sánchez-Pérez J.m.; Zabaleta, A.; ruiz, e.; Gerino m.; yao, J.m.; Carranza, f.; español, C.;navarro, e.; Ladera, J.; yela, J.L.; Teissier, s. A conceptual model to characterize bio-physical and biogeochemical indicators in river water-groundwater interfaces for nat-ural depollution of water pollution

16:00 español, C.; yao J.m; Gerino, m.; Comin, f.A.; sánchez-Pérez J.m.; José Luis yela; AneZabaleta; Julian Ladera; fabián Carranza. Invertebrate communities of alluvial ground-waters in relation with water flow dynamics

16:20 yao, J.m; ramburn H; sánchez-Pérez J.m.; sauvage s.; Teissier s.; Attard e.; Lauga B.;durant r.; Gerino m. The role of invertebrate biodiversity in ecosystem purificationservice of alluvial wetlands

16:40 sun, Xiaoling; Léonard Bernard-Jannin; Cyril Garneau; nancy B sammons; Jeff GArnold; raghavan srinivasan; sabine sauvage; José-miguel sanchez-Perez. Quantify-ing the role of the denitrification process in the alluvial aquifer using SWAT model: thecase of the Garonne River flooplain (France)

17:00 Break

symposium: self-purification capacity in riparian wetlands: the european Project interregsudoe Attenagua-2


17:30 Bernard-Jannin, Léonard; david Brito; ramiro neves; sabine sauvage; José-miguelsánchez-Pérez. A modelling tool to simulate water exchanges in floodplain area, ap-plication to the Garonne River (SW France)

17:50 Bernard-Jannin, Léonard; sun, X.; sauvage, s.; Teissier, s.; sánchez-Pérez, J.m.Waterexchanges, carbon supply and nitrogen dynamic in the shallow groundwater of a ri-parian wetland zone application to the Garonne River (SW France)

18:10 Chamsi, ousama; navarro enrique; sanchez-Pérez José-miguel ; sauvage sabine;Comin francisco; Antiguedad iñaki ; Bodoque José-maria ; Pinelli eric. Microalgae asa bio-indicator of the effects of pollutants in groundwaters in riverine wetlands areas


room 2

session: Biological features 1. Chair: David Bart

10:00 dolinar, nataša; Alenka Gaberščik. Primary productivity, decomposition and fungalcolonisation in Phragmites australis

10:20 reuter, Hendrik; Jörg Gelbrecht; dominik Zak. Differences in the anaerobic decompo-sition of Phragmites australis plant tissue in rewetted and near pristine fens as deter-mined by FTIR-Spectroscopy

10:40 Čížková, Hana; Jiří dušek; Jan Květ . Progress in the assessment of primary productionby wetland herbaceous plants: a review

11:00 Ágoston-szabó, edit; Károly schöll; Anita Kiss; mária dinka. Leaf litter decompositionin a side arm of River Danube at Gemenc floodplain (Danube-Dráva National Park, Hun-gary)

11:20 Van onsem, stijn; Ludwig Triest. Macrophyte reproductive fitness and strategy as aresponse to high Lemna cover

11:40 Kuczyńska-Kippen, natalia; Tomasz Joniak; Barbara nagengast. Do biometric featuresof a macrophyte habitat reflect zooplankton diversity in various trophic types of smallwater bodies

13:30 Lunch

session: Biological features 2. Chair: Ladislav Hammelik

15:00 Špoljar, maria; Tvrtko dražina; Jelena fressl; Jasna Lajtner; Tea Tomljanović; danielmatulić; dora matijašec; ivana Zrinščak; Biserka Primc. . Influence of submergedmacrophytes on metazooplankton community-an in situ mesocosm experiment in theeutrophic lake

15:20 García-roger, eduardo m.; Carlos martínez; manuel serra; maría José Carmona. Bethedging for variability in diapause duration in a monogonont rotifer: first-producedresting eggs have increased probability of longer diapause

15:40 Wiśniewska, malgorzata; natalia Kuczyńka-Kippen; eugeniusz Pronin. Environmentalfactors controlling the autumnal similarity of rotifers (Rotifera) in small water bodies.

16:00 Čiampor, fedor Jr; Zuzana Čiamporová-Zaťovičová; darina Šípošová; Katarína Gof-fová. Genetic structure of the insect populations in the Tatra Mts. alpine ponds andlakes

16:20 Horváth, Zsófia; Csaba f. Vad; Pál Boda; Arnold móra; Adrienn Tóth; robert Ptacnik.Hitchhikers, paragliders and active flyers–the role of dispersal mode in small and largescale spatial patterns of aquatic invertebrates

16:40 roulet, Albertine; Christiane ilg; Beat oertli. Dispersal and colonization of new pondsby freshwater macroinvertebrates: the case of water beetles in alpine landscapes

17:00 Break

session: Biological features 3. Chair: Mia Vehkaoja

17:30 Gallardo, Belinda; miguel Clavero; marta sánchez; montserrat Vilà. Tell me what youeat and I’ll tell you what you impact: invasive species’ diet trigger trophic cascades inaquatic ecosystems


17:50 Prenda, José; Adrián ramos-merchante; isabel redondo; silvia rubio. Aquatic ver-tebrates and macrofauna habitat relationships in coastal wetlands from Andalucía(Spain)

18:10 Vehkaoja; mia; stella Thompson. Beaver-created wetlands

room 3

session: management-1. Chair: Yosuke Masuda

10:00 Berger, daniela. Long-term monitoring of wetlands north of the Garzweiler opencastbrown coal mine in western Germany

10:20 Germ, mateja; urša remic; Vekoslava stibilj. Veronica anagallis-aquatica as a bioindi-cator for selenium in watercourses

10:40 mudarra-martínez, matías; Bartolomé Andreo-navarro; Luis Linares Girela; franciscoCarrasco Cantos. Monitoring network and preliminary results to investigate Andalusianwetlands associated with evaporitic karst aquifers

11:00 Leemhuis, Constanze; Álvarez, miguel; Amler esther; Behn Kai; Beuel sonja; KeisslerKornelia; Kotze donovan; Kreye Christine; Kyallo daniel; Wagner Katrin; Ziegler su-sanne. A rapid tile approach for wetland degradation assessment in East Africa

11:20 martí-Cardona, Belén; Josep dolz ripollés; Carlos López-martínez. Bio-physical dataretrieval in the Doñana wetland from SAR satellite imagery

11:40 solé-senan, X.o; Juárez-escario; A; Pedrol, J; del Arco, C; Conesa, J.A. A functionalplant diversity approach of the halophytic communities of Monegros Desert

13:30 Lunch

session: management-2. Chair: Emma Goodyer

15:00 Jeffries, michael. Flood, drought and the plough: inter-annual variation to the numberand extent of ponds in an English lowland landscape over three years of weather ex-tremes.

15:20 Greaves, H.; C. sayer; C.; H. Bennion; H.; J. Axmacher; J.; i. Patmore. Impacts of man-agement on the biodiversity and chemistry of farmland ponds

15:40 Vad, Csaba f.; Attila L. Péntek; Adrienn Tóth; nastasia J. Cozma; Katalin Zsuga; BenceTóth; robert Ptacnik; nóra A. Böde8; Arnold Móra3; Zsófia Horváth7. Wartime scars orbiodiversity hot-spots? The role of saline bomb crater ponds in aquatic conservation

16:00 Lefebvre, Gaëtan; Christophe Germain; Brigitte Poulin. Development of a web inter-active tool to promote sustainable water management and use of Mediterraneanmarshes under climate variability

16:20 da silva, Carolina Joana; Keid nolan silva sousa; solange ikeda; Célia regina Araújosoares Lopes; Josué ribeiro da silva nunes; maria Antonia Carniello; Paulo robertomariotti; Wilkinson Lopes; Alessandra morini; Bruno Wagner Zago; Cristiane Limafaçanha; ruth Albernaz; elaine Loureiro; iris Gomes; robson flores de oliveira;Weslei Jonatar; Joari Costa de Arruda; nilo Leal sander; djair sergio de freitas Junior;Valcir rogério Pinto; Aldeniza Cardoso de Lima; robert H.G. Jongman. Biodiversitychange and conservation in the wetlands of the Pantanal Upper Paraguay-AmazoniaEcotone, Mato Grosso (Brazil).

16:40 Květ, Jan; Jan Pokorný. Fishponds in the Czech Republic–Management Issues

17:00 Break


session: management-3. Chair: Brigitte Poulin

17:30 manton, michael; Per Angelstam; Per milberg. Governance and management for eco-logical sustainability? - avian predation on waders

17:50 Ciocanea, Cristiana maria; Carmen sorescu; Tania Chincea; steluta manolache.Danube’s Iron Gates wetlands: threats and conservation measures

18:10 masuda, yosuke. Development of a theory for biodiversity offset policy based on theUS experience of wetland mitigation policy

HALL

18:30 Poster HallPoster session

TuesdAy 16 sePTemBer 2014

mid ConferenCe fieLd TriPs

08:00 Departure from Huesca Congress Palace

A Restoration of freshwater wetlands & saline ponds

B River Ebro floodplain & wetland restoration

C Ox-bow and gravel pit lakes in the Gállego and Ebro Rivers (Zaragoza) & Wetlandrestoration to remove nitrates exceeding agricultural irrigation


20:30 ConferenCe dinner (Huesca Congress Palace)

sATeLLiTe session in sAriÑenA-eu Life ProJeCTs

08:00 Departure from Huesca Congress Palace

09:00 salillas, i. Welcome: An Introduction to Monegros

Trokanova, Lucie. LIFE for Wetlands-examples and best practices

del río, Amanda; eduardo de miguel; Angeles Pontes; Carlos Pérez; ernesto Aguirre-ruiz; Carlos Zumalacarregui; Blanca Hurtado. LIFE project “La Mancha Wetlands”:restoration of salt flats around 27 endorheic wetland areas in La Mancha

martín, miguel; William Colom; mario Giménez; Antonio Guillem; fernando Juan;mª del Carmen regidor. Integrated management of three constructed wetlands incompliance with the water framework, birds and habitats Directives: the LIFE+12 AL-BUFERA project

Giralda Carrera, Gloria. Wetlands restoration and creation for European mink: Tenyears of work in Navarre (Spain)

simčič, matej. Conservation and management of freshwater wetlands in Slovenia-WET-MAN

11:00 Break

rodríguez rodríguez, miguel; francisco moral martos; mario Parra Cachada.Hydro-logical monitoring of “Los Tollos” playa-lake (Andalusia, Spain) in the context of itsrestoration (Life+ “Los Tollos”)

morató, Jordi; Lorena Aguilar; Ángel Gallegos; Carlos Arias; Patricia Caro; santiagosahuquillo; Carlos Pérez. Reagritech LIFE11 ENV/ES/579. Constructed wetlands for dif-fuse pollution control of agricultural runoff


Teixeira, José; Vicente sancho; Bruno martins; fábia Azevedo; Ana Cruz; ignacio La-comba. Is it possible to eradicate invasive freshwater turtles from de European wet-lands? Results and prospects from LIFE Trachemys project

Pinto-Cruz, Carla; Ana Lumbreras Corujo; Anabela Belo; rita Alcazar LIFE Charcos:Temporary Ponds Conservation in the Southwest Coast of Portugal.

masip, Adriá; francisco A. Comín; Victor Guirado; Javier rodriguez; Alfonso Calvo;francisca Gallego; ricardo sorando; Gema Cacho; Ana Loriente; nadia darwiche; mer-cedes García; silvia Gutiérrez; Alberto Barcos. EU Life CREAMAgua: Restoring wetlandsfor water quality and biodiversity improvements in irrigated agricultural territories

Bankovics, András. Restoration of Pannonic sodic wetlands in Hungary

14:00 Lunch

16:00 field trip: visit to restored freshwater wetlands to remove nitrates from water exceed-ing agricultural irrigation and to improve biodiversity


20:30 ConferenCe dinner (Huesca Congress Palace)

WednesdAy 17 sePTemBer 2014

AudiTorium

08:30 Plenary Lecture

Van Halsema, G. Integrating Wetlands Management and Conservation into the socio-ecological development

9:30 Break

AudiTorium

session: Geo-eco-Hydrology. Chair: Carmen Castañeda

10:00 Luna, estela; Carmen Castañeda; rafael rodríguez. Soils diversity along a topose-quence within intermittently flooded habitats in Gallocanta Lake, Spain

10:20 Kalettka, Thomas; marielle neyen; uwe-Karsten schkade; Andreas Kleeberg. Sedi-ment accumulation in glacially created kettle holes on arable land, Uckermark, NE Germany

10:40 López-Vicente, manuel; Cristina Pérez-Bielsa; Teresa López-montero; Luis Javier Lam-bán; Ana navas. Runoff production and water content in soils of the Estaña LakesCatchment (Huesca, NE Spain)

11:00 Grima, J.; Bruno José Ballesteros; José manuel murillo; Juan José durán. Groundwaterand its relationship to wetlands at Jucar Pilot River Basin

11:20 rodríguez-ochoa, rafael; José ramón olarieta. Soils in endorheic depressions in north-ern Monegros, Spain

11:40 rosset, Véronique; Albert ruhí; Thibault datry. How ponds differ-or not-from streamsin their biotic responses to drying?

12:00 Panel discussion: integrating wetlands into the social-economic landscape: from the-ory to practice

moderator: Jos Verhoeven, Utrecht Univesity, SWS-Europe President


Panelists: Tania Runge (COPA-COGECA, Brussels); Noelia Vallejo Pedregal (European Commis-sion D.G. Environment Unit ENV B.3-Nature); Jan Kvet (Institute of Landscape Ecology, Trebon,Czech Republic).

13:30 Lunch

AudiTorium

symposium: Biodiversity, ecology and management of mediterranean ponds-1

Chairs: Susana Romo and Laura Serrano

15:00 Gascón, stéphanie; dani Boix; Ana inés Borthagaray; Jordi sala; matias Arim; núriaÀvila; susana romo; rocío López-flores; Xavier d. Quintana. The use of lipids as anenergy storage strategy for taxa inhabiting climatic-contrasted habitats: M e d i t e r -ranean vs. high mountain temporary ponds

15:20 Caria, maría Carmela; simonetta Bagella; Alessandro niedda; salvatore Virdis . Long-term monitoring of Mediterranean temporary pond dynamics through remote sensing:a case study in western Mediterranean

15:40 Bagella, simonetta; Caria maria Carmela; rossella filigheddu; Pier Luigi nimis. An in-teractive guide to the vascular plants of Mediterranean temporary ponds in Sardinia(Italy)

16:00 Briffa, Kelly; sheryl sammut; sandro Lanfranco. Morphometric heterogeneity of tem-porary pools in Malta and its effect on species and life-form richness: implications formanagement and restoration

16:20 sammut, sheryl; sandro Lanfranco. ‘Proximity’ and its effect on community assemblyin temporary freshwater pools in Malta

16:40 Quintana, Xavier d.; matías Arim; Anna Badosa; José maría Blanco; dani Boix; sandraBrucet; Jordi Compte; Juan J. egozcue; elvira de eyto; ursula Gaedke; stéphanieGascón; Luis Gil de solá; Kenneth irvine; erik Jeppesen; Torben L. Lauridsen; rocíoLópez-flores; Thomas mehner; susana romo; martin søndergaard. Trophic interac-tion effects on size distributions in aquatic communities

17:00 Break

AudiTorium

symposium: Biodiversity, ecology and management of mediterranean ponds-2

Chairs: Susana Romo and Laura Serrano

17:30 Van den Broeck, maarten; Laila rhazi; Patrick Grillas; mohammed el madihi; mouhs-sine rhazi; Luc Brendonck; Aline Waterkeyn. Faunal and floral community patterns inMoroccan temporary ponds along climatic and anthropogenic disturbance gradients

17:45 díaz-Paniagua, Carmen; david Aragonés; Javier Bustamante. Threats of desiccationof permanent and temporary ponds in Doñana National Park (SW Spain)

18:00 olmo, Carla; deborah fandos; Xavier Armengol; raquel ortells. Ecological require-ments of Tanymastix stagnalis (L., 1758) (Crustacea, Branchiopoda) in a comparativeframework: the case of Malladas de El Saler (Valencia, Spain)

18:15 ortells, raquel; manuel serra; maria José Carmona. Should I stay or should I go?Hatching decisions under high population densities

19:00 european Pond conservation network meeting



room 1

symposium: self-purification capacity in riparian wetlands: the european Project interregsudeo Attenagua-3


10:00 Carranza f.; sánchez-Pérez J.m.; sauvage s.; Comin, f.; Antiguedad, i.; Zabaleta A.;Teissier s.; navarro e.; español C. Relationship between bacterial community diversity,carbon supply and denitrification processes in riparian areas

10:20 Brito, d. ; Bernard-Jannin, L ; sauvage, s. ; Zabaleta, A.; Comin, f.; Bodoque J.m.; nevesr.; sánchez-Pérez J.m. Modeling the hydro-biogeochemistry functioning in alluvial wet-lands

10:40 Bodoque, J.m.; Ladera, J.; Alonso-Azcárate, J.; yela, J.L.; sánchez-Pérez, J.m. Self-pu-rification capacity in a highly man-modified wetland

11:00 sauvage, s. Discussion on Self-purification capacity in Riparian wetlands

11:20 sánchez-Pérez, J.m. Synthesis and perspectives on Self-purification capacity in Riparianwetlands: the European Project Interreg Sudoe Attenagua

13:30 Lunch

symposium: The role of wetlands and buffer zones as green infrastructure elements of agri-cultural landscapes in watershed management-2

Chairs: Ülo Mander and Julien Tournebize

15:00 masip A.; Gonzalez e.; Castellano C.; Jaime r.; Comín f.A. Improving riparian wood-land restoration with case-by-case performance modeling in R language based ongroundwater distance.

15:20 Tournebize J.; Chaumont C. ; Vincent B; mander Ü.; soosaar K.; Hansen r.; muhel m.Removal efficiency of pesticides and nitrates in an artificial wetland treating drainagewater from an agricultural watershed

15:40 schachtschneider, K.; Jessica Chamier; Chavon Walters; Vernon somerset. Metal se-questration by indigenous vegetation in riparian zones; an ecosystem service to improvewater quality

16:00 Pappalardo, salvatore; maurizio Borin. Water purification from nitrogen as an ecosys-tem service from a constructed surface flow wetland treating agricultural drainagewater

16:20 Pinardi, monica; elisa soana; mariano Bresciani; Paolo Villa; marco Bartoli. Nitrogenremoval in a fluvial wetland: macrophyte-bacteria interactions and relevance at thebasin scale

16:40 Kasak, K.; Järvi Järveoja; martin maddison; mikk espenberg; Ülo mander. Greenhousegas emissions from tropical peatlands in French Guiana

17:00 Break

symposium: Wetlands processes and metabolism: from functioning to functions-1

Chairs: Pier Luigi Viaroli

17:30 Chen, yi; yue Wen; Qi Zhou; Jan Vymazal. Sulfur transformations in subsurface-flowconstructed wetlands treating secondary effluent.

17:50 edwards, Keith r.; Hana Čížková; eva Kaštovská; Jiří Barta; Tomáš Picek. Impact offertilization on plant and soil processes in wet grasslands

18:10 Gilbert, Peter; michael Jeffries; dave Cooke; michael deary; Geoff Abbott; scott Tay-lor. Capturing the aquatic breath: Examining ecological variations, diurnal fluctuationsand extrapolations of CO2 and CH4 fluxes from small aquatic systems in Druridge Bay,England.

room 2

session: Biological related to physical features-1. Chair: Belinda Gallardo

10:00 serrano, L.; C. díaz-Paniagua; C. Gómez-rodríguez; m. florencio; m. A. marchand; J.G. m. roelofs; e. C. H. e. T. Lucassen. Amphibian egg mortality associated to thegroundwater decline of the Doñana aquifer (SW Spain)

10:20 Hamerlík, Ladislav; milan novikmec; marek svitok; richard Hrivnák; michal Hlávek;Judita Kochjarová; Zuzana matúšová; Jozef oboňa; Helena oťaheľová; Peter Paľove-Balang; Barbora reduciendo-Klementová; radovan stupák; marta Veselská; AndreaZapriháčová. Does importance of chironomids as indicators of pond diversity changealong environmental gradients?

10:40 reduciendo Klementová, Barbora; marek svitok; milan novikmec; Zuzana matúšová.Diversity and distribution of aquatic Heteroptera in Slovakia: the importance of smallstanding waters

11:00 Pätzig, marlene; Thomas Kalettka. Functional diversity of macrophytes in kettle holetypes

11:20 Campo-Bescós, miguel A.; rafael muñoz-Carpena; david A. Kaplan; Jane southworth.Physical drivers of vegetation change in the Okavango Delta

11:40 Bensaci ettayib; nouidjem yacine; saheb menouar; Bouzegag Abdelaziz; Houhamdimoussa. Waterbirds diversity and importance of Saharan wetlands of Algeria for theirconservation

13:30 Lunch

session: Biologial related to physical features-2. Chair: Stijn Van Onsem

15:00 Triadó-margarit, Xavier; emilio o. Casamayor. An overview on the biodiversity of plank-tonic protists across environmental gradients

15:20 matúšová, Zuzana; marek svitok; richard Hrivnák; Ladislav Hamerlík; michal Hlávek;Judita Kochjarová; milan novikmec; Jozef oboňa; Helena oťaheľová; Peter Paľove-Balang; Barbora reduciendo Klementová; radovan stupák; Andrea Zapriháčová.Weak correlation in diversity and community composition among multiple taxonomicgroups: a failure of surrogate idea in Central European ponds

15:40 Benito, Xavier; rosa Trobajo; Carles ibàñez. Modelling habitat distribution of Mediter-ranean coastal wetlands: the Ebro Deltas as case study

16:00 Goodyer, emma; Johan schutten; debbie spray; Kenny mcdougall. Development ofhydroecological guidelines for Scottish wetlands

16:20 dinka, mária; Károly schöll; Anita Kiss; Árpád Berczik; edit Ágoston-szabó. Spatialand temporal changes in physical and chemical properties of an oxbow lake of theDanube River (Nyéki-Holt-Duna, Danube-Dráva National Park, Hungary)


16:40 estupiñán Torres, sandra mónica; sara Lilia Ávila de navia. Water quality and bacterialdiversity in the wetland Córdoba, Colombia

17:00 Break

session: Biologial related to physical features-3. Chair: Michael Manton

17:30 Lopes Lázaro, Wilkinson; Carolina J. da silva; Áurea r.A. ignácio; sergi díez; Jeanr.d.Guimarães. Distribution of net mercury methylation potentials in a tropical wet-land: lateral connectivity of water bodies as a factor of variance in the waterscape con-texto

17:50 Zhao, Wenzhi; Hu Liu; shoubo Li; Bing Liu. Ecohydrology of wetlands ecosystems in adesert oasis in arid Northwestern China

18:10 Joniak, T.; natalia Kuczyńska-Kippen. Can the biological and physical-chemical featuresof water be the indicator of type of land use and origin of small water bodies?

room 3

session: socio-ecological issues. Chair: Michael Jeffries

10:00 felipe-Lucia, maría r.; francisco A. Comín. Ecosystem services-biodiversity relations-hips depend on land use type in floodplain agroecosystems

10:20 seják, Josef; Jan Pokorný. Deriving systemic national values for biodiversity and ecos-ystem services

10:40 Guerrero moreno, naret; dianne scott; Johannes Kollmann; Jan sliva. Understandingof socio-economic and traditional values of Manguzi Wetlands (KwaZulu-Natal, SouthAfrica) as a pre-condition for their conservation, restoration and wise use

11:00 Poddar, Parthendu. Agronomic utilization and nutritional enrichment of wetlandsthrough cultivation of Aeschynomene aspera (L.)

11:20 Jiménez Castilla, T.; netty Huertas. Wetlands and their contribution to SustainableHuman Development: Opportunities for improvement the life´s quality in rural popu-lation. Three Cases study in National Natural Parks in Colombia

11:40 fernández-rodríguez, m.J.; A. Jiménez-rodríguez; m. medialdea; n.mazuelos; L. se-rrano. Aquaculture in Veta la Palma (Doñana Natural Area, SW Spain): a successfulcoupling of ecological and socio-economic values.

13:30 Lunch

session: Climate change. Chair: Jorge A. Herrera

15:00 sánchez, Berta; Ana iglesias. Implications of climate change for rice farming in theDoñana wetland (SW Spain)

15:20 Taylor, scott; david Cooke; michael Jeffries; michael deary; Geoff Abbott; PeterGilbert. Ponds, productivity and probes: An experimental approach to carbon capture

15:40 Bolpagni, rossano; marco Bartoli; Pierluigi Viaroli. CO2 and CH4 fluxes in permanentand temporary aquatic environments in the lowland of the Po River, Italy

16:00 dušek, Jiří; stanislav stellner. Methane emission from a sedge-grass marsh under dif-ferent environmental conditions.

16:20 Ward, raymond; niall Burnside; Christopher Joyce; Kalev sepp; Phillip Teasdale. Mod-elling the impacts of sea level rise on coastal wetlands: a case study in micro-topo-graphical Baltic wetlands in Estonia


16:40 Calvo-Cubero, Juan; Carles ibáñez; Albert rovira; Peter J. sharpe; enrique reyes.Marsh elevation and carbon accumulation in a Mediterranean restored marsh (EbroDelta, Spain)

17:00 Break

Workshop: Wetlands as new stages of modern ecotourism

Chairs: Kirsi Laurén and Minna Tanskanen

17:30 Tanskanen, minna. Ecotourism on the Finnish peatlands-theoretical prospects

17:50 Laurén, Kirsi. Mires and wilderness in national parks

18:10 Tolvanen, Anne: Social sustainability of the use of peatlands-implications on tradi-tional and modern livelihoods in northern Finland

HALL

18:30 Poster Hall. Poster session

THursdAy 18 sePTemBer 2014

AudiTorium

08:30 society of Wetland scientists-europe meeting

09:30 Break

Auditorium: symposium: Wetland processes and metabolism: from functioning tofunctions-2

Chairs: Jan Vymazal & Carl Christian Hoffmann

10:00 stephansen, diana Agnete; Asbjørn Haaning nielsen; Thorkild Hvitved-Jacobsen; Car-los Alberto Arias; Hans Brix; Jes Vollertsen. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sedi-ments and invertebrates of stormwater detention ponds

10:20 Longhi, daniele; marco Bartoli; daniele nizzoli; Pierluigi Viaroli. Oxic-anoxic transi-tions constrain benthic metabolism in freshwater wetland in the Po river floodplain

10:40 Vymazal, Jan; Tereza B_ezinová. Seasonal dynamics of heavy metals in Phragmitesaustralis growing in a constructed wetland

11:00 oliver, núria; miguel martín; sara Gargallo; Carmen Hernández-Crespo. Influence ofoperational parameters on nutrients removal in surface-flow constructed wetlandstreating eutrophicated water. Experience in L’Albufera de Valencia Lake

11:20 Litaor, m. iggy. The impact of ornithogenic inputs on P hydro-geochemistry in alteredwetland environs in East Mediterranean Ecosystem

11:40 Hoffmann, Carl Christian; Charlotte Kjaergaard. Testing of horizontal and vertical cw’swith mixed matrices of woodchips and mussel shells for removal of nutrients in agri-cultural drainage water

13:30 Lunch


AudiTorium

symposium: Wetland processes and metabolism: from functioning to function-3

Chairs: Pier Luigi Viaroli

15:00 negrin, Vanesa L.; sandra e. Botté; Paula d. Pratolongo; Gabriela González Trilla. Bio-geochemical cycles in salt marshes from the Bahía Blanca estuary (Argentina): anoverview

15:20 Bomfim, eudes; marie-Paule Bonnet; Anne-elisabeth Lagues; daniel Araújo; JérémieGarnier; Leonardo Gomes; Ludgero Vieira; ricardo Paiva; stéphanie nasuti; GeraldoBoaventura. Biogeochemistry and Lago Grande Curuaí’s aquatic sustainability in theAmazon Basin, Brazil

15:40 Catelotti, Katharine; Bino, G; Kingsford, r.T.; Bacon, P. Inundation requirements forpersistence and recovery of river red gums (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), a keystonespecies in a Ramsar listed Wetland in semi-arid Australia

16:30 Closure session

Plenary lecture by Vallejo-Pedregal (EU D.G.Enviroment-Unit ENV B.3-Nature)

Guest Editors of Special Issues of Journals offered for publication (Mander &Tournebize, Viaroli & Bartoli, Boix)

Conference Summary (Comín-Wetlands2014 Chairperson)

Prespectives (Verhoeven-Presidente SWS-Europe)

18:00 farewell

room 1

symposium: Peatlands: ecology, sustainable use and contributions to socio-ecological de-velopment-1

Chairs: Tania G. Bravo and Eduardo González

10:00 Bravo, Tania A.; maria strack; Line rochefort. Forest plantation on cutover peatlandin Alberta: Evaluating methods and carbon stocks

10:20 González, eduardo; Line rochefort; stephanie Boudreau; monique Poulin. Using Lin-ear Discriminant Analysis to predict restoration success in peatlands

10:40 López-días, Veneranda; Ángeles G. Borrego; Carlos G. Blanco; Achim Bechtel; Wil-helm Püttmann. Significance of the widespread occurrence of triterpenoid acetates inNorth Spain bogs from Asturias

11:00 urbanczyk, Justyna; Veneranda López-días; Angeles G. Borrego. Chemical biomarkerassemblage in the 15000 cal. yr BP Comeya peat profile of Picos de Europa NationalPark, North Spain

11:20 Bart, d.; Tara davenport. Impacts of agricultural legacies on calcareous fen communi-ties: how the past informs the future

11:40 Tolvanen, Anne. Towards sustainable use of boreal peatlands

13:30 Lunch


symposium: Peatlands: ecology, sustainable use and contributions to socio-ecological de-velopment-2

Chairs: Tania G. Bravo and Eduardo González

15:00 León, Carolina A; Gisela oliván; maría Puelles; José maría Gabriel y Galán. Mitigationbank and payments for ecosystem services, a tool for conservation of Patagonian peat-lands

15:20 Giannini, Vittoria; nicola silvestri; Tiziana sabbatini; Chiara Pistocchi; enrico Bonari.Growth and nutrients uptake of perennial crops and spontaneous vegetation in aMediterranean drained peatland: preliminary results.

15:40 Zak, dominic; rudy van diggelen; Jörg Gelbrecht; Alvaro Cabezas; rob mcinnes. Man-aging phosphorus fluxes from rewetted peatlands

room 2

session: Land use related biological features. Chair: Hana Čižková

10:00 Bart, david. Can incorporating agricultural practices into wetland restoration result inwin-win situations?

10:20 novikmec, milan; marek svitok; dušan Kočický; Ladislav Hamerlík; richard Hrivnák;Judita Kochjarová; Helena oťaheľová; Peter Paľove-Balang. Chemistry of water andsoil in Central European ponds: relationship with land use and morphology

10:40 remm, Liina; Asko Lõhmus; riinu rannap. Temporal and small water bodies in modernforests: a landscape-scale assessment in Estonia

11:00 Casamayor, emilio o; Xavier Triadó-margarit; Carmen Castañeda; Juan Herrero. Themicrobial value of shallow saline lakes

11:20 minelgaite, Greta; Asbjørn Haaning nielsen; morten Lauge Pedersen; diana Agnetestephansen; Jes Vollertsen. Phytoplankton and benthic diatom diversity in urbanstormwater ponds compared to natural shallow lakes

13:30 Lunch

15:00 Workshop: new quantitative tools for the assessment of anthropogenic eutrophica-tion in shallow water bodies under increasing human

Chairs: Laura Serrano and Susana Romo

room 3

session: restoration-1 . Chair: Mc Innes

10:00 Koren, Aleksander; matej simčič. Modern challenges in wetlands management in thecase of ponds and oxbow lakes restoration in Slovenia

10:20 menichino, nina; Laurence Jones; Christopher evans; Peter Jones; Janine Guest; An-drew Pullin; nathalie fenner. Botanical response to restoration in degraded rich fens

10:40 Teutli-Hernández, C.; Comin, f.A.; menendez, m.; Herrera-silveira, J.A. Mangrove’srestoration: ecological and economic perspectives

11:00 yamashita, H.; mcinnes, r.J. Social perception of the risks and benefits of tidal wetlandrestoration: A case study from the UK

11:20 Peralta, Javier; Patxi Heras; marta infante; Asun Berastegi. Results of a mire monitor-ing (2008-2013) in Navarre (NE Spain) after fencing to control livestock and ditchdamming to re-install hydrological balance



11:40 miguel-Chinchilla, Leticia; dani Boix; stéphanie Gascón; eduardo González; franciscoA. Comín. Mining impacts on manmade ponds located in reclaimed opencast coalmines

13:30 Lunch

session: restoration-2. Chair: María Felipe

15:00 Herrera-silveira, Jorge; Teutli-Hernández Claudia; Caamal-sosa Juan; Zaldívar JiménezArturo; Pech daniel; Andueza Tersa; Pérez-Ceballos rosela; Adame Vivanco ma. fer-nanda; Hernández Héctor; Torres ricardo. Carbon stocks and flows in mangroves ofthe Yucatan Peninsula, research and monitoring

15:20 motamedi, shervin; roslan Hashim; song Ki-iL. Mangrove plantation and breakwatersystems for shoreline protection: Long-term assessment of the mangrove rehabilitationproject at Sungai Haji Dorani, Malaysia

15:40 rodríguez, mauricio; Tania Jiménez Castilla; netty Huertas. Economic and ecologicalevaluation of Cartagena´s urban mangroves forest and proposals for sustainablehuman development

HALL

12:00 Poster session

ACComPAnyinG Persons ProGrAm

sundAy 14 sePTemBer 2014

17:00 Registration

19:00 Meeting Accompanying persons (Registration desk)

19:30 Inauguration (Auditorium)

20:00 Snack evening meal (Spanish tapas & wines)

mondAy 15 sePTemBer 2014

09:00 Visit to Loarre Castle (Set of The Kingdom of Heaven by Ridley Scott, 2005)

18:00 Guided visit to Huesca City

TuesdAy 16 sePTemBer 2014

Mid-Conference field trip

WednesdAy 17 sePTemBer 2014

09:00 Visit to Jaca City

THursdAy 18 sePTemBer 2014

Free time in Huesca City


mid ConferenCe fieLd TriPsMid Conference field trips will take place on Tuesday 16 September 2014.

A- Mid-Conference Field trip A: Restoration of freshwater

wetlands & saline ponds

Topics of interest and sites to visit: Restored and constructed wetlands, Monegros playa-lakes and saline depressions, Lake Sariñena.

route: Huesca-Monegros (Sariñena-Bujaraloz-Sariñena)-Huesca

interest

The route starts from the Conference Venue in Palacio de Congresos (Huesca) in SE directiontowards the agricultural county of Monegros (2765 Km2, population density 7.4 inh./km2).The north part of the county has been intensively transformed into irrigation, being an areahighly productive of corn, wheat, barley, rice, and vegetables. In contrast, wetlands were de-graded, including floodplains of the River Flumen. Natural wetlands were restored and alsosome wetlands were constructed and monitored (Life Programme CREAMAGUA,http://www.creamagua.com) for improving the quality of the return flows from irrigationand hence, biodiversity. Lake Sariñena, originally an endorheic salt lake, was transformed afew decades ago to a freshwater pond of 2 km2 (lake shoreline 8 km and maximum waterdepth is 5-10 m) by fresh and polluted water flows from agricultural surplus. The water levelof the lake is controlled by a drain.

In the south part of Monegros County, one of the most arid regions in Europe, more than ahundred saline wetlands occur in small closed basins (from < 1 to 200 ha). These ecosystemsare located in solution dolines formed by karstification of the gypsum-rich bedrock and bydeflation. Playa lakes and other saline wetlands provide habitats for breeding birds, and hostanimals, plants and microorganisms adapted to extreme conditions such as hypersalinity,high solar radiation, temperature extremes, and irregular, alternating periods of drought andflooding.

B-Mid-Conference Field Trip B: River Ebro floodplain & wetland

restoration

Topics of interest and sites to visit: Middle Ebro River floodplain downstream Zaragoza, in-cluding oxbow lakes; restored and constructed wetlands in Monegros for improving irriga-tion return flows and biodiversity -Lake Sariñena.

route: Huesca-Zaragoza (La Cartuja)-Monegros (Sariñena)-Huesca.

interest

The route runs from the city of Huesca in the Huesca depression towards the south throughthe Tertiary continental materials of the Ebro River depression, including limestones, gypsum,and marls, and crosses the Ebro River floodplain (a large Mediterranean river) close toZaragoza city. We will be visiting the Natural Reserve of Galachos (oxbows) where preservationand restoration works were performed and where there are ongoing studies focusing on sur-face and subsurface biodiversity related to river connectivity. Riparian woodlands and oxbowlakes will be visited.


Lake Sariñena (an officially preserved site for wild fauna) in Monegros County and its visitorcenter will be visited. Lake Sariñena was originally an endorheic salt lake. Now, after decadesof water flows from irrigation it became a freshwater pond of 2 km2 (lake shoreline 8 km;maximum depth 5-10 m).

Then, restored and created wetlands in Monegros County will be visited. Sixteen wetlandsand riparian zones were restored (some of them can be considered as created wetlands) wereworked out for improving the quality of the irrigation water flows and biodiversity under theLife Programme CREAMAGUA.

C-Mid-Conference Field Trip C: Ox-bow lakes and gravel pit

lakes in the Gállego and Ebro Rivers (Zaragoza) & Wetland

restoration to remove nitrates exceeding agricultural irrigation

Topics of interest and sites to visit: Early stage of an ox-bow lake formation in River Gállegoand advanced aggradation of ox-bow lake in the Middle Ebro River floodplain upstreamZaragoza; and restored wetlands to remove nitrates discharged with the water exceeding ir-rigated agricultural areas in Monegros County (Huesca province) .

route: Huesca-Zaragoza (Juslibol)-Monegros (Sariñena)-Huesca.

interest

The route runs from the city of Huesca in the Huesca depression towards the south throughthe Tertiary continental materials of the Ebro River depression, including limestones, gypsum,and marls, down to the left margins of Rivers Gállego and Ebro just upstream Zaragoza citywhere, respectively, an oxbow lake is being formed (Gállego River) and another one was cre-ated during a big flood in 1960 but it is now in an advanced stage of colmatation. Also natu-ralized gravel pits and an artificial shaloow lake will be visited in this last floodplain (Juslibol).

Two restored wetlands to remove nitrates exported with the irrigation water exceeding agri-cultural areas will be visited in Monegros County (Huesca province).


BioGrAPHiCAL noTes of PLenAry LeCTurersProf. edward maltby is Professor of Wetland Science, Water and Ecosystem Management &Director Institute for Sustainable Water, Integrated Management and Ecosystem ResearchUniversity of Liverpool. Previous positions were as Professor of Environmental and PhysicalGeography Department of Geography Royal Holloway University of London Director, RoyalHolloway Institute for Environmental Research (RHIER) and Director of Wetland EcosystemResearch Group (WERG).

Over 40 years of experience in scientific research and environmental project management,providing both technical and policy advice for Supragovernment, government and non-gov-ernment bodies. These include the European Commission, UK Department of Environment,Food & Rural Affairs, House of Commons Select Committee on European legislation, theUnited States Federal Government, Belgian and Netherlands governments, the World WideFund for Nature, IUCN - The World Conservation Union, UNEP and the Biodiversity and RamsarConventions. Currently Prof. Maltby is advisor to the Secretary of State for Environment onthe UK National Ecosystem Assessmment amd and formally Chair IUCN Commission onEcosystem Management and of the IUCN Wetlands and Water Programme.

dr.ir. Gerardo e. van Halsema, editor & lead author of the Guidelines for Sustainable Agri-culture Wetlands Interaction (FAO/Ramsar Publication WR#33), is (since 2007) Asst. Prof.Water Resources Management at Wageningen University, the Netherlands. Throughout hisprofessional life at Wageningen University and FAO-Rome, he is working on questions aroundsustainability of Agricultural Water Management, with a clear aim and focus of placing thisfield in its wider system surroundings. As coordinator Water for Food and Ecosystems at FAOhe has been a key organiser of the FAO/Netherlands international conference on Water forFood and Ecosystems, which culminated in the work on sustainable agriculture-wetlands in-teractions with FAO/Ramsar/WUR. More recently, he is the leading author of the MekongDelta Plan, which provides a long-term vision and strategy for sustainable adaptation of theVietnamese Mekong Delta to climate change – a field in which the integration of agriculture,regulating services and environment are applied to field of climate change adaptation at thelandscape level.

noelia Vallejo Pedregal is Environmental Sciences Graduate and High Technical Officer (2006-2012) of the Spanish Ministry of Environment. At present, she is Desk Officer of Nature Unit-D.G. Environment of European Commission in Brussels.



PAneL disCussion

1) Linking the wise use of wetlands with the challenges for sus-

tainable development

(Auditorium, 15th Monday at 12:00)

moderator: Robert Mc Innes, Ramsar representative

Panelists: Edward Maltby (University of Liverpool); Brigitte Poulin (Station Biologique Tourdu Valat); Anne Tolvanen (Finnish Forest Research Institute and University of Oulu).

Established in 1971, the Convention on Wetlands, which is commonly called the “RamsarConvention”, is an intergovernmental treaty that embodies the commitments of its membercountries to plan for the “wise use”, or sustainable use, of all of the wetlands in their terri-tories. The Convention text recognizes the interdependence of Man and his environmentand has at its core the concept of “wise use” – which makes clear that human uses of naturalresources on a sustainable basis are entirely compatible with the Ramsar principles and wet-land conservation in general. However, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, publishedin 2005, declared that inland and coastal wetlands were still being lost at a rate faster thanany other ecosystem and that the pressures on wetlands continue to increase. Thereforethe vital role that wetlands can play in delivering sustainable development – and maintainingand improving human well-being – continues to be underplayed and in some cases activelyignored. This Panel Discussion will explore some of the reasons why the wise use of wetlandshas not been more closely embedded in sustainable development decision-making and makerecommendations on how this challenge can be overcome in the future.

2) Integrating wetlands into the social-economic landscape:

from theory to practice Auditorium, 17th Wednesday at 12:00)

moderator: Jos Verhoeven, Utrecht University, SWS-Europe President

Panelists: Tania Runge (COPA-COGECA, Brussels); Noelia Vallejo Pedregal (European Com-mission D.G. Environment Unit ENV B.3-Nature); Jan Kvet (Institute of Landscape Ecology, Tre-bon, Czech Republic).

Wetland protection and wise use have to be promoted in socio-economic discussions along-side other options for current and future land and water use. Wetland ecosystem serviceshave been demonstrated to result in tangible economic benefits. Identification and quantifi-cation of these benefits can result in a major opportunity to guarantee wetland protectionand wise use in the socio-economic landscape. Ecotourism in s’Albufera wetland in Mallorcaand restoration of carbon sequestration in Estonia are two examples where theory is put intopractice.

ABsTrACTs of PLenAry LeCTures

Wetlands in the 21st century: From research to practical actions

to maintain and restore wetland ecosystem services

edward maltbyEmeritus Professor of Water, Wetland Science and Ecosystem management, University of Liverpool, UK.

The unique and seminal role played by wetlands in Earth and human history as well as soci-etal development serves as the background to the growing evidence supporting their con-tinued importance at both global and local scales. Whilst there has been loss of at least halfthe world’s wetlands in previous centuries, the last 50 years have witnessed some remark-able changes in attitudes to wetlands that have prioritized them increasingly on scientificand political agendas. Governments are apparently realizing the value of the natural capitaland ecosystem services of wetlands to the wider human economy. The challenge now towetland science, our economic and political systems is to adapt to the new needs of civil so-ciety.

Wide ranging examples from around the world are used to illustrate how there is still an im-portant intimate relationship between wetlands and human communities and conversely toillustrate the progressive loss and degradation that has taken place. The benefits that wereappreciated by early human cultures and current traditional users historically has been eitherignored or dismissed as less valuable by more powerful sectorial interest groups. Key featuresof recent changes are outlined and include raised awareness of the socio-economic signifi-cance of wetland functioning and the delivery of ecosystem services; opportunities for wet-lands to deliver improvements in the welfare and livelihoods of local people; and progressiverecognition of the potential or actual role of wetlands to achieve wider objectives of sus-tainable development and human benefit. Findings from the international project on TheEconomics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) and the UK National Ecosystem Assessment(UK NEA) are highlighted to illustrate the potential for changes in government perspectivesand policy.

The need for a more holistic and integrated approach to the natural environment and oursocio-economic framework, as embodied in the Ecosystem Approach, underpins proposalsof the social, economic, political and legislative actions necessary at different scales to safe-guard our wetland heritage and resources.

Integrating Wetlands Management and Conservation

into the socio-ecological development.

Gerardo e. van Halsema Asst. Prof. of Water Resources Management. Wageningen University. The Netherlands

Wetlands are typical rich ecosystems that may provide a wide diversity of ecosystems servicesacross the spectrum of provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services (MA), as wellas a rich and unique biodiversity. Where the MA has been instrumental in pinpointing us tothe benefits these services can provide for human kind and human wellbeing – providing arenewed mandate for the preservation and wise use of these valuable ecosystems – the dy-


namics of socio-ecological development highlights society’s contestations on which servicesand which benefits to particularly appreciate and derive from a particular wetland ecosystemin question. This has particular bearings on the sustainability of wetland ecosystems that tendto be appreciated and valued by society for their particular benefits in provisioning and reg-ulating services: i) sustainability is an outcome of continuous contestation and accommoda-tion of differing appreciations and valorizations; ii) the state of the wetland ecosystem tomaintain and use is negotiable in socio-ecological development.

The socio-ecological developments and management of wetland ecosystems are the key fac-tors that derive the specific benefits from the ecosystem and its services, and therewith theresulting state of the system used. From a social-ecological perspective it is critical to refinethe MA ES framework from a societal point of view: ecosystems have intrinsically multipleservices and benefits to offer for human wellbeing, but these differ widely in their nature andcharacter; services need to be derived and valued by society in order to reap their benefits;ecosystem services differ in their provision of public and private benefits. Social-ecologicaldevelopment strategies need to explicitly account for these differences by acknowledgingwhich services are valued by and providing benefits to whom, and how these benefits andmanagement strategies are bounded to specific livelihood activity domains. In deliberatingand negotiating socio-ecological management strategies for wetlands wherein new configu-rations of ecosystem services are contemplated, the implied shifts in benefits – across services,beneficiaries and livelihoods – need to be explicitly accounted for, as a re-configuration of e-services equates to a re-configuration of benefits and wealth across the sociological domain.Not only in terms of private benefits and livelihoods, but also across segments of societythrough shifts in public benefits. Where agriculture has been traditionally a strong and promi-nent societal drive for the valorization of private benefits derived from provisioning services,the growing awareness for the need to adapt to climate change impacts provide a new impe-tus to the valorization of public goods derived from regulating services. Thus providing open-ings and opportunities for new, society supported, reconfigurations of the ecosystem servicesand the wetland ecosystem.


orAL PresenTATion ABsTrACTs of ConCurrenTsessions, symPosiA, sPeCiAL sessions And WorKsHoPs

Leaf litter decomposition in a side arm of River Danube at

Gemenc floodplain (Danube-Dráva National Park, Hungary)

Ágoston-szabó, edit1; Károly schöll1; Anita Kiss1; mária dinka1

1Danube Research Institute, Centre for Ecological Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, H-2163 Vácrátót,Hungary, e-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],[email protected]

Leaf litter is an important energy input for floodplain waters and its breakdown is an impor-tant ecosystem process. The decomposition of five leaf litter species was investigated inRezéti-Holt-Duna, permanently flowing side arm at Gemenc forested floodplain, stressingto the importance of mesh size and site effect. A litter bag experiment was performed, byusing litter bags with 1 mm and 0.04 mm mesh sizes; leaves of the Salix alba, Populus hybridswere placed in the depositional and of the Quercus robur, Fraxinus angustifolia, Ulmus laevisin the erosional part of the side arm. Ash leaves in 1 mm mesh bags were exposed at bothsites in order to evaluate the site effect. The dominant macroinvertebrate taxon in 1 mmmesh bags was the Chironomidae in larval stage. Higher breakdown, carbon and nitrogenrelease rates were found in 1 mm than in 0.04 mm mesh bags. There were also significantdifferences between the decay and carbon release rate of ash decomposing at both sites.We concluded that the mesh size influence the leaf litter associated breakdown and nutrientdynamics and the site effect was more pronounced on the decay and carbon release ratethan on the nutrient release rates.

The alluvial system as a framework for physical-biogeochemical

interactions

Antigüedad, iñaki1 ; Ane Zabaleta1 ; miren martinez-santos2; estilita ruiz2 ; Jesús uriarte1 ;Tomás morales1 ; francisco Comín3 ; fabián Carranza3 ; Cecilia español3 ; José maríaBodoque4 ; Julián Ladera4 ; Léonard Bernard-Jannin5,6 ; Xiaoling sun5,6 ; samuel Teissier5,6 ;sabine sauvage5,6 ; José-miguel sánchez-Pérez5,6

1 University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU); Hydrology and Environment Group, Department of Geodynamic,48940 Leioa (Basque Country), Spain.2 University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU); Hydrology and Environment Group, Department of Chemical andEnvironmental Engineering, 48013 Bilbao (Basque Country), Spain.3 Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (IPE-CSIC); Avda Montañana 1005, 50050 Zaragoza, Spain.4 University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM); Department of Geology and Mine Engineering, Avda Carlos III, 45071Toledo, Spain. 5 University of Toulouse; INPT, UPS; Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (EcoLab), Avenue de l’A-grobiopole, 31326 Castanet Tolosan Cedex, France6 CNRS, EcoLab, 31326 Castanet Tolosan Cedex, France

Attenagua project aims to integrate the knowledge on physical-biogeochemical interactionsof four alluvial wetlands (Tajo, Ebro, Garonne, Bidasoa catchments) of SUDOE region in amethod able to identify the best places with good quality groundwater. Bearing that in mind,a comparative study between sites was conducted following the sequence Observation -


Conceptualization - Modeling. This paper deals with the first two steps. Observation wasfounded on a detailed monitoring; 10 piezometers and 2 river points were sampled in eachsite once a month (water, pesticides) during a year ensuring sampling at high and low waterlevels. Four of the campaigns included sediment and biota sampling. Water level was con-tinuously registered in both, the riparian zone and the river, so the hydrologic context is wellknown. Conceptualization was based on the integration of all observed data. Special em-phasis was put on site-specific attributes (landscape, alluvial thickness, upland-alluvial-riverlink, land cover, pollution sources). A key point of the conceptual model was the connectivitywith the river, including space- and time- variability. Principal Component Analysis was usedin each site to make different groups of waters visible and put in evidence key parametersthat can identify potential “hot-spots (important zones of natural biodegradations). Thisdidn’t necessarily inform about water origin. Therefore, site-specific knowledge was neededto define the end-members to be used in EMMA and obtain mixing-maps, which in turn al-lowed deriving pollutant degradation maps. From these maps hotspot areas were identifiedbeing these the reference for modeling.

Hatching patterns of microinvertebrates in temporary ponds

from Campo de Calatrava (Castilla-La Mancha, Spain)

Armengol, Xavier1; maría rodrigo1; Luis Valls1; Andreu Castillo-escrivà1; silvia díez1; Carlosrochera1; José A. Gil-delgado1; rafael u. Gosálvez2; Ángel Velasco3; máximo florín3; AntonioCamacho1; francesc mesquita-Joanes1

1 Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, Spain.2 Department of Geography and Regional Planning, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain.3 Department of Environment Science, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. [email protected]

Temporary ponds are common in steppe habitats, such as those located in Castilla La-Mancharegion, at the center of the Iberian Peninsula. In summer, the low precipitation, warm tem-peratures and wind, act together to completely dry out most shallow lakes on this area. Manyinvertebrates, inhabiting these ponds, are adapted to overpass dry periods through severalstrategies. Most microinvertebrates, including rotifers or microcrustaceans, not being able tofly, present the strategy to produce resting eggs. These eggs are laid on sediments and forman “egg bank” analogous to the “seed bank” of terrestrial plants. These eggs can survive forone or several dry seasons, being capable to hatch when the ponds are flooded again and con-ditions are adequate. In order to evaluate the diversity of species in such egg banks, we per-formed an experiment to study hatching from the sediment of three ponds in Campo deCalatrava (Castilla-La Mancha): Nava Grande (NG), Zahurdones (Z) and El Pardillo (EP), collectedin summer 2012 (dry period). Pond invertebrate samples were also taken during the floodedseason from these and other ponds in the area. Three replicates containing 50 g of sedimenteach, were filled with distilled water in 1L aquaria and were cultured at a constant temperature(20 ºC) and photoperiod (10h light :14h dark), mimicking autumn lake-filling conditions. Duringone month, water was periodically sampled, hatched individuals were collected (crustaceanlarvae were grown apart to adult stages), fixed with 4% formaline, counted under an invertedmicroscope and identified to species level if possible. In Z, 20 rotifer and 14 crustacean specieswere identified; in EP, 19 rotifers and 9 crustaceans and only 2 rotifers and 4 crustaceans inNG. The results of the experiment showed different hatching patterns and different “assem-blages” which have been compared with the assemblages obtained in samples taken from theponds. This work was supported by the project ECOLAKE (CGL2012-38909).


Lessons learned? Simulated nutrient reduction by wetlands con-

structed 1996-2006 in Sweden

Arheimer, Berit; Charlotta B. PersSwedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), 60176 Norrköping, Sweden

Water authorities are currently preparing measure plans to improve water status in Europeaccording to the Water Framework Directive. In Sweden, one of the major problems for sur-face water is eutrophication caused by diffuse pollution of nitrogen and phosphorus. For thewhole country, some 2,500 constructed wetlands are now suggested to improve the waterstatus. However, this is a very small number for a large country as Sweden. This study presentsdetailed calculations of effects from previous wetland constructions during the years 1996-2006, in which 1,574 wetlands (in total 4,135 ha) only reduced the load to the sea by 0.2%for nitrogen and 0.5% for phosphorous. Even with more optimal allocation, the maximum ef-fect on the total river load would have been small. The paper explains the calculations, un-certainties and robustness of results, scale effects and spatial variability in wetland efficiencyfor nutrient removal across Sweden. The cost of wetland constructions so far is compared toother societal costs. Finally, the on-going efforts of wetland constructions are related to his-torical efforts in draining land and lakes. It is shown that Sweden still is very far from recon-structing natural conditions, and that more radical measures are probably needed to achievethe goals of good water status.

An interactive guide to the vascular plants of Mediterranean

temporary ponds in Sardinia (Italy)

Bagella, simonetta1, 2; Caria maria Carmela1; rossella filigheddu1, 2; Pier Luigi nimis3

1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Natura e del Territorio, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy, [email protected],[email protected], [email protected] 2 Nucleo Ricerca Desertificazione, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy3 Dipartimento di Biologia, University of Trieste, 34100 Trieste, Italy [email protected]

Despite their relevance for conservation, Mediterranean temporary ponds are poorly knownand their importance is not appreciated, which makes them vulnerable to unintentional de-struction. The need for stimulating protection measures through the improvement of publicperception is thus urgent. This neglected habitat, however, is ideal for engaging public in prac-tical actions, which could be strongly encouraged with the support of interactive identificationguides. The aims of our research were: i) to implement a checklist of vascular plants, and ii)to create an interactive guide for the identification of plants growing in the Mediterraneantemporary ponds of Sardinia. Data collected in about 60 ponds were integrated with publishedplant inventories and the revision of herbarium material. The online interactive guide, createdwith program FRIDA (FRiendly IDentificAtion), consists of two query interfaces: a multi-entryquery permitting to specify several easily observable characters is followed by a richly illus-trated dichotomous key to the species sharing those characters. Experts can also use the firstinterface to create keys to all species of a given taxon. The key is also available as a stand-alone application for Apple and Android mobile devices. The system is open to new findingsand can be extended to other areas.


Restoration of Pannonic sodic wetlands in Hungary

Bankovics, András1

1 Kiskunság National Park Directorate, H-6000 Kecskemét, Liszt F. u. 19, Hungary, [email protected]

Pannonian salt steppes and salt marshes occur only in a few countries of the European Union,mainly in the Pannonian bio-geographical region. The largest surface area and the centre ofdistribution of this habitat type could be found in Hungary. Sodic pans surrounded by saltsteppes and their associated salt-tolerant herbaceous communities of the Carpathian basinare the western representatives of the continental alkaline vegetation in the Pontic region.Sodic wetlands with open water surface have special nutrient cycle which is of utmost impor-tance for the conservation of their characteristic and valuable flora and fauna. Böddi-szék isa sodic pan with open water surface, the extent of its area is significant with 18% of the openwater surface sodic pan subtype of 1530 habitat type in Hungary. The sodic pan and its catch-ment area changed to a significant extent due to anthropogenic effects. The construction ofa main drainage canal and its ditches had caused significant damage on the sodic lake, as thecanal literally halved the lakebed. Eutrophication and spreading of the marsh vegetation is agreat threat. The canal and the spreading marsh vegetation cause serious habitat fragmenta-tion. These negative effects are strengthened by the lack of sufficient number of grazing ani-mals in the area. A LIFE-Nature project was granted in year 2013 (LIFE12NAT/HU/001188)with the aim to restore the original water dynamics and natural habitats. The main elementof the project is the translocation of the bisecting canal to help the natural water cycles beoperational again. The sustainable model of grazing will be set up and will be operational,converting previously neglected biomass to bioproduct. Scientific-based monitoring of theproject’s efforts and socio-economic impacts is the background of the management planning,hence helps us to cope with rapid shifts in climatic, ecological, and socio-economic conditions.

Can incorporating agricultural practices into wetland restora-

tion result in win-win situations?

Bart, david1

1 Department of Landscape Architecture and Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies,University of Wisconsin-Madison. 42B Agricultural Hall, 1450 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, [email protected]

Abandoned agricultural practices might have benefitted floral diversity and invasive-speciesmanagement in many wetlands, and there has been increased interest in returning these ac-tivities to fulfil a variety of ecological and socio-economic purposes. Here I summarize threecase studies of using or adapting abandoned haying practices to manage wetland plant inva-sions (Phragmites australis control in New Jersey salt marshes, Phalaris arundinacea invasionprevention and control in Wisconsin sedge meadows, shrub encroachment control in WI fens)to determine the potential and problems of re-introducing agricultural practices to managewetlands. In all cases, evidence suggested that some abandoned activities could prevent orcontrol unwanted invasions. However, several problems made the return of these activitiesimprobable. These included: (i) changing markets; (ii) variable efficacy of uncommon or idio-syncratic practices; (iii) changes in equipment, and; (iv) inexorable ties between the agricul-tural history of a site and the management efficacy of an activity. Abandoned activities wereabandoned for a reason, and until these reasons are addressed, farmers will not likely returnto these activities for the benefit of management. Managers could accomplish these practicesthemselves, but stand the risk of failure when these practices are taken out of an agriculturalcontext.


Impacts of agricultural legacies on calcareous fen communities:

how the past informs the future

Bart1, d.; Tara davenport2

1 Department of Landscape Architecture and Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wis-consin-Madison, 42B Agricultural Hall, 1450 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706 USA, [email protected] 2 Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 25V Agricultural Hall, 1450Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706 USA, [email protected]

Midwestern calcareous fens in part owe their existence to past grazing and burning. However,legacies of abandoned intensive agriculture continue to impact current plant communitiesand restoration outcomes. Here we contrast current vegetation communities, hydrology, nu-trient status, seed banks, and soil-hydrologic properties in plowed and never-plowed fensdecades after abandonment. Field surveys of fens in southern Wisconsin revealed that plowedfens had greatly diminished abundance and richness of native graminoids and fen specialists,and an increase in herbaceous invaders. Plowed fens also exhibited diminished groundwaterinfluence and higher available N and P, even when never fertilized. Greenhouse experimentssuggest that plowed fens’ seed banks remain depleted of key native gramimoids, even whenadjacent to source populations. Water-retention curves and hydraulic conductivity measuresof plowed layers differed significantly from never-plowed surface soils and soils below theplow-line, suggesting that plowing could cause diminished groundwater influence. In turn,modelling of field data found that diminished groundwater influence lowers invasion resist-ance. Our data suggest that plowing induces an alternate stable state, with persistent lowergroundwater influence and seed-bank depletion resulting in a weed-dominated, native-species-poor system. While agricultural burning and grazing maintained fens in desired states,more intensive practices should be avoided.

Soil seed bank evaluation: a tool for temporary pond recovery

Belo, Anabela; Ana Lumbreras Corujo; Carla Pinto-Cruz1 ICAAM - Instituto de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais Mediterrânicas, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade deÉvora, Núcleo da Mitra, Ap. 94, 7002-554 Évora, Portugal

Soil seed banks constitute reservoirs for future plant communities and can persist over longtime periods. They ensure the preservation of plant genetic resources of the MediterraneanTemporary Ponds, a threatened habitat classified as priority habitat (3170*) for conservationby the Directive Habitats. Soil seed banks can protect species against perturbations by allowingplants to store propagules until appropriate germination conditions are met. The study wasconducted in Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park located along the south-western coast of mainland Portugal. Soil samples were collected in 3 belts (central, interme-diate and outer) of 21 ponds. The propagules (seeds and spores) of characteristic species ofMediterranean temporary pond were identified and quantified in a 100g soil sample. Thespecies quantified were: Isoetes histrix, I. setacea, I. velata and Eryngium corniculatum inevery belt, Eleocharis palustris and Glyceria declinata in central belt, Baldellia ranunculoidesin intermediate belt, and Juncus capitatus, Lotus subbiflorus e Cicendia filiformis in outer belt.The aboveground vegetation was studied to compare to soil seed bank. It was carried out invisually homogenous plots where each species percent cover was recorded, sampling ponds’vegetation belts. Preliminary results point out that soil seed bank composition, in comparisonwith aboveground vegetation, mirrors the pond conservation status. Therefore the soil seedbank evaluation is a valuable tool to design less disturbing restoration strategy.


Modelling habitat distribution of Mediterranean coastal wet-

lands: the Ebro Deltas as case study

Benito, Xavier1; rosa Trobajo1; Carles ibàñez1

1 IRTA, Aquatic Ecosystems Program. Carretera poble Nou km 5, 5. 43590 St. Carles de la Ràpita, Catalonia, [email protected]

Present-day altered distribution of the natural habitats in the Ebro Delta is consequence ofintensive human settlement in the last two centuries. We developed spatial predictive modelsof potential natural wetland habitats of the Ebro Delta based on ecogeographical predictorsand presence/ pseudo-absence data for each habitat. The independent variables (i.e elevation,distance from the coast, distance from the river and distance from the inner border) wereanalysed using Generalized Additive Models (GAMs). Elevation and the distance from thecoast appeared as key predictors in most of the coastal habitats (coastal lagoons, sandy en-vironments, Salicornia-type marshes and reed beds), whereas distances from the river andfrom the inner border were relevant in the most terrestrial or inland habitats (salt meadows,Cladium-type marshes and riparian vegetation). Our findings suggest that the most inlandhabitats (i.e. Cladium-type marshes, salt meadows and riparian vegetation) would have un-dergone a severe reduction (higher than 90%), whereas in the most coastal habitats (coastallagoons, sandy environments, Salicornia-type marshes) the reduction in relation to their po-tential distribution would be around 70%. This modelling approach can be applied to otherdeltaic areas, since all them share a similar topographic.

Waterbirds diversity and importance of Saharan wetlands

of Algeria for their conservation

Bensaci, ettayib1, 4; nouidjem, yacine1, 4; saheb, menouar3; Bouzegag, Abdelaziz2, 4;Houhamdi, moussa2, 4

1 Département SNV, Université de M’sila. Algérie2 Département de Biologie, Université de Guelma. Algérie 3 ISN. Département de Biologie, Université d’Oum El-Bouaghi. Algérie4 Laboratoire de Recherche « Biologie-Eau-Environnement » Université de Guelma. AlgérieE-mail: [email protected], [email protected]

The wetlands of Algerian Sahara represented by a number of sites have different character-istics of undeniable importance. They contains many very large salt pans (Chott Melghir andChott Merouane…), classified as wetlands of international importance according to the RAM-SAR convention and other small temporary wetlands such as: Chott Hamraïa and Chott Tindle,and other permanent sites: Lac Ayata, Gueltates Afilale, Oasis de Tamentit and Ihrir Valley.These aquatic ecosystems have a great biological diversity due to their size, salinity and sub-strate, but they remain very poorly studied in Algeria. Regular monitoring of the bird faunaof these wetlands (2004-2010) allowed us defining the status and phenology of these species.A total of 56 species representing 16 families were assessed. They are dominated by theGreater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus, Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferriginea and Teal Anascrecca crecca. Some species were observed with relatively large numbers and other breedingspecies are listed as endangered and vulnerable according the IUCN Red List and such as:Marbled Teal Marmaronetta angustirostris, Ferruginous duck Aythya nyroca., on the otherhand we determined the key sites and habitats used for wintering, as stopover during trans-Saharan migration and for breeding of this avifauna.


Long-term monitoring of wetlands north of the Garzweiler

opencast brown coal mine in western Germany

Berger, danielaErftverband, Am Erftverband 6, 50126 Bergheim, Germany. E-mail: [email protected]

In the Rhenish brown coal mining area of western Germany, pumping out of groundwater topermit lignite extraction in large open pit mines causes vast groundwater depression. Conse-quences for wetlands are potentially dire. Effects stemming from the Garzweiler mine nearMönchengladbach reach over 30 kms to the wetlands of the Schwalm- Nette reserve. Underregulations in force an extensive program of re-infiltration is operated to conserve these wet-lands. To optimise the effectiveness of the measures, a monitoring program has been estab-lished which includes spatial surveillance along with control and assessment of relevanthydrological and ecological parameters. In this context, vegetation monitoring is performedsystematically. Measurements are taken at hundreds of permanent plots and at over thirtytransects along topographical gradients. In an innovative evaluation procedure, changes innumber of various wetland indicator species and disturbance indicators are noted and eval-uated within each plot and each meter of transect. Numerical results are calculated for eachplot and displayed on a map with a color-coded grading system to distinguish satisfactoryfrom unsatisfactory species development. Results clearly show the influence of variations ingroundwater recharge on wetland vegetation. In over ten years of use the evaluation proce-dure has proven effective for detecting vegetation changes in the Schwalm-Nette reserve.

A modelling tool to simulate water exchanges in floodplain

area, application to the Garonne River (SW France)

Bernard-Jannin, Léonard1,2; david Brito3; ramiro neves3; sabine sauvage1,2; José-miguelsánchez-Pérez1,2

1 University of Toulouse; INPT, UPS; Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (EcoLab), Avenue de l’A-grobiopole, 31326 Castanet Tolosan Cedex, France2 CNRS, EcoLab, 31326 Castanet Tolosan Cedex, France3 MARETEC, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001, Lisboa, Portugal

In alluvial floodplains, the interface between surface water and groundwater (hyporheic zone)supports large river-aquifer exchanges and previous works have shown the key role of theseareas on biogeochemical processes. In order to provide knowledge on contaminants transportand transformation, and to quantify the role of the hyporheic zones in alluvial floodplains onbiogeochemical processes, a modelling approach has been used. The fully-distributed andeco-hydrological model MOHID has been adapted to meet the specificities of floodplain areasand applied to a study site located in a meander of the Garonne River floodplain, (South-WestFrance). A large network of 25 piezometers installed within the study-site was monthly mon-itored during 1 year and provides a good calibration dataset of groundwater level and con-taminants concentrations within the aquifer. The model simulates the porous media (3DRichards equations) and surface runoff (2D St Venant equations) and the interaction betweenboth. It also includes transport of properties. In addition, a simple module for denitrificationhas been implemented integrating the role of organic carbon concentrations and water sat-uration of the medium. Results show the ability of the model to represent hydrodynamicwithin the floodplain area. Simulations of river-aquifer exchanges show that the organic car-bon coming from the river and the water table variation can explain the spatial and temporal


heterogeneity of observed denitrification rates in this area. The model will be used to quantifythe denitrification processes in space and time and to simulate the impact of different hydro-morphological conditions on denitrification processes in floodplains areas.

Water exchanges, carbon supply and nitrogen dynamic

in the shallow groundwater of a riparian wetland zone

application to the Garonne River (SW France)

Bernard-Jannin, L. 1,2; sun, X. 1,2; sauvage, s. 1,2; Teissier, s. 1,2, sánchez-Pérez, J. m. 1,2

1 University of Toulouse; INPT, UPS; Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (EcoLab), Avenue del’Agrobiopole, 31326 Castanet Tolosan Cedex, France.2 CNRS, EcoLab, 31326 Castanet Tolosan Cedex, France

Nitrates are a form of water pollution in wetlands areas located at the interface betweenrivers and agricultural alluvial areas. In these riparian areas, denitrification process mainlycontributes to the mitigation of nitrate pollution. Groundwater denitrification process is het-erogeneous at the riparian scale. This is partly due to environmental conditions, such as car-bon availability that depends on the distance from the river. This study highlights the role ofinteractions between surface and sub-surface water of the riparian zone of a large river (theGaronne, SW France). Information is given about the role of surface water in supplying Dis-solved Organic Carbon (DOC) to the riparian zone for nitrate removal processes. Spatial vari-ations in organic carbon and nitrate content in groundwater at the site studied are correlatedwith exchanges between the groundwater and the river, from the upstream to the down-stream part of the meander. Nitrate and decreasing organic carbon concentrations follow thesame pattern. These results suggest that, in this kind of riparian wetland, nitrate from alluvialgroundwater influenced by agricultural practices may be denitrified by bacteria in the pres-ence of organic carbon from river surface water.

Self-purification capacity in a highly man-modified wetland

Bodoque, J. m.1; Ladera, J.1; Alonso-Azcárate, J.1; yela, J. L.1; sánchez-Pérez, J. m.2, 3

1 University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM); Environmental Science Faculty, Avda Carlos III,45071 Toledo, Spain. 2 University of Toulouse; INPT, UPS; Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (EcoLab), Avenue de l’A-grobiopole, 31326 Castanet Tolosan Cedex, France3 CNRS, EcoLab, 31326 Castanet Tolosan Cedex, France

The Tagus watershed is one of the most regulated in the world. So, it has 283 reservoirs and40 diversion channels, among which stands out the Tajo-Segura inter-basin water transfersystem, from which an average annual volume of 350 Hm3 is derived. As a result, river dy-namics has been drastically reduced, having significantly increased the frequency of what yes-teryear were ordinary floods, while agriculture has expanded to almost cause thedisappearance of the riparian forest. In this context, and within the framework of the ATTE-NAGUA project, the natural water purification processes in a alluvial aquifer of the Tagus riverhave been assessed. To do this, for over a year a systematic sampling both in 10 piezometerslocated in the alluvial aquifer and in the river has been made. Each month, we have charac-terized the physico-chemical parameters, major ions, pesticides and other complex moleculesin relation to pharmaceuticals and degradation products of cocaine. On a quarterly basis,


metals have been analyzed and macroinvertebrates and diatoms existing in the hyphorreicenvironment have been characterized, as well as the existence of denitrification. Preliminaryresults indicate that the hydraulic connection between the river and the alluvial aquifer is in-significant. The entry of water from the river to the alluvial aquifer is due to irrigation, beingalso irrigation the main transport path to the aquifer of complex molecules (e.g., Irbersartan,Benzoylecgonine). The main source of pollution is associated with farming and associatedmanagement practices. So, we have detected the presence of metolachlor at concentrationsabove those allowed by the EU, as well as high concentrations of copper and zinz as a resultof the massive application of pig manure.

CO2 and CH4 fluxes in permanent and temporary aquatic

environments in the lowland of the Po River, Italy

Bolpagni, rossano1; marco Bartoli1; Pierluigi Viaroli1

1 Department of Life Sciences, University of Parma, V.le G.P. Usberti 11/A, 43124 Parma, Italy;[email protected]

Carbon metabolism was measured in the lowland sector of the Po River in summer. Six fieldcampaigns aimed to measure CO2 and CH4 fluxes across the water-atmosphere and sand-bar-atmosphere interfaces in five different ecosystems: the main river course (PO); a back-water system in the river bankfull (LP); an oxbow lake (LA); and two quarry lakes, one nolonger in use (LG) and the other one under excavation (BL). All the sampled sites exhibited aCH4 oversaturation in the water column; similar results were recorded for the CO2, with theexception of LG that exhibited a constant CO2 under-saturation. At all sites water was O2under-saturated. All the emerging sandbars were sources of CO2 with the exception of thefluvial site (PO) that exhibited negative CO2 consumption, but only for the measurementscollected at the river shoreline. This work demonstrates the existence of significant gradientsof CO2 and CH4 across interfaces. In general, the emergent sandbars, especially at the water-terrestrial interface, are important regulators of the C cycle; the variation in flow regime andmoisture content of emerging deposits regulates the biological activity and thus their abilityto fix or release CO2 by primary producers; accordingly, the stabilization of the emerging de-posits encourages the release of CO2.

Biogeochemistry and Lago Grande Curuaí’s aquatic

sustainability in the Amazon Basin, Brazil

Bomfim, eudes1; marie-Paule Bonnet2; Anne-elisabeth Lagues2; daniel Araújo; Jérémie Gar-nier1; Leonardo Gomes3; Ludgero Vieira3; ricardo Paiva1; stéphanie nasuti1; GeraldoBoaventura1

1 Universidade de Brasília, IG/ICC Centro, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, 70910-970, Brasília/DF, Brazil, e-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],[email protected], [email protected] Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), França, e-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Faculdade UnB de Planaltina, Área Universitária 1, Vila Nossa Senhora de Fátima, 73.345-010 – Planaltina/DF,Brazil, e-mail: [email protected], [email protected]

The floodplains of the Amazon are highly productive ecosystems considered as hotspots ofbiodiversity. They are also among the most threatened ecosystems by climate change and



anthropogenic pressures. These changes alter the river and plain dynamics and biogeochem-ical cycles, becoming imperative to understand them and their relation with the biodiversityand sustainable use of the natural resources. This research aims to develop a system of indi-cators for assessing the sustainability of the integrated socio-ecosystem of the Lago GrandeCuruaí located in the Amazon basin, Brazil. The methodology for devising this system is basedon Principles, Criteria and Indicators. The guiding principle assumes that aquatic biodiversityis inter-related to the floodplain socio-ecosystem integrity. Such criteria was defined to explainthat principles. Indicators were defined too, they represent the peculiar features of the stateof the criteria by aggregating correlated data. Preliminary results about the criterion that cor-relates the biogeochemical balance with the resources of the ecosystem are presented.

Efficiency of buffer zones recently inserted as CAP

initiative in ItalyBoz, Bruno1; Paolo Bazzoffi2; silvia Carnevale2; Bruna Gumiero3

1 Freelance consultant for CRA ABP Agricultural Research Council - Agrobiology and Pedology Research Centre -Florence (IT)2 CRA ABP Agricultural Research Council - Agrobiology and Pedology Research Centre - Florence (IT)3 University of Bologna Dept of Biological, Geological and Environmental Science (BiGeA)

Thanks to their multifunctional role, the use of buffer zones can actively contribute to achievethe objectives of several European Directives. In coherence with this, in Italy, starting from2012 the use of buffer zones is one of the basic standards required to farmers in applicationof Cross-compliance mechanism introduced by the European Common Agricultural Policy(CAP, council regulation EC n.3/2009) and is included also on the “greening policies”. Bufferzones will be financed also in some specific measures of the coming Rural Development Pro-gramme 2014-2020. A specific work package of the MO.NA.CO. project1, leading by CRA (Agri-cultural Research Council), monitored, at national scale, the effects of the standard 5.2 “bufferstrips” in application of the Cross-compliance. Eight experimental buffer zones, distributedin different agricultural areas of Italy, have been compared in term of hydrological dynamicsand nitrogen removal effectiveness. Results demonstrates which buffer zones with the samevegetation structure and the same dimensions have very different capacity in term of nitrogenremoval. This is strictly related to the hydrological dynamics: the direction, the depth, thetemporal fluctuation of the groundwater which connects the farmlands to buffers zones andthen to the adjacent rivers are the key factors on driving the nitrogen removal processes. Thenew policies have to consider this evidence in a more rigorous way. Project realized with thecontribution of the EAFRD (European Fund for Agriculture and Rural Development) as part ofactivities under the National Network program 2007-2013

Forest plantation on cutover peatland in Alberta:

Evaluating methods and carbon stocksBravo, Tania A.1; maria strack2; Line rochefort2

1 GRET, University of Calgary (Alberta, Canada) E-mail: [email protected] GRET, University of Waterloo (Canada)3 Department of Plant Sciences, University of Laval (Quebec, Canada)

After horticultural peat extraction by vacuum-extraction, peatland restoration is a good optionto recover ecological functions in this wetland ecosystem including carbon storage, biodiver-

sity support and hydrological and biogeochemical cycling. The residual peat is often too poorto allow for adequate plant community growth, because cutover peatlands are low in nutri-ents and devoid of seed bank. To prioritize restoration goal is one of the key elements thatdefines successful techniques is the recovery of ecohydrological conditions in damaged wet-lands. This project assesses the potential of forest plantation as restoration technique onabandoned peatlands to return ecosystem functions. Forest plantation may be an appropriateafter-use option in Western Canada, where many undisturbed peatlands have extensive forestcover. The project focuses on black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P) plantation, and eval-uates the effect of fertilization treatment and the impact of paper birch (Betula papyrifera(March.)) colonization on black spruce growth and carbon exchange. Installation of plots in-vestigating establishment of understory species will also be discussed. Results determinedthat forest plantation of cutover peatlands decreased the net release of C to the atmospherein comparison to bare peat in similar areas; it is an alternative technique to reduce greenhousegas emissions though C storage in biomass. In addition, the highest dose of fertilizer is themost effective in supporting biomass production through forest growth, and therefore offersthe large C storage capacity. However, fertilizer has a significant effect on birch colonization.Although this may increase evapotranspiration and heterotrophic soil respiration in the peatprofile by influencing the site’s hydrology, no substantial differences in respiration betweenfertilizer doses were observed in this study.

Morphometric heterogeneity of temporary pools in Malta

and its effect on species and life-form richness: implications

for management and restoration

Briffa, Kelly; sheryl sammut; sandro Lanfranco*Department of Biology, University of Malta, Msida MSD2080, Malta. [email protected],[email protected], [email protected]

The effect of morphometric heterogeneity of pool basins on the diversity of microcrustaceansand macrophytes was investigated in 39 cupular pools from six pool landscapes across theMaltese Islands. Each pool basin was characterised on the basis of its primary axis and sec-ondary axis, maximum morphological depth, depth of the sediment layer and the maximumwater level. The depth parameters were used to sub-divide each basin into ordinal depthclasses which were subsequently used to calculate a Heterogeneity Index for each basin. Themacrophytic species colonising each depth-class of the study basins were noted on a pres-ence/absence basis whilst the proportionate coverage of life-forms (hydrophytes, am-phiphytes, terriphytes) in each depth-class was also recorded. Microcrustaceans, in terms ofboth species and functional group, were recorded on a presence/absence basis. Life-form di-versity of macrophytes was positively correlated with morphometric heterogeneity of basins(p=0.01) and with sediment-depth heterogeneity (p=0.001) whilst species richness was neg-atively correlated with these factors (p=0.007 and p=0.002, respectively). The interaction ofpool surface area with sediment depth was a significant determinant of microcrustaceanspecies richness (p=0.045). The results suggest that morphometric heterogeneity is an im-portant determinant of species richness in such habitats and should be given due considera-tion in management programmes.


Modeling the hydro-biogeochemistry functioning

in alluvial wetlands

Brito, d. a; Bernard-Jannin, L b, c; sauvage, s. b, c; Zabaleta, A. d; Comín, f. e; Bodoque, J. m. f;neves, r. a; sánchez-Pérez , J. m. b, c

a Maretec-Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, 1000-049 Lisbon. Corresponding author: David [email protected] University of Toulouse; INPT, UPS; Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (EcoLab), Avenue de l’A-grobiopole, 31326 Castanet Tolosan Cedex, Francec CNRS, EcoLab, 31326 Castanet Tolosan Cedex, Franced Hydrogeology and Environment Group, Science and Technology Faculty, Univ. of the Basque Country, 48940Leioa, Basque Country (Spain)e Pyrenean Institute of Ecology-CSIC, Av. Montañana 1005, 50059 Zaragoza, Spainf Departamento de Ingeniería Geológica y Minera, Facultad de Ciencias del Medio Ambiente, Universidad deCastilla-La Mancha, Campus Fábrica de Armas, 45071 Toledo

The increasing population growth in urban areas and the development of intensive agri-culture (to feed the cities) in recent decades, led to an increase in pressures and pollutionon the rivers (point sources from waste water plants or industry or diffuse sources fromagriculture). Riparian areas connecting with the river (mostly in meanders) promote thefast input of river water in an extended area and the conditions for natural depuration ofriver pollution and groundwater coming from the agricultural areas (dynamic of water ex-changes, accumulation of nutrient and organic matter, saturation of soil, efficiency ofriver/aquifer exhanges) driven by physical processes and biological activity. To understandthe key hydrological and biological processes occurring in the riparian areas at alluvialscale and to quantify the degradation potential, a modeling tool was used-MOHID Land inthe context of Attenagua project. MOHID Land is a physically based, distributed, continu-ous, variable time step model that solves water and property movement and propertytransformation and can tackle both flood wave interaction and biological activity describedabove in riparian areas. MOHID Land model was implemented in the 4 alluvial areas ofthe project (Garonne river near Toulouse, France, Bidasoa river near Irun, Basque Country,Spain, Ebro near Zaragoza, Spain and Tagus river near Toledo, Spain) using as boundaryconditions measured river flow and concentrations and aquifer level and concentrations.Modeling results were compared to field data collected in piezometers (water levels andconcentrations) during one year continuously for water level and at monthly time step forconcentrations of nitrates, conductivity and chloride as conservative elements. The resultswere used to quantify the alluvial nitrate decay potential. The hydrodynamic modeling re-sults got to represent the piezometer level trends and values during floods and no-floodconditions and integrated results gave the same trends as the derived from data analysis.The water quality modeling results got to represent the same order of magnitude of prop-erties and major trends. Modeling results show that even that the biological processes areslow (compared to flood dynamics), during floods the processes speed-up (saturation, nu-trient input) and the most important factor for achieving higher degradation are flow du-ration and substrate presence (in case of denitrification processes use carbon for nitratesuptake). The results obtained in comparison to field data show that the modeling approachis valid for alluvial plains and can be transferred to other areas where aquifer are controlledby river dynamic.


Marsh elevation and carbon accumulation in a Mediterranean

restored marsh (Ebro Delta, Spain)

Calvo-Cubero, Juan*1; Carles ibáñez2; Albert rovira2; Peter J. sharpe3; enrique reyes1

1 Dept. of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA.2 Aquatic Ecosystems Program, IRTA. St. Carles de la Ràpita (Catalonia, Spain)3 US National Park Service, 200 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106

The Ebro Delta (Spain) is among the most important marsh areas in the Western Mediter-ranean Sea. Fluvial sediment reduction by dams in a relative sea-level rise (RSLR) scenario hasincreased the delta plain flooding risk. The objective of this study was to assess factors con-trolling of marsh elevation and C accumulation in a Mediterranean oligohaline restored marsh.We conducted a 3-year experimental field study in a newly established restored marsh usingtwo different freshwater input types, riverine irrigation water (IW) and rice field drainagewater (DW) and three water levels (10, 20 and 30 cm depth). This study indicates that Mediter-ranean restored marshes might deal with flooding risk due to high mean rates of vertical ac-cretion (11.5±0.8 and 15.5±0.6 mm yr-1) and elevation change (9.1±1.4 and 8.8±2.8 mm yr-1)in both IW and DW treatments. Rice field drainage waters provided higher sediments to therestored marsh, which in turn promoted C accumulation showing in both water type treat-ments (99.44 and 126.10 g m-2 yr-1) similar values to global estimates for freshwater marshes.This research supports that the use of rice field drainage waters as a source of sediments asbeneficial for marsh restoration focused on marsh elevation and C accumulation.

Functional ecology of Laguna de Talayuelas, a model Mediter-

ranean temporary pond

Camacho, Antonio; nayeli murueta; elena Blasco; stefano Colelli; Anna C. santamans;Antonio Picazo1 University of Valencia, Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology & Department ofMicrobiology and Ecology, E-46100 Burjassot, Spain. [email protected]

Mediterranean temporary ponds and lakes show an ecological behaviour that is largely de-termined by the specificity of the Mediterranean climate. Its water level depends on the bal-ance between precipitation and evaporation, as they commonly have very small catchmentsand are often endorheic. All these determine annual varying periods of flooding, with fillingwithin fall to spring, then summer desiccation. In this work we present the main aspects ofthe functional ecology of Laguna de Talayuelas, a small (5.6 Ha) temporary freshwater lake(conductivity 0.18–0.8 mS/cm), lying on siliceous bedrock, that we selected as a representativemodel of this type of Mediterranean ecosystems to model its ecological functioning. It is lo-cated in Eastern Spain (39º48’59.8’’N, 1º14’24.73’’W), in an area of transition Mediterranean-Continental climate. Its hydrological pattern is encompassed with the development of aquaticvegetation during the growing period, both hydrophytes and helophytes, whose metabolism,mainly through primary production, respiration and nutrient acquisition/release, largely gov-erns the ecological functioning of the lake. Small Mediterranean shallow lakes, such as thatstudied here, are extremely sensitive to hydrological anthropogenic alterations that changetheir natural ecological patterns, since these modify their functional features and affect thebiological community, thus degrading the ecosystem health.


Physical drivers of vegetation change in the Okavango Delta

Campo-Bescós, miguel A.1,2; rafael muñoz-Carpena2; david A. Kaplan3; Jane southworth4

1 Dpt. Projects and Rural Engineering, Public University of Navarre, Pamplona, Spain, [email protected] Dpt. Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA, email: [email protected] Dpt. Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA, email: [email protected] Dpt. Geography, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA, email: [email protected]

In southern Africa, long-term changes in the ecosystem structure and productivity of savannasis thought to be driven by a combination of biotic and abiotic drivers, and may represent ir-reversible landscape degradation. Identifying the main drivers responsible for vegetation tran-sition is critically important for land management, particularly in the context of significantclimate variability in the region. We applied Dynamic Factor Analysis (DFA), a multivariatetimes series dimension reduction technique, to investigate the shared dynamics of spatiallyvariable vegetation coverage across three large watersheds in southern Africa over ten yearsand to identify the most important physical drivers of vegetation change in the region. NDVIacross the region is described by a pattern of cyclic seasonal variation, with distinct spatio-temporal variation in different physio-geographic regions. For the subregion in which MeanAnnual Precipitation (MAP) < 750 mm our NDVI model was most strongly influenced by soilmoisture and precipitation, with much smaller effects of fire, evapotranspiration, and tem-perature. On the other hand, in regions with MAP > ~900 mm, fire and temperature beganto dominate, followed in importance by evapotranspiration. While a number of previous stud-ies of NDVI in southern Africa have focused on the relationship between NDVI and one or twoexplanatory variables, in this work we quantified the combined spatio-temporal effects of asuite of environmental drivers on NDVI across a diverse and sensitive savanna region, improv-ing our ability to evaluate and understand landscape level changes in vegetation.

Long-term monitoring of Mediterranean temporary pond

dynamics through remote sensing: a case study in western

Mediterranean

Caria, maría Carmela1; simonetta Bagella1,2; Alessandro niedda1; salvatore Virdis3

1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Natura e del Territorio, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy, [email protected],[email protected], [email protected] 2 Nucleo Ricerca Desertificazione, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy.3 Istituto di Biometeorologia, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Traversa La Crucca 3, 07100 Sassari, Italy,[email protected]

This study integrates the use of multi-source, multi-resolution remote sensing images (1972to 2014) and field survey based datasets to quantify the spatio-temporal dynamics of tem-porary ponds. It was performed in an area located in SW Sardinia, Giara di Gesturi, charac-terized by a large number of temporary ponds. Our aim is to analyse the possible correlationsbetween pond’s surface extent changes and environmental and physiographic parameters(e.g. temperature, rainfall, nature of soils, geology, exposure). We examined 170 LANDSATMSS, TM, ETM+ and L8 images checking for possible variation in pond’s surface extent. Foreach epoch under consideration, the extension of wetlands was delineated by visual inter-pretation and results validated by cross-comparison with coeval pond’s extension measuredwith handheld GPS receiver. We used the external boundary as reference proxy. Temporary


ponds were mapped for each epoch and classified into extension classes. Losses and gains ofpond’s extension were also mapped and quantified. Correlation of extension changes withenvironmental parameters were assessed and results interpreted also with compared to mainchanges occurring in the area in the last 40 years.

Relationship between bacterial community diversity,

carbon supply and denitrification processes in riparian areas

Carranza f1.; sánchez-Pérez J.m.2; sauvage s.2; Comin, f.1; Antigüedad, i.4; Zabaleta A.4;Teissier s.2; navarro e.1; español C.1

1 Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (IPE-CSIC). Avda. Montañana 1005, 50059, Zaragoza, Spain. 2 University of Toulouse; INPT, UPS; Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (EcoLab), Avenue de l’A-grobiopole, 31326 Castanet Tolosan Cedex, France. 3 University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM); Department of Geology and Mine Engineering,Avda Carlos III, 45071 Toledo, Spain. 4 University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU); Hydrology and Environment Group, Departmentof Geodynamic, 48940 Leioa (Basque Country), Spain.5 MARETEC, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001, Lisboa, Portugal

Alluvial floodplains are ecosystems with a great space-temporal variability. The human influ-ence has largely limited this areas’ dynamism and thus they are severely menaced, and theloss of some of their natural functions is patent. Controlling the flow and metabolism of nu-trients and other compounds is one of the most important roles developed by those areas.In order to assess the importance of carbon supply, groundwater connectivity and geomor-phological patterns in the denitrification processes in this kind of environment, an extensivebacterial community study involving four meanders in four different rivers (Bidasoa, Ebro,Garonne and Tajo) was made. During twelve months (May 2013 – April 2014), we quarterlysampled interstitial sediments from the bottom of piezometer nets constructed in the foursites, and incubated an extract of those sediments in EcoplatesTM in order to have a measureof the potential carbon metabolism of each bacterial community. The statistical analysis ofthe growth curve parameters from each plate along with physicochemical and hydrologicaldata collected in the study sites leads to the conclusion that piezometers that show high sur-face and subsurface connectivity with the main channel tends to have a steady carbon supplythat boosts denitrification processes performed by the bacterial communities.

The microbial value of shallow saline lakes

Casamayor, emilio o1; Xavier Triadó-margarit1; Carmen Castañeda2; Juan Herrero2

1 Biogeodynamics & Biodiversity Group-Dep of Continental Ecology, Centre of Advanced Studies of Blanes, CEAB-CSIC, Spanish Council for Scientific Research, Accés Cala St. Francesc 14, E-17300 Blanes, [email protected] Estación Experimental de Aula Dei, CSIC, Zaragoza, Spain

Saline lakes usually occur in endorheic drainage basins, which approximately cover 1/10 ofthe Earth’s surface area, and account for a similar proportion of world water than freshwaterlakes. They are numerous and distributed worldwide in semi-arid or arid areas constituting aunique landscape of great scientific and ecological value. In Europe, they are rare and threat-ened with probably the highest number present in Spain developed on salty geologic mate-rials. Only very recently, the genetic diversity of microorganisms inhabiting saline lakes is


being unveiled. Such microbes are an excellent source to obtain biotechnological products,and to study evolutionary adaptations and potential strategies of life on other planets. How-ever, we are still far to understand how many different species exist in saline lakes, what aretheir functions and adaptations, and which environmental conditions promote the highestand the lowest diversity. Here, we present the first study of microbial biodiversity from thethree domains of life inhabiting several salt lakes in the Monegros Desert, ranging from <1%to >30% salinity, and temperatures < 0°C to > 35°C. We analyzed bacteria, archaea and protistsby ribosomal RNA genes fingerprinting and sequencing. Unexpectedly, the highest diversitywas found in protists and the lowest in archaea. Protists showed higher ecological diversityat intermediate salinities. The highest genetic novelty was found in Archaea at the lowestsaline concentrations. Recurrent presence of bacterial phylotypes closely related to bacteriaisolated from polar marine habitats, was observed. Saline lakes contained chlorophyta, amongother new groups, substantially different from green algae previously reported in marine orfreshwater. Overall, any saline lake in the Monegros Desert was susceptible to contain a sub-stantial microbial novelty. The great scientific and ecological value found for macroorganismscan be extended to the idiosyncratic microbes inhabiting such unique habitat in Europe.

Inundation requirements for persistence and recovery of river

red gums (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), a keystone species

in a Ramsar listed Wetland in semi-arid Australia.

Catelotti, Katharine1*; Bino, G. 1; Kingsford, r. T.1; Bacon, P.2

1 Centre for Ecosystem Science, University of NSW, NSW 2052, Australia, [email protected] 2Woodlots and Wet-lands, [email protected]

Increasing demand for freshwater is severely degrading the world’s river and wetlands ecosys-tems. Often, dependent organisms respond nonlinearly in their condition. Linking hydrologywith ecological responses can highlight the causes for a transition to poor functional condition.Significant reductions in inundated areas and frequency of floods have degraded ecologicalassets in the Macquarie Marshes, a Ramsar-listed wetland the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia.We investigated long-term changes in the condition of 212 river red gums (Eucalyptus camal-dulensis), at 17 sites in 1993, 1994, 2004 and 2011. Over this period, significant decline incondition was recorded, with 56.13 % (119) of the original healthy trees exhibiting no signsof life by 2011. Using historic inundation mapping, we examined how past flooding frequen-cies best explained variation in condition, persistence and recovery. The probability of inun-dation in the five years prior to each survey had the strongest explanatory power for conditionwhile persistence and recovery were best explained by the probability of inundation in theprevious ten years. There were strong threshold responses of persistence and recovery whenprobability of inundation in the previous ten years was greater than 0.4 and 0.5, respectively.Predictions of river red gum persistence probabilities had good agreement with the percent-age of dead trees, estimated during an independent vegetation survey. For heavily regulatedsystems, such as the Macquarie Marshes, recovery of flooding regimes using environmentalflows is a crucial conservation objective. Identifying quantitative relationships between flowvolumes and ecological responses will support informed decision-making of environmentalflow and conservation management.


Microalgae as a bio-indicator of the effects of pollutants

in groundwaters in riverine wetlands areas

Chamsi, ousama1,2; navarro enrique3 ; sánchez-Pérez José-miguel1,2 ; sauvage sabine1,2 ;Comín francisco3 ; Antigüedad iñaki4 ; Bodoque José-maría5 ; Pinelli eric1,2

1 University of Toulouse ; INPT, UPS ; Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (EcoLab), avenue del’Agrobiopole, 31326 Castanet Tolosan Cedex, France, [email protected] CNRS, EcoLab, 31326 Castanet TolosanCedex, France3 AgenciaEstatalde Investigacion, CSIC, InstitutoPirenaico de Ecología, Spain4 Universidad delPais Vasco, UPV, Spain5 Universidad de Castilla La Mancha, UCLM, Spain

Contamination of ecosystems by pesticides, pharmaceuticals and heavy metals become amajor environmental problem. Freshwater algae are well known bio-indicators of river pol-lution, but no studies deal with these species as bio-indicators of groundwater in riverine wet-lands. Although microalgae are dominant species in flowing rivers, it is well known that theirsensibility to pesticides differ markedly among species, and therefore the toxicity data formultiple species need to be efficiently obtained. In the present work, three river dominantspecies Desmodesmus subspicatus, Nitzschia palea and Navicula pelliculosa are used. Algalgrowth investigation was performed by fluorometric microplate assays (Typhoon) for testinggroundwater and river quality in four riparian wetlands in the south-west of Europe (Mon-béqui (France), Saragossa (Spain), Bidasoa (Spain) and Toledo (Spain).Four campaigns duringcontrasted hydrological conditions were realized under different pedo-climatic conditions inagricultural area. The pollutants analyzed by HPLC-MS and ICP-MS are pesticides, pharma-ceuticals and metals. The first PCAs results showed that algae growth differences were noticedbetween freshwater and groundwater. The green algae were sensitive to physic-chemical pa-rameters (alkalinity, SO4, O2, pH), metals (co-factors as Co and Ni) and pesticides (essentiallys-triazines, metholachlor and their metabolites). Diatoms were sensitive to silica concentra-tions, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), pesticides (most are metabolites) and pharmaceuticalsthat induced growth stimulation (the metabolite of cocaine for N. palea and carbamazepine,irbesartan and valsartan for N. pelliculosa). Same notices for pharmaceuticals were observedfor three sites, excepted Bidasoa (the cleanest one). All these data supply a new useful bio-indicator and efficient method for preliminary investigation of groundwater quality and topredict the best location of quality water for human consumption (ATTENAGUA project).

Sulfur transformations in subsurface-flow constructed

wetlands treating secondary effluent

Chen, yi1; yue Wen2; Qi Zhou2; Jan Vymazal1

1 Department of Landscape Ecology, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague,16521, Czech Republic. E-mail address:[email protected] Key Laboratory of Yangtze Water Environment of Ministry of the State Education, College of Environmental Scienceand Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, P.R. China

There is now evidence that bacterial sulfate reduction and re-oxidation simultaneously occurin constructed wetlands (CWs), yet a complete picture of sulfur cycling is still not well under-stood. Experiments in five different batch subsurface-flow CWs treating sulfate-containingsecondary effluent were carried out. The results showed that the presence of Typha latifoliahad little effect on sulfate removal, while its litter addition greatly improved sulfate removalin CWs through continuous supply of organic carbon. After sulfate reduction, the produced


sulfide was oxidized via both chemical and microbial pathways, and chemical sulfur oxidationrates were approximately 5 times higher than the bacterial oxidation rates. Further, acidvolatile sulfide (AVS) and two valence states of S (-II) and S (0) were discovered from the pre-cipitant attached on gravel, and elemental sulfur and thiosulfate were detected as the inter-mediates in the pore water. High-throughput pyrosequencing revealed that a diversity ofsulfate-reducing bacteria (i.e. Desulfobacter and Desulfovibrio) and sulfide-oxidizing bacteria(i.e. Thiobacillus thioparus and Sulfuricurvum kujiense) was respectively involved in the sulfurreduction and oxidation process. Finally, S mass balance showed that AVS was mainly respon-sible for the sulfate removal (65.4%~77.0%), and elemental sulfur and other unknown sulfurcompounds accounted for 4.5%~7.5% and 10.2%~25.9%, respectively.

Genetic structure of the insect populations in the Tatra Mts.

alpine ponds and lakes

Čiampor, fedor Jr.; Zuzana Čiamporová-Zaťovičová; darina Šípošová; Katarína GoffováDepartment of Animal Ecology, Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 84506, Bratislava,Slovakia, [email protected]

High mountain glacial lakes and ponds represent isolated and hardly accessible aquatic habi-tats with patchy distribution across mountain ranges. Although colonized only recently, theyare inhabited by very specific and unique species assemblages. The alpine aquatic habitatsare very sensitive to even negligible environmental changes, and all species had to accom-modate to severe, high-altitude conditions. In the last decades, the changes induced by globalwarming and other negative effects of human activities might have influenced the fauna ofthese vulnerable biotopes. The ecological or faunistic research of the alpine lakes has a longtradition, but little is still known about population genetic structure of the natural alpine lakeinhabitants. Since 2009 we collected and analysed material of several selected insect species,inhabiting more than 100 lakes and ponds in the Tatra Mountains (Slovakia). Using mitochon-drial and nuclear markers we assessed molecular diversity, haplotype composition and pos-sible connections or barriers among studied populations. The results suggested relatively highgenetic diversity within the small Tatra Mountain range, reasonable differences among pop-ulations from studied lakes and ponds, and also different impact of the geographic barrierson the studied species.

Danube’s Iron Gates wetlands: threats and conservation measures

Ciocanea, Cristiana maria1; Carmen sorescu2; Tania Chincea2; steluta manolache1

1 University of Bucharest, Center for Environmental Research and Impact Studies, 1 Nicolae Balcescu, 010041,Bucharest, [email protected] Environmental Protection Agency Caras-Severin, 73 Petru Maior, Resita, Romania, [email protected]

Danube’s Iron Gates wetlands are located in the south-western part of Romania; ROSPA0026Danube water course Bazias-Iron Gates is overlapping a large area of priority habitats for pro-tected bird species, such as Phalacrocorax pygmeus and Aythya nyroca, amphibians, reptilesand fishes. The major wetlands are represented by: Nera-Danube pond, Calinovat Island, Di-vici-Pojejena area, Liuborajdea wetland and Moldova Veche Island. The study is based on sev-eral methods involving eco-sociologic survey, assessment of water characteristics and


evaluation of degradation sources. Our study revealed that the area is endangered by severbiodiversity threats such as: wetlands eutrophication, aquatic invasive species, birds nestingand resting habitats degradation and wetlands pollution. Also we documented a lack of un-derstanding the importance of Natura 2000 network’s role in the project area. Consideringour results we strongly recommend that conservation measures should take into account:ecological restoration of wetlands, invasive species management and information for localcommunities regarding biodiversity protection and conservation.

Progress in the assessment of primary production

by wetland herbaceous plants: a review

Čížková, Hana1; Jiří dušek2; Jan Květ2,3

1 University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Agriculture, Studentská 13, CZ-37005 České Budějovice, Czech Republic,[email protected] Czech Academy of Sciences, CzechGlobe – Centre for Global Change Research, Na sádkách 7. 37005 ČeskéBudějovice, Czech Republic, [email protected] University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, Branišovská 31, CZ-37005 České Budějovice, Czech Republic,[email protected]

Production ecological investigations of herbaceous wetland plants and vegetation started andsoon became widespread during the International Biological Programme (1965-74). The meth-ods used for obtaining the initial data on the basis of which net primary production by thewetland plants or plant stands is calculated are based either on direct harvesting of plant bio-mass, or on indirect non-destructive growth assessments calibrated by destructive ones, oron repeated measurements of net photosynthetic rate combined with assessments of theinput of photosynthetically active radiation (PhAR). Both the direct and indirect methodologycan be refined by the application of the principles of growth analysis. Yield formation of wet-land crops can thus be described and interpreted. Allometric measurements relate the growthof various plant parts with one another, thus providing additional useful information. Theaerodynamic method of measuring CO2 uptake by plant stands has relatively recently devel-oped into the eddy covariance method which enables direct assessment of CO2 exchange be-tween plant stands and the atmosphere. This method has gained growing attention, mainlyin response to the recent interest in carbon sequestration by various ecosystem types (in-cluding wetlands) under changing environmental conditions. This review is supported by Proj-ect GA ČR no. P504/11/1151.

A conceptual model to characterize biophysical

and biogeochemical indicators in river water-groundwater

interfaces for natural depollution of water pollution

Comín, f. A.1 ; sauvage, s.2,3 ; Antigüedad, i.4 ; Bodoque J.m.5; neves r.6 ; Brito, d.6; sánchez-Pérez J.m.2,3; Zabaleta, A.4; ruiz, e.7; Gerino m. 2,3; yao, J.m. 2,3; Carranza, f.1; español, C.1;navarro, e.1; Ladera, J. 5; yela, J.L. 5; Teissier, s. 2,3

1 Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (IPE-CSIC). Avda Montañana 1005, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain.2 University of Toulouse; INPT, UPS; Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (EcoLab), Avenue de l’A-grobiopole, 31326 Castanet Tolosan Cedex, France. 3 CNRS, EcoLab, 31326 Castanet Tolosan Cedex, France


4 University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU); Hydrology and Environment Group, Department of Geodynamic,48940 Leioa (Basque Country), Spain 5 University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM); Department of Geology and Mine Engineering, Avda Carlos III, 45071Toledo, Spain.6 MARETEC, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001, Lisboa, Portu-gal 7Dpt. Chemical and Environmental Engineering, High Technical Engineering School, UPV-EHU. Bilbao, Spain.

Floodplains are ecological systems mostly regulated by river dynamics and human distur-bances which determine the efficiency of the coupling hydrogeochemical functions-biologicalstructure to keep floodplains as integrated systems providing regulating services as removingpollutants. A comparative approach using biophysical and biogeochemical indicators was fol-lowed to design a conceptual model of river water-groundwater interfaces for natural depol-lution of water pollution in four river floodplains located in the rivers Garonne (France),Bidasoa, Ebro and Tajo (Spain) as part of the Interreg IVB SUDOE project ATTENAGUA. Hugedifferences among the floodplains in river flood dynamics and land use cover were observed.While Garonne and Ebro River still keep a intensive flood regime and have large areas or theirfloodplains cover by riparian forests, a very low river dynamics and a very narrow riparianforest are observed for Bidasoa and Tajo floodplains.

Biodiversity change and conservation in the wetlands

of the Pantanal Upper Paraguay-Amazonia Ecotone,

Mato Grosso (Brazil)

da silva, Carolina Joana1; Keid nolan silva sousa2; solange ikeda1; Célia regina Araújo soaresLopes1; Josué ribeiro da silva nunes1; maria Antonia Carniello1; Paulo roberto mariotti1;Wilkinson Lopes1; Alessandra morini1; Bruno Wagner Zago; Cristiane Lima façanha1; ruthAlbernaz1; elaine Loureiro1; iris Gomes1; robson flores de oliveira1; Weslei Jonatar1; JoariCosta de Arruda1; nilo Leal sander1; djair sergio de freitas Junior1; Valcir rogério Pinto1;Aldeniza Cardoso de Lima3; robert H.G. Jongman4

1 CELBE, PPGCA, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso (UNEMAT), PPGBionorte-Rede Bionorte, Caceres, MatoGrosso, Brazil [email protected] 2 ICTA, Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará (UFOPA), PPGBionorte-Rede Bionorte , Santarém, Pará, Brazil,[email protected] 3 PPGBionorte-Rede Bionorte, Universidade Federal da Amazônia (UFAM), Manaus, Brazil,[email protected] 4 Jongman Ecology, Wageningen, the Netherlands and IDEC, Hiroshima University Japan, [email protected]

Besides of the rain in the Pantanal that is formed in Amazon forest, Amazonia and the Pan-tanal have a link to each other by an ecotone formed by the upstream part of the riversParaguay and Guaporé, This zone is the ecological linkage between two areas of high biodi-versity importance and is considered important for species exchange processes. In this wayit can be considered as an important area to realise the CBD Aichi targets for 2020 at the re-gional level. The two river wetlands share part of their flora and fauna species with origin inboth regions. However, since over twenty years this area is under severe pressure of landconversion and is increasingly threatened by river change, due to building of hydroelectricpower stations. This will cause direct and indirect damaging effects on the region and in thisway on its role as biodiversity corridor. We carried out a DPSIR analysis of the region. The di-rect pressures are changes in the river system, as these constitute the river ecotone betweenthe Amazon and Plata basin. If river flows are being blocked, the flood pulse and the migrationcorridor of fish as well as the transport of plant seeds will be hampered, indirect pressures


are opening the land for further deforestation and agricultural developments, building on theon-going developments in the region. This, in combination with the fragmentation of riversystem can cause changes in biodiversity, preventing species exchange between the two bio-mes, Amazonia and the Pantanal, preventing fish to spawn upstream and further fragmenta-tion of the remnant forest patches. The response to this could be denial, enforcement oftraditional conservation actions or integration of biodiversity targets into land development,developing sustainable land use that reduces fragmentation and integrates biodiversity tar-gets as requested by the CBD to the parties of the convention for the year 2020.

In shore and offshore restored wetlands as buffers zones

for the improvement of water quality of the water exceeding

irrigation in an agricultural territory

darwiche-Criado1, n.; f.A. Comín2; A. masip3; m. García2; s. Gutiérrez1; r. sorando2

1-2 Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología-CSIC. Av. Montañana 1005, 50059 Zaragoza-Av. Victoria s/n, 22700 Jaca, Huesca.Spain.3 Parque Científico-Tecnológico Aula Dei. Av. Montañana 930, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain.

Eleven in-stream and five off-stream wetlands were studied in the southern part of FlumenRiver basin, an intensively irrigated agriculture area located in NE Spain in order to estimatetheir efficiency for nitrate removal, which is a major pollutant discharged with the water ex-ceeding irrigation. Sampling was performed during different agricultural periods in order todemonstrate their influence on water quality. Water discharge and nitrate concentrations(NO3

-) were determined at the inlet and outlet of each wetland for two years following theircompletion Removal efficiency was significantly greater during the irrigation season (April-October) but there were no significant differences between in-stream and off-stream wet-lands. However, nitrate removal rate was significantly higher in off-stream wetlands duringnon-irrigation season (November-March). Moreover, nitrate was exported from some wet-lands in both seasons. Our results suggest that a strong connection existed between waterquality and agriculture seasonality. Unstable hydrological conditions and temperature influ-enced the biogeochemical processes and, therefore, nitrateremoval. In spite of the short timeafter restoration, 90% removal of nitrate discharge was observed in some wetlands. This sug-gests that their ability as buffer zones will increase in later stages of wetland development.

LIFE project “La Mancha Wetlands”: restoration of salt flats

around 27 endorheic wetland areas in La Mancha

del río Amanda1; eduardo de miguel1; Angeles Pontes1; Carlos Pérez1; ernesto Aguirre-ruiz1;Carlos Zumalacarregui1; Blanca Hurtado1.1 Fundación Global Nature, [email protected]

The LIFE project targets the recovery of the Lygeum spartum grasslands and salt steppes inthe wetland complex of La Mancha. The project is focus on the Natura 2000 SCI “Humedalesde La Mancha” - ES4250010), covering ten municipalities located at Ciudad Real, Cuenca andToledo. This project is coordinated by Fundación Global Nature (FGN), with the Departmentof Agriculture of the Castile-La Mancha as partner, and it has a budget of €2,599,274, 75%


funded by the European Commission and 25% by the partners. The project activities include:land purchase; restoration of halophilic flora; closing drainage ditches and salt extractionponds; creation of hedgerows, copses and restoration of verges with species of trees andbushes; restructuring of paths to define access to sensitive areas; protection by means of rail-ings; control and monitoring by plant mapping; awareness-raising and dissemination activities.The project is currently being developed. There are some results within conservation actionssuch as the removal of salt extraction ponds and drainage ditches, rubble and waste, followedby the habitat restoration through plantation of native species coming from the nursery cre-ated by the LIFE project. More than 800 children have been trained on the value of these rareecosystems. A GIS tool to monitor the Natura 2000 habitats is being generated. Communica-tion activities include FGN’s help to food producers in Natura 2000 sites, to launch productsthat contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES): packagingproducts that are sold to organic retailers (certified with the ecolabel and additionally brand-ing BES), and informing consumers about the origin (Natura 2000 sites) and about the benefitsfor BES. The main project result will be the conservation of an area (SPA, SCI, and BiosphereReserve), which are an essential alternative habitat for many species endangered by the lossof suitable wetlands.

Threats of desiccation of permanent and temporary ponds

in Doñana National Park (SW Spain).

díaz-Paniagua, Carmen1; david Aragonés2; Javier Bustamante3

1 Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC, Avda. Americo Vespucio s/n, 41013 Sevilla, [email protected] 2 [email protected] , [email protected]

In Doñana National Park most aquatic habitats are temporary. Ponds dry up during the sum-mer, and are filled when phreatic levels rise after heavy rains. The permanent ponds of thepark, and a series of long-hydroperiod ponds are formed in an area where discharges of thedune and regional aquifers coincide.In the last decades, groundwater extraction has severelyaffected the park. Using Landsat images, we have estimated the variation of the inundatedarea of the largest ponds (1975-2013). All ponds have increased in their dependency of annualrainfall in recent decades. Two seasonal ponds located close to urban pumping stations arecurrently dry. We detect a general tendency of hydroperiod shortening in the other seasonalponds, that have dried up in all summers of recent years, including those of very rainy years.The permanent pond had not wide interannual fluctuations in inundated surface in the 1970’s,while its inundation surface is presently very much correlated with annual rainfall, being closeto desiccation in years of low rainfall. These results evidence that this pond network is severelythreatened with desiccation. It is urgent to control groundwater extraction in this area to pre-serve the integrity of this important wetland.

Spatial and temporal changes in physical and chemical

properties of an oxbow lake of the Danube River

(Nyéki-Holt-Duna, Danube-Dráva National Park, Hungary)

dinka, mária1; Károly schöll1; Anita Kiss1; Árpád Berczik1; edit Ágoston-szabó1

1 Danube Research Institute, Centre for Ecological Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, H-2163 Vácrátót,Hungary, e-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],[email protected], [email protected]


Nyéki-Holt-Duna is an oxbow lake of the River Danube at Gemenc floodplain (46°15’N018°51’E), is an important area of biodiversity with high natural value. Its hydro-chemicalproperties were investigated and compared with that of the main arm of the Danube in 2009,when the surface connectivity threshold level of the oxbow lake was exceeded during a 16,24, 21 and 5 day flood pulse, by the water level of the Danube, allowing the inflow. The con-centrations of carbon forms were higher, while that of the nitrogen forms and of suspendedmatter were lower in the oxbow lake water than in the main channel of the Danube. The con-centrations of phosphorus forms and of chlorophyll-a were differently related with that ofthe main arm at each sampling time, the reason for it could be by the interplay of several fac-tors such as the degree of macrophyte cover, water depth, hydrological connectivity. The re-sults of the multivariate statistical analyses showed the different grouping and the sharpseparation of the oxbow lake sampling sites from the main arm of the Danube. Our resultssupport the high spatial and temporal heterogeneity of habitats, which is an important pre-requisite of the biological diversity.

Primary productivity, decomposition and fungal colonisation

in Phragmites australis

dolinar, nataša1; Alenka Gaberščik2

1 Department of Biologyç@gmail.com,2 [email protected]

Water level changes have a great influence on intermittent Lake Cerknica’s biota andprocesses. We studied the effect of water level changes on primary production, decomposi-tion and fungal colonization of Phragmites australis. Aboveground biomass of P. australis isfrom 200 to 1600 g/m2 and was influenced by water level in autumn and spring. High waterlevel in autumn shortens the growing season which affects nutrient accumulation into un-derground rhizomes. High water level in spring caused the prolongation of P. australis culms.Decomposition rate of P. australis litter was fastest in water (kculms=0,049; kleaves=0,385), andslowest when litter was dry (kculms=0,024; kleaves=0,050) and was significantly correlated withnumber of days when samples were submerged. Fungal root colonization decreased as rootswere submerged and an increasing trend toward the end of growing season was observed.The extent of fungal root colonization is usually the greatest in time of largest plant needsfor nutrients, which is in line with P. australis autumn accumulation into rhizomes.

Methane emission from a sedge-grass marsh

under different environmental conditions

dušek, Jiří 1; stanislav stellner1

1 Global Change Research Centre AS CR, v.v.i. Na Sádkách 7 České Budějovice, Czech Republic,[email protected], [email protected]

Methane is the third most important contributor to the greenhouse effect after water vapourand carbon dioxide. Air concentration of methane is usually around 1.9 ppm. Methane is nat-urally produced by wetland ecosystems. It is a product of anaerobic decomposition processesof organic matter in water-saturated soils. These processes require synergistic cooperationbetween anaerobic bacteria and methanogenic archaea. Methane emissions were measured


in an unmanaged sedge-grass marsh. The dominant plant species are Carex acuta L. andPhalaris arundinacea L. Methane emissions were measured using both manual and automaticclosed dynamic chambers (non-steady state flow-through technique). Increasing methaneconcentration inside the closed chamber was continuously analysed with a laser spectroscopicgas analyser (DLT-100 Los Gatos Inc., USA). Gas emissions measurements were carried outunder different environmental conditions during the vegetation period and whole year.Methane emissions varied widely between different places on the site and also during thevegetation period. During winter and when the soil was evenly frozen, zero or negligiblemethane emissions were recorded. The highest emissions were recorded during the vegeta-tion period. We also detected places that can be identified as “hot spots” emitting highamounts of methane (18,554.9 μmol m-2 h-1). The range of methane emissions was -2.1 mgC-CH4 m-2 d-1 (gas consumption) to 5,343.8 mg C-CH4 m-2 d-1 (gas release). Annual emissions ofcarbon in methane form were within the range of 3.3 to 35 g C-CH4 m-2 year-1. This C-CH4

amounted to 2% to 19% of the total C-CO2 bound by the ecosystem within a year as measuredby the eddy covariance technique (the six-year average of the net ecosystem production is179 g C m-2 year-1). The methane carbon emissions can represent significant carbon lossesfrom the wetland in the long-term run. The sedge-grass marsh is nevertheless capable of bind-ing more carbon than is that released in carbon dioxide and methane form together.

Impact of fertilization on plant and soil processes

in wet grasslands

edwards, Keith r.1; Hana Čížková2; eva Kaštovská1; Jiří Barta1; Tomáš Picek1

1 Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Czech Republic, [email protected] Faculty of Agriculture, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Czech Republic,[email protected]

Field and mesocosm experiments were used to determine the impact of changing manage-ment regime (nutrient addition, water level, soil type) on plant-soil interactions in wet grass-lands with either organic or mineral soil. Plant (photosynthesis rates, above and belowgroundplant biomass and production, nutrient contents and litter decomposition rates) and soil (phys-ical-chemical parameters, total gas emissions, soil CO2 efflux) were measured in both experi-ments. Microbial community structure was determined only in the mesocosm. There wereweak nutrient effects on photosynthesis rates in both the field and mesocosm plants, but onlyfor those growing in mineral soil. Early on (first three years), aboveground biomass in the fieldsites differed significantly with nutrient addition, but only in the organic soil wet grassland.These differences disappeared by years five and seven, most likely due to hay removal fromthe sites, which minimized the chance of eutrophication. Total gas emissions significantly in-creased with nutrient addition in both field sites, being most likely due to changes in above-ground plant respiration, since soil CO2 efflux was little affected. Nutrient addition significantlyaffected aboveground plant biomass throughout the duration of the mesocosm experiment,in contrast to the field results. Significant nutrient effects on belowground biomass were ob-served only in the mesocosm and only at the end of the experiment (after five years). Only afew soil physical-chemical parameters were significantly affected by nutrient addition in boththe field and mesocosm sites. Plant presence was a more important factor in the mesocosm,significantly affecting microbial C and N biomass, basal respiration, total gas emissions andmicrobial community structure. Soil type was the next important factor, significantly affectingsoil physical-chemical parameters, while water level only weakly affected microbial communitystructure. Wet grasslands occurring on organic soils are more sensitive to changing manage-


ment practices, at least initially. Other environmental factors, such as site hydrology, may alsogovern the response of plant and soil components to management changes. Legacy effectsresulting from past management regimes may also be important.

Invertebrate communities of alluvial groundwaters

in relation with water flow dynamics

español, C.1; yao J. m2; Gerino, m.2; Comin, f. A.1 ; sánchez-Pérez J.m.2; José Luis yela3;Ane Zabaleta4; Julián Ladera3; fabián Carranza1.1 Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (IPE-CSIC). Avda. Montañana 1005, 50059, Zaragoza, Spain. 2 University of Toulouse; INPT, UPS; Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (EcoLab), Avenue de l’A-grobiopole, 31326 Castanet Tolosan Cedex, France. 3 University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM); Department of Geology and Mine Engineering, Avda Carlos III, 45071Toledo, Spain. 4 University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU); Hydrology and Environment Group, Department of Geodynamic,48940 Leioa (Basque Country), Spain.

Alluvial floodplains are rich ecotones from the biological viewpoint in a complex ecosystemwith intense spatial and temporal changes of structure, dimension and connectivity. The aimof this study is to compare the response of groundwater invertebrate community along lateralgradients of hydrological connectivity in 4 river floodplains (Bidasoa River, Ebro River, GaronneRiver and Tajo River). Groundwater invertebrate samples, water level, and water sampleswere quarterly collected in 8-12 piezometers located in each studied floodplain during a year.The floodplains more connected with the river (Ebro River and Garonne River) showed highervalues of abundance, richness and Shannon diversity index than the floodplains less connectedwith the river (Bidasoa River and Tajo River). These diversity indices peaked in sites (i.e.piezometers) with intermediate hydrological connectivity, mainly in the most connected flood-plains. Piezometers located in agricultural areas showed the lowest diversity indices values,and they were more influenced by irrigation waters than by river waters. A community ordi-nation related to the hydrological characteristics is inferred from multivariate analysis of in-vertebrate abundances. These results suggest that a hydrodynamic recovery in degradedfloodplains is needed to enhance biodiversity and functionality of the riverine landscape.

Water quality and bacterial diversityin the wetland

Córdoba, Colombia

estupiñán Torres, sandra mónica1; sara Lilia Ávila de navia2

1 Universidad Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca. Grupo Calidad de aguas. [email protected],[email protected]

Wetlands are vital ecosystems for biodiversity conservation and welfare of the human pop-ulation. The importance of wetlands lies in the values of ecological, hydrological and anthro-pogenic underpinning: reservoir of plant, fauna and genetic, biomass producers,environmental protection and soil, regulation of the hydrological system, purification, reser-voir water, and maintaining the moist environment. To determine the microbiological quality30 samples of water in two samples Promote rainy season and one dry season were taken.Technique was used for membrane filtration and bacterial identification is performed usingrapid tests. Wetland waters Cordoba contain a high number of total coliforms thereforeshould not be used for purposes of human and domestic, agricultural or recreational use,


the Escherichia coli and Enterococcus presence confirms the fecal contamination in the wholeecosystem, this contamination is associated with the dumping of sewage into the wetland.All indicators showed higher counts in time except for rain Aeromonas and Pseudomonaswhich have higher counts in the dry season. In many wetland organisms that show bacterialdiversity and provide information for possible use in the field of biotechnology and biologicalindications were identified. In addition, bacteria that affects human health that use waterresources were identified.

Ecosystem services-biodiversity relationships depend on land

use type in floodplain agroecosystems

felipe-Lucía, maría r.1*; francisco A. Comín2

1 Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología-CSIC. Av. Nuestra Señora de la Victoria, s/n. 22700 Jaca, Huesca- Av. Montañana1005, 50192 Zaragoza. Spain. Email: [email protected], [email protected]

Managing agricultural floodplains to meet present and future human requirements withoutjeopardizing biodiversity conservation is a challenge for land use planners and ecologists. Thispaper aims to disentangle the relationships between ecosystem services and biodiversity inmultifunctional landscapes, such as floodplain agroecosystems, by disaggregating their valuesacross land use types. We measured eight ecosystem services (gas regulation, soil formation,nutrient regulation, habitat provision, food provision, raw materials production, education,and recreation) and six plant diversity indexes (richness, abundance, and true diversity forboth plant species and growth forms) in seven land use types identified in the floodplain ofthe River Piedra (Spain). We observed that all land use types provided services to some extent,but each one was better at providing certain services. Natural or semi-natural habitats pro-vided more services and hosted greater diversity than cultivated land use types. In addition,five diversity indexes were strongly correlated to at least three ecosystem services each one.Habitat provision and education were the ecosystem services positively correlating to mostdiversity indexes, whereas food provision was negatively correlated to all diversity indexes.Moreover, analyzing the interactions between ecosystem services and biodiversity acrossland use types, we observed that land use type was the controlling factor regarding the signand significance of the interaction. The results of this study suggest that policies fostering amosaic landscape of different land use types, which contribute to maintaining biodiversitywhile using local resources, can provide higher amounts of ecosystem services in river flood-plains. Such land use policies might manage agricultural floodplains at the landscape scalewhile still being able to accommodate specific measures for each land use type. Moreover,riparian forests should be preserved and restored across the floodplain as they are hot spotsfor biodiversity and ecosystem services provision.

Aquaculture in Veta la Palma (Doñana Natural Area, SW Spain):

a successful coupling of ecological and socio-economic values

fernández-rodríguez, m. J.1; A. Jiménez-rodríguez1; m. medialdea2; n. mazuelos2; L. serrano3

1 Faculty of Experimental Science, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Spain, [email protected] Pesquerías Isla Mayor, S.A. (PIMSA), Sevilla, Spain, [email protected],3 Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, University of Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain, [email protected]

A two years monitoring study (biweekly sampling for 2009-10) was performed in an aquacul-ture system which was established in a former marsh zone close to Doñana National Park


(SW. Spain) in order to know biogeochemical changes and processes in the water flowingthrough this system coupled to the productive and economic benefits it provides. This aqua-culture system provides high quality fish production as a result of both active managementand the preservation of natural trophic interactions. The business is economically successfuland provides income to about 100 workers from the surrounding villages. The quality of theinput water from the Guadalquivir river estuary was generally poorer than the effluent waterdischarged back into the estuary, particularly regarding total suspended solids (TSS), turbidityand chemical oxygen demand (COD). Total phosphorous (TP) and dissolved inorganic nitrogen(DIN) concentrations were slightly higher in the effluent than in the input water though stillwell under the waste-water regulation discharge limits. The concentration of all other pollu-tants under regulation remained undetected or below discharge limits in that surveillance.The effluent water reflects all production systems for the cultivated species: a) intensive pro-duction within the indoor fish hatchery, b) extensive production (mean fish biomass load:~220 kg ha-1) in each aquaculture pond for shrimp (Palaemonetes varians), eel (Anguilla an-guilla) and mullet (Mugil cephalus, Liza ramada), and c) semi-extensive production (meanfish biomass load: ~104 kg ha-1) within the fish maturing ditches (adjacent to each aquaculturepond) for sea-bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), sea-bream (Sparus aurata), meagre (Argyrosomusregius) and sole fish (S. senegalensis). Water flows sequentially through the aquaculture pondswhere nutrients are transformed through biological and chemical processes. Up to 96% of in-coming N has been estimated to be recycled within these aquaculture ponds. Both nutrientuptake by organisms and P-adsorption on sediment particles could explained the low con-centration of dissolved inorganic phosphate (DIP) which together with DIN and TP were sig-nificantly lower in the outlet water compared to the inlet water flowing into the study ponds.Despite there was a steady outflow of plankton from the aquaculture ponds, most of the bio-mass was retained within them as the benthic Chl a was over 10 times larger than planktonicChl a. Submerged macrophytes (namely, Ruppia maritima L.) grew extensively in these sites.Consequently, detritivores are key elements in the trophic web of these ponds where notonly fish but waterbirds also feed on benthic macroinvertebrates and consume about a thirdof the biomass produced per year. The hydraulic management of the aquaculture ponds,which are drained to harvest the fish every 4-5 years and later dredged before starting a newfarming cycle, ensures the renovation of the P-sediment binding capacity which eventuallyregulates the phytoplankton growth. The variety of primary producers and the multi-trophicfood web provided by these ponds are also in accordance with an integrated view of aqua-culture resources, particularly in such a highly protected area as Doñana.

Variation in the propensity for sexual reproduction

among facultatively sexual rotifer populations inhabiting ponds

with different degree of environmental unpredictability

franch-Gras, Lluis1; eduardo m. García-roger; manuel serra; eva Tarazona; maría José Carmona1 Institut Cavanilles de Biodiversitat i Biologia Evolutiva, Universitat de València, A.O. 22085,46071, Valencia, Spain. [email protected]

The adaptive response of organisms to unpredictable environments has increasingly beenrecognized as a central topic in fundamental and applied evolutionary ecology. Monogonontrotifers, which combine asexual and sexual reproduction, inhabiting small water bodies inEastern Spain are a good study model for this topic. Climate in the Mediterranean regioncauses randomly-varying environmental conditions, so the persistence of rotifer populationsduring unsuitable periods requires life_history traits to match environmental patterns. This


is especially true in the monogonont rotifers, where sexual reproduction is linked to the pro-duction of resting stages (their only way to survive between growing seasons). The drawbackof sex, however, is that reduces the potential for quick clonal proliferation. However, despiteits importance, the association between life-history variation in natural populations of rotifersand the degree of habitat unpredictability remains poorly understood. Our hypothesis is thatunpredictability impacts on sex-related rotifer traits, selecting for high propensity for sexualreproduction in those the more unpredictable environments. To test this hypothesis, assayshave been performed to determine the propensity for sexual reproduction in 270 clones fromnine Brachionus plicatilis populations inhabiting a lagoon complex in Eastern Spain. The degreeof environmental unpredictability in the ponds and lagoons within this complex has beencharacterized by satellite imagery analysis, finding them to represent a wide gradient of un-predictability. Clones from different ponds exhibited genetic differences in their propensityfor sexual reproduction, and a positive correlation between pond unpredictability and thepropensity to sexual reproduction of the inhabiting clones was observed (i.e. the more un-predictable the pond, the earlier the sex). These results suggest the ability of rotifer popula-tions to locally adapt to changing environments, what is of great importance for biodiversityconservation under a predicted scenario of global increase in environmental variability.

Tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you what you impact: invasive

species’ diet trigger trophic cascades in aquatic ecosystems

Gallardo, Belinda1; miguel Clavero1; marta sánchez1; montserrat Vilà1

1 Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC). Avda. Américo Vespucio s/n. Isla de la Cartuja. 41092, Sevilla.

Aquatic ecosystems are characterized by strong trophic links that can be profoundly dis-turbed by the loss or the introduction of species, whose impacts propagate up and downthe food web. However, because the majority of investigations evaluating the impacts ofaquatic invaders have been small-scale studies focused on particular invaders and singlefunctional groups, it is difficult to determine if and to which extent are the cascading impactsof aquatic invasions universal. This study aims to gather all the available scientific evidenceabout the ecological and environmental cascading impacts triggered by aquatic invasivespecies with the objective to discriminate the impact of invaders by their trophic position(primary producer, filter-collector, omnivore and predator). To that end, we conducted ameta-analysis based on 152 published studies from which we retrieved 678 records. We cov-ered a total 70 invasive species with broad representation of fish (N=24), plants (N=23), mol-lusks (N=10) and crustaceans (N=6). Overall, invasive species caused a strong decrease onthe richness (estimate=-0.40; Confidence Interval: -0.69,-0.11) and abundance (estimate=-0.34; CI: -0.57,-0.11) of aquatic communities. As expected, the effects of aquatic invasionwere dependent on the trophic position of the invader. Primary producers significantly re-duced the abundance of fish and produced a notable decrease in benthic inverts, probablybecause of the lack of appropriate habitat for foraging. Habitat engineers such as filter-col-lectors produced a very large increase in the abundance and richness of benthic invertebratesand very large increase in the abundance of macrophytes; but their filtering activity largelyreduced the abundance of planktonic communities. Omnivores led to very large reductionin the abundance and richness of macrophytes, and a small decrease in the richness of ben-thic invertebrates. The response of aquatic communities to predation was very variable, al-though all functional groups showed a tendency to decrease in richness and abundance. Bycombining multiple trophic and functional levels, this comprehensive study reveals new in-sights into cascading impacts of invasive species on aquatic ecosystems.


Bet hedging for variability in diapause duration

in a monogonont rotifer first-produced resting eggs

have increased probability of longer diapause

García-roger, eduardo m. 1; Carlos martínez2; manuel serra3; maría José Carmona4

1 Institut Cavanilles de Biodiversitat i Biologia Evolutiva. Universitat de València (Spain). [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Understanding the adaptive responses that allow species to live in unpredictable environ-ments is essential for assessing how they persist and may respond to future environmentalchange. Rotifers are common inhabitants of temporary water bodies undergoing more orless predictable episodes of desiccation. To overpass such adverse periods rotifers typicallyproduce diapause, resting eggs, which often show within-population variation in the durationof their diapause period. Such behaviour has been suggested to be a bet-hedging strategy(i.e., a genotype would reduce the risk of complete recruitment failure in an unpredictableenvironment by spreading hatching over several growing seasons). Notwithstanding, despitethe well-developed theory for bet-hedging evolution in the timing of exiting diapause, em-pirical evidence supporting this is still scarce. This is mainly due to the difficulties in testingthe requirements to properly identify bet hedging. According to recent reviews, these re-quirements are: (1) wide phenotypic variation in the trait, and (2) maternal control over off-spring phenotype. In this contribution we revisit the concept of bet hedging and itsrelationship with other types of adaptive response to environmental change. Moreover,based on a laboratory experiment we propose a mechanistic model of bet hedging for vari-ability in diapause duration in rotifers. We studied a lab population of the rotifer Brachionusplicatilis founded from a natural population inhabiting a small lake (Salobralejo, inland East-ern Spain). Not all the viable diapuse eggs of this population hatch when exposed to inducingconditions. The lake has a variable inter-annual hydroperiod regime and intermediate restingegg-hatching rates. We tracked the offspring of controlled crosses within clonal lineages ofthis population and tested for differences in diapause duration due to (1) clone effect (con-trolling for genetic polymorphism), (2) mother age, and (3) resting egg laying order (i.e., aproxy of maternal physiological age), the last two being covariates which we predicted toaccount for maternal effects. We found that the first resting eggs produced by rotifer femalesexhibited longer diapauses than resting eggs produced later. Our results show the existenceof maternal control on the duration of diapause in rotifer resting eggs and suggest that vari-ation in this trait results from the evolution of a bet-hedging strategy.

The use of lipids as an energy storage strategy

for taxa inhabiting climatic-contrasted habitats:

Mediterranean vs. high mountain temporary ponds

Gascón, stéphanie1; dani Boix1; Ana inés Borthagaray2; Jordi sala1; matias Arim3; núriaÀvila1; susana romo4; rocío López-flores5; Xavier d. Quintana1

1 Institute of Aquatic Ecology, University of Girona, Spain, [email protected], [email protected],[email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Centro de Investigación en Complejidad Social (CICS), Univ. del Desarrollo, Chile, [email protected]


3 Sección Zoología Vertebrados, Facultad de Ciencias, Univ. de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay,[email protected] Area de Ecología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Valencia, Spain, [email protected] Area de Ecología, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Huesca, Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain, [email protected]

Lipid accumulation has been usually related to an energy storage strategy. Thus, scarce nu-trient availability induces algal lipid production, increasing at their turn zooplankton lipidconcentration. But organisms’ lipid content not only depends on nutrient availability, be-cause its foraging dynamics and biological traits may also influence the lipid content. There-fore, environmental characteristics, as well as organisms’ biological traits, may affectorganism lipid content. However which of these factors (environmental vs. biological traits)is the main responsible of taxa lipid content is already unsolved, but of high relevance whenanalyzing food web functioning. Thus, we present a first approach performed exclusivelyin temporary ponds with a climatic-contrasted situation: lowland Mediterranean (12 ponds)vs. high mountain (10 ponds). We have selected these systems because high mountainaquatic habitats usually had lower nutrient availability than lowland systems, and so weexpected a lower lipid concentration on lowland organisms. Lipid content was estimatedusing the C:N ratio, and was calculated for the whole aquatic community (from cladoceransto amphibians). Unexpectedly, we did not observe differences in the lipid concentration ofthe organisms between systems. Moreover, our results suggest that the biological traitshad a higher influence on organisms’ lipid content than the environmental conditions.

Veronica anagallis-aquatica as a bioindicator for selenium

in watercourses

Germ, mateja1; urša remic1; Vekoslava stibilj2

1 Department of Biology, Biotechnical faculty, University of Ljubljana, Večna pot 111, Ljubljana, Slovenia, email:[email protected], [email protected] Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, email: [email protected]

There is a widespread discharge of soluble selenium (Se) from industrial and agriculturalsources. Part of Se supplemented to feed is used by animal body and a part is spilled or ex-creted and pass to the environment. There is scarce information about the amount of Sein natural watercourses and macrophytes. V. anagallis-aquatica is amphibious plant, grow-ing in stagnant and slowly flowing waters. We measured Se concentration in the samplesof water, sediment and V. anagallis-aquatica. We chose 12 locations in watercourses withdifferent land use in their catchment areas. The total Se in plant samples, water and sedi-ments was measured with ICP-MS. The amount of Se was less than 0.12 ng/mL in watersand less than 0.65 µg/g in sediments. The concentration of Se in leaves ranged from 0.03µg/g to 0.32 µg/g. The highest amount of Se was found in sediments and macrophytes fromthe Žerovniščica stream in site 1 out of 4 on that stream, which is located in the middle ofthe village. The Žerovniščica stream flows along a village, dairy farms and fields. Additionalstudy is needed to confirm the usefulness of V. anagallis-aquatica for bioindication for Sein Slovenian watercourses.


Growth and nutrients uptake of perennial crops

and spontaneous vegetation in a Mediterranean drained

peatland: preliminary results.

Giannini, Vittoria1; nicola silvestri2; Tiziana sabbatini1; Chiara Pistocchi1,3; enrico Bonari1

1 Institute of Life Sciences - Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Studi Universitari e di Perfezionamento, Via Santa Cecilia3- 5612, PISA(IT), [email protected] Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment–University of Pisa, PISA (IT), [email protected] Group of Plant Nutrition - ETH Zurich, Lindau (CH), [email protected]

Combining peatland rewetting with biomass cropping (paludiculture) is one of the strategiesto remove nutrient surpluses from water and stimulate peat-forming vegetation. The basinof Massaciuccoli lake (Tuscany, central Italy) is a coastal floodplain, artificially drained for agri-cultural purposes since 1930s. The draining and exploitation of the land for intensive agricul-tural use has largely degraded the peat status in the area. In fact, the most relevant issuesare: (i) the eutrophication of the lake due to nutrients enrichment (especially phosphorus) insurface- and ground-water and (ii) the subsidence due to compaction and mineralization ofpeat. An experimental trial was set up in spring 2012 on three perennial rhizomatous grasses(Phragmites australis, Miscanthus _ giganteus, Arundo donax), two woody short-rotation-coppice species (Salix alba, Populus ‘Oudenberg’), two turfgrasses (a mix of Festuca arundi-nacea, Lolium perenne and Poa prantensis; Paspalum vaginatum). In 2013, for all species, wemeasured: (i) dry matter production, (ii) nutrients concentrations (N and P) and (iii) nutrientsuptake. Among the grasses, Arundo showed the highest yield (38.4 t/ha d.m) and nutrientsuptake (N: 522.2 kg/ha, P: 30.7 kg/ha), while Phragmites showed the highest nutrient tissueconcentrations (N: 2.42%, P: 0.13%). The contribution of weeds on biomass production wasnot negligible.

Capturing the aquatic breath: Examining ecological variations,

diurnal fluctuations and extrapolations of CO2 and CH4 fluxes

from small aquatic systems in Druridge Bay, England.

Gilbert, Peter1; michael Jeffries1; dave Cooke; michael deary; Geoff Abbott; scott Taylor1 Department of Geography, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST. [email protected]

Small ponds are highly productive systems and cumulatively have the potential to play an im-portant role in global carbon (C) cycling. Whilst organic C burial rates are amongst the highestin the world, high fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2) in temporal ponds and methane (CH4) in per-manent anoxic systems frequently render small aquatic water bodies as net C sources ratherthan sinks. Previous research shows organic C content within the sediments of small waterbodies varies significantly among varying ecological characterisations. Given the heteroge-neous nature of ponds across the landscape it is highly likely that their flux rates will also beequally variable. Floating chambers and a portable FT-IR were used to measure the diurnalfluctuations of CO2 and CH4 from a field of replicate ponds in Druridge Bay, England. Fluctua-tions varied significantly between ponds in which vegetation variations were the controllingfactor causing considerable implications for upscaling the carbon capture potential of wetlandsystems based solely on spot measurements and disregarding subtle ecological variations be-tween individual pond systems.


Wetlands restoration and creation for European mink:

Ten years of work in Navarre (Spain)

Giralda Carrera, GloriaNavarra’s Government, [email protected]

The European Mink Population in Navarra is one of the most important in the world. Thisspecie is critically endangered according to IUCN. That’s why Navarra’s Government has beenworking in wetlands creation and restoration for the last ten years. We have implied all thesectors involved: Councils, environmental groups, Confederations River Water, neighbours,etc. Getting new habitats for European mink means more habitats for biodiversity and lessproblems for villages, because we get more space for water and therefore there is less floodproblems in the villages. Special effort has been made with wetlands surrounding river systemArga-Aragón, which is part of Natura 2000 Network, where we have the highest density ofEuropean mink known in the world. For financing we have raised own funds, private sponsorsand european projects like Interreg or LIFE Nature: we are working right now in the secondLIFE project. In this way we’ve got more breeding space for our minks, while we have madepeople turn around to existing and new wetlands and realize how important they are. As aconclusion we must emphasize the importance of approaching these types of works from aglobal perspective, taking into account all sectors involved.

Using Linear Discriminant Analysis to predict restoration

success in peatlands

González, eduardo1,2,3,4; Line rochefort1,5; stephanie Boudreau1,6; monique Poulin1,5

1 Peatland Ecology Research Group, Université Laval, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada, [email protected] Université de Toulouse; INP, UPS; EcoLab; 31062 Toulouse, France, 3 CNRS; EcoLab; 31062 Toulouse, France4 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Denver. Denver, CO 80209 USA5 Northern Research Center, Université Laval, Québec, QC, GIV 0A6, Canada6 Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association, Riviere du Loup, QC, G5R 3Y7 Canada

We used peatlands restored after horticultural peat extraction in eastern Canada to test amethodological approach that predicts restoration success within the first few years after re-habilitation. Vegetation in a total of 152 plots in 41 post-restored peatlands was monitoredevery second years since starting at the third year post-restoration. The plots were clusteredin three restoration outcome categories: Sphagnum-dominated, bare peat-dominated andPolytrichum-dominated, according to their characteristic vegetation composition at the timeof the latest survey for each plot (4 to 11 years post-restoration). Then, vegetation composi-tion of these 152 plots assessed at the earliest survey (that is, three years post-restoration),along with associated key environmental and management variables (meteorological,drainage, fertilization) were analyzed using Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) to obtain thecombination of parameters that best discriminated between the restoration outcome cate-gories. LDA correctly classified 71% of the plots of a calibration database (for which 75% ofthe plots were used) and 75% of a validation database (for which 25% of the plots were used)into the three outcome categories. Such a LDA model provides an unequivocal (i.e., one newplot assigned to one and only one restoration outcome category) prediction of success basedon multiple but simple, easily recognizable indicators and spares managers the complex taskof interpreting many individual predictors for establishing a clear diagnosis.


Development of hydroecological guidelines for Scottish wetlands

Goodyer, emma1; Johan schutten1; debbie spray2; Kenny mcdougall3

1 Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Stirling Office, Castle Business Park, Stirling, FK9 4TF2 Scottish Natural Heritage, Battleby, Redgorton, Perth, PH1 3EW3 EnviroCentre Ltd, Registered Office, Craighall Business Park, 8 Eagle Street, Glasgow, G4 9XA

Protecting the ecosystem services that wetlands provide through regulation requires a con-ceptual understanding of wetland types and a set of generic standards or threshold valuesfor these wetland types. Generic, wetland-type-specific standards or threshold values canbe used to determine the likelihood that a proposed activity will have a detrimental impacton a nearby wetland and, thus, will impair the ecosystem services that wetland delivers. Theapplication of these specific standards requires an improved understanding of how the wet-lands function hydrologically and how they are affected by the management of the surround-ing landscape. There exists already a good conceptual understanding of generic sensitivitiesfor the wetlands that occur in lowland England and Wales, however, the complex geologyand hydrology of Scotland means that functionality of wetlands in a Scottish landscape were,until now, poorly understood. The analysis of data from a five year national monitoring proj-ect has allowed the establishment of hydroecological thresholds for Scottish wetlands. Thesethresholds inform the connection between water derived pressures and wetland impacts,improving the effectiveness of our legislative framework, enabling better protection for thewider water environment and informing future strategies for wetland management and con-servation. This project was funded by DEFRA, managed by Sniffer, carried out by EnviroCen-tre Ltd and supported by the UK Technical Advisory Group of ER37.

Impacts of management on the biodiversity and chemistry

of farmland ponds

Greaves, H. 1; C. sayer2; H. Bennion3; J. Axmacher4; i. Patmore5

1 Environmental Change Research Centre (ECRC), UCL Department of Geography, Pearson Building, Gower Street,London WC1E 6BT, [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

The agricultural landscapes of eastern England are dotted with ponds at a density >10ponds/km2. However, these ponds are often overlooked as resources for biodiversity, despiteagri-environment schemes encouraging regular pond management through tree and sedi-ment removal. Agricultural pondscapes are therefore currently dominated by overgrown,highly terrestrialised ponds. Detailed studies on the possible conservation benefits of man-agement on terrestrialised ponds are largely lacking. To fill this research gap, we studiedtwo ponds at advanced stages of succession before and after restoration with a focus onshort-term changes in water chemistry and ecology. Pond management comprised the par-tial removal of surrounding terrestrial vegetation and of pond sediments in 2011. Monitoringof these ponds and of a third pond as a control was conducted for 17 months pre- and twoyears post-management, with a focus on physicochemical properties of the water column,macrophytes, zooplankton, macroinvertebrates and amphibians. Pond management prac-tices significantly altered pond water chemistry. Pronounced oxygen stratification was


recorded prior to restoration, whereas post-restoration, oxygen reached high concentrationsthroughout the water column. Additionally, biodiversity was enhanced across multiple taxa.We conclude that pond management plays an important role in increasing aquatic biodiver-sity within intensively farmed agricultural land.

Groundwater and its relationship to wetlands

at Jucar Pilot River Basin

Grima, J.; Bruno José Ballesteros; José manuel murillo; Juan José duránInstituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME). Unidad de Valencia. [email protected], [email protected],[email protected], [email protected]

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) provides the legal and regulatory framework for sus-tainable use of water resources in Europe. The Directive requires Member States to achievegood status for all EU waters by 2015, mainly through the development and implementationof River Basin Management Plans. Wetland ecosystems play an important role in the accom-plishment of sustainable river basin management. However, WFD does not set the role wet-lands should have to achieve the environmental objectives. In the framework of a CommonImplementation Strategy (CIS) of the WFD all Member States and Norway agreed on May2001 to develop a number of Pilot River Basins to check the issues developed in GuidanceDocuments (GD’s). In Spain, the GD’s were evaluated in the territorial area of the Júcar RiverBasin District. The Geological Survey of Spain (IGME), in collaboration with the EnvironmentMinistry, characterised 68 wetlands in Jucar Demarcation. Aiming to provide a sound scien-tific basis to evaluate wetland contribution to river basin management decisions, IGME hasselected 22 out of them where additional studies are being carried out. As stated by theWater Framework Directive, wetlands are not considered water bodies, although many ofthem are groundwater dependent ecosystems. To establish their hydrogeological frame-work, conceptual models to determine the nature and geometry of the geologic formationsthat constitute their physical support have been elaborated. The first step has been the iden-tification of those ecosystems that require access to groundwater on a permanent or inter-mittent basis to guarantee its functionality. At the same time, quantitative and qualitativeevaluations are being made by means of different types of wetlands field surveys. The ulti-mate objective is the establishment of environmental guidelines for management andecosystem protection.

Understanding of socio-economic and traditional values

of Manguzi Wetlands (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa) as

a pre-condition for their conservation, restoration and wise use

Guerrero moreno, naret1; dianne scott2; Johannes Kollmann1; Jan sliva1

1 Chair of Restoration Ecology, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, 85354 Freising, [email protected] 2 School of Built Environment and Development Studies, University of KwaZulu Natal, 4041 Durban, South [email protected]

Interdunal wetlands in the surroundings of Manguzi have long been used for subsistenceand semi-commercial farming by local communities. Recently unsustainable farming prac-


tices are leading to wetland degradation. Understanding the local socio-economic charac-teristics and the community’s understanding of the functioning and value of wetlands wouldbe the basis for sustainable use and conservation. Thus, a structured survey of 65 farminghouseholds on 17 wetlands was conducted in 2013 to gather information about socio-eco-nomic characteristics, the ownership, use and value of wetland resources. The results showthat most wetland farmers are mid-age women dedicated to subsistence farming. They pre-fer wetlands for their higher fertility compared to the sandy soils in the surroundings. Localwetlands provide multiple values to the local community, including land and water for farm-ing and firewood, and also socio-cultural values. The farmers indicated their willingness tolearn alternative farming techniques. The study therefore concludes that for sustainablewetland use, a better understanding of the traditional farming practices and their ecologicallimitations is necessary. From the farmers’ willingness to learn alternative farming tech-niques, the implementation of practical demonstration projects and training on wise use ofwetlands in the close cooperation with the Local Tribal Authority is recommended.

Does importance of chironomids as indicators of pond

diversity change along environmental gradients?

Hamerlík, Ladislav1; milan novikmec2; marek svitok2; richard Hrivnák3; michal Hlávek2; Ju-dita Kochjarová4; Zuzana matúšová2; Jozef oboňa5; Helena oťaheľová3; Peter Paľove-Balang6; Barbora reduciendo-Klementová2; radovan stupák2; marta Veselská2; AndreaZapriháčová2

1 Department of Biology and Ecology, Matej Bel University, Tajovského 40, SK-97401 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia,[email protected] Department of Biology and General Ecology, Technical University in Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 24, SK-96053 Zvolen,Slovakia, [email protected] Institute of Botany, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, SK-84523 Bratislava, Slovakia,[email protected] Botanical Garden-detached unit, Comenius University, Blatnica 315, SK-03815Blatnica, Slovakia, [email protected] Faculty of Humanities and Natural Sciences, University of Presov in Presov, Ul. 17 novembra č. 1, SK-081 16Prešov, Slovakia, [email protected] Institute of Biological and Ecological Sciences, P. J. Šafárik University in Košice, Mánesova 23, SK-040 01 Košice,Slovakia, [email protected]

Aquatic biodiversity studies often exclude non-biting midges (Chironomidae) from the analysisbecause of their difficult identification and increased costs of sample processing; many timeschironomids are assigned to subfamily or family-level only. Within the framework of BIOPONDproject (www.biopond.sk), we collected an extensive material of aquatic invertebrates (in-cluding chironomids) from ponds representing various geographical and environmental con-ditions all over Slovakia. We were interested in the relationship of chironomid diversity (1)and proportion of chironomids on the total biodiversity (2) to main environmental gradients.In total, the 80 chironomid taxa recorded made up more than 30% of the total macroinver-tebrate diversity and chironomids represented an average of 40% of taxa per site. Even thoughchironomid diversity and its share on total diversity showed some trends along the main en-vironmental gradients, the correlations of chironomid diversity with variables were weak andinsignificant. This result suggests that it is difficult to predict, if higher or lower proportion ofchironomids on total diversity indicate certain environmental conditions of ponds and viceversa. The present project was funded by the Slovak Research and Development Agency, con-tract No. APVV-0059-11


Carbon stocks and flows in mangroves

of the Yucatan Peninsula, research and monitoring

Herrera-silveira, Jorge1; Teutli-Hernández Claudia2; Caamal-sosa Juan; Zaldívar Jiménez Ar-turo3; Pech daniel; Andueza Tersa; Pérez-Ceballos rosela3; Adame Vivanco, ma. fernanda4;Hernández Héctor5; Torres ricardo6

1 CINVESTAV-IPN Centro de Investigación y de estudios avanzados del instituto politécnico Nacional UnidadMérida. Km 6 antigua carretera a Progreso, Mérida Yucatán Méxic CP 97310. Autor para correspondencia [email protected] Facultad de Biología, Depto. De Ecología, Universidad de Barcelona.3 GoM/UNIDO-ATEC4 Universidad de Griffith, Australia.5 CECOSUR. Chetumal.6 CUniversidad de Quintana Roo.

In the Yucatan Peninsula (YP) hydrogeological nature, karst soils, the frequency of stormsand hurricanes, as well as the absence of surface water flow and flat topography make man-grove ecosystem with unique and different from other regions of the Neotropics. The man-groves of the Yucatan Peninsula represent the largest area in Mexico with 55% of the total,where the dwarf mangrove type is the most important for their extension. Research on car-bon stock and flows in mangroves of YP has been developing for over 10 years, and importantadvances have been done on the knowledge of these ecosystems. Investigations have fo-cused on the structure and productivity of different ecological types of mangroves underdifferent environmental conditions along the YP scenarios and studies associated with Cstores, ecosystem services, and vulnerability to sea level rise, as well as strategies for eco-logical restoration with strong social participation.

Testing of horizontal and vertical cw’s with mixed matrices of

woodchips and mussel shells for removal of nutrients

in agricultural drainage water

Hoffmann, Carl Christian1; Charlotte Kjaergaard2

1 Aarhus University, Department of Bioscience, Vejlsoevej 25, 8600 Silkeborg Denmark, [email protected] 2 Aarhus University, Department of Agroecology, Blichers Alle 20, 8830 Tjele, Denmark, [email protected]

The research project SUPREME-TECH initiated in 2010 aims at developing and testing con-structed wetlands for treating agricultural drainage water. Six subsurface flow CW’s withthe dimensions 10 by 10 m and 1 m in depth and with filter beds consisting of a matrix ofcrushed mussel shells and willow woodchips were built and put into operation in autumn2012. The first two cw’s had horizontal flow, the next two had vertical upward flow andthe latter two had vertical downward flow. All six units were connected to a 85 ha drainageupland. The horizontal units performed best with an annual removal of TN amounting to54-55 % of the load, which was around 1.5 kg N m-2 y-1. The removal for vertical unitsamounted to 44-48 % of the load.


Hitchhikers, paragliders and active flyers–the role of dispersal

mode in small and large scale spatial patterns

of aquatic invertebrates

Horváth, Zsófia1; Csaba f. Vad2; Pál Boda3; Arnold móra4; Adrienn Tóth4; robert Ptacnik1

1 WasserCluster Lunz, Dr. Carl Kupelwieser Promenade 5, AT-3293, Lunz am See, Austria;[email protected]; [email protected] Doctoral School of Environmental Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/A, H-1117 Bu-dapest, Hungary; [email protected] Department of Tisza River Research, MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Bem tér 18/C, H-4026 Debrecen, Hun-gary; [email protected] Balaton Limnological Institute, MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Klebelsberg Kuno u. 3, H-8237, Tihany, Hun-gary; [email protected]; [email protected]

Dispersal traits represent key aspects of metacommunity dynamics. We tested for the roleof dispersal limitation in communities of zooplankton (passive dispersers) and aquatic insects(active dispersers) at two distinct spatial scales, using two independent datasets of the samehabitat type (intermittent soda pans). On small scale, stronger spatial signals were visible inpassive dispersers than in active, while this difference reversed on the large spatial scale. Weconcluded that the success of dispersal modes (active vs. passive) was scale-dependent. Overshorter scale, active dispersal was less limited, while passive dispersers showed stronger spa-tial signals. Besides, we detected small scale directional similarity patterns in the passive com-munities, corresponding to the main wind direction, which indicated the strong role ofdirectional wind dispersal. Conversely, on the large scale, passive dispersal (presumably bywaterbirds) exhibited less spatial limitation than active dispersal. We conclude that analysesof spatial community patterns should try to differentiate not only between dispersal modesbut also dominant dispersal vectors, allowing better insight into metacommunity patternsboth on small and large scales.

Assessing the role of amphibians as surrogates for pond

biodiversity

ilg, Christiane1; demierre, eliane2; diz salgado, Carmen3; oertli, Beat4

1 University of Applied Sciences of Western Switzerland, hepia, 150 rte de Presinge, CH-1254 Jussy-GE, Switzerland.Email: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected], [email protected]

Surrogate taxa are widely used as indicators for biodiversity in conservation biology, as re-sources for extensive survey are often limited. In Switzerland, about 800 amphibian breadingsites are classified as being of national importance and enjoy a national protection status.Here we aimed at assessing whether ponds belonging to these sites could also contribute tothe conservation of several other taxonomic groups (aquatic plants, dragonflies, aquatic bee-tles and molluscs). Correlations between the species richness, conservation values and speciescomposition of the targeted taxonomic groups and the amphibians were calculated for 93permanent and temporary Swiss lowland ponds. Overall, a weak concordance was found be-tween species richness and conservation values of the amphibians and the other groups.Species composition also showed a low degree of congruence, as evidenced by Procrusteananalyses. Our study illustrates the importance of considering several taxonomic groups inorder to evaluate the importance of ponds for biodiversity conservation.


Flood, drought and the plough: inter-annual variation

to the number and extent of ponds in an English lowland

landscape over three years of weather extremes.

Jeffries, michaelDepartment of Geography, Ellison Building, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, United King-dom. [email protected]

The numbers of ponds and wetlands in intensively managed landscapes have declined signif-icantly throughout the world. Estimates of losses have usually been derived from maps butmaps under-estimate the number of ponds because of (1) minimum size thresholds for fea-tures to be recorded, (2) cartographers not detecting temporary habitats and (3) variationbetween years. To explore such variations this study presents an audit of the changing numberand extent of ponds recorded by field surveys on a lowland farm in north east England. Sur-veys were made every 2-3 months between November 2010 and November 2014. The studycoincided with a sequence of extreme weather including winter drought (2011/12) and anunusually wet summer (2012). The number and extent of ponds varied significantly betweenseasons and years, ranging from 12 to 105 in the ~1km2 survey area. These changes werecorrelated with rainfall. Variation was most marked for ponds in arable and pasture fields. Allpond types supported distinct plant communities, contributing to local β diversity. Rainfallvariation and ploughing significantly affected the abundance of plant species, although nottheir overall incidence. These results provide an unusually fine-grained insight into the tem-poral dynamics of small wetlands and the impact of short-term climate variation.

Wetlands and their contribution to Sustainable Human

Development: Opportunities for improvement the life´s

quality in rural population. Three Cases study

in National Natural Parks in Colombia.

Jiménez Castilla, T. ; netty Huertas Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar, [email protected], [email protected]

Colombia is a country rich in biodiversity, is one of the countries with greater availability ofwater resources of the planet, has 58 protected areas comprising National Natural Parks(NNP), distributed throughout the country, representing 9.98% of land territory and 1.48%of the ocean. In this article we have chosen three of these parks (the Cave of the Guácharos,Sanquianga and Sumapaz) which have common characteristics: engaged in tourism, initiatethe process of using alternative energy and wetlands. These cases are analyzed from the in-tegrating elements of the concept of Sustainable Human Development (socio-cultural andeconomic environmental aspects). First, we review the normative aspects in Colombia; then,it will be emphasized not only the wealth and diversity of wetlands, but in the social, culturaland economic aspects of communities that are associated with these parks. Finally, it is con-cluded on the progress of the program of Community Ecotourism in the country. The resultsshow that the national government has programs for community involvement in economicactivities such as tourism to be developed on the NNP, but still needs further strengtheningin the areas of infrastructure and training, to achieve Sustainable Human Development.


Can the biological and physical-chemical features of water be the

indicator of type of land use and origin of small water bodies?

Joniak T.1 ; natalia Kuczyńska-Kippen1

1Department of Water Protection, Institute of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Biology,Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska str. 89, 61-614 Poznań, Poland, [email protected]

Small water bodies create an important biogeochemical barrier, which effectively restrictsthe free migration of mineral and organic substances. The significant role of small waterbodies has greater practical meaning for the planning of landscape management when con-sidering how to control the processes of self-cleansing the environment. This work presentsthe results of an examination of physical-chemical parameters of water together with ananalysis of the chlorophyll-a concentration in more than 300 small water bodies situated innatural and anthropogenically changed landscape (direct catchment) and of three groupsof origin: natural – glacial, oxbows, and artificial (as clay-pits). There were zones of openwater considered in examination. Water samples were taken during the summers of 2004-2012. Aim of study was find answer for question, about some parameter or group of param-eters possibilities use in role of indicator of type of landscape and origin of small waterbodies. 12 parameters were used for the characteristics of the aquatic environment includingdissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, light conditions measured directly at the sampling sitesand analysed in the laboratory: total phosphorus, total phosphates, nitrate, ammonium,total hardness, colour, DOM and chlorophyll. Trophic state was evaluated based on TSI. Thestudies were supported by the grant: NN302042739.

Sediment accumulation in glacially created kettle holes

on arable land, Uckermark, NE Germany

Kalettka, Thomas1; marielle neyen1; uwe-Karsten schkade2; Andreas Kleeberg3

1 Leibniz-Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research, Institute of Landscape Hydrology, Eberswalder Str. 84,D-15374 Müncheberg, Germany, [email protected] Federal Office for Radiation Protection, Köpenicker Allee 120, D-10318 Berlin, Germany, [email protected] State Laboratory Berlin-Brandenburg, Department of Geology, Soil and Waste, Stahnsdorfer Damm 77, D-14632Kleinmachnow, Germany, [email protected]

In number and cumulative surface area, small inland water bodies such as glacially createdkettle holes are dominant landscape features on both local and global scale. However, thecoupling of physical and biogeochemical processes in kettle holes has received little attention,compared to larger and deeper lakes. Sedimentation, sediment accumulation and composi-tion were studied in two permanently water-filled kettle holes on arable land near the villagesKraatz (volume 3998 m3, area 2689 m2) and Rittgarten (1797 m3, 1459 m2) in the county Uck-ermark, about 80 km north of Berlin, Germany. The sedimentation rate, determined by sed-imentation traps, decreased with the decreasing water level during growing season. Thedownward flux of matter, particularly carbon, fueled the mineralization, i.e. the sulfate re-duction as indicated by massive sulfate consumption in the water body. Core dating (210Pb,137Cs) revealed a non-equidistant sediment accretion rate which is attributed to different ac-tivities and erosional inputs from the agriculturally used catchments. Respective sedimentcomposition (µm X-ray fluorescence), e.g. Fe, Ca, K, was related to agricultural practices inthe local catchments. Hence, increased rates of sedimentation from agriculture provide atransport mechanism for agriculturally used components, and shorten the topographic lifefrom sediment infilling, which degrade the ecological functions of kettle holes.


Greenhouse gas emissions from tropical peatlands

in French Guiana

Kasak, K.1; Järvi Järveoja1; martin maddison1; mikk espenberg1; Ülo mander1

1 University of Tartu, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, Tartu, Estonia ([email protected])

This study was aimed to analyse greenhouse gas (CO2, N2O, CH4) emissions from tropical peat-lands in French Guiana (South America). Two study sites were analysed in October 2013, oneundisturbed peatland and one peatland with drainage influence. Measurements of green-house gas (GHG) emissions using static chambers, groundwater analysis, gas and peat sam-pling for further laboratory analysis were made. In both study sites 3 transects along thegroundwater depth gradient and 3 rows of sampling sites were established. In each transectGHG emissions were measured during 3 days in 6 sessions. Emissions of CO2-C, N2O-N andCH4-C were significantly (p<0.05) different between undisturbed and disturbed peatlands(median values 208.6 and 143.5 mg m-2 h-1 for CO2-C; -0.2 and 8.3 μg m-2 h-1 for N2O; 3865.5and 5.5 μg m-2 h-1 for CH4-C, respectively). The study showed very high GHG emissions fromtropical peatlands and a clear relationship between the emission and water level. In addition,methane emissions from tropical peatlands might be seriously underestimated. Also, addi-tional analysis will be conducted on the relationship between CH4 emissions and the expres-sion of functional genes mcrA, pmoA, and dsrAB regulating methanogenesis.

How to enhance animal diversity of ponds

used for carp culture

Kloskowski, Janusz1; marek nieoczym2

1 Department of Nature Conservation, Institute of Biology and Biochemistry, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University,Akademicka 19, 20-033 Lublin, Poland; e-mail: [email protected] 2 Department of Zoology, Animal Ecology and Hunting, University of Life Sciences, Akademicka 13, 20-033 Lublin,Poland; e-mail: [email protected]

Carp pond farming is a dominant sector of freshwater aquaculture in Central and EasternEurope. The shallow, open carp ponds have the potential to be compatible with natural an-imal populations. We examined correlates of amphibian and avian diversity with respect topond management practices in common carp Cyprinus carpio ponds in SE Poland. Individualsize of stocked fish was the strongest predictor of diversity, with the highest values noted inponds with young-of-the-year (fry) carp. However, owing to specific water temperature re-quirements, these ponds are typically filled with water later in the season than those witholder fish; moreover, fishpond operators strive to fill the ponds shortly prior to stocking, topreclude development of potential zooplankton predators of fish. Compared to ponds filledin early spring, ponds filled later (late May-June) could not be used by early breeding am-phibians, and waterbirds could colonise them only for late breeding attempts. Irrespectiveof fish size, pond cover by emergent vegetation was positively related to amphibian andavian diversities. Since in EU countries pond farming associated with environmentally-sen-sitive management may be included in agri-environment programmes, we recommend pro-viding incentives to encourage the biodiversity-friendly practices of early filling of fry pondsand preservation of emergent vegetation beds.


Modern challenges in wetlands management in the case

of ponds and oxbow lakes restoration in Slovenia

Koren, Aleksander1; matej simčič21 The Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Nature conservation, Tobačna ulica 5, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, [email protected], 2 [email protected]

Wetlands are one of the most endangered habitats in Slovenia. Especially ponds (small stag-nant water bodies, almost exclusively in karst areas) and oxbow lakes (remains of river me-anders, usually in flat landscape) which are gradually but surely disappearing are ofexceptional importance to endangered, rare and threatened animal and plant species. De-spite different formation processes and predominant former use, ponds and oxbow lakeshave a lot in common. Their primary use/purpose has changed because of rapid change inuse of space during the last decades or centuries. Nowadays they represent one of the lastshelters for water dependent animal and plant species. At the same time wetlands and itsbiodiversity are threatened by increasing number of threats (intensive fish farming, imple-mentation of fisheries, constant presence of human, overgrowing, introduction of allochto-nous and/or invasive species, pollution, intensive farming). Majority of theseactivities/actions is in strong contrast with the ecological needs of animal and plant speciesthat live in the wetlands. In response to these facts, the Institute of the Republic of Sloveniafor Nature Conservation launched the LIFE+ Nature project called WETMAN (Conservationand Management of Freshwater Wetlands in Slovenia). With crucial field actions (ponds andoxbow lakes restoration) being already carried out, we are currently putting our efforts inintensive communication with crucial stakeholders. On the one hand, we are trying toawaken the sense of importance of the wetlands among the people. On the other hand weare trying to integrate nature conservation guidelines into national sector plans, which willensure a sustainable development of project areas.

Experiences gained from 2 years with mandatory 10 m buffer

strips along all Danish watercourses: do we know enough

to evaluate their ecosystem services?

Kronvang, Brian1; flemming Gertz4; Annette Baattrup-Pedersen1; Gitte rubæk2; GoswinHeckrath2; Henning Jensen5; sara egemose5; Carl Christian Hoffmann1; Tommy dalgaard2;søren B. olsen3; Henrik B. møller6; irene Wiborg4; marc stutter7

1 Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Vejlsøvej 25, DK-8600 Silkeborg, Denmark2 Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University3 Department of Food and Resource Economics, Conpenhagen University4 Knowledge Centre for Agriculture, Denmark5 Department of Biology, Southern Danish University6 Department of Engineering, Aarhus University7 The James Hutton Institute, UK

The Danish Parliament adopted in June 2012 a Buffer Strip Act that required 10 m mandatorybuffer strips (BSs) to be established along all watercourses and lakes with a surface areagreater than 100 m2 from 1st September 2012. The main reasons for deploying BSs was toreduce nitrate-N leaching and phosphorus loss via surface runoff from adjoining fields from


the approximately 50,000 ha of BSs as no farming was allowed in the BS concerning use offertilizer, manure, pesticides, etc. Buffer strips are among the most well studied and fre-quently adapted mitigation measure for reducing sediment and P losses to surface watersvia surface runoff. It has, however, been questioned if BSs can also reduce N losses. The in-ternational literature gives an overwhelming support to their functioning for reduction insediment and especially particulate P losses. However, their functioning for dissolved P andnitrogen is more questionable when comparing studies from the international literature. InDenmark, many farmers were against the introduction of BSs as a general mitigation measurefor several reasons. The most used argument in the public debate was that BSs in generalare not very efficient for reducing N and P losses to surface waters which was originally theargument behind the law from the Ministries of Environment and Food and Agriculture. Adesk study had been made prior to the adaptation of the law that showed 10 m BSs to beable to reduce the N loading with 40-50 kg N ha-1 of BS and 0.04-0.4 kg P ha-1 BS. The totalreduction from the BSs established in Denmark would then amount to ca. 2000-2500 tonnesN and 2-20 tonnes P. In this presentation we will share the experience gained in Denmarkon establishing 10 m wide BSs and show results from a newly initiated research project(BUFFERTECH) that studies the ecosystem services provided by buffer strips.

Do biometric features of a macrophyte habitat reflect

zooplankton diversity in various trophic types

of small water bodies

Kuczyńska-Kippen, natalia; Tomasz Joniak; Barbara nagengast

Department of Water Protection, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89, 61-614 Poznań,Poland, e-mail: [email protected]

Fifty eight field ponds were examined between 2004–2011. Zooplankton diversity measures(number of species and Shannon index) were studied in various habitats (the open waterzone, helophytes and elodeids) in respect to trophic conditions of water (evaluated using acombination of measures of water transparency, chlorophyll a and phosphorus concentra-tions) and macrophyte build. As biometric features of macrophytes play a highly importantrole (as anti-predator refuge) for zooplankton abundance, as in the case of community di-versity trophic conditions seem to have a stronger impact than plant architecture. This partlyresults from a lack of significant variation of macrophyte biometric features between pondsof different trophic conditions. However, the underwater plant stem density of helophytes(e.g. Phragmites australis) was highest in mesotrophic ponds and lowest in hypertrophicones, while in the case of elodeids (e.g. Ceratophyllum spp.) the highest density was obtainedin the eutrophic ponds and the lowest in hypertrophic water bodies. Plant biomass of bothelodeids and helophytes was usually highest in mesotrophic ponds. Zooplankton species di-versity was also highest in mesotrophic ponds and lowest in hypertrophic water bodies, re-flecting plant biomass distribution in the case of elodeids and plant density in the case ofhelophytes. This work was supported by the Polish Committee for Scientific Research (KBN)under grant no. N N305 042739.


Fishponds in the Czech Republic–Management Issues

Květ, Jan1,2; Jan Pokorný31 University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, Branišovská 31, CZ-37005 České Budějovice, Czech Republic;[email protected] 2 Czech Academy of Sciences, CzechGlobe, Global Change Research Centre, Na sádkách 7, CZ-37005 ČeskéBudějovice, Czech Republic; [email protected] ENKI, o.p.s., Dukelská 145, CZ-37905 Třeboň, Czech Republic; [email protected]

The Czech Republic (78,867 km2, 10.5x106 inhabitants) is situated in the basins of 3 seas: theNorth Sea (the Labe/Elbe + the Vltava River – 433 km), Black Sea (the Morava/March + theDyje River – in the Danube basin– 306 km) and Baltic Sea (the Odra/Oder River – 135 km).Natural small mountain lakes (total area 14.20 ha; volume 3.517x106 m3) are quite scarce. Bynow, 118 reservoirs (artificial lakes) have been built in the CR. But about 22,000 fishponds ofvarying size (<1 to 489 ha, total area 52x103 ha) have been built in the CR since the MiddleAges. They are mostly used for extensive or semi-intensive fish farming and have become in-tegrated into the landscape as a component with various ecological functions. Several fish-pond systems are enlisted as Ramsar sites, and all are considered as important landscapeelements protected by the Czech law on Nature and Landscape Conservation. They arehuman-made water bodies and their long-term existence is secured by their managementfor fish rearing. Finding a sustainable balance between the water quality, economics of fishproduction, biodiversity, hydrological and other ecological functions and ecosystem servicesof the fishponds is the most important present task.

Mires and wilderness in national parks

Laurén, KirsiUniversity of Eastern Finland. P.O.Box 111, FIN-80101 Joensuu, FINLAND, [email protected]

The attraction of mires and peatlands as places for recreation has increased during the lastdecades. Therefore ecotourism and other outdoor activities on mires in national parks havebecome increasingly popular as well. Usually mires are difficult terrains and are located in re-mote and sometimes inaccessible wilderness. However, especially the scenic quality of wilder-ness is one of the most important factors that make the mires attractive among naturetourists. This presentation focuses on mires in eastern Finland’s natural parks in the view-points of the visitors who are mostly hikers. Nature in this area consists of various kinds offorests, mires and peatlands. Patvinsuo national park is one of the largest national parks inFinland, and its landscape is dominated by peatlands. The research questions were: Whatmotivates the ecotourists to visit mires? What are the things that they perceive recreationalthere? The research is based on writings written by Finns who took part in a national writingcollection in 2013 where they were asked to tell about their experiences of visiting and hikingin the national parks of eastern Finland. The writings exposed that the attraction of mires wasbased on remoteness, experience of peace and solitude and observation of rich biodiversity.In addition, the attraction increased with good accessibility.


A rapid tile approach for wetland degradation assessment

in East Africa

Leemhuis, Constanze1; Alvarez, miguel2; Amler esther3; Behn Kai4; Beuel sonja5; KeisslerKornelia6; Kotze donovan7; Kreye Christine8; Kyallo daniel9; Wagner Katrin10; and Zieglersusanne11

1 Institute of Geography, University of Bonn, Germany, [email protected] Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES), University of Bonn, Germany, malvarez@uni-

bonn.de3 [email protected] [email protected] Steinmann Institute of Geology, Mineralogy, and Paleontology, University of Bonn, Germany, sonja.beuel@uni-

bonn.de6 [email protected] Centre For Environment, Agriculture and Development, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermarutzburg, South

Africa, [email protected] [email protected] Institute for Food and Resource Economics, University of Bonn, Germany, [email protected] Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany, [email protected] Institute of Organic Agriculture, University of Bonn, Germany, [email protected]

Wetlands cover an area of approx. 18 Mio hectares in the East African countries of Kenya,Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania, with only a small share currently being used for food pro-duction. The main hydro-geomorphic wetland types in Sub Saharan Africa are alluvial flood-plains and inland valleys. Current upland agricultural use intensification in these countriesdue to demographic growth, climate change and globalization effects is leading to an over-exploitation of the resource base and the agricultural use of wetlands. Besides presentingpotential agricultural production hotspots wetlands provide a range of other ecosystem serv-ices. The rapid tile approach for wetland degradation assessment in East Africa is based onthe Wet-Health framework of Macfarlane et al..(2009) wit a random sampling tile method-ology for the selection of surveyed wetland sites. This implies a delineation of studied wet-lands by applying a slope threshold on SRTM based digital elevation models and dividing thedelineated wetland area into a grid of 250 m * 250 m tiles. 2 % of each wetland study site ischosen randomly for an on-site survey of wetland degradation. This approach is a frameworkfor a rapid wetland degradation assessment for the wetlands components hydrology, geo-morphology, water quality and vegetation and was originally developed as a managementtool for South African wetlands. The modified tile based Wet-Health approach has been ap-plied to the semi-arid Ewaso Naroc highland floodplain in central Kenya (10 tiles), the lowlandhumid Kilombero floodplain in southern Tanzania (14 tiles), inland valleys in Lake Vicoriaprovince along the Mabira Forest – Kampala Road in Uganda (14 tiles) and inland valleysnorth of Kigali and within the Akagero floodplain south of Kigali in Rwanda (20 tiles). Besideon-site wetland components also external off-site factors that relate to the headwater catch-ment of the surveyed tile are investigated. The results show the highest variability of wetlanddegradation for all investigated components for the surveyed tiles in Rwanda. Furthermorethe impact of land use on the wetland state is significant for all wetland components. Thispaper discusses the applicability of the implemented tile based Wet-Health methodologyfor the selected East African wetlands and provides preliminary analysis of the surveyed tile-based Wet-Health data set.


Development of a web interactive tool to promote sustainable

water management and use of Mediterranean marshes

under climate variability

Lefebvre, Gaëtan1 ; Christophe Germain2 ; Brigitte Poulin3

1 Tour du Valat Research Center, Le Sambuc 13200 Arles, France, [email protected] [email protected], [email protected]

Mediterranean wetlands are dominated by temporary and semi-permanent marshes thatnaturally dry out during the summer period, which contribute to their specificity and highbiodiversity. Water inputs are frequent in marshes exploited for various socio-economic ac-tivities (reed harvesting, waterfowl hunting, cattle grazing, fishing, ecotourism). These humaninterventions are often necessary as wetlands are increasingly disconnected from their catch-ment area following reclamation and modification of land use. Yet, the contribution of rainfallvs. human intervention to marsh hydrology has rarely been assessed. We used long termmonitoring data of water levels in 37 embanked marshes in the Camargue to build a hydro-logical model: human water inputs contribute to 45% of the marsh water supply and to a 4-month increase of the flooded period per year on average. An interactive tool that simulateswater levels according to climate data and water volumes according to management decisionshas been developed to foster adaptation of wetland managers/users to global changes(http://www.Mar-O-Sel.net). It further allows one to visualize the effect of water managementschemes on the evolution of surface and underground water salinity, common reed heightand density, submerged macrophyte coverage and composition, as well as abundance/pres-ence of breeding birds.

Mitigation bank and payments for ecosystem services, a tool

for conservation of Patagonian peatlands

León, Carolina A1; Gisela oliván2; maría Puelles3; José maría Gabriel y Galán2

1 Centro de Investigación en Recursos Naturales y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Bernardo O’ Higgins, Santiago -Chile, [email protected] Departamento Biología Vegetal I, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid-España, [email protected], [email protected] Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid-España,[email protected].

Peatlands play a key role in the conservation of biodiversity, regulation of water cycles, car-bon storage, etc. These ecosystems provide important services to humans. Therefore, theyare a high-interest natural capital which may be economically valued and commercializedwithin environmental markets as mitigation banks. In Chile, peatlands have given greatweight due to the trading of Sphagnum moss. However, overharvesting has deeply degradedthese ecosystems. This study aims to give a tool for management and conservation of peat-lands in Chile, in order to counteract environmental impacts produced by extractive activi-ties. For this, a review of models of ecosystem conservation was performed and a surveywas conducted to Chilean and Spanish companies to assess the interest of these companiesabout the environmental market in Chile. Among the main results, an interest of companiesto support initiatives related to the care of nature and a willingness to pay for conservationof areas of high ecological value such as peatlands is observed. We conclude that a conser-


vation system based on the valuation of the ecosystem services and natural capital recovery,focused especially for enterprises, would be an alternative for the sustainable developmentof these ecosystems. Research funding: AECID A/025081/2009 and A/030011/2011, Coop-eración-UCM 4138114, and Doctoral Fellowship CONICYT-Chile.

The impact of ornithogenic inputs on P hydro-geochemistry

in altered wetland environs in East Mediterranean Ecosystem

Litaor, m. iggy1 MIGAL research institute & Tel Hai College, Upper Galilee, Israel. Email: [email protected]

Large flocks of Eurasian crane (> 47,000) have begun wintering in an altered wetland locatedin Northern Israel, a phenomenon that attracts more than 400,000 eco-tourists a year. A 100-ha plot has been used to feed the cranes in order to protect nearby fields. The objective ofthis study was to evaluate the influence of this feeding practice on the P status of the wetland.We installed wells at two depths (40 & 90 cm) between two major waterways and monitoredthe hydraulic heads and conducted elemental analyses. We collected six soil cores and sedi-ment samples from the waterways and conducted sequential P extraction. We found signifi-cant increase in groundwater soluble P (> 0.5 mg l-1) compared with lower concentrations(~0.06 mg l-1) in the period prior to the feeding. An increase in the labile P fraction was ob-served in soils and sediments compared with the period before the feeding. The P input bybird excrement to the feeding area was estimated around 700 kg P per season, while P re-moval by plant harvesting was estimated around 640 kg P yr-1. Hence, no significant accumu-lation of P was observed in the wetland despite the increase of wintering birds.

Oxic-anoxic transitions constrain benthic metabolism in fresh-

water wetland in the Po river floodplain

Longhi, daniele1; marco Bartoli1; daniele nizzoli1; Pierluigi Viaroli1

1 Department of Life Sciences, University of Parma, Viale G.P. Usberti 11/A – 43124 Parma (Italy)

Monitoring and experiments were performed in one of the widest (81 ha) freshwater wet-lands in the Po river floodplain (Natural Reserve “Paludi del Busatello”). Reed stands arewidespread, while small pools and ponds with stagnant and shallow waters (<1 m) are col-onized by floating leaved or submerged macrophytes. Here, sedimentary organic matter upto 30% and frequent anoxia, also in the water column, induce rapid alternation of oxidizingand reducing conditions in the surface sediment. These are typical features of the residualwetlands in the Po River floodplain which control sedimentary biogeochemical processes.In this study the effects of the transition from oxic to anoxic conditions on benthic metabo-lism are evaluated with core incubation experiments. Intact sediment cores were sampledon a seasonal basis from December 2003 to January 2005 and sediment-water fluxes of O2,DIC, CH4 and inorganic nutrients and denitrification rates were determined under oxic andanoxic conditions. Oxic-anoxic transitions always resulted in enhanced DIC and CH4 effluxes,and denitrification and nutrient regeneration rates. Methane release was strongly regulatedby the availability of nitrate.


Distribution of net mercury methylation potentials

in a tropical wetland: lateral connectivity of water bodies as

a factor of variance in the waterscape context

Lopes Lázaro, Wilkinson1; Carolina J. da silva1; Áurea r.A. ignácio1; sergi díez2; Jeanr.d.Guimarães3

1 Centro de Estudos em Limnologia Biodiversidade e Etnobiologia do Pantanal, Universidadedo Estado de Mato Grosso (UNEMAT), Brasil [email protected] 2 Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and WaterResearch (IDÆA-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain3 Laboratório de Traçadores. Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, - IBCCF, Universidade Federal do Rio deJaneiro (UFRJ), Brasil

Methylmercury (MeHg) is the most toxic form of mercury (Hg). Freshwater macrophyte rootsare a main site of Hg methylation in different wetland environments in the word. The aim ofthis study was to test the use of connectivity metrics of water bodies, in the context ofpatches, in a tropical waterscape wetland (Guaporé river) as a predictor of potential netMeHg production by periphyton communities. We sampled 15 lakes with different patternsof lateral connectivity with the main river channel (directly connected, indirectly connectedand temporarily disconnected), performing net mercury methylation potential tests in incu-bations with local water and E. crassipes rhizomes and periphyton complexes, using203HgCl2 as a tracer. Water data were also collected (dissolved oxygen, conductivity, tem-perature, pH, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, DOM, POM and DOC). To get the landscapedata (size and shape of the lakes, land use, lateral and longitudinal hidric distances of waterbodies) we used GIS resources and field data. To test the variables and their relations wechose to use Generalized Additive Models (GAM). The net Me203Hg production (as % oftotal added 203Hg) was expressive (6.2-25.6%) showing that periphyton is an important ma-trix in MeHg production. The model that best explained the variation in the net Me203Hgproduction (76%) was built by the variables: connection type, total phosphorus and dissolvedorganic carbon in water (AICC=48.324, p=0.001). Connection type factor was the best factorto model fit (r²=0.32; p=0.008), and temporarily disconnected lakes had higher rates of netmercury methylation. Both DOC and total phosphorus showed significant covariation withthe net methylation rates (r²=0.26; p=0.008 e r²=0.21; p<0.012 respectively). Our study sug-gests a strong relationship between the type of water body, in relation to hydrological con-nectivity within the waterscape, and rates of net MeHg production in this tropical area.

Significance of the widespread occurrence of triterpenoidacetates in North Spain bogs from Asturias

López-días, Veneranda1a; Ángeles G. Borrego1b; Carlos G. Blanco1c; Achim Bechtel2; WilhelmPüttmann3

1 Instituto Nacional del Carbón (INCAR-CSIC). Aptdo. 73, 33080 Oviedo, Spain,[email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Department of Applied Geosciences and Geophysics, University of Leoben, Peter Tunner Strasse 5, A-8700Leoben, Austria, [email protected] Institut für Atmosphäre und Umwelt -Umweltanalytik- J.W. Goethe-Universität. Altenhöferallee 1, 60438 Frank-furt am Main, Germany, [email protected]

Asturian peat bog profiles covering different time spams of the last 10000 cal. yr BP havebeen studied using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) and Compound-spe-


cific isotope analysis (CSIA). The abundance of n-alkan-2-ones with medium to high molec-ular weight and heavier isotopic signature than the corresponding n-alkanes is a character-istic of these profiles. These compounds tended to accumulate in intervals with highconcentration of n-C25 and n-C31, typically associated to Sphagnum with affinity for drierhabitats. The predominance of triterpenoid acetyl derivatives of compounds with oleanane,ursane, lupane and hopane skeletons is a specific characteristic of these peats. Triterpenoidacetates tended to accumulate at certain depth in the profiles and in specific levels underparticularly favourable conditions. The widespread occurrence of acetyl-derivatives, andthe fact that they correspond to different compound families of diverse origin, rules out aspecific organism source for the acetates, and point towards generalized environmentalconditions affecting these peat profiles. The presence of triterpenoid acetates derivativessuggests the existence of a medium enriched in acetic acid, which could be produced bythe dominance of hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis, inhibiting acetoclastic methanogen-esis. This phenomenon that has been preferentially described in Sphagnum bogs at highlatitudes, and in the deeper layers of peat, appears to be also present in the temperatepeats of the Asturian coast.

Runoff production and water content in soils of the Estaña

Lakes Catchment (Huesca, NE Spain)

López-Vicente, manuel1,*; Cristina Pérez-Bielsa2; Teresa López-montero1,3; Luis Javier Lam-bán2; Ana navas1

1 Erosion, and Soil and Water Evaluation Group, Department of Soil and Water, Estación Experimental de AulaDei (EEAD–CSIC), Avda. Montañana 1005, 50059 – Zaragoza, Spain2 Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME), Unidad de Zaragoza, C/ Manuel Lasala 44, 50006 – Zaragoza,Spain3 Departamento de Infraestructura del transporte y del territorio, Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña, JordiGirona 1-3, Módulo B1 – 08034 Barcelona, Spain*Corresponding author: [email protected]; [email protected]; Tel.: +34 976 716161

Numerical modelling and quantification of runoff is a complex task due to the high numberof processes involved, the non-linearity response of the soils and the marked spatial andtemporal heterogeneity of the input values. In this study, we run the DR2-2013© SAGA v1.1software (http://digital.csic.es/handle/10261/93543) for a 69-month period (Ag’2007 –Ap’2013) to quantify the runoff production to the two main lakes of the Estaña Lakes Catch-ment (246 ha). The three lakes are called “Estanque de Arriba” (EA, 1.6 ha and 69 ha of con-tributing area), “Estanque Grande de Abajo” (EGA, 15.2 ha and 109 ha of contributing area)and “Estanque Pequeño de Abajo” (0.5 ha). This software is the second version of the DR2-2013 (Distributed Rainfall-Runoff) model and it was run using the triangular multiple flowalgorithm without threshold value for linear flow. The average precipitation in this area was457 mm (1994-2013; Canelles weather station). The runoff coefficients were 16.3%, 27.4%and 19.4% for the whole Estaña Lakes Catchment, and the EA and EGA lake catchments,whereas the coefficients of runoff production to the EA and EGA lakes were only 0.191%and 0.246%. The remaining volume of water, 83.7% from the total rainfall depth, was mainlyinfiltrated in the soil during the runoff events and in a minor way intercepted by canopy andinfiltrated before soil saturation.


Soils diversity along a toposequence within intermittently

flooded habitats in Gallocanta Lake, Spain

Luna, estela1; Carmen Castañeda1; rafael rodríguez2

1 Estación Experimental de Aula Dei, EEAD-CSIC, Av. Montañana 1005, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain,[email protected]; [email protected] Departamento de Medio Ambiente y Ciencias del Suelo, Universidad de Lleida, Av. Rovira Roure 191, 25198Lleida, Spain, [email protected]

Intermittent flooding is particularly striking in the eastern portion of Gallocanta Lake, wherea mosaic of wet environments forms numerous habitats that host endemic species. Our ob-jective was to characterize the soils in those habitats, particularly, their relationship to flood-ing and saline conditions. Four pedons, each within one of four CORINE habitats, weresampled along a linear transect: salt-pan (15.12), salt-marsh (15.54), non-saline grassland(15.57), and cropland (87.1). Groundwater salinity ranged from 4.9 dS m-1 to 87 dS m-1 andwas slightly alkaline (pH = 7.6). Soil samples (n = 27) were collected from a maximum depthof 3.5 m. Soil salinity, measured as the electrical conductivity of saturated paste extracts,ranged from 0.4 dS m-1 to 60 dS m-1, and soil pH ranged from 7.5 to 8.7. Soils were stronglysaline in the root zone (up to 51 dS m-1 in the upper 50 cm), except the cropland and grass-land soils. The salt-marsh soil had the maximum organic matter content (3.1%). Calcium car-bonate equivalent content ranged between 0.2% and 64%. Loam and sandy-loam soilsformed calcium carbonate accumulations in the grassland soil, mostly as soft nodules (5-15mm), and almost continuous centimeter cemented bands. Gypsum accumulated in the upperhorizons (≤ 4%) and, occasionally, deeper (16%, > 2 m). Weathered siliciclastic, fine gravelswith carbonate coatings were common in subsurface horizons at the lowest elevations. Inthe soil profile, the Mg/Ca ratio increased in subsurface horizons, and was highest (18.1) inthe soils most frequently flooded. Soils in the toposequence included Calcic Aquisalid, TypicAquisalid, Aquic Calcixeroll, and Typic Xerorthent. Variation in soil composition along thetransect and throughout the soil profile reflected different edaphic and geomorphicprocesses that are associated with the fluctuations in the water level of Gallocanta Lake.

Study of patterns of movement in Emys orbicularis

and connectivity between ponds inside the PAVT

magalhães, sónia1; José Teixeira2; Pedro segurado3

1 Faculty of sciences,Universty of Oporto-CIBIO-InBio, R. Padre Armado Quintas 4485-661Vairão Portugal, [email protected] Faculty of sciences,Universty of Porto-CIIMAR, Rua dos Bragas,289 4050-123Oporto,Porto,Portugal3 Agronomy Institute,Center of Forest Research, Tapada da Ajuda, P-1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal

The increasing fragmentation of habitat is a major consequence of human actions in thelandscape and one of most relevant threats to biodiversity; thus, maintaining the connec-tivity between habitats is essential. The aim of this study is to create means to conserveEmys orbicularis, a turtle species occupying scarce habitat patches, which can only be donethrough the protection of their habitats. Ponds and wetlands provide shelter to many speciesand here is where Emys orbicularis finds its perfect habitat. Turtle movements among pondshave been widely reported and recognized as crucial for population’s persistence. In North-ern Portugal, specifically in the extreme North of Boticas, some ponds exist with these ani-mals. The area of study belongs to PAVT, Archaeological Park of Terva Valley. We usemark-recapture techniques to understand the composition of this population as well as spa-


tial data, ArcGis, to create a spatial network structure to help decision-making in landscapemanagement. At the end of this study we expect to have a network that explains the move-ment between patches and the efforts that these distances represent, as well as ecologicalcorridors that allow the preservation of the species, as well as the maintenance of theirponds and linkages.

Green infrastructure, a key of future watershed management

mander, Ülo1,2; Julien Tournebize2; Bernard Vincent2

1 University of Tartu, Estonia2 National Research Institute of Science and Technology for Environment & Agriculture (Irstea), Antony, France

Due to global warming, severe changes in hydrological regime of catchments are forecastedwith different impacts in different regions of Europe. Together with increasing anthropogenicpressure (intensive land use, fertilization, and pesticides use), global-warming-driven changesin hydrological regimes will significantly alter the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles in agri-cultural landscapes, creating potential threats to the quality of groundwater. Agriculture andfood processing, the combustion of fossil fuels, and other human activities have altered thecycle of N substantially, generally increasing both the availability and the mobility of N overlarge regions of Earth. As one of the key characteristics of these alterations, the availabilityof reactive nitrogen in the environment has greatly increased, considerably changing the Ncycle locally, regionally and globally. On the other hand, due to intensive agriculture anderosion processes, soil carbon losses worldwide are significantly increasing. This all reflectsin worsening of water resources quality and quantity. Through watershed (catchment) plan-ning and ecological engineering measures, an optimal pattern of green infrastructure ofbuffering ecosystems (artificial wetlands and riparian buffer zones) may be created. In com-bination with carefully planned agrotechnology, this green infrastructure will help stake-holders to mitigate alterations in C and N cycling, i.e. minimizing N leaching and runoff,maximizing C sequestration, and minimizing emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) in land-scapes. Simultaneously, the multifunctionality of the green infrastructure and the better useof all ecosystem services (provisioning – biomass production, regulating – water quality andGHG, habitat improvement and cultural services) will help landscapes to better adapt to cli-mate change. Several examples on design, performance and management of artificial wet-lands and riparian buffer zones from agricultural regions in Europe will be presented.

Governance and management for ecological sustainability?

avian predation on waders.

manton, michael1; Per Angelstam2; Per milberg3

1 Forest-Landscape-Society Research Network, School for Forest Management, Swedish University of AgriculturalSciences, 739 21 Skinnskatteberg, Sweden, [email protected], 2 [email protected]

3 IFM Biology, Conservation Ecology Group, Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden, [email protected]

This presentation explores how the governance and management of wet meadows influenceswaders. Predation on nests and young is proposed as one contributor to the decline of breed-ing wader in Europe. We explored this hypothesis by comparing landscapes with differentwader population trends and management status in Southern Sweden and Eastern Europe.Specifically, we explored three predictions linked to the predation of waders; (1) the relative


abundance of avian predators and waders at patch level, (2) the avian predator abundanceat the landscape scale, and (3) the predation rate on artificial wader nests, should all be higherin declining vs. stable populations. All predictions were supported. Nevertheless, predationmay not be the ultimate factor causing wader population declines with the cumulative effectsof landscape change linked to increased food resources for predators, reduced wet meadowpatch size and quality. We argue in favour of holistic analyses of social-ecological systems atmultiple scales and landscapes, including processes such as predation, other factors affectingwaders, and how governance and management can be improved. Additionally, different ap-proaches to landscape governance and management need to be examined to understand ifand how wader populations can be managed and sustained for future generations.

Bio-physical data retrieval in the Doñana wetland

from SAR satellite imagery

martí-Cardona, Belén1; Josep dolz ripollés1; Carlos López-martínez2

1 Institut Flumen, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)–CIMNE; Jordi Girona 1 D1-208, 08034 Barcelona,Spain; [email protected] Remote Sensing Lab., Dept. of Signal Processing and Communications, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya(UPC); Jordi Girona 1 D3-208, 08034 Barcelona, Spain; [email protected]

The Doñana National Park wetland, in southwest Spain, undergoes annual cycles of inundationand helophyte vegetation growth. Waterfowl in Doñana depends on the extent and durationof flooding, and on the development of helophyte meadows for successful breeding. Between2006 and 2010 the Institut Flumen analyzed over 100 satellite images of Doñana acquired bythe radar sensor Envisat/ASAR. This analysis enabled to monitor the flood extent with a hightemporal frequency, not impeded by the presence of clouds. The large influence of the winddrag action over the wetland hydrodynamics was corroborated. Images acquired before andafter rainfall events provided synoptic observations of the precipitation effects over theflooded area. The spatial reach of the Guadalquivir River tidal inflows into Doñana was clearlyobserved on the ASAR scenes when the marshes were dry.Temporal backscattering signaturesshowed great sensitivity of the ASAR data to the Doñana’s helophytes phenological stage,pointing to the possibility to map biomass from the satellite images. Recently acquiredRadarsat-2 data over Doñana, with increased polarimetric and resolution capabilities com-pared to those of the ASAR sensor, have shown enhanced sensitivity to the structure of plantcommunities and to the presence of flooding under the vegetation canopy.

Integrated management of three constructed wetlands

in compliance with the water framework, birds and habitats

Directives: the LIFE+12 ALBUFERA project

martín, miguel1; William Colom2; mario Giménez3; Antonio Guillem4; fernando Juan5; mªdel Carmen regidor6.

1 Instituto de Ingeniería del Agua y Medio Ambiente, Universitat Politècnica de València, Cno. de Vera s/n, Valencia,Spain. [email protected] 2 Acció Ecologista-Agró. c/ Portal de Valldigna, 15, Valencia, Spain. [email protected] SEO/BirdLife, c/ Tavernes Blanques 29, Alboraia, Valencia, Spain. [email protected] 4 Fundación Global Nature, c/ Juan Ramón Jiménez 38, Valencia, Spain. [email protected].


5 Aguas de las Cuencas Mediterráneas (ACUAMED, Pasaje Doctor Serra, 2, Valencia, Spain. [email protected] 6 Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar (CHJ), Avda. Blasco Ibáñez, 48, Valencia, Spain. [email protected].

Water bodies in Natura2000 (RN 2000) areas must be managed to allow compliance withthe ecological objectives set in the Water Framework Directive (WFD), together with theconservation objectives for Special Protection Areas for Birds and Sites of Community Im-portance. In the Albufera in Valencia, a wetland of high ecological value, measures havebeen implemented to try to comply with the WFD, by focusing on aspects of water qualityimprovement. But just one of these measures –the creation of constructed wetlands (CWs)- might as well help to directly improve the status of habitats and bird conservation. Since2009 a total of 89 ha of rice fields located at the border of the lake l’Albufera have been re-stored to recreate the wetlands lost long time ago. The CW Tancat de la Pipa, (40 ha), theCW Tancat de Milia (33 ha) and the CW Tancat de l’Illa (16 ha) are a combination of freewater surface constructed wetlands (FWSCWs) with horizontal sub-surface flow constructedwetlands (HSFs) and shallow lagoons. The main objectives of the project are establishing themost adequate management rules in constructed wetlands in order to jointly optimise waterquality and habitat and biodiversity improvement; establishing a methodology to determinegood status indicators for bird conservation to apply in other RN 2000 wetlands; and pro-viding recommendations addressed to the administrations to set a basis in the developmentof management plans for RN 2000 areas and hydrological management plans.

EU Life CREAMAgua: Restoring wetlands

for water quality and biodiversity improvements

in irrigated agricultural territories

masip, Adriá1; francisco A. Comín2; Victor Guirado3; Javier rodriguez4; Alfonso Calvo5; fran-cisca Gallego6; ricardo sorando2; Gema Cacho7; Ana Loriente8; nadia darwiche2; mercedesGarcía2; silvia Gutiérrez2; Alberto Barcos2

1 Parque Científico-Tecnológico Aula Dei2 Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología-CSIC3 KV Consulting4 Tragsa5 Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro6 Comarca de Los Monegros7 Institut for the Studies and Research of Comarca de Los Monegros8 Foundation for Promoting Youth and Sports in Comarca de Los Monegros.

Sixteen in-stream and five off-stream wetlands were restored just facilitating water retentionby diking to improve the quality of the water outflowing irrigated agricultural fields in the Flu-men river watershed (NE Spain). For two years after restoration, no differences of nitrate re-tention were observed between in – and off-stream wetlands. Increased NO3 retention duringthe irrigation period, particularly for some in-stream wetlands which reached up to 96% ofthe nitrate inputs, took place in relation with the hydraulic loading rate. Biodiversity improve-ment is observed in planted riparian forests. Biodiversity in restored wetlands didn´t show aclear trend. CREAMAgua is successful with respect to dissemination at local, regional and in-ternational scales, and also with educational actions. Inappropriate planning delayed restora-tion works early in the project, but the technical objectives of the project are being achieved


clearly at the late phase of the project. The development of this project was clearly favoredby the Life label which created an acceptable perception by the local population. However,some rigid project verification processes caused confusion with respect to the developmentof different actions. Also the period of duration of the projects (4 years for most of the proj-ects) may be short for projects involving restoration of complex ecosystems.

Improving riparian woodland restoration with case-by-case

performance modeling based on groundwater distance

masip A.1; Gonzalez e.2,3,4; Castellano C.1; Jaime r.1; Comín f.A.1

1 Pyrenean Institute of Ecology, Spanish National Research Council. 50080 Zaragoza, Spain2 Université de Toulouse; INP, UPS; EcoLab; 31062 Toulouse, France3 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Denver. Denver, CO 80209 USA4 CNRS; EcoLab; 31062 Toulouse, France

Riparian forests are one of the most threatened habitats in Europe, mainly because of theextensive use of floodplains by traditional agriculture due to the high value of the riverbanksfor crop growing. This let the present riparian areas to be unable to achieve most of the eco-logical functions expected as flood control, energy dissipation, carbon sequestration, habitatcreation, water temperature regulation and many more. One of the biggest efforts concern-ing riparian restoration that has been done in the past decades is reforestation, in an attemptto recover part of the functionality of this ecosystem. Nevertheless long term survival hasproven to be generally low or even extremely low (less than 10%) in some cases. The differ-ent performance of riparian species is mainly driven by its dependence on the groundwater,so the vertical distance of the final plantation point is of great importance for survival im-proving of the plantation. Here a model for phreatophyte woody species development ispresented, based on the performance of each species at given distance to the groundwater.Field data is used to generate Markov chains probabilities linked to the vital status of eachindividual plant. R language is used to create a function that performs the calculationsneeded for the iterations; this allows the researcher and the manager to evaluate the per-formance of the different species directly and also to contribute to the work-in-progress de-velopment of a greater complexity model.

Development of a theory for biodiversity offset policy

based on the US experience of wetland mitigation policy

masuda, yosuke1

1 Oregon State University Corvallis Oregon USA, [email protected]

Biodiversity offset system recently has got attention as a policy tool to balance economicdevelopment and biodiversity conservation, and many countries and regions introduced orare trying to introduce this system. To help policy developers and implementers, many re-searchers are trying to develop conceptual frameworks and practical guidelines for biodi-versity offset policy. These frameworks and guidelines, however, do not include thechronological change of the policy. This research tries to develop a hypothetical theory whichexplains how biodiversity offset policy changes overtime. To develop this theory, this study


analyses chronological changes of and interrelationships between problems and approachesof wetland mitigation policy in the US, which has the longest history among biodiversity off-set policy in the world. The hypothetical theory developed in this research shows that thechronological change of policy approaches from the ecological focus (effectiveness) to theadministrative focus (efficiency) and the administrative focus (efficiency) to the communityfocus (equity). The theory also demonstrates that the approach for one problem interrelatesto the other problem. This research is the first step to develop a theory explaining chrono-logical changes of biodiversity offset. Additionally, this research provides the framework tounderstand and analyse the US wetland mitigation policy.

Weak correlation in diversity and community composition

among multiple taxonomic groups: a failure of surrogate idea

in Central European ponds

matúšová, Zuzana1; marek svitok1; richard Hrivnák2; Ladislav Hamerlík3; michal Hlávek1;Judita Kochjarová4; milan novikmec1; Jozef oboňa5; Helena oťaheľová2; Peter Paľove-Balang6; Barbora reduciendo Klementová1; radovan stupák1; Andrea Zapriháčová1

1 Department of Biology and General Ecology, Technical University in Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 24, SK-96053 Zvolen,Slovakia, [email protected] Institute of Botany, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, SK-84523 Bratislava, Slovakia, [email protected] Department of Biology and Ecology, Matej Bel University, Tajovského 40, SK-97401 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia,[email protected] Botanical Garden–detached unit, Comenius University, Blatnica 315, SK-03815 Blatnica, Slovakia,[email protected] Faculty of Humanities and Natural Sciences, University of Presov in Presov, Ul. 17 novembra č. 1, SK-081 16 Prešov,Slovakia, [email protected] Institute of Biological and Ecological Sciences, P. J. Šafárik University in Košice, Mánesova 23, SK-040 01 Košice,Slovakia, [email protected]

In conservation biology, surrogate taxa are used as a shortcut to monitor and predict bio-diversity and to solve other conservation problems. Biodiversity indicators are surrogatesthat could be used for predicting variation in the biodiversity of other taxonomic groups.Here we investigate efficiency of biodiversity indicator taxa and cross-taxon congruencein species richness and assemblage composition patterns in small standing waters of Cen-tral Europe. Under the project BIOPOND (www.biopond.sk), we gathered material on mul-tiple groups of invertebrates and aquatic plants from 94 ponds scattered across Slovakia.In general, weak correlations in species richness and assemblage composition amonggroups emerged. Species richness of submerged macrophytes appeared as the best pre-dictor of total species richness. However, this model showed relatively low predictivepower (cross-validated root mean square error ~ 6 species). We focused more closely onthe relationship between dragonflies and aquatic macrophytes as popular flagship groups.Neither presence nor richness of those groups were significantly related regardless ofusing red-list species or all species in the analyses. Surrogate species approach does notappear to be particularly relevant for biodiversity prediction and conservation in CentralEuropean ponds. This work was supported by the Slovak Research and DevelopmentAgency under the contract No. APVV-0059-11.


Botanical response to restoration in degraded rich fens

menichino, nina1; Laurence Jones2; Christopher evans2; Peter Jones3; Janine Guest3; AndrewPullin1; nathalie fenner1

1 Bangor University, School of Biological Sciences, Bangor, U.K. LL57 2UW, U.K, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Environment Centre, Wales, Bangor, U.K. LL57 2UW, [email protected], [email protected] Natural Resources Wales, Bangor, U.K. Maes y Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, U.K. LL57 2DW,[email protected]

Globally important UK fens are in poor condition; this is principally due to abandonment(cessation of mowing and grazing). Dereliction causes reduced species richness and threatensecosystem services, as ecosystem function is partially reliant on biodiversity. In order to haltfurther succession, restoration intervention (machine mowing and hand cutting) wasadopted to study botanical response. Management reintroduction was evaluated over threesites, on the rich fens of Anglesey, North-west Wales. Two plant communities were chosendue to their rarity and degraded condition and in 2011 a baseline vegetation survey was un-dertaken. A one-off mowing event took place in the autumn/winter of 2011/2012 followedby two more annual surveys. Results show a significant increase in bare ground, betweenthe un-mown and mown, calcareous (0.2%, 16.2%) and alkaline (8.88%, 17.78%) plant com-munities, which has enhanced conditions for target species colonisation. This is evident inthe calcareous plant community, which exhibited a 50% increase in species richness, drivenby a 79% increase in herbs and 33%, 28% decrease in sub-shrub and graminoid cover re-spectively, compared to the control in 2013. Annual mowing in alkaline fens and a three yearrotation for calcareous fens is needed to increase species richness and maintain ecosystemfunction.

Mining impacts on manmade ponds located in reclaimed

opencast coal mines

miguel-Chinchilla, Leticia1*; dani Boix2; stéphanie Gascón2; eduardo González3,4,5; franciscoA. Comín1

1 Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología CSIC, Avda. Montañana 1005, 50059, Zaragoza, Spain2 Faculty of Sciences, Institute of Aquatic Ecology, University of Girona, 17071 Spain3 Université de Toulouse; INP, UPS; EcoLab; 31062 Toulouse, France4 CNRS; EcoLab; 31062 Toulouse, France 5 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Denver. Denver, CO 80209 USA* e-mail: [email protected]

The study of the impacts of opencast coal mining on water and aquatic ecosystems haveusually focused on the downstream effects. However, it is also important to evaluate themining effects on water bodies located within the mining areas over the time. How intenseis metal pollution? How is the macroinvertebrate community being affected? Ultimately,are mining reclamations effective from the perspective of on-site water bodies? To answerthese questions we sampled the macroinvertebrate community, the water and the sedimentof 19 manmade ponds of different ages since its construction (from 1 to 22 years) locatedat reclaimed opencast coal mines in northeastern Spain. To evaluate the degree of miningpollution, we compared these data to those from a pit-lake created in a local un-reclaimedmine, as well as reference toxicity levels in aquatic organisms found in the literature. Therunoff ponds showed toxic concentrations of Al, Cu and Ni in the water and As and Ni in thesediment, which were maintained over the time represented by the chronosequence. Therewas a weak increase of macroinvertebrate community complexity, but no successional


phases were detected and diversity was low. The pit-lake showed higher metal concentra-tions than the manmade ponds and no aquatic macroinvertebrates were found. Overall, thisstudy suggests that the isolated manmade ponds constructed in the reclaimed opencast coalmines are a limiting environment to the development of the aquatic community. But alsoreveals the importance of mine reclamation for the development of functional ecosystems.

Phytoplankton and benthic diatom diversity in urban

stormwater ponds compared to natural shallow lakes

minelgaite, Greta*; Asbjørn Haaning nielsen; morten Lauge Pedersen; diana Agnetestephansen; Jes VollertsenAalborg University, Department of Civil Engineering, Sohngaardsholmsvej 57, DK-9000, * [email protected]

Stormwater ponds are constructed in urban areas as one of the means to protect surround-ing terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems from elevated loads of pollutants. Such ponds act asa sink for certain hazardous substances received with the runoff from impermeable surfaces.Therefore, a significant amount of contaminants are retained both in the water column andsediments of such ponds. Despite that, stormwater ponds also become habitats for variousspecies of fauna and flora. However, these ecosystems have not received much attention,for example in terms of the degree to which organisms are inhibited by elevated loads ofcontaminants. As algae form the basis of aquatic ecosystems, they become a relevant objectto investigate in order to later describe the relationships among them, higher organisms andprocesses present in the ecosystem as a whole. This study aims to describe and comparethe composition of phytoplankton and benthic diatom communities in three selected urbanstormwater ponds and three natural shallow lakes. Water and sediment samples are col-lected at 5 spots in each lake and pond. Samples for phytoplankton identification are taken20 cm below the water surface, mixed and preserved. Sediment samples are collected usingsediment cores at a water depth of about 50 cm. The top 1 cm of sediment is extracted,mixed with the other core samples from that location and preserved for later sample treat-ment and species identification. A number of factors, such as e. g., chemical water compo-sition, weather conditions, location or light availability influence the formation andcomposition of algae communities in a certain water body. In this study, samples are takenclose in time and under comparable conditions. The study will hence lead to initial observa-tions on whether there are differences in phytoplankton and benthic diatom diversity be-tween natural shallow lakes and stormwater ponds receiving urban runoff.

Reagritech LIFE11 ENV/ES/579. Constructed wetlands

for diffuse pollution control of agricultural runoff

morató, Jordi1; Lorena Aguilar1; Ángel Gallegos1; Carlos Arias2; Patricia Caro3; santiagosahuquillo3; Carlos Pérez4

1 UNESCO Chair on Sustainability, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya-BarcelonaTech, TR1, EET, 08222, Terrassa,Barcelona, Spain. jordi.morató@[email protected] - [email protected] Department of Biological Sciences, University of Aarhus, Ole Worms All´e, Building 135, 8000, Arhus C., [email protected] Grupo TYPSA, C. Roselló i Porcel 21, 3ª A, 08016, Barcelona, Spain. [email protected] - [email protected] LEITAT Technological Center, C. de la Innovació 2, 08225, Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain. [email protected].

In recent decades, the agricultural practices have increased their performance through in-tensification of production methods. The most significant impacts are water consumption


and increased load of nutrients in aquifers. Between 50 and 80% of nitrogen in water is con-tributed by nitrogen fertilizers from agriculture runoff. This pollution has produced a sharpincrease of nitrate vulnerable zones. To minimize these impacts, a constructed wetland sys-tem was designed to treat the agricultural runoff. In order to decrease the diffuse pollutionfrom nitrate fertilizers, a 100% of the effluent will be recirculated in the wetland and reusedfor crop irrigation. The biological sizing of the constructed wetland was done with the PKC*method. The system will be built in the 2014 summer and the first results will be obtainedduring the fall. The design objective is to obtain effluents with a 95% reduction of the organicpollution (BOD5), and a decrease of 50 % in the nitrogen content. The use of constructedwetlands with a 100% recirculation of the effluent, is effective for diffuse pollution controlof runoff, in order to be reused for crop irrigation and, at the same time, to reduce the agri-cultural water consumption.

Mangrove plantation and breakwater systems for shoreline

protection: Long-term assessment of the mangrove

rehabilitation project at Sungai Haji Dorani, Malaysia

motamedi, shervin1; roslan Hashim2; song Ki-iL3

1 Department of Civil Engineering, University of Malaya, Malaysia, [email protected] 2 Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Malaya, Malaysia, [email protected] Department of Civil Engineering, University of INHA, South Korea Republic, [email protected]

Shorelines routinely experience enormous brutality of nature. Nearly one-third of the world’spopulation resides in coastal areas, and, as the sea level continues to rise, protecting shore-lines has become essential. The conventional approach for protecting shorelines would beto use “Hard Structures” such as dikes, revetments, and breakwaters. However, the intro-duction of artificial measures might remarkably damage the coastline ecologies. This paperpresents an approach that combines “Soft Intervention” with “Hard Structures” for coastalprotection. Hard engineering measures together with ecological development involving thecultivation of mangrove plantations were implemented to assess their contributions toshoreline protection. Further, a review of the trends in Malaysian coastal protection since1950 is presented. An example of the implementation of eco-engineering technologies atSungai Haji Dorani (SHD), Selangor, Malaysia, is discussed through post-assessment methodswith regard to sedimentological stratum, mangrove establishment, cross-section profile, andcost estimation. Finally, we discuss the extent to which the mangrove replantation projectwas successful. The beach at SHD is muddy and flat and was found to be biologically suitablefor future replantation of mangroves.

Monitoring network and preliminary results to investigate

Andalusian wetlands associated with evaporitic karst aquifers

mudarra-martínez, matías1; Bartolomé Andreo-navarro1; Luis Linares Girela2; francisco Car-rasco Cantos1

1 Department of Geology and Centre of Hydrogeology at the University of Malaga (CEHIUMA), Malaga, 29071,Spain. [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] 2 Academy of Science of Malaga. [email protected]

The hydrogeological characterization of aquifers related to evaporitic rocks and associatedwetlands is a fundamental aspect to know the origin and functioning of these areas, to im-


prove their management, as well as to propose measures of restoration and water protection.In Andalusia (southern Spain), a wide extension of terrain constituted fundamentally by claysand evaporite rocks (gypsum and salt) exists. All these materials, termed Chaotic SubbeticComplexes (CSC) constitute an aquifer by dissolution/karstification processes, which togethercollapse and subsidence phenomena, sinkholes and surface depressions, are favorable placesfor wetlands formation. Wetlands and springs placed at lower altitudes are associated withlarge (regional) groundwater flows, of greater residence time within the aquifer, and theynormally drain high salinity waters. Wetlands located in these contexts turn into dischargeplaces of groundwater (discharge wetlands), where the period of seasonal flood is generallyprolonged or even permanent. If phreatic groundwater level remains below the bottom ofwetlands, this constitutes a recharge component in the water balance of the aquifer (rechargewetlands); they are generally ephemeral and with low salinity water. Finally, wetland areaslocated in an intermediate position between recharge and discharge zones (transit wetlands)do not constitute the last destination of groundwater flows, but rather those go towards otherwetlands and springs situated at lower altitudes. We present preliminary results of a moni-toring network established to characterize the functional geological-hydrogeological contextof wetlands and saline springs existing in the Andalusian evaporitic karst aquifers. With theseaims, three main pilot sites have been selected, distributed in different sectors of CSC. In eachof them, a climatic control of the wetlands is performed by means of meteorological auto-matic stations (hourly record), equipped with evaporimeter tank. In thçe most representativewetlands of each pilot site, data logger devices with hourly record have been installed in orderto control water level variations. Likewise, the most relevant springs of each sector have beenmonitored with data logger devices, providing an hourly record of discharge, water temper-ature and electrical conductivity. In several springs, it has been necessary to adapt gaugingstations equipped with V-notch weir for an accurate measuring of outflows. Other endorheicareas and water points (minor springs and wells) located in the CSC are regularly monitored(discontinuous measurements). Water samples are being taken in all points (springs and wet-lands) for subsequent chemical analysis in the laboratory.

Biogeochemical cycles in salt marshes from the Bahía Blanca es-

tuary (Argentina): an overview

negrin, Vanesa L.(a,b); sandra e. Botté(a,b) ; Paula d. Pratolongo(a,b) ; Gabriela González Trilla(c )(a) Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía (IADO, CONICET, CCT-Bahía Blanca), Camino La Carrindangakm 7,5, Edificio E-1 CC 804, (8000) Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires, Argentina (b) Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional del Sur (UNS), San Juan 670,(8000)Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires, Argentina(d) Laboratorio de Ecología, Teledetección y Eco-Informática, Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Ambiental(3iA), (1650) San Martín , Argentina

Salt marshes are recognized worldwide for their key role in the biogeochemical cycling ofelements. The Bahia Blanca estuary (Argentina) is a mesotidal system subjected to a uniquecombination of large interanual climatic variations and a transgressive rising sea level duringthe Holocene. This estuary holds the largest system of deep water ports in Argentina and issurrounded by cities and industries. Salt marshes are well-developed. We offer an insighton the biogeochemical cycles of heavy metals and nutrients in salt marshes based on the


research which is being carrying out since 2000. The main halophytic species in the area,Spartina alterniflora and Sarcocornia perennis, accumulate some heavy metals in their tis-sues, but the former shows a higher allocation of them in belowground biomass and thelater in aboveground biomass. Both species are modifiers of the distribution of inorganic nu-trients in porewater, although tidal flooding is also a significant factor. Even though primaryproductivity is low, decomposition rates, especially from S.perennis, suggest an adequaterecycling of elements through their tissues. Observed patterns are being altered due tochanges in land cover, through S.perennis erosion and S.alterniflora expansion. Ongoing re-search will shed light of the complex patterns in this dynamic ecosystem.

Chemistry of water and soil in Central European ponds:

relationship with land use and morphology

novikmec, milan1; marek svitok1; dušan Kočický2; Ladislav Hamerlík3; richard Hrivnák4; Ju-dita Kochjarová5; Helena oťaheľová4; Peter Paľove-Balang6

1 Department of Biology and General Ecology, Technical University in Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 24, SK-96053 Zvolen,Slovakia, [email protected] ESPRIT, Ltd., Pletiarska 2, PO BOX 27, SK–969 27 Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia, e-mail: [email protected] Department of Biology and Ecology, Matej Bel University, Tajovského 40, SK-97401 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia,[email protected] Institute of Botany, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, SK-84523 Bratislava, Slovakia, [email protected] 5 Botanical Garden – detached unit, Comenius University, Blatnica 315, SK-03815Blatnica, Slovakia, [email protected] of Biological and Ecological Sciences, P. J. Šafárik University in Košice, Mánesova 23, SK-040 01 Košice,Slovakia, [email protected]

Ponds, unlike large water bodies, are known to have small catchments. As a consequence,physicochemical attributes of ponds are thought to reflect primarily local conditions (geolog-ical, hydrological and microclimatic, vegetation, anthropic influence, etc.). For better under-standing the relationship between water and soil chemistry of ponds and characteristics oftheir catchments, we sampled almost 100 ponds in Slovakia (Central Europe). The studiedponds were located from lowland to mountain zones across the complex gradient of differentgeographical and ecological conditions. Detailed characteristics of soil and water chemistrywere analysed in relation to data on ponds morphology and GIS-derived data on catchmentsize and land use. We tested a widely cited assumption that catchment size increases in par-allel with increasing pond size. We also assessed the relationships between water and soilchemistry and the proportion of land-use categories (e.g. agricultural land, forests, meadows,urban and industrial areas) in their catchments. Relationship between pond size and catch-ment area was found to be weak, meaning that small ponds do not necessary drain smallcatchments and vice versa. Water and soil chemistry of studied ponds was found to be relatedto the catchment land use and pond area.

This work was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency under the contractNo. APVV-0059-11.


Promoting biodiversity in urban ponds: identification

of the major determinants of species richness and implications

for pond management

oertli, Beat1; demierre eliane2; ilg Christiane3

1 hepia, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, [email protected] [email protected], [email protected]

Urban ponds are often characterised by a low biodiversity, hosting mainly generalist species.An appropriate management can nevertheless optimize the biodiversity and promote forexample flagship groups as dragonflies or amphibians. Here we aimed at identifying the mainparameters explaining the species richness of contrasted taxonomic groups (aquatic plants,dragonflies, aquatic beetles, molluscs, amphibians) in about hundred ponds of a large Euro-pean city (Geneva, Switzerland). At pond scale, richness of most taxonomic groups was pos-itively correlated with the surface area, the pond naturalness (i.e. vegetated shoreline), thecoverage of the water surface by vegetation, and the naturalness of the substrate. Fish andwaterfowl occurrence, a disturbance frequent in urban ponds, led to a decrease in speciesrichness. Sealed areas (e.g. roads, buildings) located in the surroundings of the ponds alsonegatively influenced richness of all taxonomic groups. Based on our results, we producedan “Urban Pond Management Guide” providing recommendations for pond creation andmanagement in cities. As an example, a new urban pond should be large and located in a“green” environment in order to host potentially a high biodiversity. Further, diverse aquaticvegetation structures should be favoured and the development of fish and waterfowl pop-ulation restricted.

Influence of operational parameters on nutrients removal

in surface-flow constructed wetlands treating eutrophicated

water. Experience in L’Albufera de Valencia Lake

oliver, núria; miguel martín; sara Gargallo; Carmen Hernández-Crespo.Instituto Ingeniería del Agua y Medio Ambiente, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Cno. de Vera s/n. Valencia.Spain. [email protected]

Operational parameters influences on nutrient removal were evaluated from April 2009 toOctober 2012 in a surface-flow constructed wetland (CW) treating eutrophicated water fromLake L’Albufera de Valencia (Valencia, Spain). This CW received among 0.014 and 0.160 m d-

1 of water with significant seasonally variable concentration of N and P species. Inflow ni-trogen was mostly dissolved inorganic nitrogen [DIN] (61% of TN), and more concretelynitrates (76% of DIN). On the contrary, phosphorus was mainly in particulate form (77% ofTP). The main mechanism for nitrogen removal was nitrification-denitrification and for phos-phorus it was sedimentation. Average removal rates (mean±SD) were 58.23±53.98 gN m-2yr-

1 for TN, 8.68±22.15 gN m-2yr-1 for NH4+, 38.36±38.85 gN m-2yr-1 for NO3

-, 6.96±8.30 gP m-2yr-1

for TP and 2.87±6.95 gP m-2yr-1 for PO43-. The mass efficiency was 47% for TN, 57% for NH4

+,62% for NO3

-, 54% for TP and 71% for PO43-. Nitrogen and phosphorus removal were season-

ally dependent, with greater nitrogen removal rates and efficiencies in spring and higherphosphorus removal rates and efficiencies in autumn. It was mainly due to different inflowconcentration and dissolved oxygen concentration in the wetland among seasons, ratherthan temperature. Phosphorus removal efficiency increased with increasing HLR up to 32 myr-1. In contrast, HLR did not affect nitrogen removal. Other external factors such as vegeta-tion cover, presence of birds or drying of the CW also had influence in removal rates.


Ecological requirements of Tanymastix stagnalis (L., 1758)

(Crustacea, Branchiopoda) in a comparative framework:

the case of Malladasde El Saler (Valencia, Spain)

olmo, Carla; deborah fandos; Xavier Armengol; raquel ortellsInstitut Cavanilles de Biodiversitat i Biologia Evolutiva. Universitat de València. Valencia Spain, [email protected]

Knowledge on the ecological requirements of a species is essential to determine its distri-bution at a local or regional scale which should provide invaluable information allowing forthe development of appropriate conservation management policies. Malladas de El Saler isa mosaic of peridunal ponds in the Mediterranean region with a stepwise restoration duringthe past 20 years. Studies in the area have shown that the only anostracan present, T. stag-nalis, is restricted to one, or very few ponds. It is not clear why it has not become establishedin more of the similar and, apparently suitable, temporary water bodies. Understanding themost important ecological parameters constraining the presence of this species is the mainobjective of the present work. Aiming at testing two contrasting hypothesis (limited dispersalvs. habitat unsuitability), we combined field observations and laboratory experiments to de-termine the ecological requirements of this large branchiopod and the possibility of futureestablishment in nearby ponds. First, we compare the typical habitat of T. stagnalis to twomore ponds in the vicinity. Second, we used translocation experiments with eggs and adultindividuals in small mesocosms in the lab to measure life span and egg production. Our re-sults suggest that conductivity is a key factor explaining the presence of T. stagnalis. In thefield the species is restricted to low conductivity levels, and in the lab, fertility and hatcha-bility are limited when conductivity increases. This explains the absence in one of the testedponds but not in the other. We discuss possible explanations for these results and suggestseveral measures in order to contribute to the species establishment in the area.

Should I stay or should I go? Hatching decisions under high

population densities

ortells, raquel; manuel serra; maria José CarmonaInstitut Cavanilles de Biodiversitat i biología Evolutiva. Universitat de València. Valencia Spain, [email protected]

Diapause is an adaptation to escape unfavorable environmental conditions and disperse inspace and time. Entering and terminating diapause are thus important life history switchpoints, whose timing affects fitness. A selective advantage in the ability of diapausing stagesto respond to signals indicating likely adverse or favorable conditions is expectable. Delayedhatching decisions must be suitably hedged against the costs that arise from staying dormantin the sediment. However in unpredictable environments such as temporary Mediterraneanponds, this decision is not straightforward because environmental cues may be misleading.Alternatively, some organisms such as cyclically parthenogenetic rotifers use biotic cues forswitching phases in the life cycle. In the genus Brachionus, the induction of sexual diapausingegg production is induced by a chemical signal produced by the rotifers themselves, whichaccumulates in the environment during crowding. We tested whether rotifer diapausing eggsfrom two sympatric species can also detect these infochemicals from the presence of con-specific and co-generic high population densities and if that affects diapausing eggs hatchingstrategies. Using a random block design, we isolated diapausing eggs from B. plicatilis and B.


manjavacas in three treatments: 1) filtered medium from a crowded culture of conspecifics,2) filtered medium from a crowded culture of congenerics and 3) filtered algal food mediumacting as control. Results showed that at least one species could assess environmental qualityby sensing infochemicals during dormancy, and adjust hatching strategies accordingly. B. pli-catilis preferred overcrowding conditions to mortality hazards in the sediment. This suggestsan adaptation to unpredictable environments in arid regions, where rainfall is scarce and theprobability of having consecutive good years is smaller than the probability of burying in thesediment and deteriorate.

Pond with life-an environmental education campaign for pond

conservation and pedagogical exploration in Portugal

Palhas, Jael1; Armando Alves2; eunice sousa3; José Teixeira4

1 CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Campus Agrário de Vairão, R. Padre Ar-mando Quintas, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal, [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

“Ponds with Life” (“Charcos com Vida”) is a pond conservation and environmental educationcampaign. This project encourages the inventory, adoption, construction, conservation andpedagogical exploration of ponds. It also aims to contribute to public awareness about theseimportant and threatened habitats, and the contact and exploration of its biodiversity. Inthis communication we resume the results of almost 4 years of the project. From November2010 to mid-June 2014 the project had 1740 ponds recorded in the Pond Inventory, 191 par-ticipating entities and 40 adopted ponds. The project expanded to Spain with the collabora-tion of ADEGA, which is coordinating the campaign in Galicia and developed new ways towork with the schools and general public. The project is in constant evolution, and severalchallenges involve the capacity of finding long-term funding programs and evaluating theproject accomplishment to design more effective ways to communicate Ponds in future. Theproject communication effectiveness is being evaluated through queries to different targetpublic and in this presentation we’ll also discuss some preliminary results.

Water purification from nitrogen as an ecosystem service

from a constructed surface flow wetland treating agricultural

drainage water

Pappalardo, salvatore 1; maurizio Borin1

1 University of Padova, DAFNAE – Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment –Agripolis Campus, University of Padova, Viale dell’Università 16 – 35020 Legnaro (PD) Italy, [email protected]

The framework of ecosystem services embodies, at present time, a powerful tool both to eco-logically-economically assess values of agro-ecosystems and to concretely convey operative-applicative models for a more sustainable rural development. Among all, an essentialecosystem service is water purification, mostly provided by natural and semi-natural wetlands


at multiple scales. In fact, even if wetland systems play a crucial role in supplying all of ecosys-tem services, the efficiency in nutrient and sediment retention, and water purification, sothat they can trap and retain 80 to 90% of sediment from runoff and eliminate 70 to 90% ofentering nitrogen (N). The natural ability of wetlands to trap nutrients is also well mimed byconstructed wetlands which may assume even more importance, at territory scale, in treatingagricultural drainage water, by reducing N load and protecting surface and ground water. Theaim of this work is to evaluate a long term field experiment of a 0.32 ha constructed surfaceflow wetland, vegetated with Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. and Typha latifolia (L.), in abat-ing diffuse N contamination from a 6 ha of intensive cropping system (12 plots), located inNE of Italy. The analysis is based on a in an ongoing experiment (1998), structured on a fac-torial combination of two farmland drainage systems (conventional and controlled drainage)and two management criteria (surface by ditches and subsurface by plastic pipes) with threereplicates. Preliminary results confirm again relevant abating both N-NO3 and total N withan apparent removal efficiency of about 90%. The major quantity of removed N seems to bestored in vegetation and soil; on contrast only 6% was estimated as being lost by denitrifica-tion processes. These agricultural constructed wetlands may also provide several ancillaryregulating ecosystems services such as phosphorus and sediment retention, but also enhancebiodiversity and landscape values.

Functional diversity of macrophytes in kettle hole types

Pätzig, marlene1; Thomas Kalettka2

1 Leibniz-Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research, Institute of Landscape Hydrology, Eberswalder Str. 84, D-15374 Müncheberg, Germany, [email protected], [email protected]

Kettle holes are hotspots of biodiversity in the preferably agricultural used young morainelandscape of North-East Germany. These small pond-like depressional wetlands are highlyvariable ecosystems, mainly due to their diverse hydrogeomorphic characteristics, which inturn leads to a diverse macrophyte occurrence. The characteristics of kettle holes have beenindependently classified into both, hydrogeomorphic (HGM) types and succession (SUC)types of dominant vegetation. So far, there are neither studies which addressed the distri-bution of succession types within HGM-types nor about the macrophyte assemblages in suc-cession types.

Our study was based on 144 kettle holes of a large dataset from the federal state of Bran-denburg including 9 HGM-types and 9 SUC-types. Functional diversity of macrophytes wasdetermined on the basis of plant life- and -growth forms.

Frequency distribution showed significant dependency of succession types on hydrogeo-morphic types of kettle holes. Although, we found no differences in taxa- and growth formrichness, significant differences were obtained for species composition and composition ofgrowth forms between succession types. Based on these results we suggest that a combi-nation of hydrogeomorphic and succession types showing different macrophytes commu-nities might be possible. Such profound classification of kettle holes would help to establisheffective conservation strategies.


Does pond size matter? Breeding site use of amphibian

communities in a mixed landscape of Central Europe

Péntek, Attila L.1; Csaba f. Vad2; Katalin Zsuga3; Zsófia Horváth4

1 Department of Zoology and Animal Ecology, Szent István University, Páter Károly u. 1, H-2103 Gödöll_, Hun-gary, e-mail: [email protected] Doctoral School of Environmental Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/A, H-1117 Bu-dapest, Hungary, e-mail: [email protected] Fácán sor 56, H-2100, Gödöll_, Hungary, e-mail: [email protected] WasserCluster Lunz, Dr. Carl Kupelwieser Promenade 5, AT-3293, Lunz am See, Austria,[email protected]

Pond-breeding amphibians occupy distinct habitat patches, often by covering relatively largedistances, hence they are excellent subjects for metapopulation and metacommunity stud-ies. In two years with contrasting rainfall (2012 and 2013), we recorded the presence of am-phibian species in more than 100 waterbodies in a mixed landscape (mosaic of deciduousforests, natural grasslands and agricultural fields) of Central Europe, along with local habitatcharacteristics. Data were evaluated within the metacommunity framework. We found 10amphibian species in 87 waterbodies. Local variables, landscape factors and space all ap-peared to be significant determinants of the metacommunity structure. We found greaterinfluence of local factors on the amphibian metacommunities, but dispersal among breedingsites also mattered. Our results were highly similar for the two years. Species richness wasonly driven by local and spatial variables. Most species preferred waterbodies with large sur-face area and dense vegetation in both years. We found positive species-area relationships,and the correlation was stronger in the wet year of 2013 than in 2012. Similar studies arenecessary to gain essential knowledge for conserving endangered amphibians.

Results of a mire monitoring (2008-2013) in Navarre (NE Spain)

after fencing to control livestock and ditch damming

to re-install hydrological balance

Peralta, Javier1; Patxi Heras2; marta infante2; Asun Berastegi3

1 Departamento de Ciencias del Medio Natural, Universidad Pública de Navarra, Campus de Arrosadia, 31016Pamplona, Spain, [email protected] Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Álava, c/ Siervas de Jesús 24, 01001 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, Spain,[email protected] Gestión Ambiental de Navarra, S.A., c/ Padre Adoain 219, 31015 Pamplona-Iruña, Navarra, Spain,[email protected]

Belate mire (NE Spain) displays a diverse vegetation consisting of three mire habitats, wetheaths [Habitats Directive type 4020], Molinia meadows [6410] and transition mires [7140],and two wet facies of grasslands: acidophilus Danthonia decumbens [6230] and mesic Cyno-surion cristati pastures. It is located in an area extensively used for livestock grazing that hasbeen profoundly altered throughout time by drainages, grazing and manuring. In 2008 begana reclamation project to enhance mire habitats and species by controlling livestock entrancewith fences and increase waterlogging by blocking ditches with 11 wooden dams. 14 plotsof 1 sq m were established to monitorize possible changes. In each of them were recordedall the species, their cover, and vegetation maximum height, both before (2008) and aftermeasures were implemented (2009-2013). Univariate analysis by repeated measures ANOVA


and Friedman’s test applied on plant cover, number of species and vegetation height throughtime, showed an increase in overall vegetation cover and that of hydrophytic species, as wellas of vegetation maximum height. Multivariate analysis by canonical constrained ordinationrevealed a floristic turnover through time with expansion of hidrophytes and changes in veg-etation from wet pastures towards Molinia meadows and helophytic plant communities.

Nitrogen removal in a fluvial wetland: macrophyte-bacteria

interactions and relevance at the basin scale

Pinardi, monica1,2; elisa soana1,3; mariano Bresciani2; Paolo Villa2; marco Bartoli1

1 Department of Life Sciences, University of Parma, Parma Italy; [email protected]; [email protected] National Research Council, Institute for Electromagnetic Sensing of the Environment, CNR-IREA, Milano Italy;[email protected]; [email protected] Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara Italy; [email protected]

The Mincio River (northern Italy) hosts ~23 km2 of wetlands including common reed (Phrag-mites australis), sedges (Carex spp.), floating leaved (Nelumbo nucifera, Nuphar lutea, Trapanatans) and submerged plants (Vallisneria spiralis, Ceratophyllum demersum). Such relictarea (~3% of the Mincio watershed), laying within an heavily exploited basin for agricultureand animal farming, is protected as Site of Community Importance, Regional Park and NaturalReserves, and part of World Heritage by UNESCO. Due to its metabolic capacity, it canprocess a large amount of nitrogen via combined uptake, temporary retention, burial anddenitrification. This can be relevant in the context of the nitrate directive, as mass budgetreveal a large nitrogen surplus (~7500 t N y-1). We performed experimental measurementsand calculation by means of biogeochemical and remote sensing approaches and literaturedata, to estimate N uptake in different groups of macrophytes and phytoplankton, and den-itrification rates in sediments. Our results suggest that ~1600 t y-1 of N surplus is exportedoutside the Mincio basin. The major part of the N is retained in the watershed, mainly dueto primary producers uptake, in particular by reeds (40% of N surplus) followed by pelagic(macrophytes and epiphytes) and benthic denitrification.

LIFE Charcos: Temporary Ponds Conservation in the Southwest

Coast of Portugal

Carla Pinto-Cruz, Carla1; Ana Lumbreras Corujo2; Anabela Belo1; rita Alcazar3

1 Portugal ICAAM - Instituto de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais Mediterrânicas, Departamento de Biologia, Univer-sidade de Évora, Núcleo da Mitra, Ap. 94, 7002-554 Évora, Portugal2 ICAAM - Instituto de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais Mediterrânicas, Universidade de Évora, Núcleo da Mitra, Ap.94, 7002-554 Évora, 3 LPN – Liga para a Protecção da Natureza, Centro de Educação Ambiental do Vale Gonçalinho (CEAVG), Apartado84, 7780-909 Castro Verde, Portugal

Mediterranean Temporary Ponds (MTP), are classified as priority habitat (3170*) for con-servation by the Habitats Directive. LIFECharcos project is ongoing since July 2013 until De-cember 2017, in the coastal plain of southwest Portugal, classified under the EuropeanNatura 2000 Network as Site of Community Importance (SCI Costa Sudoeste). This area hostsa large number of MTP, as a consequence of climatic and edaphic characteristic. In the lasttwo-decade, modern industrialized agriculture and tourism are causing a steep decline ofthis habitat in this area. Traditionally seen as non-productive areas, MTP are nowadays sub-jected to strong anthropogenic pressures, such as deep soil turning, accelerated drainage,


flattening the surface topography or transformation into permanent reservoirs for irrigation.Therefore, it is urgent to act in order to halt this decrease trend and assure their long-termprotection. Thus, the main aim of LIFECharcos project is to enhance the MTP conservationstatus in SW Portugal. We expected to undertake conservation and restoration actions in atleast 16 MTP. Preparatory actions, like the biodiversity assessment and cartography, arenow almost complete. Since MTP are privately owned, agreements with landowners arebeing settled to pursue the demonstration of best practices on MTP restoration. The mostimportant challenges are the temporary ponds ecological restoration, as well as the increaseof public awareness. Concrete conservation actions include grazing management, MTP seedbank establishment, increase pond connectivity and a didactic pond for awareness.

Agronomic utilization and nutritional enrichment of wetlands

through cultivation of Aeschynomene aspera (L.)

Poddar, ParthenduUttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya (North Bengal Agricultural University), Pundibari, Coochbehar, West Bengal,INDIA-736165

Wetland comprises 6.4% (855.8 million ha.) of the World’s total land area. Survival of humancivilization is intimately linked with wetlands since 4500 B.C. In India, a vast geographicalarea (about 25-30% of the coast and North- Eastern plains) in low-lying situations is exposedto water logging during rainy season every year. During peak rainy months floods make themswampy/marshy and almost they get turned to out of cultivation. The economy of the poormarginal and sub-marginal farmers of wetland areas in eastern India can be improvisedthrough the cultivation of different crops. Several food crops like deep water rice, waterchest nut (Trapa bispinosa), taro (Colocasia esculenta), makhana (Euryale ferox) comprisean integral component of this eco-system. The aquatic medicinal plants—bramhi, kesuti,Ipomoea, kulekhara, Enhydra, thankuni, water cress are being used in a wide scale commer-cially across the globe to produce various human bio-medicines. Another category is aquaticfood cum ornamental plants like lotus, water lily, royal water lily etc. Besides this, the aquaticplant diversity includes non-food commercial crops like hogla, matreed, calamus, shoal(Aeschynomene aspera) and aquatic fodder crops like water grass, coix etc. It is also to bementioned here that aquatic weeds cum plants of biomass like water hyacinth, Pistia, Hy-drilla, Azolla and algae can profitably be used for succeeding arable crops like rice, wheat,oil seeds as resourceful biomass. The present study concentrated on making profitable uti-lization of waste wetlands through cultivation of Aeschynomene aspera, which is a highlyprofitable genus. Preliminary survey with the farmers proved that this crop is raised only asper their traditional practice without much care. With a view to evaluate the most econom-ically viable nutrient source with dose and most feasible method of planting, two separatefield experiments were fitted in Randomised Block Design with four replications and fivetreatments each. In Experiment I treatments were P1 : Control, P2 : FYM @ 2 t / ha, P3 : Ver-micompost @ 2 t / ha, P4 : N: P2O5:K2O :: 20:40:20 kg/ha and P5 : FYM @ 2 t/ha + N: P2O5:K2O:: 20:40:20 kg/ha. In Experiment II treatments were T1 : Direct seeding , T2 : Transplantingwith spacing 50 X 50 cm, T3 : Transplanting with spacing 70 X 70 cm, T4 : Transplanting withspacing 90 X 90 cm and T5 : Transplanting with spacing 110 X 110 cm. From the present find-ings, it can be concluded that raising of nursery and transplanting in the main field with aspacing 70 cm X 70 cm & application of N:P:K::20:40:20 kg/ha in the transplanted main fieldmay be advocated for maximization of profit and higher return-cost ratio of 1.63:1. Approx-


imately, Rs.9500.00 per hectare can be earned net from the cultivation of Aeschynomeneand thus poverty of poor marginal and sub marginal farmers of wetland areas can be allevi-ated to some extent.

Role of wetlands in aater cycling and local climate formation

in agricultural landscapes

Pokorný, Jan1; Petra Hesslerová1; Hanna Huryna1,2; Vladimír Jirka1

1 ENKI, o.p.s. Třeboň, Dukelská 145, CZ-379 01 Třeboň, Czech Republic, [email protected] University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, , Branišovská 31, CZ-370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic,[email protected]

CCrop plants do not tolerate flooding. Arable fields are therefore drained. Aeration of soilresults in rapid mineralisation of soil organic matter, soil acidification on the one side andeutrophication of waters on the other. Drainage shifts the distribution of solar energy fromevapotranspiration to sensible heat. Airship thermal scanning of surface temperature (Ts)and ground measurements of air temperature (Ta) showed well balanced daily temperaturedynamics and slow morning temperature increase in forests and wetlands. Ts of dry landwith sparse vegetation were by up to 20 oC higher than Ts of wetlands and forests. The airtemperature (Ta) measured in a screen 2 m above ground level are used as indicators of cli-mate change. Large differences between surface temperature (Ts) and air temperature (Ta)of almost 15 oC were found at sites with sparse vegetation. At the same time Ts of wetlandswas even slightly lower than Ta. Dense vegetation supplied with water keeps surface tem-perature lower, reduces the vertical gradient of temperature and therefore reduces waterloss. Differences in vertical temperature gradients in crops, wetland vegetation and forestson a clear summer day are shown in thermo-vision pictures. Shown are daily series andmonthly budgets of sensible and latent heat fluxes (evapotranspiration) measured in wetlandand crop vegetation. We assume that dense vegetation of wetlands loses less water thancrop fields with hot soil surface. The design of agriculture landscapes for closing the waterand nutrient cycles is discussed.

Aquatic vertebrates and macrofauna habitat relationships in

coastal wetlands from Andalucía (S Spain)

Prenda, José1; Adrián ramos-merchante1; isabel redondo2; silvia rubio3

1 Departamento de Biología Ambiental y Salud Pública. Universidad de Huelva (UHU). Campus universitario de ElCarmen, Avda. Andalucía s/n, 21071, Huelva, España. [email protected] Instituto Andaluz de Caza y Pesca Continental. Consejería de Medio Ambiente. Junta de Andalucía3 Agencia de Medio Ambiente y Agua de Andalucía. Junta de Andalucía

Wetlands are essential habitats for aquatic biodiversity, especially for fish and other large sizefauna. Many fish species complete their life cycle within littoral wetlands as they providefeeding grounds, suitable areas for reproduction and refuge for different phases of develop-ment. However, many of these systems suffer many impacts from human activities, especiallyin densely populated areas as the southern Iberian coasts. In this work, we present the taxo-nomic composition of littoral wetlands macrofauna and aquatic vertebral communities; we


define the main species assemblages and its relationships with habitat features. A total of 22fish species were captured besides other eight large sized aquatic species. The most frequentspecies was the eel (Anguilla anguilla), followed by the common goby (Pomatoschistus mi-crops). The organization of this aquatic biodiversity depended upon a saline gradient. Finally,several aspects on the conservation of these systems and its associated biodiversity in highlyimpacted areas are discussed.

Trophic interaction effects on size distributions

in aquatic communities

Quintana, Xavier d.1*; matías Arim2; Anna Badosa3; José maría Blanco4; dani Boix5; sandraBrucet6; Jordi Compte7; Juan J. egozcue8; elvira de eyto9; ursula Gaedke10; stéphanieGascón11; Luis Gil de solá12; Kenneth irvine13; erik Jeppesen14; Torben L. Lauridsen15; rocíoLópez-flores16; Thomas mehner17; susana romo18; martin søndergaard19

1 Institute of Aquatic Ecology. University of Girona. Faculty of Sciences. Av. Mª Aurèlia Capmany, 69. 17071.Girona. Spain. [email protected] Sección Zoología Vertebrados, Facultad de Ciencias, Univ. de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay. [email protected] Department of Wetland Ecology, Doñana Biological Station (EBD)-CSIC Sevilla, Spain. [email protected] Department of Ecology and Geology, University of Málaga, Spain. [email protected] [email protected] Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Vic, Vic, Spain. [email protected] 7 [email protected] Department of Applied Mathematics III, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, [email protected] Marine Institute, Furnace, Newport, Co. Mayo, Ireland. [email protected] University of Potsdam, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Potsdam, Germany. [email protected] [email protected] Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Málaga, Spain. [email protected] Zoology Department, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. [email protected] Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Silkeborg, Denmark. [email protected] Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Silkeborg, Denmark. [email protected]. [email protected] 16 Area de Ecología, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Huesca, Universidad de Zaragoza, [email protected] Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes,Berlin, Germany. [email protected] Area de Ecología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Valencia, Spain. [email protected]

Size diversity was used to investigate patterns in size distribution of phytoplankton, zoo-plankton and fish assemblages in response to trophic interactions. Size diversity was com-puted based on the Shannon-Wiener diversity expression, adapted to a continuous variable,such as body size. At all trophic levels the increase in biomass of potential predators reducedsize diversity of prey by concentrating their sizes in a narrow range. At the upper trophic lev-els (zooplankton and fish), size distributions became more diverse when potential resourceavailability was low, suggesting that competitive interactions promote a diversification ofaquatic communities by size. This pattern was not found in phytoplankton size distributions,where size diversity mostly increased with low zooplankton grazing and/or high nutrientavailability. Our results suggest, at least for consumers, an interplay between predation,leading to an accumulation of organisms in the less predated size classes, and competition,promoting a wider size distribution.


Diversity and distribution of aquatic Heteroptera in Slovakia:

the importance of small standing waters

reduciendo Klementová, Barbora1; marek svitok1; milan novikmec1; Zuzana matúšová1

1 Department of Biology and General Ecology, Technical University in Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 24, SK-96053 Zv-olen, Slovakia, [email protected]

Water bugs (Heteroptera) are poorly studied group of aquatic insects in Slovakia. The latestpublished checklist comprised 28 species and 2 genuses without more precise specification.Since 2011, we have focused closely on this group and investigated more than 600 lotic andlentic sites for presence of aquatic Heteroptera. Material from those sites was supplementedby material from 94 small standing waters investigated under the project BIOPOND(www.biopond.sk). At the present, 54 species of aquatic Heteroptera are known from Slo-vakia. Among those, an expansive species Anisops sardeus was recorded for the first timeand Slovakia is currently the northernmost boundary of its distribution. We compared di-versity of heteropterofauna of various aquatic habitats and showed that small standing wa-ters (ponds) are key habitats for maintenance of water bug diversity. Ponds, regardless oftheir origin (natural or artificial), harbour more rare and uncommon species than any otheraquatic habitat. This work was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agencyunder the contract No. APVV-0059-11.

Temporal and small water bodies in modern forests:

a landscape-scale assessment in Estonia

remm, Liina1; Asko Lõhmus1; riinu rannap1

1 Department of Zoology, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, EE-51014Tartu, Estonia

Temporal freshwater bodies in forests are important as wildlife habitat and in biomass cy-cling, but their occurrence in relation to forest management is poorly documented. We con-ducted a survey of the abundance and characteristics of different small water bodies alonglandscape transects in Estonia, considering the effects of artificial drainage (ditching) andclear-cutting. The area of natural puddles and floods varied by nearly two orders of magni-tude among habitat types, mostly according to soil moisture. The total density of lentic smallwater bodies was almost equal to the cover of permanent ponds and lakes on the Estonianland area. The main impact of forestry was the conversion of water body types: natural oneswere partly replaced by ditches and wheel rut pools due to drainage and clear-cutting, re-spectively. Using brown frogs as an indicator group revealed that these changes are not nec-essarily detrimental: the frogs were most commonly found to breed in anthropogenic waterbodies in open areas (i.e., clearcuts). The mitigation of forestry impacts on temporal waterbodies should focus on allowing natural flooding in selected areas and on restoring naturalstreams.


Differences in the anaerobic decomposition of Phragmites

australis plant tissue in rewetted and near pristine fens

as determined by FTIR-Spectroscopy

reuter, Hendrik; Jörg Gelbrecht; dominik ZakLeibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries Berlin, Department of Chemical Analytics and Biogeo-chemistry, Müggelseedamm 301, D-12587 Berlin, Germany, [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

Rewetting of drained fens often results in the formation of shallow lakes. High exports ofDOC and nutrients and high methane emissions are typical characteristics for these ecosys-tems. The underlying mechanisms within the anaerobic soil remain poorly understood. Wehypothesized that the elevated carbon turnover activity in the rewetted fen soils, as indicatedby high methane and DOC production, is a consequence of a generally higher anaerobic litterdecomposition rate as compared to natural fens. Therefore, leaf, stalk and rhizome tissueof Phragmites australis, harvested from one rewetted-calcareous (RC), one near pristine-calcareous (PC) and one acidic fen, were analyzed before and after a 75 day litterbag incu-bation into the anaerobic soils of these fens. In addition to the dry-weight determinationand elemental analysis, FTIR-Spectroscopy was applied. Dry mass losses were between 5and 68 per cent. Major differences were based on litter quality (stalk<leaf<rhizome) and soilproperties (RC~PC>acidic fen). Higher degrees of decomposition in the rewetted and pristinefens went along with decreasing C/N-ratios, while these ratios increased for tissues decom-posed in the acidic fen. Intensity changes in the amid-I region of the FTIR spectra closely fol-lowed this trend while changes of the carbohydrate signals more closely resembled overallmass loss, indicating varying degrees of microbial presence and activity. This indicates thatthe decomposition mechanisms of fresh plant material in the sediment of RC fens are similarto those within the peat of a PC fen. Thus, higher methane emissions from RC fens do not ingeneral indicate smaller carbon sequestration potentials.

Hydrological monitoring of “Los Tollos” playa-lake (Andalusia,

Spain) in the context of its restoration (Life+ “Los Tollos”)

rodríguez rodríguez; miguel1, francisco moral martos2, mario Parra Cachada3

1 Universidad Pablo de Olavide. Carretera de Utrera, km. 1, 41013, Sevilla. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Los Tollos playa-lake is a shallow water body that has been severely affected by mining ac-tivities (sepiolite – palygorskite extraction) that took place between 1976 and 1998. The orig-inal 81-hectares playa-lake flooded surface was reduced to 55 hectares and the hydrologicalregime was modified by means of two open pits adjacent to the playa-lake that were aban-doned and flooded after the ceasing of the mining operations. In the context of Los TollosLife+ project, the hydrology of the playa-lake and the related aquifers has been studied indetail. Since year 2012, hydro-meteorological data from an automatic weather station, datafrom soil moisture sensors, ground and surface water level information and hydro-geochem-ical information from periodical samplings were monitored in order to analyse the hydro-logical response of the different water bodies to the restorations activities. In this sense, arecovery of the groundwater levels in different sectors of the two main aquifers below the


playa lake – the unconfined Quaternary lacustrine aquifer and the confined Pliocene sandyaquifer – have been detected since the end of the mining activities. Additionally, the hydro-chemistry of the different water bodies have been identified and a detailed water balancehas been made throughout the restoration period.

Economic and ecological evaluation of Cartagena´s urban

mangroves forest and proposals for sustainable human

development

rodríguez, mauricio; Tania Jiménez Castilla; netty Huertas1 Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar, [email protected]; [email protected],[email protected]

Mangroves are one of the most characteristic ecosystems of the Colombian Caribbean. Carta-gena is surrounded by estuaries and wetlands where mangroves found place for its devel-opment, forming an important part of the public space and taking an adversarial role in theurban planning policy because in a city with serious constrains for its urban expansion, man-groves and wetland sadly became a “viable” alternative for urban development. In this articlewe make an ecological and economic evaluation of the urban mangroves of Cartagena. First,we analyze the ecological functionality of this ecosystem. Then, using hedonic price modelingwe estimate the effect that mangroves have on the house market. The data used in thisstudy and the econometric analysis, come from the cadastre office and environmental agen-cies within Cartagena. The results shows that Cartagena´s urban mangroves under-achievethe environmental functions expected from these ecosystems, so policies and managementactions should aim to potentiate their real ecological functionality to promote sustainablehuman development in the area. Finally, the hedonic estimation reveals a negative correla-tion between property value and mangrove proximity, indicating that, -on average- propertyprice is reduced to the extent that it´s located closer tothe mangroves.

Soils in endorheic depressions in northern Monegros, Spain

rodríguez-ochoa, rafael; José ramón olarietaDepartamento de Medio Ambiente y Ciencias del Suelo, Universidad de Lleida, Av. Rovira Roure 191, 25198 Lleida,Spain, [email protected]

Endorheic basins are important landscape features in the semiarid Ebro Valley (NE Spain).Soils in these basins have developed from fine quaternary colluvial detritic sediments underhydromorphic conditions in a geochemical environment with carbonates, gypsum, other sol-uble salts, and high pH. In most cases, these soils were artificially drained, and in the case ofthe Laguna de Sariñena, the depth of water was artificially controlled. Our objective was tocharacterize the soils in these geochemical environments, and their relationship to flooding,and to carbonatic and saline conditions. We described 10 soil profiles, 8 with artificialdrainage and 2 with controlled depth of water, in 4 endorheic depressions in northern Mon-egros. These soils were classified as fine, mixed, thermic, Sodic Calcixerept. They were verydeep, imperfectly or poorly drained, and had clayey or silty-clayey texture. Electrical con-ductivity of the saturated paste was 11.6 ± 4.7 dSm-1 at 25 ºC; sodium adsorption relation


(SAR) in the A horizons was 19.5 ± 12.7 and increased in B horizons to 25.8 ± 6.9; and pH(soil to water 1:2.5) was 8.5 ± 0.1. The content of organic matter in the A horizons was 1.7 ±0.6%, while that of CaCO3 ranged between 9.5 and 23%. Cation exchange capacity ranged be-tween 11.2 and 20.6 cmol(+)·Kg-1, and the percentage of exchangeable sodium between 16.5%and 37%. Illite was the main clay mineral in these soils but chlorite also appeared togetherwith traces of kaolinite. The main soil-forming processes were related to redox reactions, car-bonate accumulation, salinity-sodicity, and neoformation of barite and zeolites. The main soilfeatures associated with hydromorphism were: mottles (Fe-Mn oxides), reduced silt coatings,oxidation coatings (ferrihydrite), Fe-Mn pisolites (birnessite, goethite), and iron sulfides.Rhodocrosite (MnCO3) was associated with low-Mg calcite in carbonatic nodules. The occur-rence of these processes and associated minerals has been described for the first time in thissemiarid environment.

How ponds differ-or not-from streams in their biotic responses

to drying?

rosset, Véronique1; Albert ruhí2; Thibault datry1

1 Irstea, UR Maly, F-69626 Villeurbanne, France2 Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University. Tempe, AZ 85287, USA

Disturbance regimes play a crucial role in determining composition and dynamics of localcommunities. The degree of connectivity among local communities should influence re-col-onization speed, and thus resilience, in a given meta-community. We tested this idea bycomparing community responses to drying between lentic and lotic temporary freshwaters,using published case studies from different biogeographic regions. We found that the im-portance of unidirectional flow and subsequent enhanced connectivity in streams (as op-posed to ponds) explained some contrasts in the structure of invertebrate communitiesbetween ecosystem types. For example, species found in temporary ponds were generallya subset of permanent pond communities, in particular under cold climates. In contrast, in-dividual temporary stream sites greatly contributed to regional biodiversity due to a highspatial species turnover, particularly in Mediterranean areas. Conversely, as drying is a severechallenge for all aquatic organisms, we expected and did find striking similarities acrossecosystem types. For example, both pond and stream species richness was lower in tempo-rary sites in comparison to permanent ones. Overall, these results support the idea that inmeta-communities, connectivity can mitigate the effects of disturbance.

Dispersal and colonization of new ponds by freshwater

macroinvertebrates: the case of water beetles

in alpine landscapes

roulet, Albertine1; Christiane ilg1; Beat oertli1

1 University of Applied Science of Western Switzerland. [email protected], [email protected],[email protected]

In ponds, dispersal of aquatic insects in the terrestrial environment through adult’s flightplays a crucial role in the colonization of new habitats. A better understanding of the dis-


persal ability of aquatic invertebrates is needed to allow an optimal efficiency of conservationmeasures such as wetland creation and restoration. It is particularly true in the context ofclimate warming and the movement of species that it will induce both in altitude and lati-tude. Little is known on the colonization ability of water beetles in newly created ponds, es-pecially in alpine landscapes. The aim is here to highlight our understanding of how thistaxonomic group will respond to global warming in the future and ensure the sustainabilityof populations in altitudinal landscape such as the Alps. In this study we assessed the dis-persal ability of alpine water beetles, including the cold stenotherm species threatened bywarming, by a review of the literature supplemented by field experiments. We investigatedthirty new created ponds in the Swiss Alps (Canton Valais) for the assessment of the successof colonization by aquatic beetles. We also assessed the distance of dispersal through trap-ping beetles by: (i) horizontal surfaces composed of shiny black plastic sheets laid onto theground (modeling water surface), and (ii) artificial pools containing pond water.

Macroinvertebrates colonization and evolution in the WWF

protected area “La Francesa” (Pianura Padana, Italy):

a new man-made pond

ruocco,matteo; Luigi sala; roberto simonini; daniela Prevedelli; ivano AnsaloniUniversity of Modena and Reggio Emilia - Department of Life Sciences - via Campi, 213/d 41125 Modena (MO) Italy, [email protected]

The WWF protected area “La Francesa”, established in 2005 in the province of Modena(Emilia-Romagna, Italy), is one of the few areas of natural interest in the low lands of theprovince. Originally, it was a land of 23 ha used for agricultural purposes, set aside becauseof its low productivity. From the beginnings of the ‘90s, it has been managed in order to re-cover its naturalness with the planting of native species and, at the end of 2005, a new man-made pond of 8 ha was created to increase its natural value and the variety of the ecosystem.The present study shows the result of two monitoring surveys carried out during summer2006 and 2011 to assess the colonization status, and its variation along time, of the macro-zoobenthic community of the pond. Samplings were performed with an Ekman bottom grabsampler and a standardized net in six different stations. Results showed a temporal shift inspecies composition due to changes in the habitat, specifically the development of hy-drophytic vegetation along the shore favoured by the stabilization of the system, and thespread of the exotic plant Ludwigia peploides that covered the wet meadow of the pond.

‘Proximity’ and its effect on community assembly

in temporary freshwater pools in Malta

sammut, sheryl; sandro Lanfranco*Department of Biology, University of Malta, Msida MSD2080, [email protected], . [email protected]

The relative contribution of ‘regional’ and ‘local’ factors in determining species richness ofaquatic macrophytes, filamentous algal and microcrustacean taxocenes was investigated in


17 temporary freshwater pools from four pool landscapes in Malta. The pools were visitedweekly throughout one wet season, from September 2012 to March 2013. Coverage andabundance of macrophytes (including Charophytes) and filamentous algae was assessed dur-ing each visit whilst microcrustaceans were collected, using standard sweeps with a planktonnet, in September, November, December and February. Basin morphometry (surface area,depth profile, sediment depth) was characterised for each pool during the dry season whilstpH, nitrate, nitrite and phosphate content of pool water were measured during hydroperiod.The distances between pools and the connectivity between them were also determined.The results indicated that spatial separation between pools was more important than envi-ronmental factors in determining community similarity across pools. The relationship be-tween community composition and regional and local scales of observation was complexand was dependent on whether flora or fauna were being considered. Priority effects alsoplayed a role in shaping these communities since monopolisation of resources by the firstpool colonisers may have resulted in biological barriers to late colonisers.

Implications of climate change for rice farming

in the Doñana wetland (SW Spain)

sánchez, Berta1; Ana iglesias2

1 Department of Agricultural Economics and Social Sciences, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain,[email protected] [email protected]

Climate change impacts are expected to affect rice farming and wetlands welfare in theDoñana protected Area, due to decreases in quantity and quality water supply and highertemperatures. The largest rice farming area is closely located to the Doñana wetlands in theGuadalquivir river basin estuary (South Western of Spain). These two systems share a greatdependence on water and natural resources and suitable climate conditions for their properfunctioning. They are highly vulnerable to environmental changes and efforts should be ad-dressed to improve their local adaptive capacity, since they both provide benefits to the so-ciety. In this study, we explore the potential impacts for the rice farming in Doñana, itsadaptive capacity and possible adaptation measures for the system. The potential impactsare identified by combining results from a literature review and stakeholders interviews. Weassess the risk of heat stress under current and projected local-scale climate scenarios. Find-ings suggest that rice crops will probably suffer water and heat stress during the floweringand grain filling stage (from august to September) under a drier and warmer climate scenario,and in turn the natural wetland will be negatively affected by water degradation and scarcity.Thus, the water conflict among systems will be increased and adaptation measures will benecessary to ensure the water provision and to maintain the socio-economic and the wetlandecosystems welfare. We briefly outline the local adaptive capacity of the rice farming andsome of the synergies and trade-offs for the adaptation measures according to the social,economic and environmental context.


Self-purification capacity in Riparian wetlands

sánchez-Pérez, J. m. 1,2; sauvage, s. 1,2; Teissier, s.; Bernard-Jannin, L. 1,2; sun, X. 1,2; yao, J. m1,2; Gerino m. 1,2; Amiche, C. 1,2; Chamsi, o.1,2; Pinelli, e.1,2; Jean, s. 1,2; Charcosset, J. y. 1,2; Barret,m. 1,2; Attard, e. 3; Lauga B. 3; duran, r.3; Antiguedad, i. 4; Zabaleta, A. 4; martinez-santos, m.4; ruiz, e.4; Comin, f.5; Carranza, f. 5; español, C. 5; navarro, e.5; Bodoque, J. m. 6; Ladera, J. 6;yela, J.L. 6; Alonso, J. 6; Brito,d. 7; neves, r. 7

1 University of Toulouse; INPT, UPS; Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (EcoLab), Avenue de l’A-grobiopole, 31326 Castanet Tolosan Cedex, France2 CNRS, EcoLab, 31326 Castanet Tolosan Cedex, France3 EEM, UMR IPREM5254, Université de Pau & Pays de l’Adour, IBEAS, F-64013 Pau, France4 University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU); Hydrology and Environment Group, Department of Geodynamic,48940 Leioa (Basque Country), Spain5 Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (IPE-CSIC); Avda Montañana 1005, 50050 Zaragoza, Spain.6 University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM); Department of Geology and Mine Engineering, Avda Carlos III, 45071Toledo, Spain. 7 MARETEC, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001, Lisboa, Portu-gal

The use of water boreholes for drinking water supply is being abandoned (e.g. 440 bore-holes/ year in France for the period 1998-2008). The aforementioned is mainly due to prob-lems of quantity or quality of water. The alternative use of surface water is often not feasibleas rivers and groundwater’s are being subjected to the direct effects of pollutants comingfrom both point and non point pollution sources (e.g. agriculture, industry). Attenagua is aresearch project INTERREG IVB SUDOE (Southwest Europe) funded by the European RegionalDevelopment Fund (ERDF). It is a joint project between Portugal, Spain and French researchteams aimed to study the natural water purification processes. The research teams are de-veloping the project by catching the water in the riverbank. Alluvial wetlands, located at theinterface between the river and the agricultural lands, are suitable to obtain water with bet-ter quality than from the surface and groundwater under crop areas. We proposed a mixedsolution based on the use of groundwater where floodplain and the riparian area interfer totake advantage of the natural attenuation processes. The filtering capabilities and depurationof riparian wetlands can improve the water quality, reduce the cost of water treatment andincrease the security of the system. The objective of the project is to integrate all the re-search knowledge on alluvial wetlands to create a method able to identify the best placewhere we can extract good quality water from the groundwater.

Metal sequestration by indigenous vegetation in riparian

zones; an ecosystem service to improve water quality

schachtschneider, K.1,2; Jessica Chamier1; Chavon Walters 1; Vernon somerset1

1 CSIR, Natural Resources and the Environment, P.O. Box 320, Stellenbosch 7599, South Africa; 2 Department ofBotany, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X, 7701 Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa* Corresponding and presenting author; E- mail: [email protected], Tel: +2721 888 2553

The study aims to gain a better understanding and initial quantification of the value of metalsequestering as an ecosystem service to motivate for the use of indigenous vegetation inriver rehabilitation strategies. The extent of the riparian vegetation zones of 5 sites in theUpper Olifants River catchment, South Africa, was estimated and expressed as a percentage,based on a hypothetical ideal buffer zone width of 30 metres. The riparian zone was intactfor two of the sites evaluated, sufficient in one and severely compromised in the other two.


The capacity of seven widely occurring riparian species to phytoextract and phytostabilisealuminium (Al), manganese (Mn) and iron (Fe) from the soil and ultimately improve the riverwater quality within these sites was investigated. The highest bioconcentration factors (BCFs)for Al (10.1), Fe (7.03) and Mn (5.02) were determined for Typha capensis, with the remainingspecies having BCFs for Al and Fe between 0.11 and 2.00 with a negligible transfer of Al andFe from root to shoot. Phragmites australis, Typha capensis and Juncus effusus would be themost successful phytostabilisers of Al, Mn and Fe. The value of the ecosystem service wasobserved at a site largely altered by mining and dominated by P. australis, which effectivelyphytoextracted and phytostabilised large concentrations of Al, Fe and Mn in the soil, likelycontributing to the water quality. A similarly impacted site with only 13% intact buffer veg-etation could be rehabilitated by planting a combination of the pollution tolerant, high bio-mass and Al, Fe and Mn phytostabilising species: P. australis, T. capensis, S. corymbosus andJ. effusus.

Deriving systemic national values for biodiversity

and ecosystem services

seják, Josef1; Jan Pokorný2

1 J. E.Purkyne University, Kralova vysina 7, 400 96 Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic, [email protected] ENKI, o.p.s. Třeboň, Dukelská 145, CZ-379 01 Třeboň, Czech Republic, [email protected]

Over the past three or four decades, valuation methodologies for natural capital biodiversityand ecosystem services have undergone considerable development. However, within theutilitarian tradition of mainstream economics, monetary values have been dominantly re-vealed by identifying individuals’ willingness to pay for natural capital benefits and services.Thus, Costanza et al. (1997, 2014) estimated that globally, wetlands are 75 percent (11 timesin 2014) more valuable than lakes and rivers, 15 times (37 times in 2014) more valuable thanforests, and 64 times (33 times in 2014) more valuable than grasslands. Huge differencesand changes in time disclose the subjectivity and disaffection of those unilateral utilitarianvalues from the real thermodynamic efficiency of ecosystems. The paper will discuss theproper, full concept of economic value and will present two methods of systemic nationalvaluation of biotopes (Biotope Valuation Method) and dominant four ecosystem services(Energy-Water-Vegetation Method, based on thermodynamics of ecosystems). These twomethodological approaches show the range of environmental values, from how costly na-tions are to restore the quality of landscape (biotopes as specific habitats for species) totheir real abilities to replace the core life-supporting services of ecosystems (climatizing serv-ice, water retention service, oxygen production, habitats for biodiversity).

Amphibian egg mortality associated to the groundwater

decline of the Doñana aquifer (SW Spain)

serrano, L.1; C. díaz-Paniagua2; C. Gómez-rodríguez3,5; m. florencio2,6 ; m. A. marchand2;J. G. m. roelofs4; e. C. H. e. T. Lucassen4

1 Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, University of Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain, [email protected] Doñana Biological Station-CSIC, Sevilla, Spain [email protected], [email protected] Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Santiago de CompostelaSantiago de Compostela, Spain, [email protected]


4 Environmental Biology, Department of Ecology, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands [email protected] Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, U.K.6 Azorean Biodiversity Group (CITA-A) and Platform for Enhancing Ecological Research and Sustainability (PEERS),Dep. de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade dos Açores, Terceira, Azores, Portugal

Acidification in groundwater-discharge wetlands is dependent on the interaction betweensurface water and groundwater: the stronger the upflow of groundwater discharge and thelonger the time it keeps contact with subsurface sediment, the higher the concentration ofbase cations in the surface water to buffer a low pH. In this study, we have detected acidifi-cation when the buffering capacity of the sediment has been insufficient to buffer the H+ pro-duced by pyrite oxidation on rewetting after summer desiccation. This would explain theacidic water episodes (pH<4.5) recorded in some ponds at the onset of the rainy season since2006. This result suggests that two decades of declining water-table levels have resulted in asignificant reduction of the acid neutralizing capacity due to a decrease in Mg2+ in one of theseponds. Our field monitoring studies of egg mortality of the Western spadefoot toad (Pelobatescultripes) showed that all eggs placed at a water pH<5.0 died during the rainy season of2006/2007, while those placed at pH>5.0 survived. Our results suggest that the decline ingroundwater discharge and the concomitant acidification of the Doñana ponds might be con-tributing to increase the vulnerability of the Western spadefoot toad in this area.

Conservation and management of freshwater wetlands

in Slovenia-WETMAN

simčič, matejThe Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Nature conservation, Tobačna ulica 5, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, [email protected]

Wetlands are one of the most endangered habitats in Slovenia. The main objective of theproject “Conservation and Management of Freshwater Wetlands in Slovenia – WETMAN(LIFE09NAT/SI/000374)” is the restoration and improvement of conditions on six Slovenewetlands. All six pilot areas (Pohorje bogs, Vrhe, Planik, Zelenci, Gornji kal and the Muraoxbow lakes) are also classified as Natura 2000 areas. The project objectives are aimed atimproving favorable conditions of ten endangered plant and animal species and habitats ofCommunity importance. Main filed actions are aiming at improvement of the hydrologicalconditions, removal of overgrowth, removal of invasive non-native fish species from pondsand oxbow lakes, prevention of destruction of endangered habitats and the disturbance ofendangered species, preparation of guidelines for management of pilot areas and their in-tegration into sector plans, which will ensure a sustainable long-term conservation of pilotareas. Field actions were (and still are) supported by awareness raising actions both on na-tional and local level. The project started in February 2011 and will end in February 2015.Project value is 2,144,376 € and it is 50% (1,072,188€) co-financed by the EU “LIFE+ Nature”financial mechanism. Since the vast majority of all actions has already been completed, wecan already see the effects of our work. As the project applicant, the Institute of the Republicof Slovenia for Nature Conservation invited the following partners to cooperate: Institutefor Water of the Republic of Slovenia, Slovenia Forest Service, Fisheries Research Instituteof Slovenia, Municipality Ruše, Municipality Kranjska Gora and Radio-television Slovenia.


A functional plant diversity approach of the halophytic

communities of Monegros Desert

solé-senan, X.o.1; Juárez-escario, A.2; Pedrol, J1; del Arco, C3 ; Conesa, J.A1,3

1 Hortofructiculture, Botany and Gardening Dept/ETSEA-Agrotecnio. University of Lleida 2 Dept. Vegetal Production and Forestry Science. ETSEA. University of Lleida3√Arboretum Lleida Pius Font i Quer. University of Lleida

Although the Monegros desert (northeastern Iberian Peninsula) is the northern most semi-arid area in Europe and one of the regions with largest biodiversity, it has been insufficientlystudied in terms of functional diversity. Moreover, many of the plant communities of the areaare included in the Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats andof wild fauna and flora of the European Union. Our study contributes to fill this gap by pro-viding a functional analysis of the plant communities integrated in 5 habitats commonly foundin the saline lakes of the Monegros desert: (1) pioneering communities of annuals succulentplants as glassworts and Microcnemum adapted to continental muddy-flat and temporary in-undated salt-pans enviroments, (2) perennial salt-pans communities adapted to temporarilyinundated saline soils integrated by succulent chenopodiaceae, (3) Juncus maritimus commu-nities and grass species of wetlands, (4) Communities of highly salt- tolerant species of sealavander Limonium and the false esparto grass Lygeum spartium, (5) annual plant communi-ties of Franquenia as indicator plant and ephemeral communities of pioneering species oninland halophilous hábitats. To characterize the functional diversity of these habitats we fo-cused on 6 plants traits: the Raunkiaer plant life-form, the growth habit, the clonal growth,the seed dispersal system, the pollination system and the sexual expression. In order to finddifferences in the floristic composition between habitats a NMDS was performed and dissim-ilatiry index was calculed and additionally, a redundance analysis on community-weightedmean trait values (CWM-RDA) was performed. Differences on plant community compositionsand functional diversity are discussed.

Influence of submerged macrophytes on metazooplankton com-

munity-an in situ mesocosm experiment in the eutrophic lake

Špoljar, maria1; Tvrtko dražina1; Jelena fressl2; Jasna Lajtner1; Tea Tomljanović3; daniel mat-ulić3; dora matijašec4; ivana Zrinščak1; Biserka Primc1

1 University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Division of Zoology, Rooseveltov trg 6, HR −10000 Zagreb, Croatia2 Dvokut ECRO Ltd., Trnjanska 37, HR − 10000 Zagreb, Croatia3 University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Fisheries, Beekeeping, Game Management and Spe-cial Zoology, Svetošimunska 25, HR − 10000 Zagreb, Croatia4 University of Zagreb, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Department of General and InorganicChemistry, Marulićev trg 19, HR − 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Submerged macrophytes and top-down control are two of the key factors that determinezooplankton assemblages in shallow lakes. We conducted mesocosm experiment in a shal-low, turbid and non-vegetated backwater intended for sport fishing (Sutla River watershed,NW Croatia). We attempted to assess the capacity of submerged macrophytes and fish pre-dation in the lake restoration through altering zooplankton composition. The experimentwas run in situ, from July until October, with naturally present communities, using small (BS,10 mm, − fish) and large (BL, 40 mm, + fish) mesh sizes for basins construction. In four quad-


rants of each basin, 30 Ceratophyllum demersum stems were added. In both mesocosms,results suggested, a higher species diversity and abundance of metazooplankton in compar-ison to backwater pelagial. In BL mesocosm, where plankton and macrophytes assemblageswere exposed to fish predation, we observed macrophytes depletion and significantly higherabundance of small cladocerans compared to BS. In BS mesocosm, without fish predation,macrophytes retained high density and all metazooplankton groups, protozoans and insectlarvae, achieved a higher abundance in comparison to BL, except small cladocerans. Sub-merged macrophytes and biomanipulation could be important tools for mitigating eutroph-ication and natural disturbance (i.e. flooding) that can shift ecosystem diversity and stability.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments

and invertebrates of stormwater detention ponds

stephansen, diana Agnete1; Asbjørn Haaning nielsen2; Thorkild Hvitved-Jacobsen3; CarlosAlberto Arias4; Hans Brix5; Jes Vollertsen6

1 Section of Civil Engineering, Aalborg University, Sohngaardsholmsvej 57, 9000 Aalborg, Denmark,[email protected] [email protected] [email protected], 6 [email protected] Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Ole Worms Allé 1,Bldg. 1135, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark,[email protected] [email protected]

Urban areas, where the establishment of buildings, roads and pavement result in a high per-centage of impervious surfaces, are major concentrators of many pollutants. Therefore, un-treated stormwater runoff can be a significant source for environmental pollution of thereceiving water, if not treated prior to discharge. Wet ponds are engineered structures con-structed to remove pollutants from stormwater runoff, but between rain events these pondsalso function as small, shallow lakes. Over time these “treatment facilities” become occupiedby wildlife and will hence serve as urban aquatic ecosystems. Depending on the character-istics of the pollutants, these can be taken up and bioaccumulate in the biota. The presentstudy contributes to the understanding on how PAHs distribute between sediments andwater-dwelling fauna from 20 locations in Denmark (10 wet ponds compared to 10 smalllakes - estimating the background level of PAHs). Samples were extracted using solvent, andafter filtering and nitrogen evaporation, the samples were analyzed by GC-MS for the 16PAHs recommended by US EPA. The study contributes with knowledge on the fate of PAHspresent in stormwater runoff reaching wet ponds, and increases our understanding of therole of technical stormwater wet ponds as an urban aquatic ecosystem and wildlife habitat.

Linking ponds to pollination in an agricultural ecosystem

stewart, rebecca1; Zulsdorff, Valentina1

1 Centre for Environment and Climate Change, Lund University

Agriculture is a damaging practice due to vegetation removal, drainage, soil disturbance andfertiliser use. Agricultural sustainability requires practices that do not have adverse effectson environmental goods and services, and that lead to more efficient food production. Polli-nation, biological control and nutrient retention are essential services for sustained produc-


tivity of agro-ecosystems, provided by, or enhanced by, the presence of ponds in the land-scape and we present a project that aims to investigate this as there is a lack of data linkingaquatic and terrestrial systems in an applied sense. To assess services associated to ponds,we carried out a field experiment using strawberry plants in 10 sites across Skåne, southernSweden. We assessed the diversity of aquatic and terrestrial invertebrate communities, fromsamples taken during the flowering period, between three treatments consisting of a (1)pond, (2) vegetation and (3) a homogeneous control (n=10). In addition, we assessed the ef-fectiveness of pollination, using the fruits from the plants. Results show clear differences inthe invertebrate community structure between treatments and the strength of pollination.We discuss these results in terms of the role that ponds play in agriculture and the future ofpond conservation and management in agricultural ecosystems.

Quantifying the role of the denitrification process in the alluvial

aquifer using SWAT model: the case of the Garonne River

flooplain (France)

sun, Xiaoling1,2; Léonard Bernard-Jannin1,2; Cyril Garneau 1,2; nancy B sammons3; Jeff GArnold3; raghavan srinivasan4; sabine sauvage1,2; José-miguel sanchez-Perez1,2

1 University of Toulouse; INPT, UPS; Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (EcoLab), Avenue de l’A-grobiopole, 31326 Castanet Tolosan Cedex, France2 CNRS, EcoLab, 31326 Castanet Tolosan Cedex, France 3 Grassland, soil & water research laboratory USDA-ARS, Temple, TX 76502, USA4 Spatial Science Laboratory in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Texas A&M University,College Station, TX 77845, USA

As supporting important agriculture activities, alluvial plains often suffer problems of nitratepollution in groundwater. For the attenuation of nitrate, denitrification was proved to playan important role in the floodplain aquifer. However, carbon is always the limit element inthis process. Hyporheic zone is the area where surface water and subsurface water mix. Assurface water contains high organic matters contents, Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC)brought by the river enhance denitrification rate in the hyporheic zone. Modeling is an effi-cient method to understand processes happening at large spatial and temporal scales andto quantify these processes in dynamic way. SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) is asemi-distributed model that simulates large watersheds with readily available data and hasbeen successfully applied all over the world. In this study, a modified version of SWAT hasbeen used to simulate the transport and transformation of DOC and nitrate in a meander ofthe Garonne river floodplain (12 km2) based on data for 2 periods (from 2013 for the cali-bration period and from 2004 to 2005 for the validation period), based on a) the surface-subsurface water fluxes exchanges and b) an implementation of a new denitrificationmodule. Results showed that simulated channel discharge and nitrate concentrations in thesame piezometers matched well with the observed data. The model will be used to quantifythe denitrification processes at the scale of alluvial plain.

Ecotourism on the Finnish peatlands-theoretical prospects

Tanskanen, minnaUniversity of Eastern Finland, Department of Geographical and Historical Studies. P.O.Box 111, FIN-80101 Joen-suu, FINLAND, minna [email protected]

During last decades, increase of leisure time and wealth has created ground for differentkind of outdoor activities and lately concepts like ecotourism have taken more and more


space in general discussions. The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) defines ecotourismas responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people. Naturally, forests, mountains and water areas have played the mostimportant arenas for ecotourism and recreational use of nature, but like in the context ofFinland, also peatlands has been taken as a stage of ecotourism. In my presentation I willoutline methodological and theoretical viewpoints for ecotourism on the Finnish peatlands.With introducing some forms of peatland ecotourism and recreational use I will outline thesocio-cultural context in which the activities are happening. After that I will open some the-oretical aspects which would be worth to realize for understanding peatlands’ role as a stagefor ecotourim and for creating new ways for increasing recreational use of peatlands.

Ponds, productivity and probes: An experimental approach

to carbon capture

Taylor, scott1; david Cooke; michael Jeffries; michael deary; Geoff Abbott; Peter Gilbert1 Department of Geography, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST. [email protected]

There is growing understanding of the disproportionately higher productivity of small pondscompared to larger aquatic systems. With estimates of their global coverage constantly beingrevised upwards it is likely that they play an unexpectedly important role in global carboncycling. Limited previous research has focused on sediment accumulated in mature ponds,revealing significant variations in carbon storage between neighbouring and superficiallysimilar types of pond. Such variations have been attributed to the spatial heterogeneity ofhistoric and contemporary macrophyte communities. In this exploratory study, three pondswere constructed, replicating those from previous studies on spatial heterogeneity and car-bon storage, with the aim of monitoring spatial variations of water chemistry and primaryproductivity from the very start of ecological succession. Preliminary data gave chl a con-centrations between 3.1 – 247.9 µg l-1 and maximum nitrate and phosphate levels of 17.1mgl-1 and 4.48 mg l-1 respectively, demonstrating the intensity of carbon and nutrient cyclingwithin these small systems. No previous studies, to our knowledge, have monitored pondsat the start of their life cycles, in an effort to explore the implications for carbon sequestra-tion and storage as the system matures and develops.

Is it possible to eradicate invasive freshwater turtles

from de European wetlands? Results and prospects from LIFE

Trachemys project

Teixeira, José1,2; Vicente sancho3; Bruno martins1; fábia Azevedo4; Ana Cruz5; ignacioLacomba3

1 CIBIO. Casa Salabert, Jardim Botânico do Porto, Rua de Campo Alegre, 1191. 4169-007 Porto. Portugal. [email protected] 2 CIIMAR. Rua dos Bragas, 289 - 4050-123 Porto. Portugal. 3 Servicio de Biodiversidad y Espacios Naturales. Conselleria de Infraestructuras, Territorio y Medio Ambiente.Francisco Cubells 7. 46011 Valencia. Spain. [email protected] RIAS-ALDEIA. Apartado 29. Bairro de S. Sebastião. Edifício dos Magistrados. 5230-314 Vimioso, Portugal.5 Parque Biológico de Gaia. Rua da Cunha. 4430-681 Avintes, Portugal.


The introduction of the Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta) in natural habitats in Europe isof special concern for freshwater native species, as it is classified among the 100 most harm-ful invasive species in the world. To investigate new forms to mitigate this problem and toevaluate the possibility of eradication of this species from the wetlands the LIFE+ Trachemysproject, co-funded by the European Commission, was put in action between 2010 and 1013.The projected aimed to address the negative environmental impacts of exotic invasive turtlespecies on Iberian wetlands through a set of innovative trapping techniques and a method-ology strategy for control and eradication of wild populations of exotic freshwater turtles in13 pilot areas in Valencia (Spain) and 4 in Portugal. During the three years of the project wecaptured a total of 22624 exotic turtles in Spain and 299 in Portugal, with special relevancefor the Red-eared slider. A gradual but steady decrease in the capture of invasive turtlesduring the three years showed a good capacity to control this problem, but a failure in theobjective to eradicate the invasive populations. Only through an efficient European alertnetwork system and early attack teams to the problem or a long term investment in the con-tinuous capture of established Trachemys populations it would be possible to achieve suc-cessful results. This strategy together with ex-situ reproduction of endangered Emysorbicularis and public awareness campaigns, aiming to halt the continuous release of exoticturtles in nature, appear to be a crucial multiple approach to control invasive turtles dissem-ination and preserve autochthonous freshwater biodiversity.

Mangrove’s restoration: ecological and economic perspectives

Teutli-Hernández C.1; Comin f. A.2; menendez m.1; Herrera-silveira J. A.3

1 Departament d´Ecologia, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, E-08028. BarcelonaSpain. [email protected] Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología-CSIC. Av. Montañana 1005. 50059 Zaragoza. Spain.3 CINVESTAV-IPN. CarretaeraAntigua a Progreso Km 6. 97310 Mérida, Yucatán, México.

Mangrove ecosystems have been recognized their ecological, economic and cultural values.However, mangroves have been degraded and destroyed all around by human activities.Consequently, mangrove restoration has been a common activity trying to recover theirfunctions and values. However a synthetic approach to evaluate mangrove restoration ac-tions has not been developed yet. The review of 150 documents (scientific and project re-ports) from all around the world shows that the structure of the restored vegetationresembles the reference sites, while the functional characteristics tend to be better at ref-erence sites. Regarding the speed of recovery there is no clear trend due to the limited avail-ability of data and the average monitoring time (2-3 years). The most common actionperformed in mangrove restoration projects is reforestation, followed by hydrologic restora-tion (channel opening and installation of sewers), and finally, the use of plants to facilitatethe process of secondary succession. The costs of restoration depend on the country, andhow they perform restoration (with or without machinery for example). The cost of hydro-logical restoration ranges from USD $ 250/ha to USD $ 21,600 / ha while reforestation isfrom USD $ 26,500/ha to $ 102,700 USD/ha. With this work a discussion of the commonuses of mangrove restoration and suggestions to improve its efficiency are presented.


Towards sustainable use of boreal peatlands

Tolvanen, Anne1,2

1 Finnish Forest Research Institute, Oulu, P.O. Box 413, FI 90014 Oulu, FINLAND, [email protected] Thule Institute, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 413, FI 90014 Oulu, FINLAND

Finland is a country with the highest percentage cover of peatlands (30% of total land area)in the world, and the highest absolute cover of peatlands in the EU. Almost one-third of Eu-ropean peatland resource is situated in Finland. All this means that the decisions made forpeatland use in Finland have wider than country-scale implications on the biodiversity andGHG balance of peatland ecosystems. In my presentation I show that there are contrastingopinions towards the commercial peatland use in Finland, but in our study all interest groupsshared the concern towards the ecological and environmental state of peatlands. The ac-ceptance of the commercial use of peatlands might increase, if more attention was paid es-pecially to environmental problems caused on water bodies. I also present our EU fundedLIFE project LifePeatLandUse, which concentrates on the sustainable use of low-productivedrained peatlands. The project quantifies, values and predicts the state of peatland ecosys-tem services, and optimizes their levels in the land use to fulfill requirements and constraintsset in regional, national and EU policies. Future scenarios on the impacts and cost efficiencyof seven re-use options will be predicted, and states of biodiversity, GHG fluxes and envi-ronmental loading will be modelled after these seven re-use options.

Removal efficiency of pesticides and nitrates in an artificial wet-

land treating drainage water from an agricultural watershed

Tournebize J.1; Chaumont C.1; Vincent B.1 ; mander Ü.1, 2 ; soosaar K.2 ; Hansen r.2 ; muhel m.2

1 Irstea, Hydrosystems and Bioprocesses Research Unit, F-92761 ANTONY, France2 Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, 46 Vanemuise St., 51014 Tartu, Estonia

To reduce agricultural pollutants in agricultural drained watershed, artificial wetland showeda real potential as a management practice for pesticides and nitrate removal. Interceptionwith local farmers involvement in water management to open and close a gate connectedto the artificial wetland in parallel of the main arterial ditch. The main objective of the buffersystem is to intercept the maximum pollutant load in the minimum water flux in order tominimize size and land consumption. Different experimental results were obtained for smalldrained watershed (around 30-40 ha, Tournebize et al., 2013, Passeport et al., 2013). Re-moval efficiencies were assessed around 70% and 50% for pesticides and nitrate respectively.The present work aims to assess removal efficiency at larger scale. This strategy is tested inreal conditions at Rampillon hamlet. The watershed is located in the vicinity of Rampillonvillage (03°03’37.3’’ E, 48°32’16.7’’ N, 70 km south-east of Paris, France). A collective artificialwetland of 3156 m² with the depth varying from 0.1 m to 1 m was built in 2010 at the outletof the watershed and equipment has been installed in December 2011 to allow the evalua-tion of the system performance. The wetland receives drained water of the whole drainedwatershed (450 ha). A sluice gate has been installed at the inlet which allows to close thewetland during winter time (December – March) when no pesticides are applied and rainfallevents are more frequent. The flow which enters the wetland varies between 0 and 120 l/s.The wetland is partially covered with vegetation, mainly Typha latifolia, Phragmites australisand Juncus conglomeratus. The Rampillon’s wetland has been monitored over two years.The quality of water has been analysed for nitrate and pesticides at the inlet and outlet ofthe wetland to evaluate the performance of the system. In addition, a high frequency mon-itoring camapain of gas emission was conducted during May 2014 to assess the eventualdrawback of converting aquatic NO3- into gaseous N2 and N2O.


An overview on the biodiversity of planktonic protists across

environmental gradients

Triadó-margarit, Xavier1; emilio o. Casamayor1

1 Biogeodynamics & Biodiversity Group-Dep of Continental Ecology, Centre of Advanced Studies of Blanes, CEAB-CSIC, Spanish Council for Scientific Research, Accés Cala St. Francesc 14, E-17300 Blanes, [email protected]

Protists, which comprise widely distributed autotrophic, heterotrophic, and mixotrophic mi-croscopic eukaryotes are an essential component of microbial food webs and have a keyrole in global biogeochemical cycles in inland waters. Protists have a high degree of structuraland metabolic diversity and have been traditionally studied by morphological criteria. Therecurrent observation of the same morphotypes in freshwater systems from different local-ities had led to the concept that the global protist species richness could be relatively low.However, more recent environmental 18S rRNA gene surveys indicate that diversity of smallprotists (<40 microns) is larger than previously expected. Overall, these studies indicatechanges in community composition related to the trophic status, and that eutrophic condi-tions hold less species diversity. Freshwater protits are distantly related to marine counter-parts, probably due to infrequent marine-freshwater transitions along the historical contextof the evolutionary and diversification processes, although protists from inland waters arepoorly known. We have been studying the genetic diversity and ecological distribution ofsmall protists inhabiting ultraoligotrophic high altitude lakes, extreme saline environmentsin coastal and inland wetlands, and sulfurous and anoxic lakes, covering a wide range of en-vironmental conditions. Given the extreme conditions explored, the genetic richness foundwas unexpectedly high, and the 18S rRNA gene sequences spread within most of the high-rank taxonomic groups and grouped in many eukaryal classes with consistent habitat segre-gation. In high-altitude areas, most of the sequences affiliated with Chrysophyceae andCryptophyta. In saline environments green algae within Chlorophyta and Trebouxiophyceae,and in sulfurous lakes Ciliophora and Cercozoa were, respectively, the groups most com-monly found. The novelty level was high and > 25% of the species were notably divergentfrom any previously known genetic sequence. This study unveils inland waters as an impor-tant reservoir of unknown microbial eukaryotic biodiversity.

LIFE for Wetlands-examples and best practices

Trokanova, LucieLIFE Communications Team, ASTRALE GEIE-AEIDL, Chaussée Saint-Pierre 260, Brussels, [email protected]

Established in 1992, the LIFE programme is the European Union’s funding instrument exclu-sively devoted to the environment. The LIFE Nature and Biodiversity strand has co-financedmore than 1 400 projects to date, providing more than € 1.5 billion in funding, and mobilisinga further €1.3 billion in other contributions. This continuous source of targeted financing hasradically changed the capacity of many Member States and regions to designate and manageNatura 2000 network sites, to support EU biodiversity policy and to implement EU waterpolicy and legislation. Some 400 projects co-financed by LIFE have targeted wetland habitatsand bird species included in the Habitats and Birds Directives. Indeed, wetlands have beenone of the habitat types most-frequently targeted by LIFE. In addition, more than 1 000 otherLIFE projects have addressed threats (to water quality and water levels) and management is-


sues in wetlands. LIFE projects actions on wetlands range from river basin management(Water Framework Directive - WFD) to restoration and management of protected sites andhabitats. The new LIFE programme for Environment and Climate Action highlights wetlandsas a priority for funding, specifically targeting improvement of the conservation status ofNatura 2000 network sites, WFD implementation and Climate Change Adaption strategies.

Chemical biomarker assemblage in the 15000 cal. yr BP Comeya

peat profile of Picos de Europa National Park, North Spain

urbanczyk, Justyna; Veneranda López-días; Angeles G. Borrego1 Instituto Nacional del Carbón (INCAR-CSIC). Aptdo. 73, 33080 Oviedo, Spain, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

The study focuses on the submountainous Comeya peat profile drilled at 851 m above sealevel. The profile covers 600 cm of sediment in which a continuous record of the last 15000cal. yr BP at a growth rate of 0.04 mm/yr is recorded. Analysis of C, N and ash, together withextraction of the peat with dichloromethane and gas chromatographic/mass spectrometricanalyses of the extracts have been carried out in order to identify and quantify relevant bio-markers describing the organic matter input. Three spams can be established in the profileon the basis of the ratio of organic matter/mineral matter accumulation: i) >350 cm depth(~8750 cal. yr BP), containing over 80% ash, ii) 200-350 cm depth (5100- 8750 cal. yr BP), withash content of 40-60% and iii) the uppermost section with around 10-20 % ash. The biomarkerassemblage is dominated by the n-alkanes and methyl-ketones with medium to high molec-ular weight and odd number of carbons. The biomarker ratios indicate an enrichment inSphagnum characteristic compounds at 120-250 cm (3150- 6350 cal. yr BP) reflecting morehumid conditions. This episode occurs earlier than in the coastal peat bogs of the region. Aless intense humid episode is detected in the Early Holocene (at around 450cm depth; ~10350cal. yr BP), associated to an increase in organic carbon. The peat extracts contain abundantsteroids and triterpenoids with ursane and oleanane skeletons, mainly derived from higherplants, and regular hopane compounds attributed to bacteria. The alcohol functionalities areessentially restricted to the upper 120 cm and are replaced by ketone and/or acetate func-tionalities downwards.

Wartime scars or biodiversity hot-spots? The role

of saline bomb crater ponds in aquatic conservation

Vad, Csaba f.1; Attila L. Péntek2; Adrienn Tóth3; nastasia J. Cozma4; Katalin Zsuga5; BenceTóth6; robert Ptacnik7; nóra A. Böde8; Arnold móra3; Zsófia Horváth7

1 Doctoral School of Environmental Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/A, H-1117 Bu-dapest, Hungary, e-mail: [email protected] Department of Zoology and Animal Ecology, Szent István University, Páter Károly u. 1., H-2103 Gödöllő, Hungary,e-mail: [email protected] Balaton Limnological Institute, MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Klebelsberg Kuno utca 3, H-8237, Tihany,Hungary, e-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Department of Ecology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary, e-mail: [email protected] Fácán sor 56, H-2100, Gödöllő, Hungary, e-mail: [email protected] Danube Research Institute, MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Jávorka Sándor utca 14, H-2131, Göd, Hungary,e-mail: [email protected]


7 WasserCluster Lunz, Dr. Carl Kupelwieser Promenade 5, AT-3293, Lunz am See, Austria, [email protected],[email protected] Centre of Environmental Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/A, H-1117 Budapest, Hun-gary, e-mail: [email protected]

Man-made aquatic habitats can fulfil important ecological roles. Hundreds of bomb craterponds in the Great Hungarian Plain are examples of secondary habitats, being sometimes vic-tims of grassland rehabilitation without proper evaluation of their biodiversity. We conducteda multi-group study (zooplankton, macroinvertebrates, herpetofauna) in a sodic grassland,holding more than 100 crater ponds within 1 km2. We found that these ponds serve as im-portant habitats for amphibians and reptiles. Moreover, they hosted rare taxa even includingPannonian endemic species among invertebrates. Despite being found in close proximity,they exhibited a salinity range from hypo- to mesosaline coupled with wide ranges of turbidity.While the most saline ponds appeared to be the less diverse, they could be considered as themost unique habitats, hosting typical soda water communities. Despite their anthropogenicorigin, these ponds act as important contributors for aquatic biodiversity and should be main-tained rather than eliminated, considering the serious losses in aquatic habitats in Central-European grasslands. This research was supported by the European Union and the State ofHungary, co-financed by the European Social Fund in the framework of TÁMOP-4.2.4.A/ 2-11/1-2012-0001 ‘National Excellence Program’.

Macroinvertebrate diversity and community

structure in woodland pools and ditches and their response

to artificial drainage

Vaikre, maarja1; Liina remm2; riinu rannap3

1 Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, EE-51014 Tartu, Estonia; [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Since the 20th century freshwater ecosystems have been extensively drained for agriculturaland forestry purposes. Despite the magnitude of artificial drainage, its impact on freshwaterbiodiversity is still poorly known. We examined macroinvertebrate diversity and communitycomposition in temporal freshwater bodies and drainage ditches comparatively in drainedand natural forest plots. Our aim was to determine macroinvertebrates characteristic to thesewater bodies, the impact of forest drainage on macroinvertebrates and the possible functionof forest drainage ditches as an alternative habitat for these invertebrates. We surveyed 181water bodies within six landscape regions across Estonia and identified 171 macroinvente-brate taxa, with insects being the most widespread and numerous. The impact of forestdrainage on macroinvertebrate mean diversity as well as assemblages was not detected inour study system. However, taxa accumulation curves indicated, that natural water bodiessituated in drained plots may harbour lesser number of invertebrate taxa than those in naturalplots. Since landscape properties had significant effect on invertebrate diversity, they mayhide the effect of drainage. Community compositions and diversity in natural temporal waterbodies and drainage ditches were not significantly different, thus ditches can serve as an al-ternative habitat for macroinvertebrates of natural temporal water bodies.


Faunal and floral community patterns in Moroccan temporary

ponds along climatic and anthropogenic disturbance gradients

Van den Broeck, maarten1,2; Laila rhazi2; Patrick Grillas3; mohammed el madihi2; mouhssinerhazi4; Luc Brendonck1; Aline Waterkeyn1,3

1 Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Bel-gium. [email protected]/[email protected]/[email protected] Hassan II Casablanca University, Faculty of Sciences Aïn Chock, Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology and Environment,BP 5366 Maarif, Casablanca, Morocco. [email protected]/ [email protected] Tour du Valat, Research Centre for Mediterranean Wetlands, Le Sambuc, 13200 Arles, France. [email protected] Moulay Ismail University, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, Department of Biology, BP 509, Boutalamine, Er-rachidia, Morocco. [email protected]

In the Mediterranean region, temporary ponds are ecologically and economically valuableecosystems. They house unique faunal and floral communities and benefit the local peoplethat make use of these systems. Unfortunately, due to population growth and urbanization,these vulnerable systems are disappearing and degrading rapidly. So far there is no commonindex of ecological quality that could be used to manage these valuable ecosystems. As such,we aim to assess certain community characteristics on their indicator value. In this study, wesampled over 100 Moroccan temporary ponds in wet and dry season, along a climate and an-thropogenic disturbance gradient situated along the Atlantic Ocean, spanning arid, semi-aridand humid bioclimatic zones. We analyzed climate and land use data as well as various waterquality parameters, to determine their role in structuring invertebrate and macrophyte com-munities. In addition, we also focused on rare faunal and floral species. The factors controllingthe general community structure include inundated surface, hydroperiod, pH, altitude andthe amount of cattle and agriculture in the ponds. When available, we compared results withhistorical information, to evaluate changes in conservation status of temporary ponds. In thisway, we contribute to research-based suggestions for the sustainable management of thesevulnerable ecosystems.

Macrophyte reproductive fitness and strategy as a response

to high Lemna cover

Van onsem, stijn1; Ludwig Triest2

1 Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Plant Biology and Nature Management, Brussels, Belgium, [email protected]

2 [email protected]

The increase of primary production in eutrophied water bodies often leads to nuisance. Free-floating macrophytes, including lemnids, profit from a combination of high water nutrientconcentrations and stagnant water. Resulting alterations of the environment may lead tochanges in reproductive success in submerged macrophytes. Effects of Lemna cover on re-productive fitness, resource allocation and mode of propagation in Potamogeton pusillus L.and Chara globularis Thuillier were quantified in two ponds. In summer, small enclosures con-taining monospecific stands were created. A complete Lemna cover was maintained in halfof them. Biomass was sampled to monitor the investment in sexual and asexual reproductivestructures, while propagule traps were used to analyse propagule rain. Potamogeton pusillusreacted strongly in response to changes in Lemna cover, with production of high numbers ofturions under high lemnid cover, and appearance of inflorescences under low lemnid cover,


respectively. In C. globularis, density of antheridia and oogonia decreased significantly. To-gether with a decline in total biomass, this change indicated a strong decrease of reproductivesuccess, although oospore rain appeared unaffected. Lemna cover clearly influenced repro-ductive output in both species. Recurrent occurrence of floating mats might alter phenologicalpatterns, deplete propagule banks, and eventually hamper ecosystem resilience.

Beaver-created wetlands

Vehkaoja, mia1; stella Thompson 2

1 Department of Forest Sciences, P.O. Box 27, FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland. [email protected], 2 [email protected]

Beavers (Castor spp.) are known for their ecosystem engineering abilities. They build a dam,which elevates a flood to the surrounding forest. The portion of shallow water increases, andlarge amounts of organic material and nutrients are released and transported from the ter-restrial environment to the beaver pond. These events change the pond’s water chemistry;the level of dissolved organic carbon, phosphorus and nitrogen increase and the level of oxy-gen decreases. The organic matter is either sedimented or retained in the pond to be exploitedby plankton. The increased amount of plankton benefits various invertebrate species, suchas water mites, and also Anuran tadpoles. After the plankton-feeding invertebrate levels haverisen, the predating invertebrates begin to become more abundant. This is beneficial for fish,bats and duck and wader fledglings. In addition, the amount of aquatic vegetation increases,which provides protection to tadpoles and fledglings, and also creates nutrition habitats foradult ducks and waders. The beaver-created wetlands have very unique characteristics inboth aquatic and shoreline terrestrial habitats. Their ability to provide a habitat for numerousspecies could be used in conservation strategies.

Seasonal dynamics of heavy metals in Phragmites australis

growing in a constructed wetland

Vymazal, Jan 1; Tereza Březinová 11 Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Kamýcká 129, 165 21 Praha 6, CzechRepublic; email: [email protected], [email protected]

Constructed wetlands (CWs) have mostly been used for treatment of domestic and municipalwastewater. However, increasing interest in the application of these systems for industrialand agricultural wastewater has recently been observed. The aim of this work was to evaluatethe seasonal dynamics of heavy metals in the biomass of Phragmites australis in a municipalconstructed wetland and to determine the optimal time for vegetation harvesting in order toachieve maximum removal of heavy metals when these are the treatment target. Above-ground biomass from the CW Spálené Poříčí was harvested monthly from June 2012 to March2013 and analyzed for heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Cr, Pb, Ni, Zn) using the atomic absorption spec-troscopy. In order to evaluate accumulation factors, also concentrations of monitored ele-ments were measured in the wastewater. It has been shown that maximum standing stockof individual heavy metals in the aboveground Phragmites biomass occurs at different timesof the year. Despite low heavy metals concentrations in the municipal wastewater it is ex-pected that the course of seasonal dynamics of heavy metals in the biomass will be the sameeven at high concentration levels which may occur industrial and agricultural wastewaters.


Modelling the impacts of sea level rise on coastal wetlands:

a case study in micro-topographical Baltic wetlands in Estonia

Ward, raymond1; niall Burnside2; Christopher Joyce2; Kalev sepp3; Phillip Teasdale2

1 Aquatic Research Centre, School of the Environment and Technology, University of Brighton, Cockcroft Building,Moulsecoomb, Brighton, BN2 4GJ, United Kingdom and Department of Landscape Management, Estonian Univer-sity of Life Sciences, Fr.R. Kreutzwaldi 1, 51014, Tartu, Estonia2 Aquatic Research Centre, School of the Environment and Technology, University of Brighton, Cockcroft Building,Moulsecoomb, Brighton, BN2 4GJ, United Kingdom 3 Department of Landscape Management, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Fr.R. Kreutzwaldi 1, 51014, Tartu, Esto-nia

Baltic coastal wetlands are flat and extensive due to the micro-topographical character ofthe landscape. These wetlands have previously been suggested to be under threat from sealevel rise and standard elevation based methods are unable to accurately model the locationof the plant communities. A new methodology has been developed integrating dGPS cali-brated LiDAR data, isostatic uplift and sediment accretion rates to predict the location andextent of plant communities at three Baltic coastal wetlands sites in Estonia by 2100. Resultsshowed a lowering of local sea level in the majority of sites and scenarios in the north of thecountry although a rise is predicted in sites with limited allochthonous sediment supply. Inwetlands situated on the west coast, local sea level is likely to undergo little change in mostscenarios. In most sites the model predicts that Baltic coastal wetlands will increase in extentdue to high rates of sediment accretion, particularly in a scenario with more frequent stormsand isostatic uplift. dGPS calibrated LiDAR data and sediment accretion are essential to main-tain model validity in Baltic coastal wetlands due to their low relief and could considerablyimprove current sea level rise impact models for other areas.

The role of tadpole shrimp as community

structuring agents in temporary ponds

Waterkeyn, Aline1,2; Patrick Grillas2; Brendonck Luc3

1 Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, CharlesDeberiotstraat 32, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; [email protected], [email protected] Research Center for Mediterranean Wetlands Tour du Valat, Le Sambuc, 13200 Arles, France; [email protected]

It was recently suggested that notostracans may play a keystone role in temporary aquatichabitats. Using both microcosm and mesocosm experiments we tested the impact of thetadpole shrimp Triops cancriformis on zooplankton communities in Mediterranean tempo-rary ponds (Camargue, Southern France). We found that tadpole shrimp effectively shapethese communities, acting as size-selective top predators as well as ecosystem engineers,by modifying environmental conditions through bioturbation. The waterflea Daphnia has,however, found a way to cope with this predator by evolving inducible defenses. We testedthe impact of Triops kairomones on the hatching pattern, life history and morphology ofDaphnia magna originating from different populations in France and Belgium. No impactwas found on the hatching pattern, which can possibly be explained by the fact that Daphniais never safe, neither as a dormant egg, nor as hatched individual. However, they did showsignificant responses in their morphology and life history traits. Although the responses wereoften clone-specific, Daphnia exposed to Triops generally grew larger and wider and had alonger tail spine. These induced changes were proven to be effective defense mechanisms,


significantly lowering the predation rate by Triops.

Environmental factors controlling the autumnal similarity

of rotifers (Rotifera) in small water bodies

Wiśniewska, malgorzata; natalia Kuczyńka-Kippen; eugeniusz Pronin1 Adam Mickiewicz University, Faculty of Biology, Department of Water Protection, Umultowska 89 61-614 Poz-nań, Poland, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

The rotifer community structure often reflects the variation in the environmental factors,both within the water body and the surrounding catchment area. Apart from many parame-ters, which are responsible for shaping the living conditions of the zooplankton communityinhabiting ponds, the habitat structure seems to have a strong effect on rotifer diversity andnumbers. The aim of the present study was to compare rotifer species composition amongdifferent types of ponds, located across the Wielkopolska and Kujawsko-pomorskie regions(central Poland). The research was carried out on 20 ponds differing in size, depth, abioticparameters of water, percentage cover of macrophytes and the type of direct land use (fieldand urban). The number of rotifer species differed between the particular water bodies, beingthe highest in ponds with abundant aquatic plant cover. The most frequent taxa (≥80%) wereAnuraeopsis fissa, Keratella cochlearis f. tecta, Bdelloidae, and Synchaeta pectinata, whichindicates eutrophic conditions in almost all of the examined ponds. The statistical analysesshowed that the level of macrophyte cover had the strongest impact on rotifer similarity. Theincrease in the biogen concentration in water resulted in the decrease of biological diversity,even in ponds with a large participation of aquatic vegetation. No influence of morphometricfeatures of ponds, or the character of direct catchment area, was observed to structure thecomposition of rotifers. This research work has been financed by the Polish State Committeefor Scientific Research in 2010-2014 as research project N N305 042739.

Social perception of the risks and benefits of tidal wetland

restoration: A case study from the UK

yamashita, H.1; mcinnes, r.J.2

1 Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan. [email protected] 2RM Wetlands & Environment Ltd, Oxfordshire,UK. [email protected]

Tidal wetland restoration projects have been conducted in recent years in an attempt to interalia provide sustainable coastal flood risk management, revitalise fish stocks or as preparationfor sea level rise. For many stakeholders, the realignment of coastal flood defences or the re-flooding of farmland represents a new concept. Due to the need for long-term social supportand investment in such schemes, it will become increasingly important to take into accountthe various stakeholder perceptions. However, there is ambiguity surrounding: 1) the formand scope of environmental information on wetland restoration produced and communicatedby project exponents and other stakeholders; 2) how various stakeholders perceive the ‘ben-efits’ and ‘risks’ of local restoration projects; and 3) how the findings could make a contribu-tion to future decision making and support for coastal wetland restoration in UK and beyond.This paper reports on how the ‘risks’ and ‘benefits’ of tidal wetland restoration projects arecommunicated, perceived and negotiated by different stakeholders based on a case studyfrom the UK.


The role of invertebrate biodiversity in ecosystem purification

service of alluvial wetlands

yao, J.m 1 ; ramburn. H 1; sánchez-Pérez J.m. 1, 2; sauvage s. 1, 2; Teissier s. 2; Attard e. 3; LaugaB. 3; durant r. 3; Gerino m. 1*

1 ECOLAB (Laboratoire d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement), UMR 5245,CNRS/INP/Université PaulSabatier, Toulouse, France2 ECOLAB (Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement), Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique deToulouse (ENSAT), Universitéde Toulouse, INPT,UPS, Castanet Tolosan, France3 EEM, UMR IPREM5254, Université de Pau & Pays de l’Adour, IBEAS, F-64013 Pau, France

Alluvial wetlands play a key role for stream water quality improvement due to theirriver/groundwater exchanges and biogeochemical efficiency. How do the microbial and in-vertebrates communities influence this ecosystem service of water quality regulation? ForNO3- pollution, faunas in the aquifer sediments act as mediators for N-cycle bacteria. Bybiofilm grazing, movement and excretion, invertebrates, enhances resource supply to sedi-ment bacteria, and stimulates microbial nitrogen cycling, thus this activity results in an en-hanced nitrogen removal1. In order to identify the ‘ecosystem service providers’, therelationships between invertebrate biodiversity, microbial communities and denitrificationrates are explored. Four sampling dates were sampled for microbial, invertebrate and bio-geochemical parameters in 11 piezometers dispersed over an entire meander situated in theagricultural alluvial plain of the Garonne River (France). Macro and meio-invertebrates biodi-versity was quantified in terms of taxonomical and functional groups diversity index and mi-crobial communities were described with DNA concentration/bacterial biodiversity.Relationships between biodiversity indicators and denitrification rate/microbial activity wereinvestigated using multivariate statistical analysis. Examination of this correlation indicatesinvertebrates’ functional compositions that favour the microbial biofilm activity and drivenatural mitigation/reduction of pollution in the water.

Managing phosphorus fluxes from rewetted peatlands

Zak, dominic1; rudy van diggelen2; Jörg Gelbrecht1; Alvaro Cabezas1, rob mcinnes4

1 Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries Berlin, Department of Chemical Analytics and Bio-geochemistry, Müggelseedamm 301, D-12587 Berlin, Germany, [email protected]; [email protected];2 University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1-C, B-2610 Antwerpen-Wilrijk, Belgium,[email protected] RM Wetlands & Environment Ltd., 6 Ladman Villas, Littleworth, Faringdon, Oxfordshire SN7 8EQ, UK,[email protected]

One important strategy to mitigate the eutrophication of freshwater systems due to non-point phosphorus (P) pollution is to rewet minerotrophic riparian peatlands (= fens). However,fast lowering of redox potential within few days or weeks due to anaerobic microbial respi-ration leads to a dissolution of P bound to redox-sensitive iron (Fe) compounds in water loggeddegraded peat soils, and hence, to an increase of P concentrations in pore waters of rewettedfens. However, the level of P concentrations in pore waters of rewetted fens can vary widely,thus values between 0.04 mg P/L and about 13 mg P/L are reported (Zak et al. 2010). A num-ber of lab and field experiments were performed in order improve our knowledge of processescontrolling the P release/concentrations and their altering quantitative importance overrewetting time. Thereafter, preliminary investigations on physico-chemical peat propertiesat the soil surface can be a useful assessing both the P mobilisation potential as well as the


risk of higher P export to downstream freshwater systems before of fen rewetting. Finally,the paper discuss if or when different restoration strategies like ‘top soil removal’ or ‘iron ap-plication’ should become applied in the course of fen restoration.

Macrophyte and macroinvertebrate assemblages in Karstic

ponds and their relations to environmental factors.

Zelnik, igor1; Alenka Gaberščik1; mihael J. Toman1

1 University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Biology, Večna pot 111, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia,email addresses: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Karst ponds are the only surface waterbodies in Karst region and host many endangeredspecies. Their existence and diversity depend on human activities. This contribution dealswith aquatic macroinvertebrate and macrophyte communities in eight Karstic ponds andtheir relationships with environmental parameters. Communities and environmental factorswere sampled according to standard procedures. Two communities showed different sensi-tivity to environmental factors. Composition of macroivertebrate assemblages was signifi-cantly influenced by texture of bottom substrate and number of emergent macrophyte taxawhile no significance was calculated in case of plants. Positive correlations were calculatedbetween macroivertebrate diversity and tree cover while negative with fish presence. Neg-ative correlations were calculated between number of macroivertebrate taxa and altitude,distance to nearest pond and water transparency. Unexpectedly, richness and diversity ofmacroivertebrates were not correlated with richness of macrophytes. Positive correlationswere calculated between richness of submerged macrophytes and pond size, between rich-ness of all macrophytes and/or marsh taxa and temperature and chlorophyll a concentration.Different factors influencing composition, richness and diversity of two communities suggestthat use of only one element is not sufficient for successful conservation. Further investiga-tion of both communities would enable better understanding and more suitable manage-ment of these ecosystems.

Ecohydrology of wetlands ecosystems in a desert oasis in arid

Northwestern China

Zhao, Wenzhi*; Hu Liu; shoubo Li; Bing LiuLinze Inland River Basin Research Station, CERN, Lanzhou, 730000, China; Key Laboratory of Ecohydrology of In-land River Basin, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy ofSciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China. Email: [email protected]

Ecohydrological interactions have been of interest to wetland ecologists since the last fewdecades. Desert oasis wetland is an unique ecosystem which plays an important role in thedevelopment of the oasis and the biodiversity in arid region, but received relatively little at-tentions. Here we present an ecohydrological analysis of the desert-oasis wetland ecosystemdistributed along the Heihe River in the arid region of Northwest China. Landscape patternsand their dynamics of the wetlands were characterized basing on the collected data fromLandsat TM and ETM images using GIS method and landscape indices, and field investigationof community composition in desert oasis wetland ecosystem was also conducted to identify


the spatial distribution of plant communities and the dominant influence factors. We usedthe Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) method to evaluate the spatial pat-terns of evapotranspiration (ET) rate for wetlands landscape, and the measured seasonaland interannual variation in soil moisture, groundwater table, energy partitioning and evap-otranspiration to identified linkages between the vegetation patterns, subsurface flow, planttranspiration, and water levels in the unique ecosystem. Our analysis suggested that the areaof wetlands in our study area decreased by 38.4%, or 107.8 km2 during the past 16 years,and the landscapes have become increasingly fragmental during this period. Through thetwo-way indicative species analysis (TWINSPAN) and detrended correspondence analysis(DCA), soil water content, nutrition content and total salt content were identified as the threemain factors controlling the species distribution pattern in this wetlands, i.e. the soil moistureis the key factor to form the dominance of community, and the total N content is the impor-tant factor affecting the community evenness. We found that the spatial pattern of ET in thestudy area was highly correlated with the ground water level, and the highest ET values ap-peared over all types of water bodies, including rivers, reservoirs, etc. The variation in waterand energy exchange reflected environmental conditions and depended primarily on vaporpressure deficit, net radiation, soil moisture, and water depth. Although the effects of pre-cipitation on evapotranspiration showed that the response of this ecosystem to climatechanges was not obvious, the variation of air temperatures had a strong influence on evap-otranspiration, resulting in a significant increase in evapotranspiration (R = 0.730; P<0.01).


PosTer PresenTATion ABsTrACTs

Waterbirds and disturbance: insight about

a socio-ecological system

Albonette de nóbrega, Paula fernanda1; renata Pimentel rocha1; Janaína AparecidaAguiar2; maria Auxiliadora drumond1; José eugênio Côrtes figueira1

1 Department of General Biology, Federal University of Minas Gerais-UFMG-Brazil.2 Instituto Estadual de Florestas, Minas Gerais – Brazil.email:[email protected];[email protected];[email protected]; [email protected];[email protected].

Wetlands are environments of great social-economical and ecological importance. However,they are the target of numerous anthropic threats. We study a system of lakes in the centralregion of Minas Gerais, Brazil, aiming to determine the environmental threats and their ef-fects on waterbirds communities. For this purpose, we sampled the local waterbirds, meas-uring the lakes’ areas and assessing the threats on those environments. We calculated thecriticality value for direct threats on the waterfront and the permanent preservation area(APP) of each lake, considering the threat extension, its severity and irreversibility. Threats’criticalities varied from, 0,10 to 1,0, being urbanization the most critical threat (1.0), followedby natural cycle modification (0.77) and pasture (0.75). Waterbirds richness was positivelycorrelated to lakes’ areas, agriculture and pasture (r2=0.54; S = -2.062 + 6.370logArea +0.437agr + 0.238past; p<0.05). This suggests that the impacts generated by these rural ac-tivities are not negative to the local waterbirds, conversely, they can favor, mainly, the habitatgeneralist species. Furthermore, the urban expansion on the rural areas can be a negativefactor in the waterbirdsEffects of hydroperiod and depth of inundation on diversity andspecies composition of temporarily flooded ponds in north-eastern Germany

Effects of hydroperiod and depth of inundation on diversity

and species composition of temporarily flooded ponds

in north-eastern Germany

Altenfelder, sara1; melanie schmitz1; Johannes Kollmann1; Harald Albrecht1

1 Chair of Restoration Ecology, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technische UniversitätMünchen, Emil-Ramann-Str. 6, D-85354 Freising, [email protected]

Due to their wide range of habitat conditions temporary ponds considerably contribute tothe biodiversity of agricultural landscapes. The vegetation is formed to a large extent by an-nual species which regularly develop from the soil seed bank. Therefore, the seed bank playsan important role for conservation and restoration of these communities. Establishment ofthe species is determined by the germination conditions which mainly depend on both dis-turbance and the water level. The objective of our study was to test the effects of differentwater regimes on the diversity and species composition of colonizing plant assemblages. Wecollected soil samples from six temporary ponds in NE Germany and thoroughly mixed themto get one large and homogenous seed bank sample. Thereafter, we exposed subsamplesto different combinations of hydroperiod and depth of flooding, and identified, counted and


removed all germinating plants for 2 years. Species diversity was highest under fluctuatingwater levels, while species composition was mainly influenced by the duration of flooding.Flood-tolerant species showed high germination rates under both flooded and non-floodedconditions. These results suggest that inundation is no indispensable precondition for suc-cessful establishment of these species.

Effect of pesticides on potential denitrification rate and

N2O/(N2O+N2) ratio

Amiche, C. 1,2; Teissier, s. 1,2; Bernard-Jannin, L. 1,2; Charcosset, J.y. 1,2; sánchez-Pérez, J.m.1,2

1 University of Toulouse; INPT, UPS; Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (EcoLab), Avenue del’Agrobiopole, 31326 Castanet Tolosan Cedex, France2 CNRS, EcoLab, 31326 Castanet Tolosan Cedex, France

Nitrates are a form of water pollution in wetlands areas located at the interface betweenrivers and agricultural alluvial areas. In these riparian areas, denitrification process mainlycontributes to the mitigation of nitrate pollution. This natural process is carried out by bac-teria that breathe nitrate to produce energy. Nitrate transformation ends with the reductionof N2O into N2 gas. Groundwater denitrification process is heterogeneous at the riparianscale. This is partly due to environmental conditions, such as carbon availability that dependson the distance from the river. In the Garonne riparian area, groundwater is characterizedby a rather low denitrification rate and a high concentration of pesticides. We asked aboutthe effect of pesticides on denitrification in the laboratory and we applied a mixture of pes-ticides (S-metolachlor, atrazine and desethylatrazine) at two different concentrations onGaronne sediments. We observed no effect on denitrification and N2O/(N2O+N2) ratio in theaquifer sediments at both concentrations. The potential denitrification in river sediments isnot modified whereas a 14-fold increase of the ratio is observed under treatment by thehighest concentration of pesticides mixture. The latter result indicates that N2O reduction isseverly inhibited by this mixture.These results raise new questions about the bacterial com-munity structure present in the aquifer and its eventual adaptation to resist to pesticide pol-lution.

Changes in the zooplankton assemblages of three temporary

ponds of different age along a four years period

Armengol, Xavier; raquel ortells; susana romo; Juan miguel soria; Carla olmoInstitut Cavanilles de Biodiversitat i Biologia Evolutiva. Universitat de València. Valencia Spain, [email protected]

We have tracked changes in the zooplankton assemblages of three temporary duneslacks(locally known as “malladas”) in Albufera Natural Park, during four consecutive years (from2007 until 2011). These ponds were restored in different periods; 1998 (Old), 2003 (Inter-mediate) and 2007 (Recent). They were monthly sampled during the flooded periods (usuallyfrom autumn to late spring). At each date and pond, we took an integrated zooplanktonsample from the different microhabitats and we measured the typical limnological variablesincluding nutrients and chlorophyll a. We have analyzed the changes in zooplankton richness,per visit and accumulated, and we have compared the ponds attending to environmental


characteristics (Anova’s, Kruskal-Wallis), communities composition (ANOSIM, SIMPER) andtheir relationship (CCA). Averaged richness per visit showed differences in the ponds whichseemed related to their age: Old (18 ± 3 species), Intermediate (11 ± 3 species) and Recent(10 ± 4 species). Accumulated richness (total number of species) showed an unexpected pat-tern with 60 species in the Old, 52 in the Recent and 43 in the Intermediate. Nevertheless,the Recent pond presented a high richness per visit in their first year (first flooding season).This could be related to the presence of a residual egg bank, which conditioned their accu-mulated richness. Although the age of the ponds seems very important in recently restoredponds, other factors as residual egg banks, conductivity or primary producers could also playa relevant role in the structure of zooplankton assemblages in these restored habitats.

Microbial loop of estuarine and coastal waterbodies:

autotrophic or heterotrophic dominance

Àvila, núria1; rocio López-flores2; Xavier d. Quintana1; Jordi sala1; dani Boix1; stéphanieGascón1

1 Institute of Aquatic Ecology. University of Girona. Faculty of Sciences. Av. Mª Aurèlia Capmany, 69. 17071.Girona. Spain. [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];[email protected] 2 Área de Ecología, Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias y del Medio Natural, Escuela Politécnica Superior deHuesca, Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Ambientales (IUCA), Universidad de Zaragoza, Carretera de Cuartes/n, 22071 Huesca, España. [email protected]

In Mediterranean coastal lagoons and wetlands, the hydrological pattern is one of the mostimportant factors determining nutrient availability and plankton composition. The floodingfrequency (flooding-confinement gradient), the water sources (salinity gradient) and the nu-trient concentration (eutrophic gradient) can produce very different situations, which in turnaffect the functional and taxonomical composition of the microbial community. The mainobjective of this study is to analyse the relative contribution of flooding events and trophicstate on microbial loop composition in 17 estuarine and coastal waterbodies of Empordàwetlands (NE Spain). We analyzed the contribution to the community of autotrophic andheterotrophic organisms in relation to spatial distribution, environmental conditions andzooplankton predation pressure. The effects of these biotic and abiotic variables on microbialloop were determined by means of variation partitioning analysis. Redundancy detrendedanalysis was used to discriminate the main functional groups responding to environmentalvariability. Our preliminary results showed the importance of the hydrological pattern onthe dominance of autotrophic or heterotrophic organisms in these coastal ecosystems.

Patterns of vascular plants and bryophytes in Sardinian

Mediterranean temporary ponds

Bagella, simonetta1,2; Caria maria Carmela1; Giorgia filippino3; Annalena Cogoni3

1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Natura e del Territorio, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, [email protected], [email protected] Nucleo Ricerca Desertificazione, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy3 Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell’Ambiente - Sezione Botanica ed Orto Botanico University of Cagliari,09123 Cagliari, Italy [email protected], [email protected]


The characterization of complex biodiversity patterns across ecosystems requires substantialeffort, expertise, and financial resources. An approach to limit these challenges is offered bychoosing proper indicators or surrogates as a shortcut to predict biodiversity changes in poorlyinvestigated groups from groups where adequate information is available. Surrogate identi-fication is primarily based on cross-taxon congruence analysis, and the surrogate strength de-pends on the taxonomic groups studied and the scale of analysis. Cross-taxon congruenceanalysis between vascular plants and bryophytes generated variable responses. The objectof this research was to contribute to this debate comparing the patterns of vascular plant andbryophyte richness in an almost unknown habitat, i.e. Mediterranean temporary ponds at asmall spatial scale, i.e. Sardinia. Vascular plant and bryophyte richness was assessed in 14temporary ponds located on different substrata and under different climatic conditions. ThePearson correlation analysis was performed to compare the patterns of richness.

Overall 137 vascular plants and 97 bryophytes were detected. Pearson coefficient was notsignificant. In the specific case vascular plant and bryophyte richness presented differentpatterns of distribution. As a consequence each taxa needs to be evaluated independentlyto address conservation issues.

Local knowledge and invasive-species control in agricultural

wetlands: opportunities and limitations

Bart, david1

1Department of Landscape Architecture and Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Stud-ies, University of Wisconsin-Madison. 42B Agricultural Hall, 1450 Linden Drive, Madison, WI53706, [email protected]

In some cases, invasive species are also viewed as weeds in agricultural wetlands. Simulta-neously, farmers are more likely to have long-term observations of invasions than the sci-entific community, and thus could be a source of management-relevant information. Here Isummarize two studies assessing the accuracy and applicability of local knowledge of plantinvasions in wetlands (Phragmites australis invasion in New Jersey salt marshes, Phalarisarundinacea invasion in Wisconsin sedge meadows). Experimental evaluation generally sup-ported farmers’ claims about these invasions’ causes, although they were often mistakenon underlying mechanisms. Farmers also knew of activities that could control these species,but the knowledge was often idiosyncratic and the efficacy of these activities outside of agri-cultural settings was suspect. These studies suggest that farmers can be a source of basicobservations surrounding the establishment, spread, and control of invasives in wetlands,but their mechanistic understanding of why the invasions began when and where they did,as well as how to control invasions, can be limited.

Expansiveness of wild and ornamental European Phalaris

arundinacea L. genotypes

Bastlová, d.1; Tereza Kávová2; Vojtěch Januš2; Barbora Kubátová2; Vladislav Čurn2; neil o.Anderson3, 1, 2; Hana Čížková2; Keith r. edwards1; Jan Květ1, 4

1 University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, Branišovská 31,CZ-370 05 České Budějovice, Czech [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Agriculture, Studentská 13, CZ-370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic.


[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];[email protected] Department of Horticultural Science, University of Minnesota. 286 Alderman Hall, 1970 Folwell Avenue, SaintPaul, MN 55108 U.S.A. [email protected] Czech Academy of Sciences, Global Change Research Centre, Na sádkách 7, CZ-370 05 České Budějovice, CzechRepublic.

Reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) is a vegetatively propagating perennial wetlandgrass. In its native Eurasia it can suppress or eliminate other wet-grassland species. The ques-tion is whether its individual wild populations inherently differ in their expansiveness. In agarden experiment, we compared their phenotypic and genotypic variability with that of or-namental and turf cultivars, which had never been examined for similarities with native pop-ulations. Significant genotypic and phenotypic variability exists within both wild native andcultivated P.a genotypes. Native plants originating from wild populations and growing inwarm regions are more productive than populations from cooler regions. The tussock densitydid not differ significantly among genotypes. Analyses of four ISSR markers distinguishedwild-growing genotypes from cultivars. Samples of both genotype groups showed wide ge-netic variability. Samples from wild-growing populations did not cluster according to theirgeographical origin. However, cultivated genotypes clustered according to their origin andplant morphological type. Although samples of the variegated decorative variety “Picta” be-long to different genets, as a whole it is genetically more uniform than cultivars possessingcompletely green leaves. This study was supported by the CZ-US “KONTAKT” Grant LH11039and the J. William Fulbright Foundation (N.O. Anderson’s stay in the Czech Republic).

The survival underwater: how seasonal flooding determines

the floristic composition in an area of Brazilian savannah

Batista, eugênia; José figueiraDepartment of General Biology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, email: [email protected], [email protected]

The main goal of this study was to indicate a possible successional trend in a floodplain ofCipo River, Brazil. For this, three transects were established perpendicularly to the drain lineof the river. Each transect had one plot in riparian forest (100m2), 20-25 plots along theflooded field (30m2) and one plot in the savannah adjacent area (100m2). In all of these plots,soil samples were collected for physicochemical characterization and all the plants above50cm in height were identified. The collected soils were compared by PCA and floristic com-position by NMDS. The soils of the flooded field are different from the soils of the riparianforest and cerrado, supporting a different vegetation type, despite the continuous arrival ofpropagules of cerrado and riparian species by wind or animal assistance. Significant correla-tions between the scores of the PCA and NMDS were found, suggesting that differences insoil can explain the differences in floristic composition. However, the reduction in the fre-quency and intensity of floods associated with climate change and the occurrence of sporadicfires could promote the occupation of the floodplain by cerrado species instead of riparianspecies.

Financial support: CAPES-U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service-FAPEMIG.


Seasonal changes of CO2 fluxes in emerging sandbars

with benthic micro-algae and macrophytes within the lowland

Po River (Italy)

Bolpagni, rossano1, silvia folegot2; marco Bartoli1; Pierluigi Viaroli1

1 Department of Life Sciences, University of Parma, V.le G.P. Usberti 11/A, 43124 Parma, Italy; [email protected] School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham,B15 2TT, UK.

This study aims to evaluate the fluxes of CO2 across the emerging sandbars and the atmos-phere within the bankfull of the Po River in its lowland sector. A detailed characterization ofthe metabolic activity of river’s bottom sediments was carried out in conjunction with summer(August 2007) and winter conditions (Mach 2008) with respect to the biomass of primary pro-ducers (microphytobenthos and vascular macrophytes) and the depth of the water table. Re-cent studies show that rivers and connected wetland complexes may contribute significantlyto the rate of Carbon (C) exchange per unit area compared to adjacent terrestrial ecosystems.The ability to act as a source or sink of C or quickly switch between these two conditions can,therefore, influence consistently the processes of transfer of matter both at local scale (withinhomogeneous river stretches) and global scale (river basin). Our data confirmed the strongseasonality in the exchange processes of CO2. The summer fluxes were more than an orderof magnitude higher than those measured in winter. The C-assimilation in the light and theC-release in the dark are strictly dependent to the depth of the water table and the Chl-a con-centration (microphytobenthos) and the biomass of macrophytes. As a general rule, with de-creasing depth of the water table and an increase in the biomass of primary producers asignificant increase in the NEP (net ecosystem production) is observed. In contrast, no signif-icant relationship has been found for the processes of RE (ecosystem respiration).

Ornitological interest of the wetlands eco-complex of Jijel,

northeast of Algeria

Bouldjedri, mohamed1; saheb, menouar2; Bensaci, ettayib3; Houhamdi, moussa4; mayacheBoualem1

1 Laboratoire de Biotechnologie, Environnement et Santé, Université de Jijel, Algérie. [email protected] Département des sciences de la nature et de la vie, Université Larbi Ben M’hidi, Oum El-Bouaghi, Algérie.3 Département de Biologie, Université de M’Sila, Algérie.5 Département de Biologie, Université de 8 mai 1945, Guelma, Algérie.

Algeria has many complexes of wetlands which are very little studied and constitute sanc-tuaries places for different species of fauna and flora. The ornithological interest of theeco-complex of Jijel wetlands (northeast of Algeria) was evaluated in two potential wet-lands sites; Beni-Belaid Lake (36° 50’N, 6° 8’E, 46 ha) and El-Kennar marsh (36° 49’N, 5°56’E, 10 ha). These are two preferential wintering sites for many waterbirds (Green-wingedTeal, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Wigeon, Nothern Pintail, Common Pochard, FerruginousDuck ...). Our study which was carried out in a period of five years (from October 1997 toDecember 2002) was based on an inventory of all waterbirds frequented these two sitesto determine their wintering, sedentary, summer visitor or passengers status. In total, 56species of waterbirds have frequented Beni-Belaid Lake and only 39 El-Kennar marsh.Anatidae and Rallidae are generally observed during winter with larger numbers in Beni-


Belaid Lake whereas waders were on the contrary observed in the marsh of El-Kennar withlarger numbers due to its shallow depth. In fact, the monthly evolution of the total num-bers of waterbirds of the two sites studied showed a temporal distribution which culmi-nated in december for Beni-Belaid Lake (869) and during January for El-Kennar marsh(1095). During summer time grouping concerned breeding species (Ferruginous DuckAythya Nyroca, Mallard Anas platyrhynchos , Moorhen Gallinula chloropus and Coot Fulicaatra ) and pasenger species (Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea, Little Stint Calidris min-uta, Dunlin sandpipers Calidris alpina, Common Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia and Blacktern Chlidonias Niger).

Response to interannual variability of carbon exchange

at the southern border of peatland distribution

Bravo, T. G.1; maria strack2; Xabier Pontevedra Pombal3

1 Tania G. Bravo (GRET, University of Calgary, Canada)2 Maria Strack (GRET, University of W Canada)3 Xabier Pontevedra Pombal (University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain)

Southern peatlands in Europe represent an unique environment to preserve from anthro-pologic degradation, storing around 6% of the total biomass in Spain. Land-use change inthe area including cattle farming and wind turbine development could have an effect on thecarbon (c) stock which is vulnerable to accelerated mineralization due to climate change. Inorder to assess the response of this peatland in Galicia (Spain), air temperature and volu-metric water content in situ have been measured with a meteorological station to estimatethe sink of carbon for this type of organic soil. Previous models could overestimate the annualGross Primary Productive (GPP) and Ecosystem Respiration (ER) in this particular environ-mental condition in the southern border of the European peatland distribution. Previousstudies defined 31,1 ±11,0 g C m-2 a-1 annual mean accumulation. The greenhouse gas emis-sions, CO2 and CH4, follow annual fluctuations which are higher during more intensive inso-lation during summer. This study aims to understand carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane(CH4) production as a long term sink of carbon and how soil functions could be affected bythe current environmental conditions. Volumetric water content of the soils is high through-out the year. During summer, high temperature decreases the water level causing temporarydry condition in the shallow surface area. Contracting this, high temperatures enhance mi-crobiological activity and oxidation of C.

Wetland applications to alleviate people’s daily life under

extreme climatic and socio-ecological conditions

Buchraya, salem1; francisco A. Comín2; Abdelfatah m. Labeid1; magfri e. sueilem1

1 Hydrology Unit, Tinduf Refuge Camps, Western Sahara. 2 Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología-CSIC. Zaragoza, Spain

Wetlands can play a key role for providing resources and, particularly, good quality waterfor different uses of human populations living under difficult socio-ecological conditions. Animportant part of the Western Sahara people are living in refugee camps in southwest Alge-


ria, since they were moved out of their territories after the Moroccan invasion in 1975. Wateris provided to this population from wells after inverse osmosis treatment facilitated by in-ternational assistance. The water cycle of this simple socio-ecological system has a numberof key points related to the deficient quality of the water supplied and the amount of wateravailable. Most of the daily water use ranges 10-30 L/person and reaches 80L/person-dayduring very hot months which coincide with high density population periods. Preliminaryexperimental wetlands created for improving water quality and further use were performedin the refugee camps in SW Algeria. Small subsurface flow wetlands using wastewater fromhuman shower and kitchen facilities were useful for providing complementary food. Alsosmall surface flow wetlands using wastewater from inverse osmosis plant and Phragmitesaustralis from close sites are useful to avoid infiltration of high salinity water into the ground-water aquifer and to provide food for goat livestock. Further developments using these re-sources and wetland applications can contribute to close a more sustainable and efficientwater cycle for human populations living under extreme socio-ecological conditions.

The phenology of wetland submerged macrophytes: initial data

for a baseline to determine predictable effects of Climate Change

Calero, s.; William Colom; Lila reinhard; maría A. rodrigoIntegrative Ecology Group, Cavanilles Institute for Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia,Catedrático José Beltrán 2, E-46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain.E-mail address: [email protected] (S. Calero); [email protected] (M.A. Rodrigo)

Climate Change affects living organisms, specially their phenology (i.e. the timing of recurrentevents in their life cycles, such as flowering). In this sense, scarce information is availableabout submerged aquatic plants, although they play a key role in wetlands. As a baseline toestablish long-term series about the phenology of aquatic plants, we are monitoring a createdshallow pond in a depression between sand dunes at the Albufera de Valencia Natural Park(Spain). It holds a high macrophyte biodiversity: two angiosperms (Potamogeton pectinatusand Utricularia australis), and five monoecious and dioecious charophytes (Nitella hyalina,Chara aspera, Chara vulgaris, Chara hispida and Chara connivens). Since July 2013, we havebeen continuously monitoring underwater and atmospheric temperature (at two sites), un-derwater radiation and water level fluctuation through the use of sensors with data-loggers.Macrophytes have been collected at high frequency to monitor emergence, size and maturityof flowers/seeds in the angiosperms, and sexual organs (oogonia and antheridia) and oospores(and gyrogonites when produced) in charophytes. This initial data informs us about the lifecycle of the macrophytes from this pond, as well as about basic environmental conditionsthat affect their phenology and that, in turn, are also influenced by Climate Change.

Stock identification of mediterranean mullets of three wetlands

in the Comunidad Valenciana using sagitta otolith morphometry

Callicó fortunato, roberta1; Alejandra Volpedo1,2; Vicent Benedito durà3. 1 Instituto de Investigaciones en Producción Animal (INPA-CONICET-UBA)/ Centro de Estudios Transdisciplinariosdel Agua, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad de Buenos Aires (CETA-FVET-UBA). Email:[email protected], [email protected] Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas – CONICET3 Departament D’Enginyeria Hidràulica i Medi Ambient, Universitat Politècnica de València. Email:[email protected]


In the Northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea there are 8 fish species of the Mugilidaefamily. Stock identification of mugilids is poorly studied and very important for local fisheriesmanagement and regulations. The aim of this work is to identify stocks of two of the mostabundant mugilid species in the Comunidad Valenciana: Mugil cephalus, a worldwide dis-tributed species, and Liza ramada. For this, we used as a tool sagitta otolith morphometry.Individuals of both species were sampled in three wetlands of the Comunidad Valenciana(Parque Natural Delta de l’Ebre, Parque Nartural de l’Albufera de Valencia and Parque Nat-ural Salinas de Santa Pola) so as to map the whole coastal region. Total length of fish wasregistered and saccular otoliths were removed and photographed. Using an image analysisprogram, morphometric variables were measured: otolith length (OL), width (OW), perimeter(OP) and area (OA); sulcus perimeter (SP) and area (SA). These characters were comparedamong the different study areas using ANOVA, with Bonferroni contrasts. The results showedthat with the use of otolith morphometry stock identification, of these two species, couldbe possible; however, to confirm this, it’s necessary the validation applying other method-ologies such us otolith microchemistry or geographic morphometry.

Wetland restoration in the Ebro River Watershed

Calvo, AlfonsoConfederación Hidrográfica del Ebro, Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente. Zaragoza, [email protected]

Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro-is following a wetlands restoration program in the EroRiver Watershed following indications in the Spanish Water Act (Art. 103.4) establishes thatWater and Environmental Authorities will coordinate actions for an efficient protection ofwetlands of natural and landscape interest. Also the regulations of the Hydraulic Public Do-main establish (Art. 282) that the Administration will perform the studies which are requiredto rehabilitate or restore wetlands desiccate by natural or artificial causes. After these gen-eral regulations a number of wetland were restored after the basic objectives of the SpanishStrategic Plan for the conservation and wise use of wetlands (1999) which also is aimed toincrease the citizens awareness and involvement in nature conservation. Seventeen wetlandswere restored in this operational framework: Bayas (Burgos), Zaldua (Navarra), Degollad andHervias (Rioja), Alberca de Loreto (Huesca), Cañizar (Teruel), Reservoir of Monteagudo delas Vicarias (Soria), Galacho de los Fornazos, Ojos de Pontil y de Cimballa and Larralde(Zaragoza), La Yunta (Guadalajara), Sima in Rubielos de la Cérida (Teruel), and a number offreshwater wetlands linked to the Life Projects Visón territory (Navarra) and Creamagua inMnegros (Huesca). Also the wetlands Luceni (Zaragoza), Almohaja (Teruel), Labastida (Alava)and Basturs (Lleida) are under process of restoration.

Analysis of the turbidity and sediment concentration

relationships in streams

Campo-Bescós, miguel A.1; rafael Gimenez1; Javier Casalí sarasibar1

1 Dpt. Projects and Rural Engineering, Public University of Navarre, Pamplona, Spain, [email protected]

To assess the environmental impact of the agricultural activity, the Government of Navarre(Spain) established a series of experimental watersheds. Meteorological and hydrologicaldata (sediment concentration and runoff) are continuously monitored. Nowadays, there is


a complete database with daily records of suspended sediment obtained from automaticsampler. However, years ago it was realized that this time scale is too broad for a thoroughcharacterization of the hydrological behavior of these watersheds. It is thus that, records ofwater turbidity -on a 10 minutes basis- have been also added along with water and sedimentsamples at event scale at different temporal resolution (from 30 min to 6 hours). However,the relationship between turbidity and suspended sediment is not straightforward and infact there is not hitherto a standard procedure of calibration. Besides, this relationship maychange along the year at least seasonally. The objective of this work is to analyze time seriesof suspended sediment concentration and its corresponding turbidity records in order toobtain reliable statistical models between both parameters. Preliminary results shown thatthe relationship is variable through the year and watershed. This variability should be takeninto account on the estimation of sediment concentration.

Evolution of European eel recruitment (Anguilla anguilla)

in floodplain waterbodies of the downstream reaches

of the Loire River, France.

Canal, Julie 1,2; Timothée Besse 3; Aurore Baisez 3; Pascal Laffaille 1,2

1 CNRS; UMR 5245 EcoLab (Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement) ; 31062 Toulouse Cedex 92 Université de Toulouse; INP, UPS ; EcoLab; ENSAT, Avenue de l’Agrobiopole, 31326 Castanet Tolosan Cedex 3 Association Logrami (Loire Grands Migrateurs), 8 rue de la Ronde – 03500 Saint-Pourçain sur Sioule

Since the 1980s, a severe decline in European eel recruitment has occurred across Europe,due to a combination of multifactorial causes. Waterbodies are preferred habitat for eel pop-ulations, and they are increasingly threatened by human activities. Conservation measureshave been taken to preserve eel and its habitat and it is essential to monitor current stocksto assess the effectiveness of these measures. We used a Point Abundance Sampling elec-trofishing protocol to assess the composition of eel assemblages in 35 waterbodies locatedalong the downstream reaches of the Loire River. We used CPUEs (average number of eel byPAS) to compare the evolution of eel abundance in waterbodies, and an indicator of fluvialrecruitment, the Colonization Front indicator (CFI), to assess the spatial evolution of eel re-cruitment during the three years of study. We demonstrated a 330 % increase of eel recruit-ment and essentially the smallest size class between 2010 and 2013, and we highlighted a 30km increase of the CFI between this period, reaching 90 km from the tidal limit. Despite thesepromising trends, eel recruitment still insufficient and it is crucial to maintain and intensifythe conservative measures implemented at the European level to protect European eel.

The fertility status of two protected saline wetlands in NE Spain

Castañeda, Carmen1; Claire Jouany2; estela Luna1

1 Estación Experimental de Aula Dei, EEAD-CSIC, Avenida Montañana 1005, 50059-Zaragoza, Spain, [email protected] 2 INRA, UMR 1248 AGIR, F-31326 Castanet Tolosan, France, [email protected]

The fertility of two saline wetlands located in arid (Guallar) and semiarid (Gallocanta) envi-ronments was studied. The soils surface and vegetation were sampled along two soil tran-sects including cultivated areas and halophytes. Soil salinity measured as electricalconductivity of soil: water extract (1:5; w:v) ranged from 2.6 to 218.6 dS m - 1. Gypsum con-


tent ranged from <2% in Gallocanta to 64% in Guallar soils. Mean calcium carbonate equiv-alent was 40%. Soils showed significant differences in fertility between cultivated and naturalvegetated areas. In both wetlands P Olsen and soil solution P values measured under halo-phytes were quite low (< 12 and < 2 mg P2O5/kg, respectively), whereas cultivated soils dis-played significantly higher values. For natural vegetation standing biomass was higher inGuallar than in Gallocanta. On cultivated soils, biomass production was lower in areas af-fected by soil salinity. The nutrients content (N and P) was twice in crops than in halophyticgrasses, whereas average N/P ratio was higher in saline soils than in non-saline soils, 12.5and 8.8, respectively. The nutrition indexes (N and P) of crops were high (up to 122% NNIand 112% PNI) indicative of non-limiting N and P supply for growth as a consequence of fer-tilizers supplied by farming.

Effect of hydraulic infrastructures on the chemical quality

of the flooded area of Tablas de Daimiel National Park

(Central Spain)

Castaño Castaño, silvino1; Almudena de la Losa román1; rosa mediavilla López1; Juan igna-cio santisteban navarro2; Pedro martínez santos2

1 Geological Survey of Spain (IGME), C/ Ríos Rosas nº23, Madrid 28003. [email protected],[email protected], [email protected] 2 Geological Science Faculty. Complutense University of Madrid, José Antonio Novais, 12.Madrid 28040. [email protected], [email protected]

Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park (TDNP), located in the center of the Iberian Peninsula,was a Mediterranean wetland linked to groundwater dynamics. In natural conditions, thewater of the wetland was a mixing of surface water and groundwater. Brackish surface watercame mainly from Cigüela River, entering the TDNP by the northeastern area. Freshwaterinputs came from the Guadiana river (incoming from the east) having both surface (fromthe tributary Azuer river) and underground sources. In the mid-1980s, the disappearance ofgroundwater inputs and the reduction of surface contributions occurred. Several actionswere taken to maintain the water level in the wetland, being the most important ones theconstruction of three dams (Molemocho, Morenillo and Puente Navarro), pumping ofgroundwater from different salinity to the wetland and additional transfers of surface waterby the Cigüela River. As a consequence, the hydrological dynamics of the wetland and thephysical and chemical characteristics of the water were modified, causing an increase insalinity from Cigüela to the rest of TDNP. The period 2009-2013 has been particularly wet,and a “quasi-natural” regime has been restored in the TDNP in two steps: a) exclusive con-tributions of surface water from the Cigüela River and b) major inputs from the Azuerthrough the Guadiana and contributions from springs. The monitoring of the chemical qualityof the waters of TDNP in the last wet period has shown that the less saline waters enteringto the TDNP from the Guadiana have migrated upstream favored by water retention infra-structures.


Morphometric indexes as a tool for assessing resilience

in South European Atlantic Coastal Lagoons

(NW Iberian Peninsula)

Cillero, Carmen1; marco rubinos1; ramón A. díaz-Varela2; Pablo ramil-rego1

1 IBADER (Agricultural Biodiversity and Rural Development Institute). GI-1934-TeBio. University of Santiago deCompostela. Campus Lugo. E-27002. Lugo. Spain. [email protected]; [email protected];[email protected] 2 University of Santiago de Compostela. Botany Department GI-1934-TeBio IBADER. Escola Politécnica Superiorde Lugo. Campus Universitario S/N. E-27002. Lugo. Spain. [email protected]

In this work we aimed at identifying potential relationships between hydrochemical data ofcoastal lagoons and morphological features of the water bodies and their watersheds. Ge-ographical Information System (GIS) analyses of spatial data were integrated with chemicalanalyses of water samples of 11 Atlantic coastal lagoons. Using Factorial Analysis of hydro-chemical data, salinity and trophic state were identified as the two main sources of lagoon’swater chemistry variability. We then tested the relationships between these variables, withpotential effects on resilience of coastal water bodies, and 23 morphological parameters.Results showed significant correlations between salinity and the degree of confinement ofthe lagoons (related to barrier and inlet width). Eutrophication-related parameters (mainlydissolved TP) were significantly correlated with the extension of drought surface (%), maxi-mum depth, average watershed slope and the ratio watershed: lagoon areas. These findingsshowed that some morphological features can be linked to lagoon’s trends towards eutroph-ication and salinity changes. As coastal lagoons are particularly affected by impacts to theirinlets, barriers and general morphology, our results have important management implica-tions, pointing out that morphological alterations can severely reduce the resilience of theseecosystems.

The role of hydrochemical data as an indicator

of anthropogenic pressures on South European Atlantic bogs

(NW Iberian Peninsula)

Cillero, Carmen1; ramón A. díaz-Varela2; marco rubinos1; Pablo ramil-rego1

1 IBADER (Agricultural Biodiversity and Rural Development Institute). GI-1934-TeBio. University of Santiago deCompostela. Campus Lugo. E-27002. Lugo. Spain. [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] 2 University of Santiago de Compostela. Botany Department GI-1934-TeBio IBADER. Escola Politécnica Superiorde Lugo. Campus Universitario S/N. E-27002. Lugo. Spain. [email protected]

This work aims at identifying the main mechanisms which control the hydrochemistry of 9Atlantic bogs located in an area of high nature value, by combining chemical analyses ofwater samples and Geographical Information System (GIS) analysis of spatial data. The studyevaluates the effect of several landscape variables computed at watershed scale, on bogwater chemistry, along with other variables of wetland’s location in relation to sea and topotential contamination sources. Results didn’t show any significant relationship betweenhydrochemistry and land use/land cover at watershed scale. In turn, a significant relationshipbetween the hydrochemistry and other variables acting at a larger scale was found. Hencea significant relation was found between Zn concentrations in bog waters and the distanceto the nearby As Pontes coal-fired power station. In addition, a relationship was also foundbetween this distance and the concentration of NH4

+, possibly due to the effect of agricultural


areas surrounding the power station, which is located in the direction of the dominant S-SW winds. Results also suggested a relationship between the weighed distance to sea andbog water chemistry. Our findings allowed us to identify the main anthropogenic impactsacting at different scales, having important management implications.

Preliminary results of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS)

removal by aquatic plants

Cindrić, ines1; nina Popović1; ivana Grčić2

1 Karlovac University of Applied Sciences, Trg J.J.Strossmayera 9, 47000 Karlovac, Croatia, [email protected];[email protected] Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, University of Zagreb, Marulićev trg 19, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia,[email protected]

In the present study, the potential of aquatic plant Scirpus lacustris L. for degradation of lin-ear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) has been investigated. The study was carried out at labo-ratory-scale constructed wetland. Plants of the studied species were collected from localpond in an urban landscape. Scirpus lacustris was planted onto the sand (d=1-2 mm) andafter acclimated period the wetland system was exposed to 5 mg/L concentration of LAS.The experiments were performed in the absence of nutrients. The amount of LAS which wasremoved by Scirpus lacustris L. after 7 days was 95,22%. LAS adsorption process onto sandsurface was taken into consideration. The COD measurement results indicate very low con-centration of organic matter in water samples (up to 20 mg/L). At the end of experimentthere was no change in the chlorophyll content in analysed tissue of treated plants comparedto the control plant. The results showed that under these experimental conditions there wasno effect of LAS on plants morphology. Data obtained from this preliminary study demon-strated the phytoremediation potential of Scirpus lacustris L. for tackling the problem of en-vironmental contamination by surfacants successfully. However, more intensive futureresearch is required to explore various aspects of this approach.

Groundwater chemistry in the wetland affected by mine

contaminated river

Ciszewski, dariusz; Paweł BijataAGH University of Science and Technology, Department of Environmental Protection, 30-059 Kraków, MickiewiczaSt. 30, Poland

Lowland rivers in wide valleys may lost water due to infiltration in alluvia forming riverinemarhes. Groundwater quality in such loosing reaches is strongly affected by pollution of riverwater. This is the case for the Bia_a Przemsza river in southern Poland polluted by watersdischarged from the lead and zinc mine. Permanent discharge of mine waters minimizesfluctuations of water table both in the river and in the adjacent wetland. Average depth ofthe water level change from about 0,8 to 1 m at the river bank to 0 - 10 cm over most of thewetland in the middle part of the meander bend. Also quality of the groundwater measuredin piezometers installed each 10 m in the net, change across the bend. The highest conduc-tivity of groundwaters is observed at the upstream bank of the meander and equal to about1200 µS. The mineralization decrease toward the centre of the wetland and is minimal in


most points at the downstream bank of the meander. Content of most of ions exhibit thesame distribution pattern. Ca concentration vary in range 160-80 mg/l, Mg 48-22 mg/l, Na33-12 mg/l, K 8-1 mg/l. Content of SO4 vary between 280 and 130 mg/l, HCO3 between 440and 160 mg/l, Cl 43-16 mg/l whereas Fe in most of points falls <0,1 mg/l but in the centralpart raise to even 10 mg/l. Maximum values of all ions are similar to those observed in theriver waters whereas minimum value is usually at least several times higher than that in con-trol points situated outside the inflow of the river water to the wetland.

Macroinvertebrate biodiversity of Mediterranean temporary

ponds: the case of Sardinia

Compte, Jordi1,2; simonetta Bagella1; stéphanie Gascón2; maria Carmela Caria1; Jordi sala2;dani Boix2

1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Natura e del Territorio, University of Sassari. Via Piandanna 4. 07100. Sassari.Italy. [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Institute of Aquatic Ecology. University of Girona. Faculty of Sciences. Av. Mª Aurèlia Capmany, 69. 17071.Girona. Spain. [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

The macroinvertebrate and amphibian biodiversity of Mediterranean temporary ponds lo-cated in the island of Sardinia (Italy) has been studied. Thirty six temporary ponds have beensampled between 2007 and 2014. All the ponds were small and shallow (less than 1 ha andless than 2m depth). The ponds had low human pressure and the main human disturbancewas the presence of cattle and sheep. The specimens collected have been identified to themaximum possible taxonomic level, mainly species or genera. More that 72,000 individualswere identified, corresponding to 147 taxa. Coleopterans (54 taxa) and dipterans (46 taxa)were the groups best represented with 37% and 31% of all identified taxa, respectively. Het-eropterans (15 taxa, 10% of taxa) were also important. It is interesting to note the presenceof trichopterans (3 taxa), the notostracan Lepidurus apus and the Corixidae Cymatia rogen-hoferi, the first record in Sardinia and third record in Italy.

Wildfire effects on aquatic macroinvertebrate species and

macrophytes in Mediterranean temporary ponds

Cunillera, david1; irene Tornero2; Gerard Alòs2; marta Gómez3; marina sánchez4; Carles Tomàs5;rosa Vila6; núria Àvila7; Xavier d. Quintana8; Jordi sala9; stéphanie Gascón10; dani Boix11. 1 Institute of Aquatic Ecology. University of Girona. Faculty of Sciences. Av. Mª Aurèlia Capmany, [email protected];[email protected];[email protected];[email protected];[email protected];[email protected];[email protected];[email protected];[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

Wildfires are important natural disturbances in the Mediterranean ecosystems, that deter-mine their dynamics and succession patterns. Wildfires will increase its severity and fre-quency as a consequence of climate change. A lack of knowledge on how fire can affectMediterranean temporary ponds (priority habitats following European Directive) becomesa problem when future fire-impact scenarios are made. In July 2012 a wildfire burned 10,476Ha in the NE of Iberian Peninsula. The burned area included the Albera site, where more



than thirty well preserved temporary ponds are known. Near all the ponds were dry duringthe wildfire, but not all of them were affected similarly: some burned completely, othersonly partially and some of them were not burned. We analyzed the effects of the wildfireon three groups of primary producers (phytoplankton, filamentous algae and macrophytes)and four aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages (gastropods, dragonflies and damselflies,coleopterans and heteropterans) comparing differently affected ponds. Burned ponds werecharacterized by having more phytoplankton biomass (water chlorophyll-a) and filamentousalgae, but less macrophyte biomass. Different results were observed for the faunal assem-blages: gastropods and odonates of burned ponds presented different composition andstructure, while no differences were observed in coleopteran and heteropteran assemblages.

Hydrogeology of Clot de Galvany cryptowetland (Alicante)

de la Hera Portillo, África1; Juan mª fornés Azcoiti1; Jose manuel murillo díaz1; Juan Josédurán Valsero1

1 Geological Survey of Spain (Instituto Geológico y Minero de España). Ríos Rosas 23. 28003 Madrid. E-mail:[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

The Clot de Galvany is one of the coastal Mediterranean existing cryptowetlands in theprovince of Alicante. In spite of Nature enjoyed the figures of Site of Community Interest andSpecial Areas for conservation of the Birds integrated to the Network 2000 according to theHabitat Directive (92/43/CEE), the management of the water in its surrounding has provokedthat this protected area sees seriously removed what should be his natural functioning. Inthis work one presents a synthesis of the results reached in a hydrogeological study taken toend for the Geological Survey of Spain (IGME) during the year 2012 to 2014. The constantrecord with weekly period of the level of underground water in the basin of the wetland hasallowed characterizing his seasonal evolution. The current functioning of this cryptowetlandis linked to a system of artificial feed system that consists of the contribution of polished wa-ters proceeding from a station nearby filter system of waste waters (Los Arenales del Sol).The water budgets made with the available information allow obtaining an approximation tothe water demand of this wetland. Close to this analysis, a comparison of the services thatthis wetland was giving in the past opposite to those services carried out today is provided.

Can urban wetlands be biodiversity hotspots in our cities?

demierre, eliane1; ilg, Christiane1; Hamerlík, Ladislav2; oertli, Beat1

1 hepia, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, [email protected],[email protected]; [email protected] Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, [email protected]

Most cities host countless small waterbodies, from garden ponds to park lakes and waterstorage reservoirs. Do such wetlands favour biodiversity, useful for conservation purposeor, on the contrary, do they host pest or undesirables species? A study of a hundred pondsin a large European city (Geneva, Switzerland) underlined a freshwater biodiversity withvarious contrasting facets. The local and regional species richness of macrophytes, aquaticinvertebrates, amphibians remained moderate if compared with natural areas, and thesewaterbodies hosted only few threatened taxa. Therefore, the interest for conservation ofthese communities is relatively low. Additionally, exotic species were numerous, especially

macrophytes, and could potentially constitute a threat. Pest species and nuisances arenevertheless inconspicuous. Biting dipterans are few and public complaints remain anec-dotal (also regarding frog songs). Nevertheless, the biodiversity is present with often flag-ship and aesthetic species (plants, frogs, damselflies) and bring therefore natureexperience in urban areas. The biodiversity of urban wetland presents here an opportunityfor the social aspect.

Hydrodynamic numerical modeling of the groundwater decline

in the Doñana temporary ponds (SW Spain)

dimitriou, e.1; e. moussoulis2,3; C. díaz-Paniagua4; L. serrano5

1 Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR) Anavyssos Attica, Greece, [email protected] Department of Environmental and Natural Resources Management, University of Patras, Seferi 2, GR-30100Agrinio, Greece, [email protected] DHI, 114 Thiras, Argyroupoli, Athens 16451, Greece4 Doñana Biological Station-CSIC, Sevilla, Spain [email protected] Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, University of Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain, [email protected]

Although the Doñana National Park is given the highest degree of environmental protectionin Spain, several ponds have been damaged due to groundwater abstraction at a nearbytourist village. In 1992, an International Expert Commission issued a call for the sustainableuse of water resources in the area. Since then, a golf course opened in 2000 under the falsepretence of using treated waste-water for watering the grass. A legal investigation into theunlawful transfer of this golf business to the local municipality is being conducted since 2012,thus revealing the magnitude of the scam. Changes in water table depth have been moni-tored over 23 years in three temporary ponds (Las Verdes, Zahíllo and Charco del Toro) anda numerical model was set up, calibrated and validated (split-sample test) on a daily basisto assess whether the duration of the wet phase (hydroperiod) significantly deviated froman expected pattern driven by rainfall and evapotranspiration. Calibration and validation pe-riods covered hydrological years 1989-1997 and 1999-2012, respectively. The estimated an-nual hydroperiod without human intervention was more than 290 days for these ponds. Thisfigure indicates a strong deviation from the current hydroperiod situation which possiblyimplies a significant impact by human activities.

Characterization of soil microbial communities along saline

gradient at the Gallocanta Lake, Spain

duran, robert1; Anne Carbon1 ; Carmen Castañeda2 ; Béatrice Lauga1

1 EEM, Equipe Environnement et Microbiologie, IPREM UMR CNRS-UPPA 5254, IBEAS BP1155, 64013 Pau cedex,France, [email protected] Estación Experimental de Aula Dei, CSIC, Av. Montañana 1005, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain,[email protected]

Saline wetlands are extreme environments with an important ecological value as they rep-resent a reservoir of biodiversity. They include a wide microbial diversity that drives manyecosystems processes. Such environments are threatened by the surrounding human activ-


ities releasing heavy metals and organic pollutants. In front of the development of humanactivities together with the increasing societal pressure for a cleaner environment, it is urgentto obtain relevant knowledge on microbial communities inhabiting saline wetlands in orderto characterize their role in the ecosystem functioning. Several reports have demonstratedthe biotechnological potential of microorganisms living in extreme ecosystems such as salineenvironments. Thus, for environmental microbiologists, the challenge is also the explorationof the biotechnological potential of extremophile microbes including the capacity to mitigatethe impact of pollutants and the effect of climatic global changes. Recent studies on microbialcommunities inhabiting saline lakes have revealed the important genetic diversity and thepresence of not yet described microbial populations. Most studies have focalized on thewater column while microbial communities inhabiting soil and sediments in such saline wet-lands have been scarcely studied. The Gallocanta Lake (Aragon, Spain) is the largest and best-preserved saline lake in Western Europe. Its geology, mineralogy and hydrology have beenwell documented. The area is very dynamic with sensitive and rapid environmental changessubjecting the microbial communities to a strong selection pressure. Soil microbial commu-nities were characterized along saline gradients by 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses. Sam-ples were taken in April 2013 along three distinct a saline gradient covering 1) anon-vegetated soil at the lake border, 2) a vegetated soil near the lake and 3) an agriculturalsoil with the use of pesticide. Our objective was to describe the diversity of microbial com-munities inhabiting these environments and determine the major parameters controllingthe microbial assemblages.

Factors regulating the invasive success of an alien frog:

a comparison of the ecology of the native and alien populations

escoriza, d.1; Jihène Ben Hassine2; dani Boix1

1 Institute of Aquatic Ecology. University of Girona. Faculty of Sciences. Av. Mª Aurèlia Capmany, 69. 17071.Girona. Spain. [email protected]; [email protected] Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, University Tunis El Manar, Tunisia. [email protected]

We examined niche occupancy of Discoglossus pictus, an anuran recently established in Eu-rope, comparing the niches of native (North Africa) and alien populations (south-western Eu-rope) at two spatial scales to determine whether adaptive divergence had occurred betweenthese two populations. Additionally, we determine whether the alien species showed a widerlarvae niche and higher phenotypic variability compared with co-occurring anurans. We char-acterized the breeding habitats and the climatic space occupied by native and alien groupsof populations of D. pictus and examined morphological traits of D. pictus and sympatric anu-ran larvae. Our results revealed no divergence in breeding habitat use between native andalien populations. A shift was observed between the realized niches occupied by the nativeand alien populations, but this shift might only reflect cryptic niche conservatism. The rangeof reproductive habitats selected by D. pictus was not wider than those of most native species.In the invaded range, D. pictus showed morphological overlap with some native species andbroader phenotypic variability, but the adaptive advantages of this latter attribute were un-certain. Our results suggest that the invasive capacity of this species depends on favourableabiotic conditions rather than on its adaptive advantages over native anurans.


Wetlands Colombian Caribbean bacteriological quality water

estupiñán Torres1, sandra mónica; sara Lilia Ávila de navia1. 1 Universidad Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca. Grupo Calidad de [email protected]; [email protected]

The wetland serve important environmental functions and retaining large amounts of waterregulate river flows and maximize the processes of sedimentation and deposition of mate-rials. In these systems, a wide variety of flora and fauna that provide shelter, food and pro-tection for migratory species of fish and birds are housed. Water quality and bacterialdiversity nine swamps of the Colombian Caribbean, were evaluated. The techniques usedwere membrane filtration and bacterial isolation and rapid identification tests. Escherichiacoli counts, total coliforms and Enterococcus indicate that there is fecal contamination in allwater bodies and that this is more of human origin. Among the diseases caused by this groupof bacteria are hemolytic uremic syndrome, gastroenteritis, and various infections. Withinthe study were included genera Pseudomonas, Aeromonas and Vibrio. The first two generaare found in large numbers and their presence in natural waters is related to the trophic sta-tus of pathogenic Vibrio species of fish and humans were isolated. In water bodies, a varietyof microorganisms that show bacterial diversity and provide information for possible use inthe field of biotechnology and biological indications were identified. In addition, bacteriathat affect human health were identified.

Triterpenoid and steroid composition of temperate

peat-forming plants of North Spain

fernández Alvarez, Adrian1a, Justyna urbanczyk1b, Veneranda López-días1c, Angeles G. Borrego1d

1 Instituto Nacional del Carbón (INCAR-CSIC). Aptdo. 73, 33080 Oviedo, Spain.1a [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Molecular biomarkers are compounds derived from living organisms, which maintain theiroriginal structure after transformation in the sediment and can be used as source markers.In this study peat-forming plants collected in the temperate raised bogs from Asturias haveextracted with dichloromethane, and their compounds identified and quantified by gas chro-matography/mass spectrometry. The studied plants comprise examples of the most commonheather, fern, sedge, grass, rush and moss growing in Asturian peats. Medium molecularweight n-alkanes (C23 and C25) predominated in Sphagnum and Eriophorum angustifolium,whereas higher molecular weight ones predominated in higher plants, with Ericaceae andOsmunda regalis being particularly rich in C31 and C33. The amount of methyl-ketones wasrather low in the fresh plants and rules out direct input as the main source for these wide-spread compounds in the Asturian peats. A large amount of Stigmasterol characterized,Sphagnum sp., which predominated over other steroid compounds with lower specificity.Triterpenoids with ursane, oleanane and lupane skeletons were detected in most of thespecies with the largest concentrations being found in Ericaceae. Ursanoids predominatedover oleanoids, as also observed in the peat profiles. No higher plants triterpenoids weredetected in Molinia caerulea. In general the alcohol derivatives predominated over ketone


and acetates in the fresh plants, whereas in the peats of the region alcohols were restrictedto the upper layers. Low amounts of hopanoids functionalized in C3 have been observed inthe plants, apparently having a low specificity.

Hydrogeological itineraries in the Nature Reserves of

the province of Seville (Spain)

fernández Ayuso, Ana1; miguel rodríguez rodríguez1

1 Universidad Pablo de Olavide. Carretera de Utrera, km. 1, 41013, Sevilla. [email protected];[email protected]

The aim of this report is to propose four itineraries, one in each of the Nature Reserves ofthe province of Seville. These Protected Natural Areas host shallow, temporary and brack-ish-water playa-lakes. These playa-lakes are located in the southern Spain countryside andthey are fragile and scarce ecosystems with a high ecological value. Moreover, they are sub-jected to a high agricultural pressure in their watersheds. In these itineraries significant el-ements, such as springs, and the alteration degree of the playa-lakes, some of which arepartially or completely drained for agricultural use, are highlighted. Some improvement pro-posals such as bird viewpoints or new access, that are private in some cases, have also beenincluded. This report aims to contribute to the dissemination of the Natural Heritage ofSeville and, particularly, of the wetlands of Andalusia, often unknowns by society. Further-more, the improvement proposals are intended to facilitate accessibility.

Relationships between geomorphologic features and aquatic

plant distribution in a temporary pond system (Doñana National

Park): implications for conservation and management

fernández-Zamudio, rocío2; Carmen díaz-Paniagua2; Pablo García-murillo1

1 Department of Plant Biology and Ecology. Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Seville. [email protected] Doñana Biological Station, CSIC. Seville, SPAIN. [email protected]; [email protected]

In Doñana, more than 3000 temporary ponds may be filled with annual rainfall, showing awide variability in hydroperiod and other physico-chemical features. We evaluated the dis-tribution of aquatic plant assemblages in 218 ponds from different areas through the park,and found an important segregation of species according to geomorphologic attributes.Some characteristic species from each geomorphologic unit were identified. In the northernareas of the park ponds have low conductivity values and there is a wide gradient of hy-droperiod, predominating species as Myriophyllum alterniflorum, or Juncus heterophyllus inplant assemblages, with Potamogeton natans in those ponds of largest hydroperiod. Pondslocated at the southern areas have high values of carbonates that determine plant assem-blages, favoring the presence of Potamogeton lucens and Chara spp. The existence of arti-ficially deepened ponds (zacayones) contributes to increase the pond network hydroperiodgradient, favoring the conservation of strictly aquatic macrophytes, especially during unsuit-able years with severe droughts. The management and the assessment of the ecosystemservices provided by these specific transformed ponds have great importance to preservethe high richness and diversity of aquatic plants.



Seasonal and spatial patterns in zooplankton assemblages

of temporary ponds

florencio, margarita1,2; Carmen díaz-Paniagua1 ; Laura serrano3

1 Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Avenida Américo Vespucio s/n, 41092 Sevilla, [email protected]; [email protected] Present address: Azorean Biodiversity Group (CITA-A) and Platform for Enhancing Ecological Research and Sus-tainability (PEERS), Departamento de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade dos Açores, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo,Terceira, Azores, Portugal. [email protected] Dept. Plant Biology and Ecology, University of Sevilla, P.O. Box 1095, 41080 Sevilla, Spain. [email protected]

Zooplankton assemblages were monthly sampled in 20 temporary ponds of the Doñana Na-tional Park (SW Spain), from inundation to desiccation during 2006-2007. These ponds wereselected across a wide gradient of water permanence (hydroperiod), being categorized accord-ing with their relative hydroperiod that year, in ephemeral (<6.4 months), short (6.4-7 months),intermediate (7-7.5 months) and long hydroperiod ponds (>7.5 months). Zooplankton assem-blages were sampled using a net of 100 mm mesh size and 5-21 litres of water per pond werefiltered. Our results reveal seasonal and spatial variations in zooplankton assemblages, beingthe differences between ponds and hydroperiods dependent of each sampling month suggest-ing a high singularity of these zooplankton assemblages. A total of 54 species were recorded:33 cladocerans, 7 cyclopoids, 7 large branchiopods, 5 diaptomids and 2 harpacticoids. Twonew cites in Doñana have been found (Alona iberica and Ephemeroporus phintonicus) risingto 81 the total number of taxa recorded in previous studies. This implies that the Doñana pondsharbour about 50% of all branchiopod species and 60% of all copepod species inhabiting theIberian Peninsula. We highlight the importance of protecting the whole hydroperiod spectrumto preserve the high zooplankton diversity detected in this temporary pond network.

Characterizing and quantifying environmental unpredictability

of a Mediterranean pond complex by using satellite imagery.

franch-Gras, Lluís1; eduardo García-roger; maría José Carmona; manuel serra1 Institut Cavanilles de Biodiversitat i Biologia Evolutiva, Universitat de València, A.O. 22085, 46071, Valencia,Spain. [email protected]

Mediterranean water bodies are characterized by strong seasonality and temporal unpre-dictability at several time scales. During a row of years, some temporary ponds may holdwater continuously, others may remain dry most years, and other fill and dry out, dependingon annual rainfall pattern. These fluctuations in hydroperiod may correlate with both fluc-tuations in the area of the ponds and physicochemical parameters, as conductivity, and theyhave manifold consequences on adaptation and ecology. For instance, environmental fluc-tuations may work as a selective pressure for life-history strategies of small organisms, andmay affect migration. Under a predicted scenario of global increase in environmental vari-ability, characterizing fluctuation patterns accurately is crucial for testing evolutionary andecological hypothesis on their effects. Remote sensing data obtained by satellites could makea difference in this characterization, offering both long-term hydrological series and suitabletemporal resolutions. The objective of this contribution is using LANDSAT TM/ETM imagesto monitor the presence of water in a complex of nine Mediterranean ponds and estimatethe average and variance of their hydroperiods. By applying Colwell’s metrics to temporarywetlands we characterize the degree of environmental predictability of the ponds. Results

show that these ponds cover a wide gradient of unpredictability. This study demonstratesthe benefits of using remote sensing to quantify environmental uncertainty with a high de-gree of precision. Moreover, the findings of the present study suggest that studying the hy-drological dynamics with LANDSAT TM/ETM images is a useful tool for water management.

The effect of life-history variation on competition

in ecologically similar species: the case of two cryptic

rotifer species

Gabaldón, Carmen1; maría José Carmona; Javier montero-Pau; manuel serra1Institut Cavanilles de Biodiversitat i Biologia Evolutiva, Universitat de València, A.O.22085, 46071, Valencia, Spain

Species competition results in coexistence or exclusion, and the processes determining oneof the outputs are a fundamental question in Ecology. This is particularly interesting in thecase of cryptic species, as they are expected to have similar ecological requirements (i.e.ecological niche) due to their phylogenetic proximity and their morphological similarity. En-vironmental fluctuations and its interplay with specific life history traits are expected to haveimplications for coexistence and displacement. The rotifers Brachionus plicatilis and B. man-javacas are morphologically identical with a wide niche overlap. They often co-occur in manySpanish brackish inland ponds. These rotifers are cyclical parthenogens producing diapausingeggs via sexual reproduction, and these eggs allow them to persist through recurrent adverseperiods. According to previous studies, these species show a differential response to salinityand temperature, and differ consistently in life-history traits involved in the production andhatching of diapausing eggs, which allows this species to survive adverse biotic and abioticperiods. In this work, we explore theoretically the effect of salinity fluctuation on the coex-istence of these two model species. We built a model that takes into account differentialfeatures of the species life-history traits, as measured experimentally in previous work. Themodel was analyzed using computer simulation of the long-term competition dynamics ofboth species under different salinity regimes. We considered the situations where (1) salinityregime is constant and favorable for one or other species; (2) salinity fluctuates among grow-ing seasons; and (3) salinity varying within each growing season. The effects of the diapausingegg production and survivorship on the dynamic competition were also explored.

Crossed-effects between temperature and pesticides

on a freshwater fish of wetlands

Gandar, Allison ab ; Canal Julie ab, marty-Gasset nathalie cd, Gilbert franck be, sánchez-PérezJosé miguel ab, Jean séverine ab, Laffaille Pascal ab

a Université de Toulouse ; INPT, UPS ; EcoLab, ENSAT, Avenue de l’Agrobiopole, 31326 Castanet Tolosan, Franceb CNRS ; UMR 5245 EcoLab, 31062 Toulouse, Francec Université de Toulouse ; INPT, ENSAT; UMR 1388 GenPhySE (Génétique, Physiologie et Systèmes d’Elevage),F-31326 Castanet-Tolosan, Franced INRA ; UMR 1388 GenPhySE, F-31326 Castanet-Tolosan, Francee Université de Toulouse ; INPT, UPS ; EcoLab (Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement), 118 Routede Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse, France


Climate change has been identified as one of the major drivers of biodiversity and ecosystemfunctioning in the coming decades. At the same time, agricultural and industrial developmenthas led to an explosion of pollutants in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. In France, thefourth largest world consumer of pesticides, the chronic contamination of surface water isreported especially in wetlands. Importance of crossed-effects between climate and pollu-tions has been identified, both on distribution and abundance of species and on ecosystemfunctioning. However, studies on crossed-effects between temperature and pesticides onfish are often limited. In this study we experimentally assessed behavioral and physiologicalresponses of a common freshwater fish of wetlands, Carassius auratus, to individual andcombined thermal and pesticides stresses. We exposed juveniles at two temperatures andto a mixture of seven common pesticides at two different concentrations. We followed sed-iment reworking behavior during 96h and measured several physiological endpoints (condi-tion factor, hepato-somatic index, protein concentrations in liver and white muscle). Wefound that temperature warming significantly modifies the behavioral and physiological re-sponses of the goldfish to pesticides.

Conservation priority setting for temporary ponds from

Doñana National Park (SW Spain) based on plant species

García murillo, Pablo1; rocío fernández Zamudio2; Argantonio rodriguez1; Carmen díazPaniagua2

1 Department of Plant Biology and Ecology. Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Seville. [email protected]; [email protected] Doñana Biological Station, CSIC. Seville, SPAIN. [email protected]; [email protected]

The Doñana National Park (SW Spain) includes a large network of temporary ponds (morethan 3000 may be observed during the years of high rainfall). These wetlands are the mainhabitats for many specialized plants and animals, having a crucial importance for their con-servation. However, its management priorities are not clearly established. In consequence,the efficiency in the conservation works requires setting priorities in order to identify properlythe most fragile and singular sites. Considering the plant species observed in 218 temporaryponds sampled during 2007-2013, we have applied an objective, hierarchical method, adaptedto regional situations, to identify conservation priorities. It is based on three criteria: regionalresponsibility, local rarity and habitat vulnerability. We obtained scores according to the plantspecies presence for each pond, and then these results were applied to build an overall rank-ing for the Doñana temporary pond network. The scores indicate the most important pondsand their precedence in order to apply conservation actions. It reveals important conservationpriorities that should be taken into account by the managers from this National Park.

Modelling of water quality in FWS-Constructed Wetlands using

the software AQUASIM

Gargallo, sara; miguel martín; núria oliver; Carmen Hernández-CrespoInstituto de Ingeniería del Agua y Medio Ambiente, Universitat Politècnica de València, Cno. de Vera s/n, Valen-cia, Spain. [email protected]

Complex interactions between physical, chemical and biological processes take place in con-structed wetlands (CW). Mathematical models are useful tools to understand these interre-


lations. In the last years some Mechanistic Water Quality Models (WQM) have being devel-oped in CW. Many of these Mechanistic models have been applied to subsurface flow CW.In this study we aim to increase the knowledge about Free Water Surface Constructed Wet-lands (FWSCW) treating natural eutrophic water by developing a Mechanistic WQM. Soft-ware AQUASIM is used to apply the model structure introduced by IWA, Activated SludgeModels (ASMs). A hydrodynamic model and a set of biokinetic reactions are combined toobtain the evolution of organic matter, dissolved oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus and itsspecies and pH. Special attention is paid to suspended solids, which are modelled by dividingthem onto inorganic and volatile suspended solids. The model includes the interaction withsome external factors as wind, birds and macrophytes. Input data have been obtained frommonitoring the FWSCW Tancat de la Pipa (Valencia, Spain) for four years. The model devel-oped will allow to determine water quality in FWSCW treating eutrophic water under dif-ferent scenarios and to optimize its design and management.

Wild boar Sus scrofa control by hunters and farmers faces crop

damages in a protected wetland

Giménez-Anaya, Alberto1,2; Juan Herrero2; Alicia García-serrano1; Carlos Prada1; e. Ar-rechea3; ramón regal3; francisco sebastián3; maría de los Ángeles Pintor4; Jesús urbón3;ricardo García-González5

1 Ega Wildlife Consultants. Sierra de Vicort 31. E-50003 Zaragoza. [email protected] Area of Ecology. Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Technical School of Huesca. Universityof Zaragoza. E-22071 Huesca. [email protected] Departamento de Agricultura, Ganadería y Medio Ambiente. Gobierno de Aragón. Pº María Agustín 36. E-50071 Zaragoza4 Departamento de Servicios Medioambientales. Sociedad Aragonesa de Gestión Agroambiental. Avda. César Au-gusto 14, 8ª planta. E-50004 Zaragoza. [email protected] Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología (IPE-CSIC). Avda. Nuestra Señora de la Victoria s/n. E-22700 Jaca [email protected]

In order to prevent wild boar Sus scrofa crop damage, during an 18 yr period (n=298; 1994-2011) local hunters developed hunting battues with dogs, in a protected continental wetland,the Sotos and Galachos Ebro River Nature Reserve (Aragon, Spain). Results showed an in-verse relation between the number of battues and the amount of crop damages. Wild boarswere not a biodiversity conservation problem, as ascertained by wild boar gastric analysis(n=142). During 2012 and 2013 a new culling program was started, using battues (n=33),done by local hunters; and still hunt (n=81), mainly done by farmers which were also hunters.Electric fences were used by farmers (n=2) to prevent wild boars entering crops. Both periodswere not strictly comparable due to their lengths and conditions. Preliminary results indicatethat wild boar abundance during the second period was 3.5 animals per battue; annual dam-ages were low 6.6 (2012) and 8.6 € per ha (2013) and the total cost was 5,005 € (2012) and4,813 (2013) €, representing 94.8 (2012) and 265.9 (2013) € per wild boar culled. The newplan reduces damages in an effective way, with a small cost for the regional administration(16.2 (2012) and 18 (2013) € per ha). Also integrates farmers, hunters and managers of theprotected area in a common work enhancing crop protection and protected area’s positiveperception by local interest groups.


Spatial variability in nutrient retention along Mediterranean

slope wetlands

Gómez, rosa1; Victoria García-García1; mª Luisa suárez1; mª rosario Vidal-Abarca1

1 Department of Ecology and Hydrology. Murcia University. [email protected]; [email protected];[email protected]; [email protected]

It is well know that wetlands can significantly decrease the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P)concentration in agricultural runoff. Nevertheless, some questions remain about its bufferfunction as: does nutrient retention occur evenly throughout the total wetland length? Anefficient integrated water quality management and land use planning, demands the selectionof the most suitable wetland sites and subsequently the dimensioning of wetland as buffersystems at catchment scale. Thus, the main objective of this study was to analyze the spatialvariation in N and P retention efficiency throughout reaches in two Mediterranean slopewetlands (Taray and Parra) from agricultural catchments. We observed that the first 100 mof wetlands were significantly more effective at removing surface and subsurface N and P,whereas P was observed to be exported in the lower reaches. The higher N and P load re-tention in the upper reach of wetlands could mainly be related to assimilation by Phragmitesaustralis, P removal through formation of Fe plaques at root surfaces, and N denitrification.Finally, on the basis of our results the preservation of a 10% of agricultural area to the slopewetland conservation could remove the N load exported from both, extensively and inten-sively managed agricultural landscapes.

Seasonal variation of interstitial water organic carbon

in sediments of an urban mangrove swamp:

ecological importance for development.

González-farias, fernando A.1; martín Pérez Peña2; Jaime Torres Guerrero3; Víctor Hernán-dez santos3; martín López Hernández1.1 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, México, D.F., México04510. [email protected] Universidad de Guadalajara, CUCBA, Zapopan, Jalisco, México 45220. [email protected] Área Natural Protegida Estero El Salado, Pto Vallarta, Jalisco, México 48335. [email protected];[email protected].

The “Estero El Salado” (EES) is a mangrove swamp located in the middle of Puerto Vallartacity, in the Pacific coast of Mexico. EES is a natural protected area which is feeding, protectionand reproduction grounds for terrestrial and aquatic organisms and also an in situ environ-mental education place for tourists and locals. Mangroves produce high amounts of organicmatter, one part of it is consumed by organisms (detritus food-web) and another part isstored in sediments (dissolved and particulated) which is an important process for climatechange mitigation. The main objective of this work was to measure the seasonal variationof total organic carbon (TOC) in interstitial water of sediments in the intertidal zone and inthe water column of the main channel of the EES. Three PVC tubes (4” x 3 m) closed at oneend and with small holes at 0.6 m from the bottom end of the tube to allow interstitial waterto flow, where inserted (1.30 m) in the intertidal sediments at 5, 15 and 25 m from the mainchannel. With a WTW multiparameter we measured T (oC), S (‰), pH, DO (mg/l), TSS (mg/l)and TOC (mg/l) inside the three tubes and in the main channel. 24 h samplings where donein the warm dry (W), rainy (R) and cold dry (C) seasons. In the channel low and high values


for the different seasons were: T 23.8-32.0 oC (C-R), S 1.2-34.2 ‰ (R-C), pH 7.34-8.50 (W-W), DO 0.5-8.6 mg/l (W-W), TSS 19.8-647.0 mg/l (W-R) and TOC 1.3-94.7 mg/l (W-R). In thetubes low and high values for the different seasons were: T 22.7-30.4 oC (C-R), S 27.3-34.3‰ (R-W), pH 6.67-8.48 (C-R), DO 1.1-7.7 mg/l (W-C), TSS 12.1-702.0 mg/l (R-W) and TOC14.2-93.6 mg/l (W-R). In general, the highest TOC values in the channel and interstitial waterwere always detected during low tide, both in spring and neap tides. TOC was also higherduring the rainy season due to mangroves soil washing and run-off. Preliminary analysis in-dicates that TOC increases with distance from the channel and even though the sedimentsare washed by tides, these accumulate organic carbon. We are indebt to the UniversidadNacional Autónoma de México, Programa de Apoyo a Proyectos de Investigación e Inno-vación Tecnológica, project PAPIIT-IN211213, and to the Área Natural Protegida Estero ElSalado for their support.

The Scottish wetland inventory: coverage, techniques

and future implications

Goodyer, emma1*; Johan schutten1; Lorna Harris1; mohammed Haq1

1 Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Ecology, Environmental Science Directorate, Bremner House,Castle Business Park, Stirling UK, FK9 4TF

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is required to protect wetland habitatsunder the Water Framework Directive. Knowledge of wetland location, type extent and con-dition is an essential pre-requisite to delivering this objective. Through collaboration withpartner organisations, the Scottish Wetland Inventory was developed through a collation ofspatially mapped vegetation survey data; often to community level from within designatedconservation areas. This first phase of the inventory lacked coverage of some known sensitivewetland types, for which Scotland is internationally renowned e.g. wet Machair, and alsowetlands which are under increasing anthropogenic pressure. Inventory coverage is nowbeing expanded by predicting wetland types through the use of multi-spectral satellite im-agery and the application of remote sensing technologies. In addition to these spatial as-sessments, SEPA monitors the ecological status and water requirements of wetlands acrossScotland through a network of field stations. The current five year data set is being analysedto establish water level threshold requirements for surface water and ground water depend-ent wetlands. These thresholds will inform the connection between water pressures andwetland impacts, improving the effectiveness of our legislative framework, enabling betterprotection for the wider water environment and informing future strategies for wetlandmanagement and conservation.

Impact of hydrological connectivity on zooplankton communities

in floodplain lakes: a case study of the Biebrza River

Goździejewska, Anna1; Katarzyna Glińska-Lewczuk2; Paweł Burandt2; szymon Kobus2;roman Kujawa2; magdalena Grabowska4; Krystian obolewski5; Andrzej skrzypczak6; JacekKoszałka1; magdalena Bowszys1

1 Department of Applied Ecology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Oczapowskiego 5, 10- 957 Olsz-tyn, e-mail: [email protected] University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Department of Land Reclamation and Management, 10-719 Olsz-tyn-Kortowo, Plac Łódzki 2, e-mail:[email protected], e-mail: [email protected]


4 University of Białystok, Department of Hydrobiology, Institute of Biology, Świerkowa 20B, 15-950 Białystok,Poland e-mail: [email protected] Pomeranian University in Słupsk, Department of Ecology, 76-200 Słupsk, Arciszewskiego 22b, e-mail:[email protected]

The present study deals with the temporal variability in the structure of zooplankton com-munities in 10 floodplain lakes influenced by a natural flood pulse in the Middle Basin of theBiebrza River (NE Poland). Total abundances, community composition and species diversityof zooplankton assemblages in floodplain lakes were related to their connectivity with theparent river and water quality variables. The use of multivariate analyses (DCA, RDA) showedthat the dynamics of flooding (frequency, amplitude and seasonality of the limno- and pota-mophases) changes habitat conditions and the densities and biovolumes of zooplankton com-munities. The differences in hydrological conditions in spring (potamophase) and autumn(limnophase) contributed to significant changes in availability of nutrients and water aeration.Total zooplankton abundance was also significantly related to chlorophyll a and TP concen-trations. Species diversity, richness and evenness of zooplankton assemblages differed sig-nificantly among the lakes types. All wetlands were dominated by rotifers: from 87% in lentichabitats to 51% in lotic and semi-lotic habitats. Isolation from the active river channel de-creases the diversity of taxa and promotes species indicative of higher trophy of water: Anu-raeopsis fissa, Keratella cochlearis var. tecta, Polyarthra longiremis. The structure ofCrustaceans was very poor regardless on a degree of surface connectivity between the lakesand river. The increased abundance of Protozoa, mainly Arcella discoides, was observed inlotic lakes. Sensitivity of zooplankton to the environmental stress makes it suitable to indicateany changes in aquatic ecosystems. However, further study incorporating seasonal dynamicsand the influence of predators on zooplankton assemblages is needed to fully assess the useof zooplankton community composition as an environmental indicator for the floodplain lakesystems. Nevertheless, the presented example of the untouched Biebrza floodplain with nat-ural flow regime and floodplain water bodies shows reference conditions, based on zooplank-ton communities, in any further comparisons to modified floodplains or in restoration plans.

Contribution of the environmental isotopes studies to

the management of a protected space: Nature Reserve

of Fuente de Piedra Lake

Heredia, Javier1; manuel rendón martos2; francisco Javier montalván1-3; Alfredo Garcíade domingo1; francisco Javier elorza3; José maría ruiz1

1 Instituto Geológico y Minero de España. C/Ríos Rosas, 23. 28003, Madrid, ESPAÑA. [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] 2 Consejería de Medio Ambiente y Ordenación del Territorio, Junta de Andalucía. Fuente de Piedra 29520, ES-PAÑA. [email protected] ETSI de Minas de Madrid, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. C/Ríos Rosas, 23. 28003, Madrid, ESPAÑA. [email protected]

The Fuente de Piedra lagoon is a wetland with a high ecological value. It was one of the threefirst Spanish wetlands included in the Ramsar convention and was declared a Nature Reservein 1989. The lagoon (13 km2) is located in a endorheic basin (150 km2). In the basin outcropsMiocene calcarenites that host a freshwater aquifer, and the Chaotic Subbetic Complex (CSC),which defines the Miocene aquifer botton. The CSC is a lower to middle Miocene olistromeformed by a marly-gypson matrix of Triassic age and limestone, dolomites and marls blocks


of Jurassic to Oligocene age. A deep hyper-saline karstic system was developed in the CSCevaporative levels. The genetic model of the lagoon, the conceptual model of the hydrogeo-logic system and the genetic evolution of the brine are closely related. The origin of the lagoonis related to karstification and collapse processes of the CSC gypsum-saline materials. Thearea presents high density contrasts: shallow freshwater, brackish water and shallow anddeep brines. Traditionally, based on classic models for closed basins in semiarid climates, thebrine present in the system was considered of evaporative origin and it was placed in the dis-charge zone. However, the investigation that IGME has developed in last decade, suggeststhat the brines origin are not exclusively due to evaporation. The hydrochemistry could iden-tify different kinds of waters and brines. The relationship between Oxygen-18 and Total Dis-solved Solids could discriminate brines according to the evaporation that they suffered.Carbon-14, Carbon-13 and Tritium allow us to calculate dating of waters and brines. A modelof Oxygen-18 in precipitation identified the recharge of karst system in regional CSC carbonatemassifs. Natural tracers studies suggest the hydrogeological evolution of waters and brines.This research supports the genetic-evolution model of the brine and the flow pattern of thehydrogeological system consistent and coherent with new conceptual model.

The use of Iris pseudacorus in constructed wetlands

for restoring eutrophic lakes.

Hernández-Crespo, Carmen1; Javier Bixquert1; sara Gargallo1; nuria oliver1; miguel martín1

1 Instituto Universitario de Investigación de Ingeniería del Agua y Medio Ambiente (IIAMA), Universitat Politèc-nica de València, Cno. de Vera s/n, Valencia, Spain. [email protected]

Over the past decades, constructed wetlands (CWs) have been widely used to treat domestic,industrial or agricultural waste waters. There are few cases in which this technology is beingapplied to the treatment of eutrophic waters, but their use is growing up in the last years.This study presents results of dry biomass, nutrients content, and potential use of three dif-ferent plants (Iris pseudacorus, Phragmites spp., Typha spp.) in the Tancat de la Pipa freewater surface constructed wetlands (TPCWs) aimed at treating eutrophic water within a nat-ural park (Albufera de Valencia, Spain). Sampling and analyses were performed accordingto official methods. Measured tissue concentrations are on average 10.1, 10.8 and 11.7 mgN/g dw and 1.7, 2.1 and 1.2 mg P/g dw for iris, cattail and reed respectively. The maximumabove-ground biomass reached is 1.85, 3.35 and 14.00 kg dw/m2 for cattail, iris and reed re-spectively. Among the plants studied, Iris pseudacorus is presented as a viable option in thistype of system. Reed and cattail have certain advantages in terms of nutrient removal: reedhas the highest dry biomass per unit area; whereas cattail has the highest phosphorus con-tent. However, they have proved impractical in the long term in the TPCWs: reed does notspread properly and cattail is subject to a high bird predation. In contrast, iris spreads suitablyand is aesthetic throughout the year. Additionally, harvest experiments have shown thatafter two or more harvests per year, iris grows properly, whereas reed does not.


Fish as an indicator of the impact of pollutants in wetlands areas

Jean, severineab ; Annie Perrault ab ; José-miguel sánchez-Pérez b

a Université de Toulouse ; INPT, UPS ; EcoLab, ENSAT, Avenue de l’Agrobiopole, 31326 Castanet Tolosan, Franceb CNRS ; UMR 5245 EcoLab, 31062 Toulouse, France

The intensification of agriculture with high fertilization rates and use of pesticides has in-creased the discharge of nutrients and pollutants into the aquatic ecosystems. In the contextof the European Union Water Framework Directive, and due to their inherent capacity forremoving pesticides and other contaminants, wetlands have been created or restored inorder to reduce pollutants entering streams, lakes, groundwaters, and coastal waters. In thesame time, wetlands are very rich in biodiversity and very important in the natural environ-ment. They are considered to be major structural components of aquatic habitats, acting asshelters, nesting and feeding grounds for fish and birds. Hence the response of the biota,within a wetland to the loading of agricultural pollutants including pesticides remains un-clear. The objective of this work was to investigate the biological impact of water providingfrom alluvial wetlands on a freshwater fish of wetlands (Carassius auratus). The fish whereexposed to water sampled in different places of the Monbequi alluvial wetland (France) andat different periods. The comet assay was developed in peripheral blood erythrocytes ofcontrol and exposed fish to evaluate the potential genotoxic effect of this water. Some sam-ples, specially contaminated by pesticides induced genotoxic responses in fish.

Assessment of ecological functions through wetlands creation

in a semi-arid Mediterranean catchment under intensive

irrigated agriculture

Jiménez, J.J.a,1; C. Pedrocchia; Causapéb, J.; e. navarroa; f. A. Comína

a Pyrenean Institute of Ecology-Spanish National Research Council, IPE-CSIC. Avda. Montañana 1005, E-50080,Zaragoza, Spainb Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME), C/ Manuel Lasala 44, 9º B, 50006 Zaragoza, Spain1 ARAID Researcher

Semi-arid lands are being transformed to irrigated agriculture to increase crop productionand improve rural livelihoods, but also impacting soil (salinization) and aquatic ecosystems(fertilizer and pesticide water runoff to natural water streams). Changes in the diversity ofspecific soil and aquatic communities can affect delivery of impair ecosystem services. In thisstudy, soil parameters were measured in the Lerma valley (Zaragoza, NE Spain). Sites rangedfrom shrubland to wetland, non-irrigated cereal, herbaceous plot and non-irrigated pine plan-tation. Soil organic matter fractionation, near infrared spectra (NIRS), of soil and biogenicstructures and the presence of terrestrial arthropods were assessed. Bootstrapping methodswere used to derive 1) richness estimates and 2) compare observed richness using randomi-sation tests. We explored how land-use change in a semi-arid Mediterranean catchment im-pacts the stability of the spatial and temporal pattern of Arthropod diversity through PartialTriadic Analysis (PTA). In addition, NO3

- excess from adjacent irrigated agricultural fields onaquatic ecosystems was studied with ecotoxicological tests performed with algae. Soil C con-centration in 53-106 µm size class fraction ranged from 24.5 in croplands to 102.4 g kg-1 Cunder shrubland. NIRS signals allowed differentiation of mineral soil samples and invertebrate(ants and earthworms) biogenic structures. In total, 3,919 individuals of terrestrial arthropodswere collected in pitfall traps, with a maximum bootstrapped diversity estimate of 19.8 in the


wetland and a minimum of 3.32 in the shrubland (99 randomizations). Predators Carabid andArachnida were more abundant in the wetland area compared to the other sampling sites.The PTA explained 44.47% (axis I) and 22.35% (axis II) of the total inertia of the original set ofobserved matrices and revealed a common spatio-temporal pattern, i.e., there was no inver-sion of the temporal structure. NO3- concentration increased from the uppermost non-irri-gated areas (200-400 µS cm-1; 0.1-14 mg L-1) to the intensively irrigated zones (1,800-5,000µS cm-1; 15-130 mg L-1). Algae growing in the bank-gully showed an increased tolerance topesticides, with values lower than harmful thresholds, although further assessments are nec-essary if agricultural intensification continues. Our results led to a preliminary identificationof degradation hotspots related to ecological functions performed by organisms, with theaim to propose corrective measures to reduce NO3

- discharge and biodiversity loss.

The role of aquatic macrophytes in microhabitatual

transformation of physical-chemical features of water

in floodplains ponds

Joniak, Tomasz; natalia Kuczyńska-Kippen; Barbara nagengast Department of Water Protection, Institute of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz Univer-sity, Umultowska str. 89, 61-614 Poznań, Poland, [email protected]

The role of macrophytes in nutrient circulation depends on the biotic and abiotic conditionsof the environment and also on the taxonomical structure, biomass and life cycles of plants.The aim of the study was to find out whether the physical-chemical parameters and phyto-plankton biomass (measured as chlorophyll) will differ between habitats located within macro-phytes and within the open water zones of natural oxbows located in fluvial valley of 4 lowlandrivers Warta, Odra, Notec and Wełna (western Poland). The examination of macrophytes andthe physical-chemical features of water were carried out during stable regime of rivers insummer 2005-2012 on 27 oxbows of an area 0.01–2.44 ha, maximum depth 0.4–3.5 m. Theanalysis included stands located in the open water zone as well as among different ecologicaltypes of water vegetation. Water temperature, oxygen, pH, conductivity and transparencywere measured in situ. In laboratory the DOM, chlorophyll and nutrients were analysed, andtrophic state was also calculated. The feature of oxbows hydrochemistry was moderatelymineralization (av. 585 µS/cm-1), neutral or weak alkaline pH and usually high oxygen satu-ration of water. The oxbows were characterized by similar level of hardness and their waterswere classified mainly as medium hard. In oxbows a mosaic structure of water vegetationwas created, enhancing the differentiation of the abiotic and biotic conditions of waters withineven a small area. Analysis the percentage share of phosphates in TP and chlorophyll contentin Vegetated versus Unvegetated zones suggested the important role of specific structure ofmacrophytes. The studies were supported by the grant: NN302042739.

Integrating landscape change and socio-economic evaluation

on tropical wetland ecosystem services system

Kamlun, K.u.1; Bürger-Arndt, r. 1; Phua, m.-H. 2

1 Nature Conservation and Landscape Management, Göttingen University Büsgenweg 3, 37077 Göttingen, Ger-many. [email protected]; [email protected] School of International Tropical Forestry, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, UMS Road, 88400 Kota Kinabalu [email protected]


The importance of peat swamp forest (PSF) is not only supporting the dynamic link of ecosys-tem services but also provides the beneficial influences of community livelihood. However,human activities are threatening the PSF causing the loss of this pristine forest. Klias Penin-sula, Sabah, Malaysia was an extensive PSF ecosystem, which was unfortunately destroyedby fires especially in 1998 and 2003. In order to identify what lies behind these human ac-tivities we integrate remote sensing, GIS and socioeconomic survey to determine the drivingforces of landscape change at household and village level. Multitemporal satellite remotesensing from mid 80s to mid 2000s was use to quantify the wetland vegetation change inKlias Peninsula. The PSF had plummeted almost about 70% from 1985 to 2003. GIS usingbuffering analysis was used in this study to generate 3 different distances (1000m, 2000mand 3000m) with 3 identified factors (settlement, agriculture and road). Then an intersectoverlay of the identified factors with PSF change area (due to fire event in 1998 and 2003)was conducted. The intersect overlay analysis showed that agriculture was the main factorcontributing to the fire ignition and deforestation in this area. Field interview also reachedthe same conclusion that slash and burn for plantation was the major cause of the fires in1998 and 2003. This study reveal that most of local people are farmers and traditional landclearing by slash and burn practices contribute to the degradation of the PSF.

Distribution of Littorella uniflora L. (Asch.) seed bank

at the historical and recent localities in the Czech Republic

Kolář, Jan1

1 Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Praha 6 – Suchdol, 165

21, Czech Republic; [email protected]

Littorella uniflora (L.) Asch., a member of Plantaginaceae family belongs to a group of isoetids,small, slow-growing, evergreen, aquatic plants. They are characterized by a strong and stiffleaves with a basal form and a large amount of roots biomass. Oligotrophic and mesotrophicfreshwaters are typical habitats for this plant. In the Czech Republic as well as in other areasof occurrence, number of suitable habitats is rapidly decreasing. In the years 2013 and 2014,monitoring of all known areas of Littorella uniflora occurrence as well as some historical oneswas carried out. Aim of this project was to evaluate L. uniflora´s seed distribution at five his-torical and eight recent areas of occurrence and determine the size of it´s seed bank. Hence,the samples of the sediment were taken and their greenhouse cultivation were carried out.The traditional fishpond management, i.e. high stock, annual fish harvesting, periodical sed-iment removal, create conditions under which the seed bank is mostly lost. The fishpondswith low intensity management may, however, still preserve Littorella seed bank.

Bioturbation by macrofauna and its effects on oxygen

environments within tidal sediments

Koo, Bon Joo1; Chul-Hwan Koh2

1 Marine Ecosystem Research Division, Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology, 787 Haeanro, Sangnokgu,426-744 Ansan, Kyeonggido, Republic of Korea. [email protected] School of Earth and Environmental Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-742, [email protected]

The ecology of the thalassinidean mud shrimp, Laomedia astacina, was studied in the sedi-ment of an estuarine tidal flat in the west coast of Korea, where this species lives forming


deep burrow systems. Laomedia had a huge and unique burrow system with several leanedgalleries interconnected to each other by spiral tunnels in the middle part, and in the maingallery extended down being vertically twisted with many peripheral storage chambers inthe lower part. Burrow volume varied between 3,986 and 16,276 cm3, and burrow surface-area was between 5,690 and 18,685cm2. The extensive burrows increase the total area ofthe sediment-water interface by roughly 1,044%. We performed direct measurement of oxy-gen and nutrient fluxes in the burrow inorder to elucidate its role in the material flux at thesediment-water interface. In vitro continuous oxygen measured at 12cm burrow depth re-vealed that Laomedia maintained burrow-water oxygen concentrations at 3.7 to 77.9 % ofair saturation with respect to tides. The burrow was not always irrigated each flooding, es-pecially in neap tides, the burrow was blocked at the mound. Oxygen concentration in theburrows generally showed two peaks each flooding, if the burrow was irrigated, just afterthe flooding and just before the ebbing. Under the condition of excluding the shrimp fromthe burrow, an oxygen diffusion rate into the burrow by the passive irrigation was insignifi-cant (0.16±0.07 mgl-1h-1) compared to the rate by active irrigation of the shrimp(16.91±13.05 mgl-1h-1). After detailed oxygen and water flow measurements, it seems thatthe inhabitant dwells mainly in the upper part of the burrow system during spring tides anddescends into the lower part of the burrow during neap tides, when exposure duration isextended.

The burrow irrigation rates of Laomedia were measured using an electromagnetic flowmeter. A burrow system with one mound and eight funnels was selected for the measure-ment. The average burrow irrigation rate during the flooding of about 4 hours was 24.7 ℓ/hin the mound and 2.9 ℓ/h in the funnel. The irrigation had two peaks: the one was between10 min and 30 min after the flooding and the other one was between 10 min and 50 min be-fore the ebbing; the maximum value occurred in the former duration. Laomedia’s burrowspacing and bio-irrigation can result that about 22,400 cm3 of oxic sediments exists below 1m2 surface area, which means increase in oxic sediments up to 17 times compared to un-burrowed sediments. If the burrow space is added, oxic volume within the tidal sedimentsattains up to 111,600 cm3 per unit m2. The study area has a flooding duration of roughly 7hours per day. If we assume that Laomedia pumps 24.7 l/h, each shrimp would pump 173l/d and would flush their burrow water 17 times a day in a maximum. Oxygen penetrationinto anoxic sediment and water exchanges between burrow waters and overlying waters byburrow spacing and bio-irrigation impacts on biogeochemical processes and, subsequently,can strongly accelerate the degradation of organic materials within tidal sediments and moredetailed material flux between tidal sediments and overlaying wates will be expected.

Conservation of macrophyte biodiversity in managed fishponds

Květ , Jan1,3, Štěpán Husák2

1 CzechGlobe, Global Change Research Centre, Czech Academy of. Scences., Na sádkách 7, CZ-37005 České Budějovice, Czech Republic, [email protected] Institute of Botany, Section Plant Ecology, Czech Academy of. Scences., Dukelská 135, CZ-37982 Třeboň, CzechRepublic, [email protected] 3 University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, Branišovská 31, CZ-37005 České Budějovice, Czech Republic

Central European fishponds are artificial shallow standing water bodies sized from <1 to hun-dreds of hectares. They are primarily managed for fish (mainly common carp) culture andwere constructed mostly in the 13th-16th centuries. Macrophytes inhabiting fishponds arespecies of wetlands that originally occurred on sites of present-day fishponds. For centuries,


the fishpond management was relatively nature-friendly, the fishpond macrophyte commu-nities paralleling those of other oligo- to mesotrophic standing waters. After a slow increase(late 19th to mid-20th century), the fishpond management intensity has increased rapidlysince the 1960ies. High fertilizer and manure doses, removal of large areas of littoral vege-tation, dense fish stocks, their additional feeding, almost complete elimination of summer-drainage and other intensification measures, have strongly eutrophicated especially therearing (main) ponds. They have become unfavourable for aquatic and wetland macrophytesand plants colonizing emerged fishpond bottom. Few macrophyte species can survive undersuch conditions. The poster presents examples of macrophyte species populations and com-munity types which are either unfavourably affected by, or are tolerant of, the conditions inintensely managed rearing ponds Fishponds are usually arranged in cascades and show ahigh connectivity. Establishment of nature reserves in individual ponds can therefore meetwith only partial success.

The energy and water balance of arid Inland wetlands systems:

A case study in northwestern china

Liu, Hu; Wenzhi Zhao*

Linze Inland River Basin Research Station, CERN, Lanzhou, 730000, China; Key Laboratory of Ecohydrology of In-land River Basin, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy ofSciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China*Email: [email protected]

Wetlands remaining in the arid inland river landscapes of northwestern China suffer degra-dation and their resilience and ability to continue functioning under hydrologic and land usechanges resulting from climate change may be significantly inhibited. Information on thedesert-oasis wetlands, however, is sparse and knowledge of how ecological functioning andresilience may change under climate change and water-resource management is still lacking.Research in oasis wetland areas of the Northwestern China identified linkages between sub-surface flow, plant transpiration, and water levels. In this study, we present an ecohydro-logical analysis of the energy and water balance in the wetland ecosystem. A process-basedstochastic soil moisture model developed for groundwater-dependent ecosystems was em-ployed to modelling the interactions between rainfall, water table fluctuations, soil moisturedynamics, and vegetation, and to investigate the ecohydrology of arid inland wetlands sys-tem. Field measured groundwater levels, vertical soil moisture profiles, soil water potentials,and root biomass allocation and transpiration of pioneer species in the wetlands were usedto calibrate and validate the stochastic model. The parameterized model was then runningto simulate the probability distributions of soil moisture and root water uptake, and quan-titative descript the vegetation–water table–soil moisture interplay in the hypothesized sce-narios of future. Our analysis suggested the increasing rates of water extraction andregulation of hydrologic processes, coupled with destruction of natural vegetation, and cli-mate change, are jeopardizing the future persistence of wetlands and the ecological andsocio-economic functions they support. To understand how climate change will impact onthe ecohydrological functioning of wetlands, both hydrological and land use changes needto be considered in future works.


Integrating palynological and organic geochemical proxies

for the palaeoenvironmental study of the Roñanzas peatbog

(N Spain)

López-días, Veneranda1a; José Antonio López sáez2a; miriam dorado Valiño2b; WilhelmPüttmann3; Jens fiebig4; Carlos G. Blanco1b; Angeles G. Borrego1c

1 Instituto Nacional del Carbón (INCAR-CSIC). Aptdo. 73, 33080 Oviedo, Spain,[email protected],[email protected], [email protected] Grupo de Investigación Arqueobiología. Instituto de Historia, CCHS, CSIC. C/ Albasanz 26-28, 28037 Madrid,Spain, 2a [email protected], 2b [email protected] Institut für Atmosphäre und Umwelt -Umweltanalytik- J.W. Goethe-Universität. Altenhöferallee 1, 60438 Frank-furt am Main, Germany, [email protected] 4 Institut für Geowissenschaften-Facheinheit Paläontologie. J. W. Goethe-Universität, [email protected]

The palynological assemblage and the distribution of molecular biomarkers quantified bygas chromatography/mass spectrometry on the dichloromethane/MeOH extracts have beenstudied in a 254 cm (6000 cal. yr BP) peat bog profile. The palynological analysis shows variedarboreal vegetation composed of Corylus, deciduous Quercus, Pinus, Betula and Alnus at thebase of the sequence (6000-5500 cal. yr BP), which reflects a humid and warm climate lead-ing to the establishment of ombrotrophic conditions. The bottom of the ombrotrophic peatcontains macro- and micro-charcoal reflecting the occurrence of forest fires. Lately, from5500 cal. BP, an alternation of humid and dry periods occurred, being noticeable: 1) humidperiods (at 5500-5000 and 4500-3500 cal. yr BP), the first one characterized by an increaseof deciduous Quercus, Alnus, Betula, Fraxinus, Ulmus and hygrophytes and the second oneby the expansion of deciduous Quercus, Corylus, Alnus and the mesotrophic algae Spirogyra.The molecular marker ratios indicating humidity also increase in these periods; 2) a dry pe-riod at 5000-4500 cal. yr BP is defined by the retrogression of all the arboreal taxa, the sig-nificant increase of Erica, the abundance of higher plant triterpenoids and the decrease ofthe taxonomical diversity. The distribution of triterpenoid concentrations in Roñanzas bogindicates a significant change in the vegetation at around 3400-4100 cal. yr BP coincidingwith a sharp decrease in the peat growing rate, which reflect the establishment of morehumid and cooler conditions in the late Holocene. The main arboreal taxa in the landscapein this period were Corylus, Alnus and Betula. In contrast, deciduous Quercus and Pinus pro-gressively decreased, reflecting the anthropogenic activity.

Molecular biomarkers as proxies for paleohydrological

evolution of coastal bogs in Eastern Asturias, N Spain

López-días, Veneranda1a; Justyna urbanczyk1b; Carlos G. Blanco1c; Ángeles G. Borrego1d

1 Instituto Nacional del Carbón (INCAR-CSIC). Aptdo. 73, 33080 Oviedo, Spain.1a [email protected] [email protected] [email protected], [email protected]

The North of Spain is the southernmost limit for the occurrence of Sphagnum acid bogs inEurope and may have been particularly sensitive to climate variation due to the coincidencewith the boundary between the Eurosiberian and Mediterranean climatic regions. A GasChromatographic/Mass Spectrometric study of biomarker compounds together with deter-



mination of C, H, N and mineral matter contents have been carried out. The studied peatsare located on the coastal high plains “rasas” at altitudes between 130 and 250 m above sealevel, covering an age interval of 10000 years with different degrees of resolution. Thegrowth rates ranged between 0.05 and 0.6 mm/yr. Alternating humid/dry periods based onbiomarkers ratios have been detected which could be correlated in different sites. The mostrelevant events were the replacement of a floral assemblage with significant woody contri-bution before 3500 yr cal. BP by a herbaceous- and Sphagnum-dominated vegetation typicalof cooler and more humid conditions, and the widespread occurrence of a humid episodeat 2200-3000 yr cal. BP. Among the peculiarities of Asturian peats for palaeoenvironmentalstudies are: the high concentration of methylketones of medium to long chain length of mi-crobial origin, the presence of triterpenyl derivatives that reflects the existence of a mediumenriched in acetic acid, in which these compounds were formed out of their correspondingbioterpenols, the dominance of oleanane over ursane derivatives and the presence of C3functionalized hopanoids, which have been assumed to be of microbial origin.

Rainfall and the presence of water in Gallocanta Lake

Luna, estela; Borja Latorre; Carmen CastañedaEstación Experimental de Aula Dei, CSIC, Avenida Montañana 1005, 50059-Zaragoza, Spain, [email protected];[email protected]; [email protected]

Long-term time-series data are required to identify annual and seasonal variations in rainfalland to correlate the variations with water level fluctuations in wetlands. In the GallocantaLake Basin, Tornos, a manual weather station has been running since 1944, provided thelongest series of rainfall data. Records were available for 97% of the days in the last 70 years.The data missing from Tornos were completed using the data from the best-correlatedweather stations in the area. Mean annual rainfall was 488 mm [range = 760 mm (1959) -232 mm (2001)] and 61% of normal years. Rainfall in the area was very irregular and, in thelast decade, rainfall in the weather station located at lake shore was 22% below the rainfallfrom Tornos. Rainfall was < 10 mm on 85% of the days in which it rained. July was the driestmonth (mean rainfall = 27 mm, and < 5 mm in 20% of years. May was the wettest month(mean rainfall = 73 mm, > 50 mm in 64% of the years. Rainfall was lowest in winter (91mm/month) and highest in spring (154 mm/month). The available data about lake water oc-currence, indicated three dry periods (1944-1955, 1980-1985, 1990-2008) and two wet pe-riods (1960-1977, 1985-1990). Mean annual water levels in the dry periods and the wetperiods were 449 mm and 538 mm, respectively. Mean annual change in the water level ofthe lake was 0.4 m, and the water level decreased from 2.84 m in 1974 to completely dry atthe beginning of the 1980s. Despite the hydric deficit (605 mm / year), the high rainfall inthe period 1986-1989 (633 mm / year) maintained the water depth in the lake at 1 m untilthe 1990s. The persistence of high-diversity saline wet environments is affected by the vari-ability in rainfall and its effect on fluctuations in the water level of the lake.

New nature reserving project elements in the major works

of the implementation of the Kis-Balaton Water Management

System Phase II

magyari, máté1; Csaba megyer2

1 Balaton Uplands National Park Directorate, H-8229 Csopak, Kossuth L. u. 16. [email protected] [email protected]

The project targeting the completion of the Kis-Balaton Water Management System PhaseII started in 2011 after a 4-year-long preparatory period and will be finished in 2015. Thetechnical actions of the construction happened between July 2012 and June 2014. 85 % ofthe budget of the project is financed by the European Commission. The development hasthree main objectives: improvement of the ecological status of the area, further supportof the good water quality of Lake Balaton and the expansion of the flood-control functionof the Kis-Balaton. Management of the nature conservation in this area belongs to the Bal-aton Uplands National Park Directorate. We took part both in the preparatory and in theimplementation periods as advisors, consultants and practised professional inspection, too.The most important results of nature reservation are as follows. Different water levels havebecame feasable in different parts of the area through the construction of some gates andsluices along the river Zala, which runs across the Kis-Balaton. Apart from the flexible flowregulation, the seasonal variation of the water conditions are able to manifest. Two fish-ladders have been built near the two greatest gates which didn’t let the fish pass through.The reproductive migration of many fish species has already become free. Four bridgeswith culverts have been integrated in the western dike, so the pasture fields outside thearea would be flooded from late autumn to the following summer. It will be transformedinto a wetland habitat complex with changing water levels. It already makes better condi-tions not only for the waterfowl, but also enables the successful reproduction of the carpand the bream. Finally, an abandoned borrow pit area has modificated to a new shallow-watered wetland complex. Besides reaching better ecological conditions, it can be utilizedin eco-tourism of the Kis-Balaton.

Approach to wetland geohydrology of El Espadañal

(Cuellar, Segovia)

martínez-Pérez, silvia1; miguel Pascual1; Antonio sastre1

1 Universidad de Alcalá. Dpto. de Geología, Geografía y Medio Ambiente (U.D. Geología),[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

The Espadañal wetland, located at southeast of the village of Cuéllar (Segovia, Spain), is aseasonal body of surface water, on which has been made an approach to its hydrogeologicbehaviour, including a first conceptual model of the hydrogeological structure existing in theterritory. The presence of the wetland is due to the persistence of water in the final stretchof Pradillos stream, and groundwater contributes to its permanence acting as a support tosustain it.


EU Life CREAMAgua: Creation and restoration of wetlands

for the improvement of water quality and biodiversity

in agricultural watersheds

masip, Adriá1; francisco A. Comín2; Victor Guirado3; Javier rodriguez4; Alfonso Calvo5; fran-cisca Gallego6; ricardo sorando2; Gema Cacho7; Ana Loriente8; nadia darwiche2; mercedesGarcía2; silvia Gutiérrez2; Alberto Barcos2.1 Parque Científico-Tecnológico Aula Dei; 2Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología-CSIC; 3KV Consulting, 4Tragsa; 5Con-federación Hidrográfica del Ebro; 6Comarca de Los Monegros; 7Institut for the Studies and Research of Comarcade Los Monegros; 8Foundation for Promoting Youth and Sports in Comarca de Los Monegros.

Riparian forests and wetlands were restored (increasing the hydrologic connectivity, con-structing simple dikes and planting native species) in the River Flumen watershed (NE Spain)(Life09ENV/ES/431 CREAMAgua) to show their potential for improving the quality of thewater discharged from irrigated fields and the biodiversity of agricultural watersheds.Restoration sites were selected following a protocol which integrates scientific-technical,social and economic aspects. Nitrogen and suspended solids in the wetlands showed a highdispersion after two years but nitrogen retention, which was higher during the warm monthsof the year, was up to 90% of the nitrogen discharge in some wetlands and up to 50% inmost wetlands two years after restoration. Fast development of low diversity plant cover isobserved in permanently flooded (in-stream) wetlands compared to off-stream wetlands.Repeated planting was required in riparian zones after the first year flood disturbance. Birdcommunities show an initial increase of diversity in permanently flooded wetlands; devel-oping a landscape structure is required in other types of wetlands. An excellent acceptanceof the project actions by stake holders (farmers, municipalities, schools) was observed aftercontinued diffusion and education activities developed for 2 years.

Ponds as refugia for threatened dragonfly species

in Central Europe

matúšová, Zuzana1; marek svitok1; richard Hrivnák2; Ladislav Hamerlík3; Judita Koch-jarová4; milan novikmec1; Helena oťaheľová2; Peter Paľove-Balang5

1 Department of Biology and General Ecology, Technical University in Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 24, SK-96053 Zv-olen, Slovakia, [email protected] Institute of Botany, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, SK-84523 Bratislava, Slovakia, [email protected] Department of Biology and Ecology, Matej Bel University, Tajovského 40, SK-97401 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia,[email protected] Botanical Garden – detached unit, Comenius University, Blatnica 315, SK-03815Blatnica, Slovakia, [email protected] Institute of Biological and Ecological Sciences, P. J. Šafárik University in Košice, Mánesova 23, SK-040 01 Košice,Slovakia, [email protected]

We present the list of odonate species based on data collected during the years 1991- 2014.The data on occurrence come from about 230 sites in Slovakia, both man-made and natural,with stagnant or running water, while ponds represent a large proportion of sampled sites.The sampled sites were distributed across all over the country in a wide altitudinal range(96-1872 m a.s.l.) and under various environmental conditions. The odonate material con-sisted of larvae collected using kicking technique or PLOCH method, exuviae that were col-lected individually and netted imagoes. In total, we recorded more than 3000 odonate


individuals that were determined into 47 species (nearly 70% of all species recorded in Slo-vakia). Most of them were eurytopic species tolerant to wide range of environmental con-ditions; however, many rare and threatened species were recorded as well. Ponds supportthe highest diversity of odonate species and harbour the highest number of threatenedspecies. Multiple red-list species showed high frequency of occurrence in ponds. Apparently,ponds appear to be refugia for rare and threatened dragonfly and damselfly species in Cen-tral Europe. This work was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency underthe contract No. APVV-0059-11

Leaf litter breakdown of Populus nigra L. along a gradient of

aquatic habitats resulting from flow fragmentation in a tempo-

rary stream

menéndez, margarita1; meritxell Abril1; isabel muñoz1

1 Department of Ecology, University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal, 643, 08028 Barcelona. [email protected]

In the Mediterranean basins most of the streams are temporary, and therefore, character-ized by a drying and rewetting period. Before the dry period, there is a contraction and frag-mentation phase where the flow gradually decreases until the formation of isolated pools.The aim of this study is to assess the development of the early decomposition process alonga gradient of aquatic habitats resulting from flow fragmentation. To achieve this objective,we used 5 mm mesh size litter-bags in an 11-day field experiment to evaluate difference be-tween habitats in litter breakdown. We observed an increase of the breakdown rate withthe moisture level. Despite a non-significant difference in macroinvertebrate abundance,higher breakdown rates appear in running waters than in the isolated pools, related mainlyto the high fungal biomass on the leaf litter in running waters. DOM release from leaf littershows differences between sites and appears to be positive related to mass remaining. Ahigh heterogeneity was observed between the physicochemical characteristics of water,breakdown rates and abundance of macroinvertebrates between the isolated ponds in spiteof its proximity, suggesting the importance to study the processes occurring in these tem-poral habitats and its effect in the fluvial ecosystem functioning.

Biodiversity of filamentous bacteria in ponds

miłobędzka, AleksandraWarsaw University of Technology, Department of Biology Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Nowowiejska 20,00-653 Warsaw, Poland, e-mail: [email protected]

Almost all naturally occurring microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, yeasts and fungi,can be found in ponds. Among the bacteria present in aquatic environment the most char-acteristic forms are cylindrical, straight or spirally twisted coccobacillus (Bacterium), slightlybent rods with flagella (Pseudomonas), vibrio (Vibrio) and spirochetes (Spirochaeta). Wateralso serves as habitat for filamentous bacteria. Taking morphology into consideration, fila-ments are multicellular organisms similar to Cyanobacteria. They differ in the length of thefilament and the number of flagella as well as motility. Chlamydobacteriales include aquatic,


saprophytic forms, nonpathogenic aerobic heterotrophs, which do not form endospores.They live in freshwater and can be grown on various nutrient media. Genus Sphaerotilusmay serve as a represntative, creating whitish conglomerations in polluted waters. These fil-aments can accelerate the development of a periphyton biofilm. Different bacteria in thisorder are Crenothrix and Leptothrix, with iron compounds in sheath. Leptothrix occurs in fer-ruginous, standing or slow-flowing, fresh waters with low organic matter concentrationsonly. Order Caryophanales is represented by a relatively short filament, usually motile. Incontrast to the previously described orders, movable stages have many flagella arranged onthe entire surface of the cell. Bacteria belonging to Caryophanales are saprophytes and par-asites associated with animals: insects and vertebrates. Beggiatoa is a genus of bacteria thatcan oxidize hydrogen sulfide (H2S) as energy source, forming intracellular sulfur droplets.Bacteria feed both by chemosynthesis (autotrophic) and heterotrophic (saprophytes), canbe found in freshwater with high levels of hydrogen sulfide, like, sewage contaminated waterand mud layers of lakes, also in the rhizosphere of swamp plants. Examples above show thebiodiversity of filamentous bacteria in aquatic environment and their use of a variety of en-ergy sources, which effects the habituation of different ecological niches.

Critical soil moisture values as objective criteria for managing

Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park during droughts

moreno, Luis1; Héctor Aguilera2; maria emilia Jiménez-Hernández3; silvino Castaño4; Al-mudena de la Losa5

1-5 Geological Survey of Spain (IGME). Ríos Rosas, 23, 28003 Madrid (Spain). [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected].

Many threats to wetlands in semiarid regions during drying periods - invasive plantsdevelopment, combustibility of organic soils, nutrient redistribution or soil physical disrup-tion - are controlled by the soil water content. A methodological approach based on Soil-Water-Atmosphere-Plant (SWAP) model for soil moisture modelling and simulation has beensuccessfully tested and applied in the anthropized Mediterranean semiarid wetland area ofLas Tablas de Daimiel National Park in central Spain. Several vadose zone water flow modelshave been successfully calibrated for the different soil units identified by using, as main inputdata, experimental values of soil physical and hydraulic characteristics, soil moisture meas-urements, vegetation growth parameters and climatic records. Soil moisture threshold valuesfor peat combustibility (0.25 v/v) and for invasive reed overgrowth on charophyte (0.32 -0.56 v/v) and peat (0.19 - 0.33 v/v) soil types have been estimated. Simulations of a typical2-year drainage scenario in the region indicated that critical soil moisture conditions for reedovergrowth are attained 9-10 months after flooding ceased and that peat areas colonisedby reed plants become combustible (even 50% probability chance) by the end of the simu-lated period. Decision-makers can use the calibrated models to predict the evolution of soilmoisture under different climatic and management scenarios in order to choose the mostefficient management options for preventing that soil moisture reaches critical values.


Relation between chlorophyll and pheophytin as indicator

of disturbances in environment of floodplains ponds of the

Warta River (Poland)

nagengast, Barbara1; Tomasz Joniak1; natalia Kuczyńska-Kippen1

1 Department of Water Protection, Institute of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz Uni-versity, Umultowska str. 89, 61-614 Poznań, Poland, [email protected]

Small water bodies as small-size systems have a significant influence on maintaining the bi-ological diversity and networks of ecological associations within the landscape. For oxbowthe role of a natural linker between similar areas within the landscape play the river. Chloro-phyll content can directly determine photosynthetic potential and primary production. Theratio of chlorophyll-a (Chl) to pheophytin-a (Pheo) serves as a good indicator of the physio-logical condition of phytoplankton. Aim of study was comparing the relations between thephaeopiments and also with other parameters with important significance for primary pro-duction during time of flooding by the river and later, during limnophase. The study was per-formed on 12 oxbows of Warta River in two distinct hydrological periods: short afterpotamophase in May 2008 and after full stabilization (limnophase) in July 2008. The studyarea represents an extensively managed landscape with a high biodiversity. Sampling ofwater was taken from subsurface layer. Chlorophyll with correction for pheophytin was de-termined after extraction with ethanol and total phosphorus, total reactive phosphorus, ni-trate, nitrite and ammonium nitrogen after EN-ISO methods. During potamophase theconcentrations of Chl as well as Pheo were much lower than in limnophase (22.2 and 24.3µg·dm3, 43.7 and 44.4 µg·dm3, respectively) but the ratio Chl/Pheo was marginally different(0.82 and 1.04). The studies were supported by the grant: NN302042739.

Hydrological characterization of wetland areas located

at Guadalhorce river mouth (Malaga province, southern Spain)

nieto-López, José manuel1; matías mudarra-martínez1; Bartolomé Andreo-navarro1;manuel rendón martos2

1 Department of Geology and Centre of Hydrogeology at the University of Malaga (CEHIUMA), Malaga, 29071,Spain. [email protected] [email protected], [email protected] Delegación Provincial de Medio Ambiente (Málaga). [email protected]

In lower river basins and, especially, in river mouth areas, slightly deep depressions can exist,whose genesis is related to the fluvial dynamics (erosive and sedimentary processes, floods,former meanders). In this context, flooding provoke the regular accumulation of water atthe existing depressions and floodplains. In hydrogeological terms, alluvial sediments con-stitute aquifers, which are closely related to the hydrological regime of the rivers, contribut-ing to the preservation of flooded areas, providing water to wetlands, and modulating theseasonal variations of flow in rivers. On the other hand, seawater variations (tidal waves)can infer in the groundwater dynamic related to fluvial deposits and, by extension, in waterlevel of wetlands (principally those nearby to the coast). Additionally, marine influence toriver mouth wetlands can also provoke significant changes in its water salinity, dependingon the distance to offshore. In this work we present the preliminary results coming from thehydrological characterization of the wetland areas located in the Guadalhorce River month,in the vicinity of the city of Malaga (Southern Spain). It is protected area by the regional au-


thorities due to its great biodiversity. These wetlands occupy a set of depressions generatedby quarrying activities (sand extractions for building at Malaga city) since 1977 to 1982; allthey situated between the two branches of river mouth, canalized between 1997 and 2003,in order to mitigate periodical river floods. For hydrological characterization, in situ discon-tinuous measurements (water temperature, electrical conductivity and water level variation)have been carried out at pools and wells, from October 2013 to May 2014. Water sampleshave been also taken at these points for subsequent chemical analysis in the laboratory.Representative wetland and well have been monitored with data logger devices to recordwater level variations. In addition, vertical profiles of electrical conductivity and temperatureof water were made at monitoring network. The results show the clear hydraulic relationshipbetween wetlands, the underlying alluvial aquifer, the Mediterranean Sea and the Guadal-horce River. This is reflected in the salinity of wetland water, being lower when distance tocoast increase, because fresh water component from the aquifer and the river is higher thanin the wetlands located close to the coastline, where seawater influence is more evident.The hydrochemical analysis confirms the increasing of marine influence on wetlands andaquifer waters toward the coastline, whereas vertical profiles show a relative increment ofthe aquifer salinity in depth. Historical data suggest an increase of salinity values into wet-lands respect to a previous situation when river mouth was near natural conditions. On theother hand, the marine signal influence on the aquifer and wetlands has been also checkedby the observation of the tidal cycles and the piezometric level variations in the aquifer (ina point located 940 m inland). Between both record, there is a clear positive correlation al-though with 3 hours lag.

Taxonomic composition and abundance of macrozoobenthos

in re-opening oxbow lakes according to environmental factors

obolewski, Krystian1; Glińska-Lewczuk Katarzyna2; Aleksander Astel3

1 Pomeranian University in Słupsk, Department of Ecology, 76-200 Słupsk, Arciszewskiego 22,e-mail:[email protected], [email protected] University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Department of Land Reclamation and Environmental Manage-ment, 10-756 Olsztyn, Plac Łódzki 2, e-mail:[email protected]

In freshwaters, the benthic invertebrates play an essential role in key ecosystem processes,such as food chain dynamics, productivity, geochemical cycling and decomposition. Theirdistribution and abundance is directly related to different environmental factors such asfood availability and quantity, sediment type, substrate, and water quality. The aim of thestudy was to assess taxonomic composition and abundance of macrozoobenthos in oxbowlakes created in the past as a result of a set of river regulation works was applied whichmostly consisted in cutting of the river meanders. The re-connection of oxbow lakes to theriver may enhance the resuspension of bottom sediments and thus release previously accu-mulated elements into the wa¬ter. The studied area covered the middle part of the SłupiaRiver, rich with numerous floodplain lakes. This river is one of the biggest water-courses ofthe east European platform in Poland, which flows into the Baltic Sea (water parting withthe area of 1620 km2, length 138.6 km, average annual flow 15.5 m3/s, floods with flowhigher than 100 m3/s usually between October and March). Content of elements and itsforms (TN (total nitrogen), TP (total phosphorus), TOC (total organic carbon), K, Na, Mg andCa) in bottom sediments of oxbow lakes and river-bed of the Słupia river at Słupsk were de-termined. Three oxbow lakes artificially re-connected with the river from Northern Polandwere studied to find out which environmental factors influence taxonomic composition,abundance and biodiversity of their zoobenthos.


Should we hydrologically reconnect floodplain lakes with

rivers? Assessment of the ecological state of restored water

bodies based on macroinvertebrate communities

obolewski, Krystian1; Katarzyna Glińska-Lewczuk2; Paweł Burandt2; Agnieszka strzelczak3;Zbigniew osadowski4

1 Department of Ecology, Pomeranian University in Słupsk, Arciszewskiego 22b, 76-200 Słupsk, Poland, e-mail:[email protected] Department of Land Reclamation and Environmental Management, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsz-tyn, Plac Łódzki 2, 10-719 Olsztyn-Kortowo, Poland, e-mail: [email protected] Faculty of Food Sciences and Fisheries, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Papieża Pawła VI3, 71-459 Szczecin, Poland, e-mail:[email protected], Poland4 Department of Botany and Nature Protection, Pomeranian University in Słupsk, Arciszewskiego 22b, 76-200Słupsk, Poland, e-mail:[email protected]

The removal of dams and flood embankments in order to restore and intensify the hydro-logical connectivity in river valleys has become more common practice. It is particularly im-portant in the case of floodplain lakes which functioning depends on flood pulses in theriverbed. Three left bank oxbow lakes, located in the Słupia River valley (northern Poland),were reconnected with the mother river in 2008. Simultaneously with the restoration works,the monitoring of the ecological state of the water bodies was conducted based on benthicinvertebrates (according to the recommendations of Directive 2000) which qualitative andquantitative structure indicated changes occurring in the renaturized aquatic ecosystems.Several biomonitoring indices as well as the indices of biological diversity were used in thisstudy. In the first year after reconnection a considerable improvement in ecological condi-tions of the studied oxbow lakes was recorded which manifested in the high values if bio-monitoring indices as well as in high biological diversity. A considerable but short-termdeterioration of ecological state was observed in summer 2011 but in the next years (2012– 2013) it was moderately good which indicated that the ecosystems stabilized after the per-turbations caused by the inflow of river water.

This study was financed by the National Science Centre of Poland as project no N N3051423 40

The use of natural spaces at Aveiro Lagoon (Portugal).

A development strategy of Mira municipality

oliveira, margarida1

1 Centre for Studies in Geography and Regional Planning (CEGOT), Faculdade de Letras, Colégio de S. Jerónimo,Universidade de Coimbra, 3004-530 Coimbra, Portugal, [email protected]

The municipality of Mira is located in central Portugal, integrating one of the most prominentwater mirrors the Portuguese coast, the Ria de Aveiro (Aveiro Lagoon). Like any municipalitylocated in the vicinity of this estuary, their economic, social and even cultural developmentis based on your natural environment. The very changes in the sectors of activities, devel-opment of own territories, as was the replacement of agriculture and fishing (primary sector)by tourism (tertiary sector) based in the asset that is the territory surrounding the Ria deAveiro (Aveiro Lagoon). This study aims to identify the past, present and future uses of this


territory. It also aims to identify new possibilities of use, using a sustained innovation. Themethod relied on questionnaires and interviews with residents of different age groups, tolocal entities such as the municipality and associations of environmental protection. Thefindings presented here indicate (1) a new demand for more sustainable activities relatedto the environment. Although we conclude about (2) revitalization of traditional productswith a guise of innovation. A (3) replacement of activities connected to tourism of sun andsea by more focused on the moist areas of the municipality activities is proof that they arean asset to the socio-economic development of the municipality.

Reproductive potential of Tanymastix stagnalis (L., 1758)

(Crustacea, Branchiopoda) in “Malladas de El Saler”

(Valencia, Spain)

ortells, raquel; Carla olmo; deborah fandos; Xavier ArmengolInstitut Cavanilles de Biodiversitat i Biología Evolutiva. Universitat de València. Valencia Spain,[email protected]

The fairy shrimp Tanymastix stagnalis (Linnaeus, 1758) (Crustacea: Branchiopoda: Anostraca)is a free-swimming filter-feeder of Mediterranean temporary ponds. Although its reproduc-tive mode has been described in the past, little is known on specific traits of its life history,especially when adapted to unpredictable habitats. We contributed to the description of lifehistory traits (life span, life expectancy, age at reproduction, generation time, reproductiverate, clutch size, number of batches) using a life table approach. We used individuals of T.stagnalis belonging to a unique pond in a recently-restored area (Malladas de El Saler) nearthe city of Valencia. We isolated ten couples in plastic containers and follow until the last ofthem died. Every other day we transferred every couple to fresh medium and counted theeggs deposited on the bottom of the containers. To check if male encounters are necessaryfor every reproductive batch, we isolated 10 additional females that had been in contactwith a male, (i.e., fertilised) and proceeded as above. We found a high variability in egg pro-ductivity between couples. The number of eggs produced per couple ranged between 26and 207 and it was correlated to life span. Life expectancy at birth was 24 days. All these lifetable parameters describe reproductive potential due to manipulation in the lab. Reproduc-tive rates are inflated because encounters were forced. In the field the probability of en-counter is much lower. Also life span maybe underestimated because daily manipulation ofthe individuals may have stressed them and caused higher mortality. Isolated females de-posited only a few eggs, concluding that continuous mating is necessary.

Herbicide decontamination of surface water as a wetland

ecosystem service in an agricultural basin: a preliminary

assessment

Pappalardo, salvatore eugenio1; Valentina Gasparini1; stefan otto2; Giuseppe Zanin1; mau-rizio Borin1

1 University of Padova, DAFNAE-Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment –Agripolis Campus, University of Padova, Viale dell’Università 16 – 35020 Legnaro (PD) Italy, [email protected] Institute of Agro-environmental and Forest Biology (IBAF-CNR), Agripolis Campus, University of Padova, Vialedell’Università 16 – 35020 Legnaro (PD) Italy. [email protected].


The concept of ecosystem services has recently gained an increasing attention in environ-mental sciences and practical applications. Especially aquatic and semi-aquatic ecosystemssuch as wetlands, riparian ecotones and vegetative buffer strips are very relevant for pro-viding the full set of ecosystem services (Provisioning, Regulating, Supporting and Culturalservices) for human society. Particularly, wetland systems provide a pivotal service as waterpurification by pollution control retention and removal and detoxification of excess nutrientsand pollutants. Through a combination of physical, chemical and biological processes suchas delaying surface flow, promoting infiltration, adsorption and chemical degradation, thecomplex system “plant-soil” of wetland vegetation is able to reduce pollutants as nutrientsand pesticides from runoff. In intensive cropping systems of North-eastern Italy pesticidesare a major treat to surface water. In fact, they can be transported by runoff to the minordrainage network and, therefore, to natural or semi-natural aquatic ecosystems. Hence, re-ducing pesticide impacts by implementing constructed wetland and vegetative filter stripson cropland is a present challenge towards a better sustainability of agricultural production.A field experiment is ongoing in the experimental farm of the University of Padua: at theoutlet of a 6 ha agricultural basin, conventionally cultivated with sorghum (Sorghum bicolorL.), a 3,200 ha constructed wetland, vegetated with common reed (Phragmites australis(Cav.) Trin. ex Steud), is under testing to evaluate herbicide efficiency retention. Conventionaland simulated herbicide applications are performed, particularly of S-metolachlor, terbuthy-lazine and mesotrione, active ingredients commonly used in spring-summer crop in North-eastern Italy. Water and soil samples are collected and geo-referenced, in order to performa GIS-based assessment of herbicide removal efficiency within the wetland.

Preliminary results of the Amphibia project: inventory,

creation, restoration and monitoring of ponds for amphibians

on the southeastern Iberian Peninsula

Parrondo-Celdrán, Paz1; david Verdiell-Cubedo2; eduardo escoriza-Abril3

1 Asociación Columbares. C/ Adrian Viudes nº 9. 30570, Murcia, Spain. ([email protected])2 Departamento de Zoología y Antropología Física. Facultad de Biología. Universidad de Murcia. 30100, Murcia,Spain. ([email protected])3 Asociación Herpetológica Murciana (AHEMUR). C/ Redón nº 8, 3ºC. 30800, Lorca, Spain. ([email protected])

Ponds in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula are essentially man made water bodiesmostly constructed for farming purposes. In this semiarid region, farm ponds are temporaryaquatic systems related to traditional agricultural practices which act as small wetlands.These systems contribute significantly to the conservation of biodiversity and recent studieshave demonstrated their importance for amphibians as breeding sites. The Amphibia project,partially funded by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment, aims to re-store and create new temporary ponds for the conservation of amphibian species throughthe increase of connectivity between different populations. During the 2013 we elaboratedan inventory of farm ponds and identified their main environmental characteristics and con-servation problems. In addition, we developed a seasonal monitoring programm for selectedfarm ponds in order to evaluate their value as breeding sites for amphibians. An importantdissemination and awareness raising campaign was also performed. The restoration actionsconsisted mainly in the selective dredging of pond ground, restitution of water inputs andrevegetation, as well as the installation of exit and entrance ramps when necesary. A totalof 42 farm ponds were inventoried and characterised. Pond restoration and creation actionshad a positive impact and improved amphibian breeding success.



Preliminary studies of the composition of small inland waters

of the Valencia province

Pla, Alberto; Agustín Pastor; Angel morales-rubioDepartamento de Química Analítica, Universitat de València. [email protected]

The Turia river passing through the province of Valencia crosses four counties, called ElRincón de Ademuz, La Serranía, Camp del Turia y L´Horta. The Turia river passes throughsmall towns with small industrial estates and the composition of its waters is primarily relatedwith the springs from it feeds. However, in its lower course, intensive farming and highereconomic activity influence the composition of the water, even in the composition of thegroundwater. In this poster the preliminary results of the analysis of several tens of watersamples, from the region of La Serrania, both springs and fountains and the Turia river itselfwill be exposed. Samples were taken at points georeferenced, and in situ determinations,pH, redox potential, conductivity and temperature, were performed. Water samples werecarried to the laboratory and classical determinations, like permanganate oxidizability andbicarbonates, were carried out. Other parameters, in which the use of instrumental tech-niques was necessary, also were determined. The anions chloride, sulphate, nitrate andphosphate by ion chromatography and conductivity detection (IC-CD) and Ca, Mg, Na, K andtransition metals by Inductively Coupled Plasma with Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) or Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) detectors. In the data presented, it appears that thecomposition of the waters of the River Turia, five samples taken along 75 kilometres, remainsfairly consistent for most of the parameters studied. However, the variability of the valuesfound in the waters of the springs and sources is more pronounced.

Is pastoralism constitue a sink of carbon in high Andean

wetlands?

Ponsac, Claire1; roque marca natalio2; squeo francisco A.3

1 Mention Sciences de l’Environnement Terrestre (SET), Université Aix-Marseille et Institut Pythéas Observatoiresdes Sciences et de l’Univers (OSU), Case 50 - B12 52 avenue Escadrille Normandie Niemen 13397 Marseille Cédex20, France, [email protected],3 Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de La Serena, and Instituto de Ecología y Biodi-versidad (IEB), Casilla 554, La Serena, Chile, [email protected], [email protected]

Large herbivores are keys drivers of nutrient cycling in ecosystems worldwide and they havean important influence on the productivity and species composition in plants community.Wetlands are considerate like large carbon storage; however, our understanding of the car-bon flux dynamic is limited. Predictions are a diminution of the carbon storage in wetlandsunder high-intensity of grazing. In contrast, a low-intensity grazing should enhance plant andsoil C accumulation. The objective of this study is determinate the net organic matter balancein six high-mountain wetlands of the arid Andean zone of Chile (29°S-70°O, 2900 a 3800msnm). In each studied wetland, we evaluate the production of the annual dry aerial biomass(i.e., net aerial primary productivity (NAPP)) with and without herbivory, and the organicmatter (dung) deposited by herbivores. Between evaluated wetlands, the NAPP sin herbivoryvaries between 342±15 and 1884±42 g m2. The herbivory is responsible of the removing ofthe NAPP between 38 and 72% (i.e. difference between zones with herbivory and without

herbivory in each wetland). The organic matter liberated by herbivores varies between 7and 61 g m2. In wetlands, herbivores deposit between 1 and 17 % of the consumed dry bio-mass. Equines represent an average of 84% of the liberated biomass follows by the nativecamelid (Lama guanicoe) with 8,4%. Dung of the others herbivores represent 3,3 % for thecaprines, 3,0% for the bovines and 1,2% for the leporids. To conclude, these Andean wetlandsare functioning like source of carbon and the deposition of herbivores dung no compensatethe organic matter deposited by them.

Amphibian species richness and wetland characteristics

in the Pokupsko basin, Croatia

Popović, nina1

1 Karlovac University of Applied Sciences, Trg J. J. Strossmayera 9, 47000 Karlovac, Croatia, [email protected]

Historical data on amphibian species richness and abundance are not available for the Pokup-sko basin study area. Also, the value of these wetlands for amphibians has not been exam-ined previously. The aim of this study is to determine local amphibian species richness andabundance in a landscape heavily influenced by human activities. Wetland characteristics inthe study area such as size, vegetation, hydrology and extent of human land use is describedbased on previous faunistic and plant studies of these habitats as well as recorded new dataon water chemistry characteristics relevant for amphibians. Field visits were conducted from2004 to 2006 in an area of 4,25 ha, where 4 permanent plots were installed. Drift fencesand pitfall traps were used as sampling technique. During the study period 6 amphibianspecies were recorded. Bufo bufo was the most abundant species accounting for about43,12% of all captures. Salamandra salamandra comprised 41,28% of the samples. Regardingvegetation, 96 species were identified. Values of water chemistry variables did not rangewidely and the general observation is that ponds were eutrophic. The extensive alterationsat Pokupsko basin has resulted in changes in wetland hydrology and a probable shift in therelative abundance of amphibian species.

Seasonal changes in the rotifer (Rotifera) diversity from

the wetland Boximo (State of Mexico, Mexico)

reyes-García, ricardo 1; s.s.s. sarma2; s. nandini2

1 Posgrado en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior s/nCiudad Universitaria, México D.F., México.E-mail: [email protected] Lab. de Zoología Acuática, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Campus Iztacala, Av. de los BarriosNo.1, AP 314, Código Postal 54090, Los Reyes, Tlalnepantla, Estado de México, México.E-mail: [email protected]

Wetland ecosystems are characterized by high biodiversity and thus play a key role in pro-viding a unique habitat for a wide variety of flora and fauna. However, the Mexican wetlandssystems are poorly studied. In this work we provide some quantitative data on the seasonalchanges in the abundance and diversity of rotifers from Boximo, a high altitude wetland (lat-itude 19 ° 36 ‘ 13 “N and Longitude 99 ° 41’ 49” W). Zooplankton samples were collectedmonthly for one year (2013-2014) and the selected physico-chemical variables (temperature,


pH, transparency, nitrates and phosphates) were recorded from each of the 6 samplingpoints. So far 102 species of rotifers, representing 21 families and 40 genera, were identified.The most diverse rotifer families from the Boximo wetlands were: Lecanidae (18%), Notom-matidae (13%), Brachionidae and Colurellidae (each with 11%). This is the first waterbody inMexico with rotifer species richness exceeding 100 species. In addition, this study adds 7new records for to the fauna of Mexico: Mikrocodides chlaena (Gosse, 1886), Euchlanis pyri-formis Gosse, 1851, Lepadella minuta (Weber & Montet, 1918), Lepadella quadricarinata(Stenroos, 1898), Beauchampia crucigera (Dutrochet, 1812), Floscularia ringens (Linnaeus,1758) and, Macrotrachela multispinosa Thompson, 1892. Detailed quantitative data on theseasonal abundances of rotifers and the diversity of Shannon-Wiener diversity were alsopresented in this work throw values 2.7 and 3.7 characteristic values of these water bodies.

Raising awareness for Mediterranean temporary ponds

in Morocco

rhazi, Laïla1; Bouahim siham1,3,4; Van den Broeck maarten 2,1; Waterkeyn Aline2,3; GrillasPatrick3; Amami Btissam1,3,4; el madihi mohammed1; rhazi mouhssine5; saber er-riyahi6;Brendonck Luc2

1 Hassan II Casablanca University, Faculty of Sciences Aïn Chock, Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology and Environment,BP 5366, Maarif, Casablanca, Morocco. [email protected], [email protected],[email protected], [email protected]. 2 Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 32, 3000, [email protected], [email protected] [email protected] 3 Tour du Valat, Research Centre for Mediterranean Wetlands, Le Sambuc, 13200 Arles, France4 Université Montpellier2 - CNRS, Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution, Case 061, 34095 Montpellier cedex 05,France. [email protected] Moulay Ismail University, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, Department of Biology, BP 509, Boutalamine, Er-rachidia, Morocco. [email protected] Moulay Ismail University, Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, Department of Geography, BP 11202, ZitouneMeknès, Morocco. [email protected]

Morocco is characterized by high densities of temporary ponds scattered throughout itslandscape. Although these habitats house a high biodiversity and provide several ecosystemfunctions benefiting the local people, they suffer from anthropogenic impact. A study in theprovince of Benslimane (Western Morocco) quantified a loss of 23% in number and 61% insurface area of temporary ponds over a period of 50 years (1955-2001). Additionally, socio-economic surveys revealed that 25% of the local people have negative perceptions of theponds, e.g. as being mosquito breeding areas or as lost arable land. This explains why pondsare often destructed. In order to promote the conservation of these habitats, awarenesscampaigns were organized during a 2-year VLIR-UOS project. Firstly, courses and field visitswere organized in schools and universities. Also, a short documentary and brochures weremade to inform the local population. Finally, a meeting was organized with all stakeholders(i.e. local authorities, users, researchers) where the importance of these ponds for the localpeople’s life quality was stressed. The need for taking the ponds into account in communaldevelopment plans was also underlined as well as the need for reinforcement of sensibilisa-tion efforts to ensure a lasting change in perception.


Diatom-based tools for the assessment of temporary and

permanent isolated wetland conditions in the Mpumalanga

Highveld region, South Africa.

riato, Luisa1; Valentina della Bella2; manel Leira3; Paul oberholster1

1 Department of Paraclinical Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa, [email protected] Biomonitoring Unit, Environmental Protection Agency of Umbria Region, ARPA UMBRIA, Italy,[email protected] Department of Geography, University of Lisbon, Portugal, [email protected]

The premise of the study is to investigate how changing environmental conditions, naturaland human-induced stressors, and temporal and spatial heterogeneity affect the organisa-tion and functioning of diatoms in isolated wetlands in the Mpumalanga Highveld region ofSouth Africa. These wetlands constitute a priority due to impacts of acid mine drainage(AMD) from extensive coal mining. For the purpose of developing an effective assessmentand management strategy for AMD impacted isolated wetlands, this study aims to createand test a multi-metric AMD-diatom index of isolated wetland condition. The second aim isto investigate isolated wetlands with similar hydroperiods during various stages of inundationin order to assess the impacts of hydroperiod and salinity on diatom taxonomic composition.The third aim is to assess the influence of host macrophyte type on epiphytic communitycomposition in temporary isolated wetlands during various stages of inundation. Accordingly,the influence of the host macrophyte species on the epiphytic diatom composition can bedetermined in relation to the influence of other factors. This will contribute to our under-standing of the function of these systems on a regional and national level and can comple-ment international hydrobiological wetland studies where temporary waterbodies are highlyvulnerable to hydrological disturbances.

Plankton assessment for the management of constructed

wetlands in the framework of the LIFE+12 ALBUFERA project

rodrigo, maría A.; matilde segura; William Colom; Carmen rojoIntegrative Ecology Group, Cavanilles Institute for Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia,Catedrático José Beltrán 2, E-46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain. [email protected]; [email protected];[email protected]; [email protected]

Information about plankton contribution to eutrophication reduction in constructed wet-lands is scarce. Our previous studies on these kinds of systems demonstrated relevant mi-croalgal reductions and favourable shifts in plankton community structures in constructedwetlands effluents, and the important role of zooplankton in water clearing. Here, we cor-roborate how microalgal biomass is drastically reduced after passing through the constructedwetlands involved in the LIFE+12 Albufera project: showing 80±24, 85±8, 82±12 % reductions(mean and S.D.) of chlorophyll concentrations in the effluents of Tancat Pipa, Tancat Miliaand Tancat Illa, respectively, when compared with inflows. The constructed wetlands alsobrought about beneficial changes in phytoplankton assemblages: when comparing the in-flows and the outflows, important reductions in cyanobacteria biomass and increases ingreen algae and diatoms biomass, easily edible by zooplankton, were observed. A consider-able reduction in rotifer biomass was found in the effluents of all three Tancats. Althoughwe only have the preliminary results so far, the reduction in microalgal concentration andthe observed shifts in plankton community structures emerge as satisfactory.



Hydrological monitoring of a new created wetlands in Pablo de

Olavide University campus (Seville)

rodríguez rodríguez, miguel1; Layla marquez san emeterio1

1 Universidad Pablo de Olavide. Carretera de Utrera, km. 1, 41013, Sevilla. [email protected]; [email protected]

This report presents the hydrological characterization two artificial lakes system located inthe campus of the University Pablo de Olavide (Sevilla), created in October 2013 as a resultof a environmental project for the improvement of the campus. In this work it will be ana-lyzed the hydrological dynamics of the lakes system during a period of six months, contrastingmeteorological and other observations made in situ for a better understanding and assess-ment of the results. Also, a hydrochemical analyses and a soil water balance (SWB) in thewatershed was made in order to characterise the water quality and estimate water re-sources. Hourly monitoring of the water level and temperature allowed to validate the SWBin the watershed for a water holding capacity of 25 mm.

Progress of Life+ “Los Tollos” Project (09 ENV/ES/000472)

Action 26: Hydrogeological Monitoring

rodríguez rodríguez; miguel1; francisco moral martos1; mario Parra Cachada1

1 Universidad Pablo de Olavide. Carretera de Utrera, km. 1, 41013, Sevilla. [email protected]; [email protected];[email protected]

In the context of Los Tollos Life+ project, the hydrogeological monitoring of the playa-lakeand the related aquifers has been studied in detail. The main specific objectives of Action26 (Hydrogeological Monitoring) are the following: collection and analysis of all previous hy-drological information; piezometric study and hydrochemistry of the groundwater body ofLebrija; monitoring of the hydrology of Los Tollos playa-lake, in terms of both water andgroundwater quality and quantity; monitoring of meteorological variables for the preciseestimation of the terms of the water balance and, finally, description of the relation betweensurface and groundwater in the playa-lake. In this sense, the installation of a wide range ofhydrological equipment (water level, temperature and salinity sensors in piezometers, wellsand the playa-lake, weather and soil humidity stations near the playa, bimonthly water-sam-pling campaigns, etc.) has allowed us to achieve all of the proposed objectives during therestoration activities. Water level on the different aquifers are recovering, and the high de-gree of hydrological disconnection between the Los Tollos clayey unit and the underlyingsandy aquifer (Lebrija aquifer) indicate the probable achievement of the hydrological restora-tion of the system. Anyhow, a future hydrological monitoring, after the end of the restorationactivities, is crucial to check up on the certain restoration of the ecosystem in the long term.

Lipid signature responsive of the biogeochemical functionality

of hydric soils in Gallocanta Lake, Spain

ruiz-matute, Ana isabel1,3; Carmen Castañeda2; Gonzalo Almendros1; Jesús sanz3; Jorge Ál-varo-fuentes2

1 MNCN, CSIC. Serrano 115B, E-28006 Madrid, Spain, [email protected]; [email protected] Estación Experimental de Aula Dei, CSIC, Av. Montañana 1005, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain,[email protected]; [email protected] Institute of General Organic Chemistry, CSIC, Juan de la Cierva 3, 28006 Madrid, Spain, [email protected]


Gallocanta Lake, one of the salt lakes best-preserved in Western Europe, has a maximumdepth in wet periods of ca. 2.5 m. The effect of seasonal fluctuations in water level in thebiogeochemical dynamics of sedimentary organic compounds was studied by sampling itssouthern margin. A transect defining a gradient in terms of their proximity to the water (andsoil salinity) was selected to monitor physical and chemical variables, greenhouse gas emis-sions and the molecular composition of extractable lipids by gas chromatography-mass spec-trometry. Loam and sandy loam textured soils showed a high calcium carbonate content(mean 38%) and an electrical conductivity in 1:5 soil:water up to 8.5 dS m-1 in May 2013. Soilgreenhouse gas emissions totalized from 3257 to 19513 g C-CO2 ha-1·day-1, up to 24 g C-CH4

ha-1·day-1, and up to 7 g N-N2O ha-1·day-1, and depended mainly of the land use and the dis-tance to the lake floor. Up to 80 compounds, mainly alkanes (linear and branched), alcohols,terpenoids and steroids were quantitatively determined. A large concentration of elementalsulfur as S8 was detected in the sample at the lake floor, although S-containing organic mol-ecules such as hexathiepane were also observed. The alkane series showed clear bimodaldistributions with valley at ca. C25, i.e., a range of high molecular weight (>C25, odd-C num-bered alkanes) which was assumed to derive from terrestrial sources, and a range of lowmolecular weight (<C25, even-C numbered alkanes) more typical of aquatic and/or microbialorganisms. The concentration of diterpene resin acids mainly dehydroabietic acid representa useful quantitative proxy for the terrestrial origin of organic matter. Conversely, steroidsand sulfur compounds were selectively preserved in a gradient towards the submerged sed-iments of the lake floor, although an enhanced biogeochemical complexity in sites subjectedto seasonal water saturation was suggested by their biochemodiversity indices.

Optimization of aquatic macroinvertebrate sampling

methodology in rice fields of Albufera Natural Park

(Valencia, Spain)

saccò, mattia1; Juán rueda sevilla2; Ángela m. Jaramillo Londoño3; m. del mar Villar dePablo2; Vicent Benedito durà2

1 Instituto de Ingeniería del Agua y Medio Ambiente, Universitat Politècnica de València, Cno. de Vera s/n, 46022Valencia, Spain. [email protected] Laboratorio de Ecología. Departamento de Ingeniería Hidráulica y Medio Ambiente. Universitat Politècnica deValència, Cno. de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain. [email protected]; [email protected] Facultad de Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales U.D.C.A. Calle 222 55-37Bogotá (Colombia) [email protected]

The Albufera Natural Park (PNA) is one of the most important wetlands in the WesternMediterranean. It consists in a coastal shallow lake surrounded by a wide extension of ricefields (21000 ha total area) separated from the sea by a sand levee (30 km), with dunar sys-tems. This protected area is included in the list of wetlands of international interest of theRAMSAR convention and in the Red Natura 2000, as a site of Community Importance, andSpecial Protection Area for birds. It presents an important bird community with 250 species,most of them with a diet based, to great extent, on benthic aquatic macroinvertebrates. Inaquatic environments relationships between the macroinvertebrate communities and waterquality has been widely demonstrated. The use of these organisms is an essential tool inecological studies in aquatic systems, but a great effort is needed, because of the sampleprocessing and the species determination. For this, it is essential to find a balance betweensampling effort and the significance of the results. In this communication we revise a sam-

pling methodology to evaluate accurately the macro invertebrate benthonic community bymeans of the optimization of the sampling effort, to be applied in monitoring of water qualityor other ecological studies. This procedure focuses on determining the minimum numberof samples giving significant results in studies of aquatic macroinvertebrates carried out inrice fields; environments where most of the birds in the Albufera Natural Park obtain theirfood supplies.

Crustacean community structure, diversity indices and

conservation value in Mediterranean ponds

sahuquillo, maría; maría rosa miracle University of Valencia

We analysed patterns in community structure, species richness and “faunistic quality” ofcrustaceans in Mediterranean ponds of differing types. Crustacean species abundances froma large set of 150 ponds in a Mediterranean area were used to delineate different pondtypes. Historic and climatic factors played a major role separating five pond types, includingthree temporal pond types and two permanent ones. Differences in species richness werefirst compared between two pond typologies (permanent and temporary ponds) and sub-sequently among the five types following a gradient of environmental harshness. We didnot find any difference in local species richness between temporary and permanent ponds,however when the five types were considered, we observed that local species richnesstended to increase with increasing habitat stability or decreasing harshness, both in tempo-rary and in permanent ponds. To evaluate conservation value of the ponds, we applied anew index (CVI) for crustaceans, in a similar way to those commonly used for other taxo-nomic groups. This index revealed the importance and singularity of temporary pond fauna,indicating that species richness must not be the only criterion used in the assessment of con-servation value because this metric pools all species together. CVI highlights localities withspecialized species or species with biogeographic interest from those with opportunistic orcosmopolitan species.

Microcrustacean metacommunity drivers in two Mediterranean

temporary pond systems with contrasting connectivity

sala, Jordi1; dani Boix1; Jordi Compte1,2; simonetta Bagella2; maria Carmela Caria2; Xavierd. Quintana1; stéphanie Gascón 1. 1 Institute of Aquatic Ecology. University of Girona. Faculty of Sciences. Av. Mª Aurèlia Capmany, 69. 17071.Girona. Spain. [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];[email protected] 2 Dipartimento di Scienze della Natura e del Territorio, University of Sassari. Via Piandanna 4. 07100. Sassari.Italy. [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

Connectivity is an important attribute for the dispersal and the colonisation of organisms inthe ecosystems, and plays a key role in the processes that structure the metacommunities.In the Mediterranean area, the fragmentation and loss of temporary wetlands pose a threatto the conservation of the biodiversity in these systems (which are considered as priorityhabitats following the European Directive). In the island of Sardinia (Italy), two different setsof temporary ponds with different connectivity were selected for the study of the micro-


crustacean (Cladocera, Copepoda and Ostracoda) assemblages. Within these two sets, weanalized the effect of several environmental and biotic factors (pond characteristics, trophicstatus, predation pressure) that may control microcrustacean assemblage structure descrip-tors (species richness, beta diversity, size diversity, biomass) affecting the metacommunitydynamics. Higher values of species richness and microcrustacean biomass, and lower valuesof beta diversity were found in the high-connectivity pond system, whereas the descriptorsof size structure were more related to trophic status.

Pools, plants and people: challenges for wetland conservation

in Malta

sammut, sheriyl; Kelly Briffa; Jilly Camilleri; sandro LanfrancoDepartment of Biology, University of Malta, Msida MSD2080, Malta. [email protected];[email protected];[email protected]; [email protected]

The Maltese Islands are characterised by the smallest land area (316km2) and the highestpopulation density in the European Union (1261 km-1). These factors, coupled with intensivehabitat loss and a strongly biseasonal climate with a long summer drought, interact to pres-ent considerable challenges for wetland conservation in Malta. In general, although habitatsconsistent with European Commission habitat-type 3170 *Mediterranean Temporary Pondsare protected by legislation, the remaining pool landscapes are highly fragmented and sub-ject to frequent disturbance or to deliberate destruction. The diversity of macrophytes inthese habitats is dependent on the morphometric properties of the basin, on the volume ofthe effective seed bank and on proximity to other sources of colonisers. As such, any con-servation or restoration strategies should take all these factors into account. Conservationstrategies that are being undertaken or envisaged include conservation and managementof remaining pool landscapes, educational initiatives and ad hoc restoration strategies. Theincreasing volume of specific research about temporary pools in the Maltese Islands suggeststhat restoration strategies can be based in information concerning the influence of morpho-metric heterogeneity of basins, of hydroperiod characteristics and of habitat-connectivityin determining macrophyte richness and life-form richness.

Project LIFE Nitrates. “Repercussions of agricultural practices

on the nitrate pollution of inland waters”

sanz Azcarate, Luis; maria Vela moriones; José Chérrez BermejoGestión Ambiental de Navarra, S.A., http://www.life-nitratos.eu/

The Nitrates Life Project in Navarra focuses on analysing the major sources of nitrates leach-ing responsible for diffuse pollution of inland water: irrigated agriculture areas in which anexcess of fertilisers produces losses favoured by irrigation water and farming areas with in-tensive livestock in which crop plots and prairies are fertilised by manure and slurry.

Methods: A) Analysis of agricultural practices in a pilot area with impermeable soil where ir-rigation farming takes place. Field trials were developed along with actual cropping plotsmanaged by local farmers in the pilot basin (Landazuria basin). Basin exit flow and nitrateconcentration were measured in a continuous basis. Identifying cause-effect relationshipsand developing a computer tool for nitrogen balances. B) Analysis of livestock farming prac-


tices in a pilot area with impermeable soil. Field trials were developed along with actualcropping plots managed by local farmers in the pilot basin (Oskotz-Muskitz basin). Basin exitflow and nitrate concentration were measured in a continuous basis. Identifying cause-effectrelationships and developing a computer tool for nitrogen balances. C) Evaluation of the ac-tion programmes in the alluvial of the River Ebro and its main tributaries. To evaluate theeffectiveness of Action Programmes and Good Agricultural Practices applied in the RiverEbro alluvial and create a simulation model for the flow and transportation of nitrates forthe Ebro alluvial and its main tributaries. The first task was the agronomic and hydrologicalcharacterization of entire area that it was carried out with existing data and surveys of farm-ers in the area. At the same time, priority areas were selected for modelling, and a numberof wells were drilled and built as new control well points. The data collected will be used tovalidate and calibrate the pollution simulation model which is a combination of two differentsoftware: MODFLOW for groundwater flow and SWAP for the Unsaturated Zone. Finally, dif-ferent scenarios will be simulated when the model is running so it will be possible to see theevolution of the concentration of nitrates from agricultural sources in groundwater. D) Publicawareness raising and dissemination of the results: Disseminate results/outputs obtainedto stakeholders at regional, national and international levels in order to extrapolate the re-sults obtained in other fields with similar characteristics.

Results: The progress of this project show the importance of to take into account the existingsoil nitrogen (mineralised nitrogen) in the nitrogen balance and the need to improve ourcurrent knowledge about N dynamics at a plot scale i.e N mineralisation is greatly affectedby soil conditions (temperature and humidity) and farming practices (fallows, cultivation ro-tation, direct drilling). Thereby farmers can check that fertiliser doses can be reduced signif-icantly without reducing profits by using proper techniques.

These guidelines will be incorporated into a reviewed Good Agricultural Practices Program.It is expected that a more efficient use of fertilizers in agriculture will imply a reduction ofnitrogen in continental water in compliance of the EU Nitrates Directive and its Action Pro-grams for Vulnerable Areas.

Approach to behavior geohydrologic Wetland Lagoons Puebla

de Beleña by Landsat 8

sastre, Antonio; maría Cabañero; José Antonio domínguez; silvia martínez-Pérez 1 Universidad de Alcalá. Dpto. de Geología, Geografía y Medio Ambiente (U.D. Geología), [email protected];[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

The Lagunas de Puebla de Beleña wetland (Guadalajara, España), are formed by two waterbodies (Laguna Chica and Laguna Grande). They were declared Natural Reserve in 2001; theyare in the Ramsar list from 2002 and in Natura 2000 Network. The geohydrological behaviourof the Lagunas of Puebla de Beleña wetland has been studied by means Landsat 8 satelliteimages. It has obtained the surface of the lagoons at different times of the year, relating itlater with the water level in nearby wells and with precipitations regime in the area. It hasbeen observed a relationship between the flooded surface during the filling of the lagoonsand the water level in wells that disappears once the lagoons reach maximum capacity. Onthe other hand, the appearance of the water at the lagoon bowl is related to the distributionand intensity of rainfall, playing the groundwater regime a significant role in the lagoon dy-namics.


Ichthyofauna of two wetlands in Brazilian semiarid region

serna, marconi; ingrid Cerqueira; Leonardo moraes; edjane santos; Alexandre Clistenes Laboratório de Ictiologia, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brasil. E-mail:[email protected]

The Chapada Diamantina is an ecoregion of the “caatinga” biome, which is located at Braziliansemiarid region. This ecoregion is composed by a habitats mosaic that features physiognomicvariations, with very short distances between them, among which stand out from regions ofperiodically flooded plains, of alluvial soils locally called “Marimbus”. Trying to understandhow fish populations are distributed in time and space, and how these relate to with the en-vironment, this study was directed for taxonomic and ecological characterization of the fishfauna of these areas. Fishes were sampled bimonthly between February 2012 and February2013 at four sampling sites (two at the Remanso’s marimbus and two at Baiano’s marimbusin Bahia State), using gillnets, traps and small trawl. A total of 3.126 individuals of 33 speciesbelonging to 13 families and 05 orders were collected. Characidae family with 12 species, Ci-chlid with 05 and Erythrinidae with 03, were the most representative. For Baiano’s marimbus,Hyphessobrycon negodagua, and Hemigrammus marginatus represented 42.31 % of the in-dividuals, while Trachelyopterus galeatus and Hoplias malabaricus corresponded to 50.78 %of the total biomass. For Remanso’s Marimbus, Hyphessobrycon negodagua and Serrapinnusheterodon represented 51.67 % of the individuals, while Hoplias malabaricus and Callichthyscallichthys corresponded to 30.83% of the total biomass. Temporal differences were not reg-istered in the annual cycle analysed and the spatial differences were determined mainly bysmall Characiformes that varied in abundance between the two Marimbus.

Effects of perennial crops cultivation on weed communities

in a Mediterranean peatland

silvestri, nicola1; Vittoria Giannini2; Chiara Pistocchi2,3; Gionata Bocci2; Tiziana sabbatini2;enrico Bonari2

1 Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment – University of Pisa, PISA (IT), [email protected] Institute of Life Sciences - Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Studi Universitari e di Perfezionamento, Via Santa Ce-cilia 3- 5612, PISA(IT), [email protected] Group of Plant Nutrition - ETH Zurich, Lindau (CH), [email protected]

Paludiculture has been identified as one of the possible ways to restore ecological functionsof drained peatlands. The replacement of arable crops with perennial crops, the higher levelof water table and the lower use of inputs can also determine a remarkable change on spon-taneous vascular plant communities. A research was carried out in a drained peatland locatedin the coastal plain of Central Italy. The investigated crops were: a cool-season turfgrasses mix(Festuca arundinacea, Poa prantensis, Lolium perenne), Arundo donax, Miscanthus x giganteus,Phragmites australis, Salix alba and Populus ‘Oudenberg’, in addition to nearby uncultivatedand cultivated areas as controls. The weed monitoring was carried out in June and August2013, during the second year of crops growth. We collected the following data: the percentageof cover for each species (Braun-Blanquet method) and the above ground biomass per unitarea (dry weight). The results showed an inverse relationship between the development (coverlevel and biomass) and the biodiversity (number of identified species) of weeds. The most un-balanced weed communities (few species and many individuals) were observed on Populusand on the uncultivated area. In the cultivated control instead the more intensive use of inputsresulted in a more specialized (low number of species) and less competitive (less growth) flora.


Conservation and Management of Freshwater Wetlands

in Slovenia - WETMAN

simčič, matej1; Aleksander Koren1; nika debeljak Šabec11 The Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Nature conservation, Tobačna ulica 5, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia,[email protected]

The poster will include general information on the LIFE+ nature project WETMAN (projectarea information, project background, aim of the research/project), methods used duringthe implementation of the project, and the results and discussion. It will give an overview ofthe whole project, combined with photographs and other graphic elements.

Dominant species of Chironomidae Fauna Larva (Insecta:

Diptera) from Prespa Lake, Republic of Macedonia

smiljkov, stoe1; Verica Bakeva2; Ljupcho nastoski3

1 University “Sts Cyril and Methodius”, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Institute of Biology, Skopje,Republic of Macedonia.2 University “Sts Cyril and Methodius”, Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia.3 University “Sts Cyril and Methodius”, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Institute of Mathematics,Skopje, Republic of Macedonia.

In this paper, we consider different species of Chironomidae fauna larva of Prespa Lake during2013. In our investigations, we found 36 taxons: group Chironomini (14 taxa), group Ortho-cladinae (10 taxa), group Tanytarsini (6 taxa) and group Procladini (6 taxa). The species Poli-pedilum scalaenum and Cricotopus sylvestris are the most abudance during whole period.Taxa Chironomus plumosus and Procladius choreus are the most abudance in literal regionof the lake.

Improving the conservation status for the priority species and

habitats in the Iron Gates wetlands

sorescu, Carmen1; Tania Chincea1; Cristiana maria Ciocanea2; steluta manolache2; Corinamihoc1; Alin Catalina1; mirela ianosi1

1 Environmental Protection Agency Caras-Severin, 73 Petru Maior, Resita, Romania, [email protected] University of Bucharest, Center for Environmental Research and Impact Studies, 1 Nicolae Balcescu, 010041,Bucharest, [email protected]

Located in the south-western of Romania, ROSPA0026 Danube water course Bazias-IronGates overlaps a large area of priority habitats where core pygmy cormorant and ferruginousduck population lives alongside other protected species form Habitats Directive, 3 amphib-ians (Bombina bombina, Bombina variegata, Bufo bufo), 1 species belonging to the Reptilia(Emys orbicularis) and 4 species from Pisces (Gymnocephalus schraetzer, Gymnocephalusbaloni, Zingel streber, Zingel zingel). ROSPA0026 Danube water course Bazias–Iron Gates isclassified as the third important bird area from Romania. The area represents an importantstop point during the spring–autumn passage seasons for the wild birds, as it is on the flywayfor the western part of the country Tisa-Mures-Danube. The area is endangered with severe


biodiversity threats, such as: wetlands eutrophication, aquatic invasive species, birds nestingand resting habitats degradation and wetlands pollution. Our aim through LIFE Nature Pro-gramme is to provide a long term favourable conservation status for priority bird species (es-pecially Phalacrocorax pygmeus and Aythya nyroca) by restoring wintering, nestling andfeeding habitats; removing aquatic and riverside invasive species through demonstrative ac-tions; enforcing an early warning system for invasive alien species and increasing publicawareness on the importance of biodiversity in the Iron Gates wetlands.

An eco-audit to Andalusian wetlands (Southern Spain) from

ecosystem services approach

suárez Alonso, maría Luisa1; maría rosario Vidal-Abarca Gutiérrez1; maría del rosario Gar-cía mora2

1 Departamento de Ecología e Hidrología. Universidad de Murcia. Campus de Espinardo. 30100. Murcia (Spain)[email protected]; [email protected] Consejeria de Medio Ambiente y Ordenación del Territorio. Junta de Andalucía. [email protected]

Ecosystem services are the direct and indirect benefits that people derive from ecosystemsand their biodiversity, and which contribute to human well-being. The framework adoptedby EMA (www.juntadeandalucia.es/medioambiente/ema) categorises ecosystem servicesinto three different classes: provisioning (from biotic and geotic ecosystem structure, e.g.,food, water, renewable energy, etc), regulating (from ecosystem functioning, e.g., healthyclimate, erosion control, soil fertility and cultural services (intangible contributions that thepeople get through their experience with ecosystems and biodiversity as a sense of belong-ing, local ecological knowledge, ecotourism, etc.). We have used a total of 84 indicators toassess the ecosystem services provided by Andalusian lakes and wetlands (25 to assess theprovisioning services, 55 for the regulating services and 33 for the cultural services). In sum-mary, 80% (16 of 20) of the ecosystem services evaluated are being degraded or used un-sustainably and one missed (renewable energy). The most affected are the regulatoryservices and cultural related to rural population as local ecological knowledge and culturalidentity and sense of belonging. In contrast, some supply technically advanced services (suchas poplar plantations, aquaculture, etc.) and cultural services demanded by urban society(ecotourism, environmental education), are increasing.

Phytophilous macroinvertebrates in Danube backwaters with

different hydrological connectivity

Tarjányi, nikolett1, Árpád Berczik1

1 Danube Research Institute, Centre for Ecological Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences H-2163,Vácrátót/Hungary, [email protected], [email protected]

Wetlands are characterised by high species and habitat diversity therefore play an importantrole in biodiversity conservation. The spatio-temporally diverse and hydro-ecologically vari-able conditions of riverine floodplains determine the living conditions and hereby the dy-namic changes of the organism assemblages. The phytophilous macrionvertebrates were


investigated in two different oxbow-lakes of Béda-Karapancsa (Duna-Dráva National Park,Hungary): in the Mocskos-Danube side arm (3.5 km length, 60 m wide), situated in the activefloodplain and has a surface lateral connection with the main channel above the mediumwater level of the Danube (550 cm at the gauge Mohács, rkm 1447) and in the Riha oxbow(4.5 km length, 80m wide) situated on the protected side and has no connection with themain channel. Along these two oxbows there are two very dense macrophyte stands (Trapanatans and Ceratophyllum demersum respectively). The samplings were carried out monthlybetween May and October 2012. The investigations were focused on the differences in thephytophilous macroinvertebrate assemblages living in different bed of macrophyte species.Certain phytophilous macroinvertebrate assemblages preferred different macrophyte den-sities. At the same time there were differences in the individual number of macroinverte-brates between the centre and edge of macrophyte patches.

Ecosystem services of the beaver (Castor spp.)

Thompson, stella1; mia Vehkaoja1

1 Department of Forest Sciences, P.O. Box 27, FI-00014 University of Helsinki, [email protected]; [email protected]

Beavers (Castor spp.) are ecosystem engineers, raising floodwaters into surrounding forests,killing trees, and releasing organic material into riverine systems and lakes. These changesincrease both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem heterogeneity by creating new niches (e.g.open meadows, wetlands, shore forests, water pools) and food sources, thus increasingspecies diversity. Beavers also provide ecosystem services to humans by offering free andnecessary benefits, e.g. economic gain. Ecosystem services can be classified into four cate-gories: productional, regulatory, cultural, and maintenance. This categorization helps evaluateboth the economic and ecological value of ecosystems. They mitigate flood peaks by retainingrainwater and drought conditions by slowly releasing water and raising groundwater levels.The economic gain provided by beaver-created wetlands for flood mitigation is extensive,and will probably increase in the future due to climate change. Beavers generate habitatssuitable for recreation and relaxation, providing e.g. hunting, fishing, hiking, and canoeingpossibilities. They create wetlands that act as buffer zones by filtering impurities (e.g. heavymetals), thus increasing water quality. Wetlands are also important hot spots for species di-versity, which provides a nature conservation ecosystem service.

Influence of ponds and wetlands on water quality in dump area

Tichackova, JirinaCzech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Kam_cká 129, 165 21 Praha 6-Suchdol, [email protected]

Anthropogenic activities associated with mining of brown coal adversely affect the naturalecosystems on our planet. Efforts to recover these damaged ecosystems to their originalform must be in accordance with the principles of their natural functioning. The researcharea is located west of the Sokolov brown coal region near Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. Sur-face mining includes the complete removal of vegetation cover and the surface mines sig-nificantly change the water cycle on the landscape (transfer a large number of streams,


drainage of large areas and last but not least, a significant decline in groundwater level.Theresearch objective is to find solutions that would allow to improve the quality of waters inareas affected by mining especially the removal of iron and manganese compounds, at loweconomic cost. In the dump was selected sampling points on the longitudinal profile of thestream. Collected samples of dumpwater were examined. It was demonstrated in all casesa downward trend of iron and manganese concentrations. Based on this monitoring per-formed in the years 2011-2014, the effect of lakes, ponds and constructed wetland systemsappears to be the ideal solution for amelioreting impacts of mine areas on water quality ofstreams.

Quantification and valuation of ecosystem services to optimize

sustainable re-use for low-productive drained peatlands

Tolvanen, Anne1,2; Parviainen, miia 1

1 Finnish Forest Research Institute, Oulu, P.O. Box 413, FI 90014 Oulu, FINLAND, [email protected] Thule Institute, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 413, FI 90014 Oulu, FINLAND

Almost one-third of European peatland resource is situated in Finland, where more than halfof the original peatlands have been drained to increase tree growth. However, 20% of thedrained peatland area does not produce enough timber to fulfill commercial purposes. At thesame time, their biodiversity is degraded, they may continue environmental loading to wa-tercourses, and act as greenhouse gas (GHG) sources. A key question concerning the use ofpeatlands is what to do with these low-productive drained peatlands that have been left asidefrom active forestry. Low-productive peatlands can be re-used in many different ways. Theproblem is that the impacts of different re-use options on biodiversity, environment and econ-omy are not yet fully understood and thus it is hard to give proposals for re-use actions. Thechallenge is to develop mechanisms that can balance the conflicting demands on the use ofpeatlands and to ensure their sustainable use. Our 5-year EU funded LIFE+ project LIFEPeat-LandUse (2013–2018) consolidates and increases the knowledge on the impacts of peatlandre-use on ecosystem services. Under investigation, there are seven different peatland re-useoptions, representing the economic activity as well as measures related to the protection.The purpose is to evaluate and predict their potential impacts on the peatland landscapes, ifthey were applied in practice. The aim is to find cost-efficient re-use options to low-productivedrained peatlands, which help to prevent or stop decline of biodiversity and environmentalloading to watercourses, and improve capacity of peatlands to store greenhouse gases.

Structure and composition of the macrofauna in Mediter-

ranean temporary ponds: analysing the influence of pond size

and water quality

Tornero, irene1; stéphanie Gascón1; Jordi sala1; núria Àvila1; Xavier d. Quintana1; daniBoix1

1Institute of Aquatic Ecology. University of Girona. Faculty of Sciences. Av. Mª Aurèlia Capmany, 69. 17071.Girona. Spain. [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

The biogeographical principle that a larger area has more species has often been more as-


sumed than tested. We hypothesized that in high connected pond systems this principle isnot ratified. In this work, pond size effect on macrofauna structure and composition wasstudied. We considered different parameters of the ecological (richness, Shannon-Wienerdiversity, Index of Faunal Originality), taxonomic (taxonomic distinctness, average taxonomicdistinctness, variation in taxonomic distinctness) and size (size diversity, mean size diversity,size spectra slope) structure of the community from twelve Mediterranean temporary pondslocated in Vila Nova de Milfontes (SW Portugal). Moreover, water trophic state (WTS) effectwas also analysed on the mentioned parameters (WTS was evaluated by means of TRIXindex). Neither pond size nor WTS were found to be significant factors to explain the vari-ability in the composition and the structure of the macrofauna. Among all the parametersanalysed, Shannon-Wiener diversity was the only one that showed differences, being higherin small than in large ponds. We concluded that there may be some other factors (such asspatial connectivity between ponds) determining community structure.

The influence of salinity, temperature and light on germination

of hydro-halophyte Halocnemum yurdakulolii Yaprak

Tug, Gul nilhan1; isa Baskose1; Ahmet emre yaprak1

1 Ankara University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, 06100, Tandogan Ankara, TURKEY; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

Halocnemum yurdakulolii Yaprak is a hydro-halophytic species from eastern Mediterraneancoast of Turkey. It was aimed to find out the influence of light, temperature and changingsalinity on germination of its seeds. Seeds were collected from Mersin – Silifke Goksun Deltaon 29/12/2013. For determination of the influence of temperature on germination ratio andrate, tree different temperature regimes with 12/12 h photoperiod were applied and 25 °Cday and 17 °C night temperatures are found as optimum. The results of photoperiodism andthe complete darkness are similar and it can be said that light did not effective on germina-tion ratio. As in other halophytes increase in salinity resulted in decrease is germination ratioand rate of the seeds of H. yurdakulolii.

Wetland plants as potential bioengineer for phytoremediation

of boron contaminated wastewater

Türker, onur Can1; Harun Böcük2; Anıl yakar2; Cengiz Türe2

1 Aksaray University,Faculty of Science and Letters, Department of Biology, Aksaray, Turkey, 68100 and [email protected] 2 Anadolu University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Eski_ehir, Turkey, 26375 [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Boron (B) contamination in the environment still increases because of various natural sourcesand anthropogenic activities. This situation has generated increasing interest in the use ofseveral alternative methods in order to remove B from contaminated water. Several re-searches have reported that some wetland plants accumulate B in their tissues. This studyinvestigates some potential bioengineer wetland plants for boron removal from wastewater.Studies carried out with machrophytes showed that Typha latifolia, Phragmites australis,


Sagittaria latifolia, Iris pseudacorus, Scirpus validus, Thalia dealbata, Polypogon monspelien-sis and Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani were the most frequently reported potential wet-lands species for phytoremediation of B contaminated wastewater. Some floating aquaticplants such as Lemna gibba, Lemna minor and Lemna trisulca have been recognized asspecies with high potential for B accumulation and they accumulate B directly into their bio-mass. On the other hand, some other aquatic plants such as Potamogeton spp., Iris spp. andScirpus spp. were demonstrated as species with high potential for storing B in their biomass.Therefore, this study mainly focuses on available data regarding potential wetland plantsfor B removal from wastewater.

Role of plants in the greenhouse gas budget of a sedge fen

Vítková, Jitka1; Jiří dušek2; Hana Čížková1 Faculty of Agriculture, University of South Bohemia, Studenská 13, České Budějovice, Czech Republic,[email protected] Global Change Research Centre AS CR, v. v. i., Na Sádkách 7, České Budějovice, Czech Republic,[email protected] Faculty of Agriculture, University of South Bohemia, Studenská 13, České Budějovice, Czech Republic,[email protected]

Wetlands play an important role in the global carbon cycle. These ecosystems releasemethane and fix or release CO2 depending on particular site conditions, especially temper-ature, soil moisture, and performance of the vegetation cover. The object of this study wasto determine the effect of plants on the gas emissions from the model wetland “The WetMeadows” near Třeboň (Czech Republic) in 2013. We compared CO2 and CH4 fluxes fromvegetated and unvegetated plots (measured in manual emission chambers). Simultaneously,we measured seasonal course of aboveground biomass and production of these plots. Theresults confirm the close relationship of CO2 emissions with plant biomass. CO2 emissionswere significantly higher from the plots with vegetation than from the plots without vege-tation. The emissions of CO2 depended more on total biomass of plants than only on Carexacuta. The relation of CH4 emissions to the plant measures is more complicated and appar-ently includes the rooting depth and extent of root flooding.

Spatial distribution pattern of zoobenthos in the upper Huaihe

River Basin

Wan, yun1; sheng sheng1,2,3 ; Jing Hu1; shuqing An1

1School of Life Science and Institute of Wetland Ecology, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, Jiangsu, P. R. China 2 Nanjing University Ecology Research Institute of Changshu (NJUecoRICH), Changshu 215500, Jiangsu, P. R. China 3 Hydrochina Huadong Engineering Corporation, Hangzhou 310014, P. R. China

The spatial pattern of a community are of crucial importance for understanding ecosystemfunctioning. We attempted to identify spatial patterns of zoobenthos assemblages in theupper Huaihe River Basin, which located in the Eastern part of China. Samples were collectedat 15 sites along the main stream Huaihe and its tributaries in August 2010. Four sites werelocated along the main stream, five sites were located in the Northern tributary and eight inthe Southern tributary. Three replicate samples were taken at each site. We calculated the



species richness, density, biomass, relative abundances of dominant species to describe thezoobenthos community structure. Among-sites separation was evaluated by non-metric mul-tidimensional scaling (NMDS). Analysis of species composition (56 taxa), density (up to 38825ind m–2 with juveniles) and biomass (up to 302.9228 g m–2 wet wt) indicates high spatial dif-ference in the upper huaihe river basin. Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri, Polypedilum scalaenumSchrank, Limnodrilus claparedeianus, Einfeldia sp, Branchiura sowerbyi, Diptera sp. and Chi-ronomus plumosus were numerically dominated the community in the upper Huaihe riverbasin.non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) identified three groups of stations thathad significantly different macrozoobenthic communities.

Forecasting heavy metal hazards in sediments on the basis

of Wilanowski pond in Warsaw

Witeska, AnnaWarsaw University of Technology, Environmental Engineering Faculty Department of Informatics and Environ-mental Quality Research, Nowowiejska 20, 00-653 Warsaw, Poland, e-mail: [email protected]

Heavy metals are one of the main hazards in surface water environments. They can be trans-ferred into water from the atmosphere as a result of rainfall, snowfall etc. These elementsare often washed out from bedrocks or soils, but most often, exceeding the acceptable levelof concentration is connected with emissions from industrial areas. Heavy metal cationspresent in surface waters may appear in several forms including: ionic form (most toxic toliving organisms), ligand connected ions (complex compounds), precipitated particles fromchemical compounds, suspended in liquid phase and adsorbed on suspended matter andcolloids. In Poland, studies most often concern the average concentration of heavy metalsin the body of water or sediments. Very often, heavy metal labeling is made only for filtratesamples. There is no research concerning the migration of metals in dissolved and adsorbedforms between the supernatant and the sediment. The aim of the study is to determine theconditions in which heavy metals migrate between the supernatant and the sediment as itis essential for assessing the hazard due to presence of heavy metals in water. A simultane-ous methodological study will concern ways of forecasting the mechanisms of releasing met-als from sediments and negative effects of this phenomenon in relation to biochemicalprocesses in water. Water and sediments of the Wilanowski pond were chosen for the studyas it is a part of the old left-side riverbed of Vistula river. The study will determine essentialdependence between the presence of heavy metals in water (dissolved and suspendedforms) and sediments (from sequential extraction for the speciation analysis). Complex as-sessment of heavy metal migration, including their transformation and defining the physi-cal-chemical parameters of water and sediments on migration will serve as a base for rationaldevelopment of threat analysis method. Developing such methods will allow for control ofthe natural processes including toxicity reduction of metals and understanding of basicprocesses governing the heavy metal cycle in the environment. The results of the study willresult in describing the geochemical cycle, pointing out the selective water and sedimentquality indexes which determine heavy metal bonding. This enables assessment of heavymetal toxicity in relation to surface water ecosystems. Results from this study will serve asbasis for the water ecosystem protection strategy.


Floristic diversity and habitat classification of Goksu Delta

(Turkey)

yaprak, Ahmet emre Ankara University Faculty of Science Department of Biology 06100 Tandogan Ankara TURKEY. [email protected]

Goksu Delta is a specialy protected area which is located in Mersin, Silifke, Turkey. The areais in the coast of Mediterranean Sea where Goksu River flows in. There are mainly river, lake,sand dunes, estuary, lagoons and salt marshes habitats in the area. The area is totally 228, 4Km2. Firstly the floristic diversity of the area is investigated from the current literature thanthe plants checked in the area by field studies which conducted between 2012 and 2013.Distributions of endemic and threatened species are determined and mapped. For the habi-tat diversity current literature about phytosociology of the area is investigated and Eunishabitat classification of the area is performed by field studies between 2012 and 2013. Dis-tributions of the habitat types are determined and mapped. 577 plant taxa are found in thearea in which 13 of them are endemic to Turkey and 28 of them have threat status. 27 dif-ferent habitat types are found in the area and 20 of them have protection status.

Abbott, Geoff, 68, 118Abril, Meritxell, 167Adame Vivanco, Ma. Fernanda, 73Ágoston-Szabó, Edit, 37, 59Aguiar, Janaína Aparecida, 131Aguilar, Lorena, 93Aguilera, Héctor, 168Aguirre-Ruiz, Ernesto, 58Albernaz, Ruth, 57Albonette de Nóbrega, Paula Fernanda, 131Albrecht, Harald, 131Alcázar, Rita, 102Almendros, Gonzalo, 178Alonso-Azcárate, J., 45, 112Alòs, Gerard, 144Altenfelder, Sara, 131Álvarez, Miguel, 81Álvaro-Fuentes, Jorge, 178Alves, Armando, 99Amiche, C., 112, 132An, Shuqing, 189Anderson, Neil O., 134Andreo-Navarro, Bartolomé, 94, 169Angelstam, Per, 87Ansaloni, Ivano, 110Antigüedad, Iñaki, 38, 52, 54, 56, 112Aragonés, David, 59Araújo Soares Lopes, Célia Regina, 57Araújo, Daniel, 46Arheimer, 40Arias, Carlos Alberto, 93, 116Arim, Matías, 66, 105Armengol, Xavier, 39, 98, 132, 172Arnold, Jeff G., 117Arrechea, E., 153Astel, Aleksander, 170Attard, E., 112, 128Áurea, R. A. Ignácio, 84Àvila, Núria, 66, 133, 144, 187Ávila De Navia, Sara Lilia, 62, 148Axmacher, J., 70Azevedo, Fábia, 118

Baattrup-Pedersen, Annette, 78Bacon, P., 53Badosa, Anna, 105Bagella, Simonetta, 40, 51, 133, 144, 180Baisez, Aurore, 140Bakeva, Verica, 184Ballesteros, Bruno José, 71Bankovics, András, 41Barcos, Alberto, 89, 166Barret, M., 112Bart, David, 41, 42, 134Barta, Jiří, 61Bartoli, Marco, 46, 83, 102, 136Baskose, Isa, 188Bastlová, D., 134Batista, Eugênia, 135Bazzoffi, Paolo, 47Bechtel, Achim, 84Behn, Kai, 81Bella, Valentina Della,177Belo, Anabela, 42, 102Benito, Xavier, 43Bennion, H., 70Bensaci, Ettayib, 43, 136Berastegi, Asun, 101Berczik, Árpád, 59, 185Berger, Daniela, 44Berit, 40Bernard-Jannin, Léonard, 38, 44, 45, 49,

112, 117, 132Besse, Timothée, 140Bijata, Paweł, 143Bino, G., 53Bixquert, Javier, 157Blanco, Carlos G., 84, 163Blanco, José María, 105Blasco, Elena, 50Boaventura, Geraldo, 46Bocci, Gionata, 183Böcük, Harun, 188Böde, Nóra A., 122Bodoque, José-María, 38, 45, 49, 54, 56

Author’s index


Boix, Dani, 66, 92, 105, 133, 144, 147,180, 187

Bolpagni, Rossano, 46, 136Bomfim, Eudes, 46Bonari, Enrico, 68, 183Bonnet, Marie-Paule, 46Borin, Maurizio, 99, 172Borrego, Ángeles G., 84, 122, 148, 163Borthagaray, Ana Inés, 66Botté, Sandra E., 95Boualem, Mayache, 136Boudreau, Stephanie, 69Bouldjedri, Mohamed, 136Bouzegag, Abdelaziz, 43Bowszys, Magdalena, 155Boz, Bruno, 47Bravo, Tania, 47, 137Brendonck, Luc, 124, 126, 176Bresciani, Mariano, 102Březinová, Tereza, 125Briffa, Kelly, 48, 181Brito, David, 44, 49, 56, 112Brix, Hans, 116Brucet, Sandra, 105Btissam, Amami, 176Buchraya, Salem, 137Burandt, Paweł, 155, 171Bürger-Arndt, R. , 159Burnside, Niall, 126Bustamante, Javier, 59Cabañero, María, 182Cabezas, Álvaro, 128Cacho, Gema, 89, 166Calero, Sara, 138Callicó Fortunato, Roberta, 138Calvo-Cubero, Juan, 50Calvo, Alfonso, 89, 139, 166Camacho, Antonio, 39, 50Camilleri, Jilly, 181Campo-Bescós, Miguel A., 51, 139Canal, Julie, 140, 151Carbon, Anne, 146Cardoso de Lima, Aldeniza, 57Caria, María Carmela, 40, 51, 133, 144, 180Carmona, María José, 64, 66, 98, 150, 151Carnevale, Silvia, 47

Carniello, Maria Antonia, 57Caro, Patricia, 93Carranza, Fabián, 38, 52, 56, 62, 112Carrasco Cantos, Francisco, 94Casalí Sarasibar, Javier, 139Casamayor, Emilio O., 52, 121Castañeda, Carmen, 52, 86, 140, 146,

164, 178Castaño, Silvino, 141, 168Castellano, C., 90Castillo-Escrivà, Andreu, 39Catalina, Alin, 184Catelotti, Katharine, 53Causapé, J., 158Cerqueira, Ingrid, 183Chamier, Jessica, 112Chamsi, Ousama, 54, 112Charcosset, J. Y. , 112, 132Chaumont, C., 120Chen, Yi, 54Chérrez Bermejo, José, 181Chincea, Tania, 55, 184Čiampor, Fedor Jr., 55Čiamporová-Zaťovičová, Zuzana, 55Cillero, Carmen, 142Cindrić, Ines, 143Ciocanea, Cristiana Maria, 55, 184Ciszewski, Dariusz, 143Čížková, Hana, 56, 61, 134, 189Clavero, Miguel, 65Clistenes, Alexandre , 183Cogoni, Annalena, 133Colelli, Stefano, 50Colom, William, 88, 138, 177Comín, Francisco A, 38, 49, 54, 56, 58, 62,

63, 89, 90,92, 112, 119, 137, 158, 166Compte, Jordi, 105, 144, 180Conesa, J. A., 115Cooke, Dave, 68Cooke, David, 118Côrtes Figueira, José Eugênio,131Cozma, Nastasia J.,122Cruz, Ana, 118Cunillera, David, 144Čurn, Vladislav, 134da Silva Nunes, Josué Ribeiro, 57


da Silva, Carolina Joana, 57, 84Dalgaard, Tommy, 78Darwiche-Criado, Nadia, 58, 89, 166Datry, Thibault, 109Davenport, Tara, 42de Arruda, Joari Costa, 57de Eyto, Elvira, 105de Freitas Junior, Djair Sergio, 57de la Hera Portillo, África, 145de la Losa Román, Almudena 141, 168de Miguel, Eduardo, 58Deary, Michael, 68, 118Del Arco, C., 115del Río, Amanda, 58Demierre, Eliane, 74, 97, 145Díaz-Paniagua, Carmen, 59, 113, 146, 149,

150, 152Díaz-Varela, Ramón A., 142Díez, Silvia, 39Díez, Sergi, 84Dimitriou, E., 146Dinka, Mária, 37, 59Diz Salgado, Carmen, 74Dolinar, Nataša, 60Dolz Ripollés, Josep, 88Domínguez, José Antonio, 182Donovan, Kotze, 81Dorado Valiño, Miriam, 163Dražina, Tvrtko, 115Drumond, Maria Auxiliadora, 131Durà, Vicent Benedito, 138, 179Durán Valsero, Juan José, 71, 145Duran, Robert, 112, 128, 146Dušek, Jiří, 56, 60, 189Edwards, Keith R., 61, 134Egemose, Sara, 78Egozcue, Juan J., 105El Madihi, Mohammed, 124, 176Er-Riyahi, Saber, 176Eric, Pinelli, 54, 112Escoriza-Abril, Eduardo, 173Escoriza, Daniel, 147Español, Cecilia, 38, 52, 56, 62, 112Espenberg, Mikk, 77Esther, Amler, 81Estupiñán Torres, Sandra Mónica, 62, 148

Evans, Christopher, 92Façanha, Cristiane Lima, 57Fandos, Deborah, 98, 172Felipe-Lucía, María R., 63Fenner, Nathalie, 92Fernández Álvarez, Adrián, 148Fernández Ayuso, Ana, 149Fernández Zamudio, Rocío, 149, 152Fernández-Rodríguez, M. J., 63Fiebig, Jens, 163Figueira, José, 135Filigheddu, Rossella, 40Filippino, Giorgia, 133Florencio, Margarita, 113, 150Flores de Oliveira, Robson, 57Florín, Máximo, 39Folegot, Silvia, 136Fornés Azcoiti, Juan Mª, 145Franch-Gras, Lluís, 64, 150Fressl, Jelena, 115Gabaldón, Carmen, 151Gaberščik, Alenka, 60, 129Gabriel y Galán, José María, 82Gaedke, Ursula, 105Gallardo, Belinda, 65Gallego, Francisca, 89, 166Gallegos, Ángel, 93Gandar, Allison, 151García Mora, María del Rosario, 185García Murillo, Pablo, 149, 152García-García, Victoria, 154García-González, Ricardo, 153García-Roger, Eduardo M., 64, 66, 150García-Serrano, Alicia, 153García, Mercedes, 58, 89,166Gargallo, Sara, 97, 152, 157Garneau, Cyril, 117Garnier, Jérémie, 46Gascón, Stéphanie, 66, 92, 105, 133, 144,

180, 187Gasparini, Valentina, 172Gelbrecht, Jörg, 128Gerino, Magali, 56, 62, 112, 128Germ, Mateja, 67Germain, Christophe, 82Gertz, Flemming, 78


Giannini, Vittoria, 68, 183Gil de Solá, Luis, 105Gil-Delgado, José A., 39Gilbert, Franck, 151Gilbert, Peter, 68, 118Giménez-Anaya, Alberto, 153Giménez, Mario, 88Giménez, Rafael, 139Giralda Carrera, Gloria, 69Glińska-Lewczuk, Katarzyna, 155, 171Goffová, Katarína, 55Gomes, Iris, 57Gomes, Leonardo, 46Gómez-Rodríguez, C., 113Gómez, Marta, 144Gómez, Rosa, 154González Trilla, Gabriela, 95González-Farias, Fernando A., 154González, Eduardo, 69, 90, 92Goodyer, Emma, 70, 155Gosálvez, Rafael U., 39Goździejewska, Anna, 155Grabowska, Magdalena, 155Grčić, Ivana, 143Greaves, Helen, 70Grillas, Patrick, 124, 126, 176Grima, Juan, 71Guerrero Moreno, Naret, 71Guest, Janine, 92Guillem, Antonio, 88Guimarães, Jean R.D., 84Guirado, Víctor, 89, 166Gumiero, Bruna, 47Gutiérrez, Silvia, 58, 89, 166Haaning Nielsen, Asbjørn, 93, 116Hamerlík, Ladislav, 72, 91, 96, 145, 166Hansen, R., 120Haq, Mohammed, 155Harris, Lorna, 155Hashim, Roslan, 94Hassine, Jihène Ben, 147Heckrath, Goswin, 78Heras, Patxi, 101Heredia, Javier, 156Hernández Santos, Víctor, 154Hernández-Crespo, Carmen, 97, 152, 157

Hernández, Héctor, 73Herrera-Silveira, Jorge A., 73, 119Herrero, Juan, 52, 153Hesslerová, Petra, 104Hlávek, Michal, 72, 91Hoffmann, Carl Christian, 73, 78Horváth, Zsófia, 74, 101, 122Houhamdi, Moussa, 43, 136Hrivnák, Richard, 72, 91, 96, 166Hu, Jing, 189Huertas, Netty, 75, 108Hurtado, Blanca, 58Huryna, Hanna, 104Husák, Štěpán, 161Hvitved-Jacobsen, Thorkild, 116Ianosi, Mirela, 184Ibàñez, Carles, 43, 50Iglesias, Ana, 111Ikeda, Solange, 57Ilg, Christiane, 74, 97, 109, 145Infante, Marta, 101Irvine, Kenneth, 105Jaime, R., 90Januš, Vojtěch,134Jaramillo Londoño, Ángela M., 179Järveoja, Järvi, 77Jeffries, Michael, 68, 75, 118Jensen, Henning, 78Jeppesen, Erik, 105Jiménez Castilla, Tania, 75, 108Jiménez-Hernández, María Emilia, 168Jiménez-Rodríguez, A., 63Jiménez, J. J., 158Jirka, Vladimír, 104Jonatar, Weslei, 57Jones, Laurence,92Jones, Peter, 92Jongman, Robert H. G., 57 Joniak, Tomasz, 76, 79, 159, 169Jörg Gelbrecht, 107Jouany, Claire, 140Joyce, Christopher, 126Juan, Fernando, 88Juárez-Escario, A. 115Kalettka, Thomas, 76, 100Kamlun, K. U., 159


Kaplan, David A., 51Kasak, K., 77Kaštovská, Eva, 61Katarzyna, Glińska-Lewczuk, 170Katrin, Wagner, 81Kávová, Tereza, 134Keissler, Kornelia, 81Ki-IL, Song, 94Kingsford, R. T., 53Kiss, Anita, 37, 59Kjaergaard, Charlotte, 73Kleeberg, Andreas, 76Kloskowski, Janusz, 77Kobus, Szymon, 155Kochjarová, Judita, 72, 91, 96, 166Kočický, Dušan, 96Koh, Chul-Hwan, 160Kolář, Jan, 160Kollmann, Johannes, 71, 131Koo, Bon Joo, 160Koren, Aleksander, 78, 184Koszałka, Jacek, 155Kreye, Christine, 81Kronvang, Brian, 78Kubátová, Barbora, 134Kuczyńka-Kippen, Natalia, 76, 79, 127,

159, 169Kujawa, Roman, 155Květ , Jan, 56, 80, 134, 161Kyallo, Daniel, 81Labeid, Abdelfatah M., 137Lacomba, Ignacio, 118Ladera, Julián, 38, 45, 56, 62, 112Laffaille, Pascal, 140Lagues, Anne-Elisabeth, 46Lajtner, Jasna, 115Lambán, Luis Javier, 85Lanfranco, Sandro, 48, 110, 181Latorre, Borja, 164Lauga, Béatrice, 112, 128, 146Laurén, Kirsi, 80Lauridsen, Torben L.,105Leemhuis, Constanze, 81Lefebvre, Gaëtan, 82Leira, Manel, 177León, Carolina A., 82

Li, Shoubo, 129Linares Girela, Luis, 94Litaor, M. Iggy, 83Liu, Bing, 129Liu, Hu, 129, 162Lõhmus, Asko, 106Longhi, Daniele, 83Lopes Lázaro, Wilkinson, 57, 84López Hernández, Martín, 154López Sáez, José Antonio, 163López-Días, Veneranda, 84, 122, 148, 163López-Flores, Rocío, 66, 105, 133López-Martínez, Carlos, 88López-Montero, Teresa, 85López-Vicente, Manuel, 85Loriente, Ana, 89, 166Loureiro, Elaine, 57Lucassen, E. C. H. E. T., 113Luigi Nimis, Pier, 40Lumbreras Corujo, Ana, 42, 102Luna, Estela, 86, 140, 164Maddison, Martín, 77Magalhães, Sónia, 86Magyari, Máté, 165Maltby, Edward, 36Mander, Ülo L., 77, 87, 120Manolache, Steluta, 55, 184Manton, Michael, 87Marca Natalio, Roque, 174Marchand, M. A., 113Mariotti, Paulo Roberto, 57Márquez San Emeterio, Layla, 178Martí-Cardona, Belén, 88Martín, Miguel, 88, 97, 152, 157Martínez, Carlos, 66Martínez-Santos, Miren, 38, 112Martínez Santos, Pedro, 141Martínez-Pérez, Silvia, 165, 182Martins, Bruno, 118Marty-Gasset, Nathalie, 151Masip, Adriá, 58, 89, 90, 166Masuda, Yosuke, 90Matijašec, Dora, 115Matulić, Daniel, 115Matúšová, Zuzana, 72, 91, 106, 166Mazuelos, N., 63


McDougall, Kenny, 70McInnes, Rob J., 127, 128Medialdea, M., 63Mediavilla López, Rosa, 141Megyer, Csaba, 165Mehner, Thomas, 105Menéndez, Margarita, 119, 167Menichino, Nina, 92Mesquita-Joanes, Francesc, 39Miguel-Chinchilla, Leticia, 92Mihoc, Corina, 184Milberg, Per 87Miłobędzka, Aleksandra, 167Minelgaite, Greta, 93Miracle, María Rosa, 180Møller, Henrik B., 78Mónica, Sandra, 148Montalván, Francisco Javier, 156Montero-Pau, Javier, 151Móra, Arnold, 74, 122Moraes, Leonardo, 183Moral Martos, Francisco, 107, 178Morales-Rubio, Ángel, 174Morales, Tomás, 38Morató, Jordi, 93Moreno, Luis, 168Morini, Alessandra, 57Motamedi, Shervin, 94Mouhssine, Rhazi, 176Moussoulis, E., 146Mudarra-Martínez, Matías, 94, 169Muhel, M., 120Muñoz, Isabel, 167Muñoz-Carpena, Rafael, 51Murillo Díaz, Jose Manuel, 71, 145Murueta, Nayeli, 50Nagengast, Barbara, 79, 159, 169Nandini, S., 175Nastoski, Ljupcho, 184Nasuti, Stéphanie, 46Navarro, Enrique, 52, 54, 56, 112, 158Navas, Ana, 85Negrin, Vanesa L., 95Neves, Ramiro, 44, 49, 56, 112Neyen, Marielle, 76Niedda, Alessandro, 51

Nieoczym, Marek, 77Nieto-López, José Manuel, 169Nizzoli, Daniele, 83Nouidjem, Yacine, 43Novikmec, Milan, 72, 91, 96, 106, 166Oberholster, Paul, 177Obolewski, Krystian, 155, 170, 171Oboňa, Jozef, 72, 91Oertli, Beat, 74, 97, 109, 145Olarieta, José Ramón, 108Oliván, Gisela, 82Oliveira, Margarida, 171Oliver, Núria, 97, 152, 157Olmo, Carla, 98, 132, 172Olsen, Søren B., 78Ortells, Raquel, 98, 132, 172Osadowski, Zbigniew, 171Oťaheľová, Helena, 72, 91, 96, 166Otto, Stefan, 172Paiva, Ricardo, 46Pál, Boda, 74Palhas, Jael, 99Paľove-Balang, Peter, 72, 91, 96, 166Pappalardo, Salvatore Eugenio, 99, 172Parra Cachada, Mario, 107, 178Parrondo-Celdrán, Paz, 173Parviainen, Miia, 187Pascal, Laffaille, 151Pascual, Miguel, 165Pastor, Agustín, 174Patmore, I., 70Pätzig, Marlene, 100Pech, Daniel, 73Pedersen, Morten Lauge, 93Pedrocchi, C., 158Pedrol, J., 115Péntek, Attila L., 101, 122Peralta, Javier, 101Pérez, Carlos, 58, 93Pérez Peña, Martín, 154Pérez-Bielsa, Cristina, 85Pérez-Ceballos, Rosela, 73Perrault, Annie, 158Pers, Charlotta B., 40Phua, M.-H., 159Picazo, Antonio, 50


Picek, Tomáš, 61Pimentel Rocha, Renata, 131Pinardi, Monica, 102Pinto-Cruz, Carla, 42, 102Pinto, Valcir Rogério, 57Pintor, María de los Ángeles, 153Pistocchi, Chiara, 68, 183Pla, Alberto, 174Poddar, Parthendu, 103Pokorný, Jan, 80, 104, 113Ponsac, Claire, 174Pontes, Angeles, 58Pontevedra Pombal, Xabier, 137Popović, Nina, 143, 175Poulin, Brigitte, 82Poulin, Monique, 69Prada, Carlos, 153Pratolongo, Paula D., 95Prenda, José, 104Prevedelli, Daniela, 110Prim, Biserka, 115Pronin, Eugeniusz, 127Ptacnik, Robert, 74, 122Puelles, María, 82Pullin, Andrew, 92Püttmann, Wilhelm, 84, 163Quintana, Xavier D., 66, 105, 133, 144, 180,

187Ramburn, H., 128Ramil-Rego, Pablo, 142Ramos-Merchante, Adrián, 104Rannap, Riinu, 106, 123Redondo, Isabel, 104Reduciendo Klementová, Barbora, 72, 91,

106Regal, Ramón, 153Regidor, Mª del Carmen, 88Reinhard, Lila, 138Remic, Urša, 67Remm, Liina, 106, 123Rendón Martos, Manuel, 156, 169Reuter, Hendrik, 107Reyes-García, Ricardo, 175Reyes, Enrique, 50Rhazi, Laila, 124, 176Rhazi, Mouhssine, 124

Riato, Luisa, 177Rochefort, Line, 47, 69Rochera, Carlos, 39Rodrigo, María A. 39, 138, 177Rodríguez, Argantonio, 152Rodríguez, Javier, 89, 166Rodríguez, Mauricio, 108Rodríguez-Ochoa, Rafael, 86, 108Rodríguez Rodríguez, Miguel, 107, 149, 178Roelofs, J. G. M., 113Rojo, Carmen, 177Romo, Susana, 66, 105, 132Rosset, Véronique, 109Roulet, Albertine, 109Rovira, Albert, 50Rubæk, Gitte, 78Rubinos, Marco, 142Rubio, Silvia, 104Rueda Sevilla, Juan, 179Ruhí, Albert, 109Ruiz-Matute, Ana Isabel, 178Ruiz, Estilita, 38, 56, 112Ruiz, José María, 156Ruocco, Matteo, 110Sabbatini, Tiziana, 68, 183Šabec, Nika Debeljak, 184Saccò, Mattia, 179Saheb, Menouar, 43, 136Sahuquillo, María, 180Sahuquillo, Santiago, 93Sala, Jordi, 66, 133, 144, 180, 187Sala, Luigi, 110Sammons, Nancy B., 117Sammut, Sheriyl, 48, 110, 181Sánchez-Pérez, José Miguel, 38, 44, 45, 49,

52, 54, 56, 62, 88, 112, 117, 128, 132,151, 158

Sánchez, Berta, 111Sánchez, Marina, 144Sánchez, Marta, 65Sancho, Vicente, 118Sander, Nilo Leal, 57Santamans, Anna C., 50Santisteban Navarro, Juan Ignacio, 141Santos, Edjane, 183Sanz Azcarate, Luis, 181


Sanz, Jesús, 178Sarma, S. S. S., 175Sastre, Antonio, 165, 182Sauvage, Sabine, 38, 44, 45, 49, 52, 54, 56,

112, 117, 128Sayer, C., 70Schachtschneider, K., 112Schkade, Uwe-Karsten, 76Schmitz, Melanie, 131Schöll, Károly, 37, 59Schutten, Johan, 70, 155Scott, Dianne, 71Sebastián, Francisco, 153Segura, Matilde, 177Segurado, Pedro, 86Seják, Josef, 113Sepp, Kalev, 126Serna, Marconi, 183Serra, Manuel, 64, 66, 98, 150, 151Serrano, Laura, 63, 113, 146, 150Séverine, Jean, 112, 151, 158Sharpe, Peter J., 50Sheng, Sheng, 189Siham, Bouahim, 176Silva Sousa, Keid Nolan, 57Silvestri, Nicola, 68, 183Simčič, Matej, 78, 114, 184Simonini, Roberto, 110Šípošová, Darina, 55Skrzypczak, Andrzej, 155Sliva, Jan, 71Smiljkov, Stoe, 184Soana, Elisa, 102Solé-Senan, X.O., 115Somerset, Vernon, 112Søndergaard, Martín, 105Sonja, Beuel, 81Soosaar, K., 120Sorando, Ricardo, 48, 89, 166Sorescu, Carmen, 55, 184Soria, Juan Miguel, 132Sousa, Eunice, 99Southworth, Jane, 51Špoljar, Maria, 115Spray, Debbie, 70Squeo, Francisco A., 174

Srinivasan, Raghavan, 117Stellner, Stanislav, 60Stephansen, Diana Agnete, 93, 116Stewart, Rebecca, 116Stibilj, Vekoslava, 67Strack, Maria, 47, 137Strzelczak, Agnieszka, 171Stupák, Radovan, 72, 91Stutter, Marc, 78Suárez Alonso, María Luisa, 154, 185Sueilem, Magfri E., 137Sun, Xiaoling, 38, 45, 112, 117Svitok, Marek, 72, 91, 96, 106, 166Tanskanen, Minna, 117Tarazona, Eva, 64Tarjányi, Nikolett, 185Taylor, Scott, 68, 118Teasdale, Phillip, 126Teissier, Samuel, 38, 45, 52, 56, 112, 128,

132Teixeira, José, 86, 99, 118Tersa, Andueza, 73Teutli-Hernández, Claudia, 73, 119Thompson, Stella, 125, 186Tichackova, Jirina,186Tolvanen, Anne, 120, 187Toman, Mihael J., 129Tomàs, Carles, 144Tomljanović, Tea, 115Tornero, Irene, 144, 187Torres Guerrero, Jaime, 154Torres, Ricardo, 73Tóth, Adrienn, 74, 122Tóth, Bence, 122Tournebize, Julien, 87, 120Triadó-Margarit, Xavier, 52, 121Triest, Ludwig, 124Trobajo, Rosa, 43Trokanova, Lucie, 121Tug, Gul Nilhan, 188Türe, Cengiz, 188Türker, Onur Can, 188Urbanczyk, Justyna, 122, 148Urbón, Jesús, 153Uriarte, Jesús, 38Vad, Csaba F., 74, 101, 122


Vaikre, Maarja, 123Valls, Luis, 39Van den Broeck, Maarten, 124, 176Van Diggelen, Rudy, 128Van Halsema, Gerardo E., 36Van Onsem, Stijn, 124Vehkaoja, Mia, 125, 186Vela Moriones, Maria, 181Velasco, Ángel, 39Verdiell-Cubedo, David, 173Veselská, Marta, 72Viaroli, Pierluigi, 46, 83, 136Vidal-Abarca, Mª Rosario, 154, 185Vieira, Ludgero, 46Vilà, Montserrat, 65Vila, Rosa, 144Villa, Paolo, 102Villar de Pablo, M. del Mar, 179Vincent, Bernard, 87, 120Virdis, Salvatore, 51Vítková, Jitka, 189Vollertsen, Jes, 93, 116Volpedo, Alejandra, 138Vymazal, Jan, 54, 125Wagner Zago, Bruno, 57Walters, Chavon, 112Wan, Yun, 189Ward, Raymond, 126Waterkeyn, Aline, 124, 126, 176Wen, Yue, 54Wiborg, Irene, 78Wiśniewska, Malgorzata, 127Witeska, Anna, 190Yakar, Anıl, 188Yamashita, H., 127Yao, J. M, 56, 62, 112, 128Yaprak, Ahmet Emre, 188, 191Yela, J. L., Yela, José Luis, 45, 56, 62, 112Zabaleta, Ane, 38, 49, 52, 56, 62, 112Zak, Dominic, 107, 128Zaldívar Jiménez, Arturo, 73Zanin, Giuseppe, 172Zapriháčová, Andrea, 72, 91Zelnik, Igor, 129Zhao, Wenzhi, 129, 162

Zhou, Qi, 54Ziegler, Susanne, 81Zrinščak, Ivana, 115Zsuga, Katalin, 101, 122Zulsdorff, Valentina, 116Zumalacárregui, Carlos, 58
