Search results for "wetland"
showing 10 items of 214 documents
Vegetation Change in Peatland Buffers as an Indicator of Active Areas of Run-On from Forestry
2010
Our aim in this study was to evaluate whether coverage change in the vegetation of a forestry buffer wetland can be used to reveal a possible increase in nutrients. To achieve this, we followed changes in vegetation on two peatland buffers, and biomass with nitrogen content in one of them. Nutrient concentrations were periodically lower in the water inflow than in the outflow. Flooding caused a species change in favor of flood-tolerant grasses and Sphagna, but this species composition did not indicate a higher trophic level. Nitrogen content in the reference site's original surface peat layer, which was rich in woody remains, was higher than that of the newly formed, more acidic Sphagnum pe…
Presence of illicit drugs in surface waters of protected natural wetlands connected to traditional irrigation systems and urban areas
2013
Ponencia presentada en el I Simposio sobre Gestión del Agua en Espacios Protegidos celebrado en La Habana (Cuba) del 2 al 6 de noviembre de 2010
Sicilians are not easily hooked! first assessment of the impact of recreational fishing on the endemic sicilian pond turtle emys trinacris (Testudine…
2020
The possible impact of recreational fishing on the Sicilian pond turtle Emys trinacris was investigated in two permanent water bodies in western Sicily (Italy). Overall, 120 specimens were temporarily captured and X-rayed in order to determine the possible presence of fishhooks in their mouth, throat, or gastrointestinal tract. At the studied sites, none of the Xrayed turtles showed any evidence of ingested fishhooks or other fishing gears, thus suggesting limited impact of recreational fishing. However, the occasional but not negligible findings of E. trinacris specimens injured by fishhooks or entangled in abandoned fishing lines prove the actual existence of such impact, raising some con…
Spatiotemporal patterns of dunlin (Calidris alpina) in continental lakes of the Iberian Peninsula
2018
AbstractSpatiotemporal dynamics may present different levels of regional or local stability, generally attributed to local habitat and landscape factors, reflecting the tolerances and ecological requirements of the populations. In this study, we examined the variations of dunlin abundance and occurrence in twenty-three wetlands of the “La Mancha Húmeda” Biosphere Reserve, central Spain, between October 2010 and July 2017. In addition, we observed the variations of local abundance in the lakes of the Manjavacas lagoon complex, seeking to understand the factors that determine the local movements of the wintering individuals. Eleven lakes had records of dunlin, but most of individuals (ca. 90%…
Effect of the conversion of mangroves into shrimp farms on carbon stock in the sediment along the southern Red Sea coast, Saudi Arabia
2019
The conservation of coastal ecosystems and specially mangroves ‘‘blue carbon’’ is receiving more attention as consequence of their recognition as high ecosystem carbon stocks and for the fact that these areas are undergoing land conversion. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the impact of land use changes due to conversion of mangroves to shrimp farms on the bulk density (SBD), organic carbon (SOC) concentration, and SOC stock in the sediments along the southern Saudi Arabian Red Sea coast. Shrimp farms and mangrove locations showed significant (P < 0.001) differences in SBD with high mean values in the sediments of shrimp farms. Shrimp farms and mangrove locations showed significa…
Allelopathic effects of microcystin-LR on the germination, growth and metabolism of five charophyte species and a submerged angiosperm
2013
Abstract Microcystins (MCs) are produced by cyanobacteria in aquatic environments and adversely affect macrophytes at very high concentrations. However, the effects of MC on macrophytes at concentrations of environmental relevance are largely unknown. The main objective of this study was to analyze the allelopathic effects of MC-LR at natural concentrations (1, 8 and 16 μgMC-LR/L) on five charophyte species ( Chara aspera , C. baltica , C. hispida , C. vulgaris and Nitella hyalina ) and the angiosperm Myriophyllum spicatum . Macrophyte specimens were obtained from a restored area located in Albufera de Valencia Natural Park, a protected coastal Mediterranean wetland. Two different experimen…
Charophytes for description and monitoring of inland waters in Sicily
2017
The island of Sicily, in the center of the Mediterranean basin, is a well-known biodiversity hotspot (Médail & Quézel, 1997). Unfortunately, the knowledge of its charophyte flora is absolutely unsatisfactory. The few available data derive from some scattered phytosociological works and some articles published more than 100 years ago. According to the last national synthesis (Bazzichelli & Abdelahad, 2009) a total of 19 Charophytes species should occur in the island, distributed in 4 genera: Chara L. (11), Nitella Agardh (5), Tolypella (A. Braun) A. Braun (2) and Lamprothamnium J. Groves (1). However an updated list of the species occurring in the island, together with their distribu…
The effect of peatland drainage and restoration on Odonata species richness and abundance
2015
Background Restoration aims at reversing the trend of habitat degradation, the major threat to biodiversity. In Finland, more than half of the original peatland area has been drained, and during recent years, restoration of some of the drained peatlands has been accomplished. Short-term effects of the restoration on peatland hydrology, chemistry and vegetation are promising but little is known about how other species groups apart from vascular plants and bryophytes respond to restoration efforts. Results Here, we studied how abundance and species richness of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) respond to restoration. We sampled larvae in three sites (restored, drained, pristine) on each o…
The superior effect of nature based solutions in land management for enhancing ecosystem services
2017
The rehabilitation and restoration of land is a key strategy to recover services -goods and resources- ecosystems offer to the humankind. This paper reviews key examples to understand the superior effect of nature based solutions to enhance the sustainabilit y of catchment systems by promoting desirable soil and landscape functions. The use of concepts such as connectivity and the theory of system thinking framework allowed to review coastal and river management as a guide to evaluate other strategies to achieve sustainability. In land management NBSs are not mainstream management. Through a set of case studies: organic farming in Spain; rewilding in Slovenia; land restoration in Iceland, s…
Fighting carbon loss of degraded peatlands by jump-starting ecosystem functioning with ecological restoration
2015
Degradation of ecosystems is a great concern on the maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Ecological restoration fights degradation aiming at the recovery of ecosystem functions such as carbon (C) sequestration and ecosystem structures like plant communities responsible for the C sequestration function. We selected 38 pristine, drained and restored boreal peatland sites in Finland and asked i) what is the long-term effect of drainage on the peatland surface layer C storage, ii) can restoration recover ecosystem functioning (surface layer growth) and structure (plant community composition) and iii) is the recovery of the original structure needed for the recovery of ecosystem f…