GROUNDWATER GEOCHEMISTRY OF RROGOZHINA AQUIFER (WESTERN ALBANIA)

This paper aims to make a geochemical characterization of the groundwater of Rrogozhina aquifer which extends over the Albanian pre-Adriatic depression covering a surface of 2100 km2. It is a multilayered aquifer consisting of intercalations between water-bearing Pliocene sandstone and conglomerate with impermeable clay layers. This aquifer occurs under typically artesian conditions because of its impermeable clay basement and semi-impermeable Quaternary cover. The groundwater shows variable geochemical composition due to different mineralogical composition of its medium and vast extension of the aquifer. However, the mainly magmatic - carbonatic mineralogical composition of the water - bearing sandstones and conglomerates has determined a geochemical composition of groundwater consisting mostly of HCO3-Mg-Ca hydrochemical groundwater type. Dissolution of minerals seems to be the major geochemical processes in the formation of the groundwater composition. The above mainly magmatic composition of sandstones and conglomerates is also responsable for the high content of iron in the grounwater of this aquifer. Iron content is higher in sandstone related groundwater where the silt fraction is mainly composed by ironbearing minerals such as magnetite, epidote, granate, sphene, amphibole and pyroxene. The general mineralization and general hardness of groundwater range from 500 to 800 mg/l and from 11 to 25ºdH, respectively

Ecosystem processes: litter breakdown patterns in Mediterranean and Black Sea transitional waters

1 - Leaf litter decomposition rates, in aquatic ecosystems, are known to be related to many different abiotic and biotic factors. 2 - Here, we focus on the influence of abiotic factors, searching for patterns of reed litter decay rates on gradient of physiographic, hydrological and physico-chemical components of transitional water ecosystems. 3 - Field experiments were carried out in 16 water ecosystems in the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea in spring 2005. 4 - Significant differences of leaf litter decomposition were observed among ecosystems along univariate gradient of tidal range, index of sinuosity, water temperature and salinity. At least 71% of variance in the litter breakdown rate was explained by the considered abiotic factors. 5 - It is concluded that, at the macro-ecological scale of study, some key abiotic factors, such as tidal range and salinity, are suggested to play a major role as drivers of plant detritus decomposition processes. 6 - The relevance of the described abiotic drivers as descriptor of the most commonly used classification schemes for transitional water ecosystems (i.e., Confinement and Venice System classifications), is a further support to their role as environmental forcing factors

Effects of Natural and Anthropogenic Stressors on Fucalean Brown Seaweeds Across Different Spatial Scales in the Mediterranean Sea

Algal habitat-forming forests composed of fucalean brown seaweeds (Cystoseira, Ericaria, and Gongolaria) have severely declined along the Mediterranean coasts, endangering the maintenance of essential ecosystem services. Numerous factors determine the loss of these assemblages and operate at different spatial scales, which must be identified to plan conservation and restoration actions. To explore the critical stressors (natural and anthropogenic) that may cause habitat degradation, we investigated (a) the patterns of variability of fucalean forests in percentage cover (abundance) at three spatial scales (location, forest, transect) by visual estimates and or photographic sampling to identify relevant spatial scales of variation, (b) the correlation between semi-quantitative anthropogenic stressors, individually or cumulatively (MA-LUSI index), including natural stressors (confinement, sea urchin grazing), and percentage cover of functional groups (perennial, semi-perennial) at forest spatial scale. The results showed that impacts from mariculture and urbanization seem to be the main stressors affecting habitat-forming species. In particular, while mariculture, urbanization, and cumulative anthropogenic stress negatively correlated with the percentage cover of perennial fucalean species, the same stressors were positively correlated with the percentage cover of the semi-perennial Cystoseira compressa and C. compressa subsp. pustulata. Our results indicate that human impacts can determine spatial patterns in these fragmented and heterogeneous marine habitats, thus stressing the need of carefully considering scale-dependent ecological processes to support conservation and restoration

The Vlora project

This volume collects the main results of 2 years of multidisciplinary researches (2007–08) on the Vlora Gulf ecosystem, carried out by a joint Italian (National Interuniversity Consortium for Marine Sciences [CoNISMA], National Research Council [CNR, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche] and Agenzia Regionale per la Prevenzione e la Protezione Ambientale [ARPA] Puglia) and Albanian (University of Tirana, the Science Academy, and the Ministry of the Environment) research team. The studies and analyses were aimed at identifying the environmental factors and components that strongly interact with, and affect, the marine ecosystem of the region. In particular, the main research tasks were related to geological and hydrogeological aspects of the river basins, the bottom morphology of the whole marine area, the problems of coastal erosion phenomena, the stratigraphy of the marine sediment, the physical and chemical parameters of the water column, an examination of primary production, the biodiversity of benthic and pelagic ecosystems, and the existence of problems connected to the ecotoxicology of the biota. The results pointed out the weakness to the Vlora Gulf ecosystem from several sources, including the (1) heavy human impacts on the natural coastal evolution, resulting in coastal erosion and/or accretion; (2) considerable influence of the input of suspended mud from the Vjosa River, causing conspicuous degeneration phenomena on the benthic biocoenoses (e.g., on the Posidonia oceanica meadow; and (3) conspicuous urban and industrial water discharge, producing diffuse pollution related to the presence of heavy metals (mercury, among others) in the sediments of the gulf area. Finally, a further aim of the project was the planning of an International Center for Marine Research, located in Albania, to support an international focal point for researchers involved in environmental studies of the Eastern Mediterranean

Malacofauna dei fondali incoerenti della baia di Valona (Albania)

The analysis of mollusc fauna living in the soft bottoms of Valona Bay (Adriatic Sea, Albania) allowed to recognize three different species associations. The first one on terrigenous mud the second one on muddy Mattes and the last on the Posidonia oceanica meadows. 33 mollusc species are reported for the first time for Albanian water

Effects of unplanned development on marine biodiversity: a lesson from Albania (central Mediterranean Sea).

Human activities determine dramatic changes in natural systems, especially in marine coastal areas. This is especially true when economic development is fast and scarcely regulated, representing a serious threat to biodiversity. Besides the obvious prediction of impairment of natural systems, forecasting the effects of human activities can be particularly challenging since they affect species and assemblages, the patterns of distribution and extent of which are often totally unknown. In Vlora Bay, we show through an interdisciplinary project that 15 y of coastal development can result in a loss of over 50% of seagrass cover and a decline in macroalgae cover such as Cystoseira spp., which are structurally and functionally crucial habitats that provide essential goods and services for local human communities and recreation. Furthermore, illegal fishery practices (date mussel fishery, trawling, and use of explosives) contribute to depict a scenario of fragmentation and loss of shallow species-rich assemblages. Large-scale changes in sedimentation patterns have been recognised as one of the main drivers of those changes. This model of development, associated with nearly irreversible environmental consequences, as observed in Albania, can serve as an example for many other Mediterranean areas, showing a combination of high biodiversity and low protection regime. We discuss the urgent need for ecosystem-based management to ensure sustainable development while conserving and managing natural biodiversity and resources

Effects of unplanned development on marine biodiversity: a lesson from Albania (central Mediterranean Sea)

Human activities determine dramatic changes in natural systems, especially in marine coastal areas. This is especially true when economic development is fast and scarcely regulated, representing a serious threat to biodiversity. Besides the obvious prediction of impairment of natural systems, forecasting the effects of human activities can be particularly challenging since they affect species and assemblages, the patterns of distribution and extent of which are often totally unknown. In Vlora Bay, we show through an interdisciplinary project that 15 y of coastal development can result in a loss of over 50% of seagrass cover and a decline in macroalgae cover such as Cystoseira spp., which are structurally and functionally crucial habitats that provide essential goods and services for local human communities and recreation. Furthermore, illegal fishery practices (date mussel fishery, trawling, and use of explosives) contribute to depict a scenario of fragmentation and loss of shallow species-rich assemblages. Large-scale changes in sedimentation patterns have been recognised as one of the main drivers of those changes. This model of development, associated with nearly irreversible environmental consequences, as observed in Albania, can serve as an example for many other Mediterranean areas, showing a combination of high biodiversity and low protection regime. We discuss the urgent need for ecosystem-based management to ensure sustainable development while conserving and managing natural biodiversity and resources

Quality assessment of Mediterranean and Black Sea transitional waters: comparing responses of benthic biotic indices

1. A large number of ecological indicators have been applied to environmental quality assessment, including taxonomic indices based on one or more biotic elements and eventually environmental variables. Several structural parameters of benthic invertebrate assemblages (i.e. diversity, abundance and proportion of disturbance-sensitive taxa) have been included in the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) to rank the ecological status of the transitional waters. 2. Several macrobenthic biotic indices based on species diversity and sensitivities to anthropogenic disturbance, were proposed as effective tools to answer the requirements of the WFD, however, little is known about the responses of these indices under differing ecological conditions. 3. In the present study patterns of variation of five benthic biotic indices (AMBI, M-AMBI, BENTIX, Engle’s B-IBI, and Paul’s B-IBI) have been compared in eight Mediterranean and Black Sea transitional water ecosystems characterized by different habitat typologies and anthropogenic pressures. 4. Overall, biotic indices provided contrasting responses in terms of environmental quality assessments. Both the Engle and Paul multimetric benthic biotic indices of integrity were developed for North American estuaries and therefore require to be recalibrated for the Mediterranean and Black Sea transitional waters. M-AMBI applied to each habitat typology promises to be more effective, but the high heterogeneity of transitional waters and the lack of reference condition along the European coasts limit its application. Further work is needed to develop a biotic index that provides useful and unambiguous information under different anthropogenic pressures and in different transitional waters