Comparative analysis of ephemeral river ecosystem services in agricultural and natural landscapes in mediterranean environments. A practical approach to Caia River (Portugal)

Mediterranean landscapes present a large amount of biodiversity and ecosystems leading to their unique identity. In fact, it is increasingly acknowledged that these ecosystems provide a large range of benefits, not only for the area where they are located but also for their surroundings. Benefits that may vary from aesthetical values to socioeconomic aspects that might influence territorial development, including also the preservation of those ecosystems. The ephemeral and intermittent rivers provide several and pivotal ecosystem services within to the environment. However, these services differ a lot from agricultural to natural landscapes – e.g. agricultural landscapes structure ́ is susceptible to dramatic changes through the seasons and water cycles. Thus, a comparison study between agricultural and natural Mediterranean environments landscapes have been carried out – allowing to deeply understand ephemeral rivers ecosystems systems and their dynamics. Considering the purpose of the study - a comparison analysis between river ecosystem services in agricultural and natural landscapes in Mediterranean environments have been conducted. Therefore, a Cross-Border ephemeral river – Caia River (Portugal-Spain) have been selected as a case study. The comparison has covered cultural, aesthetic, functional and socio-economic ecosystem services; showing the relevance of the functions granted by the river

Comparative analysis of ephemeral river ecosystem services in agricultural and natural landscapes in Mediterranean environments. A Practical Approach to Caia River

Comparative analysis of ephemeral river ecosystem services in agricultural and natural landscapes in Mediterranean environments. A Practical Approach to Caia River. A comparison study between agricultural and natural Mediterranean environments landscapes

Relevance of intermittent rivers and streams in agricultural landscape and their impact on provided ecosystem services—a Mediterranean case study

Ecosystem services (ES), as an interconnection of the landscape mosaic pieces, along with temporal rivers (IRES) are an object of research for environmental planners and ecological economists, among other specialists. This study presents (i) a review on the importance of IRES and the services they can provide to agricultural landscapes; (ii) a classification tool to assess the impact of IRES to provide ES by agricultural landscapes; (iii) the application of the proposed classification to the Caia River in order to identify the importance of this intermittent river for its surrounding agricultural landscape. The classification of the ES follows the Common International Classification of Ecosystem (CICES) classification that was adapted for the purposes of this study. Firstly, the list of ES provided by agricultural landscape was elaborated. In the next step, we assessed the potential of IRES to provide ES. Next, IRES impacts to ES within the agricultural landscape were evaluated according to observations from the conducted field monitoring in the study area. This study focuses on the relevance of the intermittent Caia River-a transboundary river in Spain and Portugal-and its ephemeral tributaries in the agricultural landscape. Our study estimates that each hydrological phase of IRES increases the ES provided by the agricultural landscape. However, the dry phase can potentially have negative impacts on several services. The intensification of the agricultural sector is the main provision of the water resource within the Caia River basin, but we were able to identify several other ES that were positively impacted. The present study is in line with the conclusions of other authors who state that IRES constitute a valuable resource which should not be underestimated by society.Agência financiadora COST Action CA15113 Slovak Research and Development Agency APVV-16-0278 UID/SOC/04020/2013info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Interactions between surrounding landscape biodiversity and intermittent rivers in mediterranean environments – case study of the Caia River

Landscape is a dynamic mosaic of various structures interacting together. Neglecting or overusing one part of this mosaic may boost up or damage the development of others. For instance, overgrazing may increase soil erosion process which may clog a river/stream. In this regard land use changes, climate change and landscape management may lead to increase the intermittency of the surface watercourses, as well as in the ecosystem services provided by riverscapes for humans. Therefore, the present research focus on the existing interactions between the Caia River, an intermittent river located in the Mediterranean region, and its surrounding agricultural and natural landscapes. The performed analyses considered the identification of the existing interaction between natural and agricultural landscapes with the Caia River defining the predictable ecosystem services provided by each element of the landscape and assessing the potential decrease of the ecosystem services provided in case of landscape changes, which according to the performed research might enclose significant impacts both in ecologic and socioeconomic terms.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Rethinking ecosystem service indicators for their application to intermittent rivers

© 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).In these times of strong pressure on aquatic ecosystems and water resources due to climate change and water abstraction, intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES) (rivers that periodically cease to flow and/or dry) have become valuable assets. Indeed, not only do they supply water but they also offer services for humanity. Despite a growing recognition towards IRES, information for assessing their ecosystem services (ES) remains scarce. In a first step, an international interdisciplinary group of researchers developed a methodological framework to acknowledge ES provided by IRES using 109 indicators. A subset of selected ES indicators was then applied to two case studies: the Rio Seco in the Algarve (Portugal) and the Giofyros River in Crete (Greece). This paper discusses the applicability of these indicators, including the temporal and spatial variability of IRES flow regimes. Aspects of the framework, such as the methods and time required for data collection, the nature (demand or supply) and functionality of each indicator are discussed. The new framework accounts for flow intermittence in ES analyses and can help scientists and water managers to i) increase the ease and justification for IRES use in management approaches and ii) improve their conservation and restoration with a comprehensive set of appropriate indicators for IRES. In addition, the comprehensive nature of the proposed indicators ensures that they can be understood by a broad audience and easily applicable. Since they were designed through a public participation process, the setting has been prepared for holistic stakeholder analysis and education around IRES functions and associated ES. From a management point of view, it would be particularly relevant to perform an economic evaluation with this new framework to understand the value of each ES category and their trade-offs. For the scientific community, however, it is important to consider public preferences to design socially accepted policies. The proposed indicators can successfully bridge these elements, hereby establishing a solid basis for the assessment of ES provided by IRES.The authors thank the SMIRES COST ACTION CA15113 from the European Cooperation in Science and Technology for funding part of this research and especially the research grant that AV Pastor received in 2017: STSM reference number: CA15113-41532 entitled « Assessment of ecosystem services of an intermittent river in the South of Portugal ». The authors also thank Cristina Viegas, municipality of Faro (PT), Cristina Veiga-Pires (University of Algarve), Marques Afonso (APA-ARH, Faro, Portugal), Miguel Rodrigues (CCV Alg, PT), Helena Correie (Centro de formacao profesionais de Faro, PT), Ines Monteiro (Field Portuguese translator to English) for the Rio Seco CS and Marinos Kritsotakis, Aggeliki Martinou and Ioanna Mari, Manolis Dretakis, Foukarakis Michalis - officer, Antonaki Anna - officer, Filipakis Dimitris, Dimosthenis Isaakiidis and Giannakakis Thanos for the Giofyros CS. Additional funding was obtained from the Portuguese Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, through funding attributed to the CE3C research center (UIDB/00329/2020). DB was supported by CSIC Interdisciplinary Thematic Platform (PTI) Síntesis de Datos de Ecosistemas y Biodiversidad (PTI-ECOBIODIV).Peer reviewe

Relevance of Intermittent Rivers and Streams in Agricultural Landscape and Their Impact on Provided Ecosystem Services—A Mediterranean Case Study

Ecosystem services (ES), as an interconnection of the landscape mosaic pieces, along with temporal rivers (IRES) are an object of research for environmental planners and ecological economists, among other specialists. This study presents (i) a review on the importance of IRES and the services they can provide to agricultural landscapes; (ii) a classification tool to assess the impact of IRES to provide ES by agricultural landscapes; (iii) the application of the proposed classification to the Caia River in order to identify the importance of this intermittent river for its surrounding agricultural landscape. The classification of the ES follows the Common International Classification of Ecosystem (CICES) classification that was adapted for the purposes of this study. Firstly, the list of ES provided by agricultural landscape was elaborated. In the next step, we assessed the potential of IRES to provide ES. Next, IRES impacts to ES within the agricultural landscape were evaluated according to observations from the conducted field monitoring in the study area. This study focuses on the relevance of the intermittent Caia River—a transboundary river in Spain and Portugal—and its ephemeral tributaries in the agricultural landscape. Our study estimates that each hydrological phase of IRES increases the ES provided by the agricultural landscape. However, the dry phase can potentially have negative impacts on several services. The intensification of the agricultural sector is the main provision of the water resource within the Caia River basin, but we were able to identify several other ES that were positively impacted. The present study is in line with the conclusions of other authors who state that IRES constitute a valuable resource which should not be underestimated by society

Current State of Small Water Reservoir from Technical and Ecological Viewpoint

The objective of the study is an assessment of a Ratka small water reservoir in Slovakia by using two main aspects, i.e., the hydrotechnical, geotechnical and environmental aspects. An evaluation of the actual state of a small water reservoir was solved in a complex way. Based on the field measurements, the quality of surface water was controlled in order to check if the surface water quality indicators meet the requirements of government regulations. In addition to the terrain measurements, laboratory measurements were performed. The results assess the actual state of the small water reservoir in details, including an assessment of the water quality with proposed measures for improving the condition of the water reservoir

Ecosystem services and social perception

In a nutshell:▪ There is a variety of benefits that IRES provide to our societies, from the provision of materials such as water and timber, to iconic species, the regulation of biogeochemical cycles, and space for cultural manifestation and as a corridor for both wild and herded animals.▪ Drying and rewetting processes, timing and duration of different aquatic phases, have an effect on the biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, as well as on the provision of ecosystem services and on the social perception of them.▪ There are intrinsic and relational values associated to IRES that are not usually recognised, including sense of place, cultural identity, social cohesion or nature stewardship.▪ There is a long list of indicators that can be used to assess the provision of ecosystem services, and different techniques of monetary and non-monetary methods can be applied to assess their value.▪ Public participation is also necessary to understand the multiple values of IRES and to improve social perception. Participatory mapping, citizen science, and scenario planning are some of the methodologies can be employed