Riparian connectivity and spatial configurations for biodiversity improvement and biological integrity enhancement

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Modelling the role of ground-true riparian vegetation for providing regulating services in a Mediterranean watershed

Publication . Aparício, Bruno A.; Nunes, João Pedro; Bernard-Jannin, Léonard; Dias, Luís Filipe; Fonseca, André; Ferreira, Teresa

Intensive agricultural and industrial activities are often considered major sources of water contamination. Currently, riparian vegetation (RV) is increasingly being promoted as a solution to balance the potentially adverse effects that agriculture may have on water quality. Nonetheless, existing RV is often overlook in recent modelling efforts, failing to capture the current amount of ecosystem services provide. Here, we used the Soil and Water Assessment Tool ecohydrological model to simulate the influence of ground-true RV on i) nutrient (nitrate and total phosphorus) and sediment exports from agricultural areas and ii) its effect for in-stream concentrations. These results are further compared against a set of hypothetical scenarios of different RV widths and different land-uses. Our results point to a great relevance of existing RV in controlling in-stream concentration of sediments and nutrients where pressure from agriculture is highest, preventing them to surpass limits set in the EU Water Framework Directive. On the other hand, in areas with industry discharges, the role of RV is limited and model results suggest that restoring RV would have limited impacts. We illustrate how existing RV may already provide strong but not acknowledged water quality regulation services, how these services can differ substantially between nearby streams, and that effective strategies to improve water quality using RV must acknowledge existing patterns of vegetation, land use and contamination sources.

2022-08Artigo científico

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Riparian quality and connectivity towards biodiversity-related ecosystem services: a proxy-based approach in Mediterranean human-dominated landscapes

Publication . Fonseca, André Filipe Faria da; Ferreira, Maria Teresa Marques; Fernandes, Maria Rosário; Duarte, Gonçalo Filipe Fernandes

Riparian ecosystems located in Mediterranean regions are highly biodiverse and provide valuable Ecosystem Services (ES). The ecological response of riparian ecosystems to distinct human and environmental effects has been widely studied, but there has been a lack of robust methods capable of predicting their potential in supporting biodiversity and related ES. In this thesis, riparian quality and connectivity metrics were used as surrogates of the potential of riparian ecosystems to support biodiversity and related ES in three Mediterranean human-dominated landscapes: Intensive agriculture (IA), Extensive agriculture (EA) and Forest production (FP). Riparian quality was assessed through the development of a novel proxy-based index, integrating metrics related to the structure, management and floristic composition of REs with their suitability in supporting biological groups with distinct dispersal abilities: short-range, medium-range and long-range dispersers. Riparian connectivity was calculated using a structural and functional approach, where the area of riparian ecosystems was used as representative of the available habitat. The main conclusions showed that riparian ecosystems located in the FP and IA landscapes exhibited the highest and lowest riparian quality, mainly due to their inaccessibility and the surrounding pressures of the agricultural matrix, respectively. Additionally, riparian ecosystems located in the EA landscape seemed to be particularly relevant for long-range dispersers, despite providing less available habitat as a result of specific management actions. Regarding riparian connectivity, results showed a tendency of reduced connectivity in the Mediterranean region, due to land-use intensification, hydromorphological alterations and the dryness of the Mediterranean climate. Furthermore, riparian ecosystems dominated by woody vegetation seemed to have a higher potential for biological dispersal. This thesis was developed to study the underlying processes that link riparian quality to connectivity. In the end, the maintenance and improvement of riparian ecosystems, especially when dominated by woody vegetation, proved to be crucial to attain ecological quality and connectivity in Mediterranean human-dominated landscapes

2023Tese de doutoramento

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Entidade financiadora

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

Número da atribuição

PD/BD/142884/2018