Global Change Abstracts The Swiss Contribution - SCNAT

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128 Global Change Abstracts – The Swiss Contribution | Oceans and Fresh Water Systems experiment, biomass production appeared to be co-limited by N and P, while N fertilisation dramatically reduced plant species richness; these effects became weaker subsequently. Following two extreme winter floods in 1993-94 and 1994-95 and a drought in spring 1996, the effects of fertilisation disappeared between 1998 and 2001 and then appeared again. Flooding caused an overall reduction in species richness (from c. 24 to 15 species m(-2)) and an increase in biomass production, which were only partly reversed after ten years. Conclusions: Long time series are necessary to understand vegetation dynamics and nutrient limitation in river floodplains, since they are influenced by occasional flood and drought events, whose effects may persist for more than ten years. A future increase in flooding frequency might be detrimental to species richness in floodplain grasslands. Journal of Vegetation Science, 2007, V18, N5, OCT, pp 625-634. 08.1-239 Large-scale climatic signatures in lakes across Europe: a meta- analysis Blenckner T, Adrian R, Livingstone D M, Jennings E, Weyhenmeyer G A, George D G, Jankowski T, Jarvinen M, Aonghusa Caitriona N, Noges T, Straile D, Teubner K Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, England, Finland, Estonia, Austria Zoology , Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences , Limnology , Marine & Freshwater Biology , Ecology Recent studies have highlighted the impact of the winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) on water temperature, ice conditions, and spring plankton phenology in specific lakes and regions in Europe. Here, we use meta-analysis techniques to test whether 18 lakes in northern, western, and central Europe respond coherently to winter climate forcing, and to assess the persistence of the winter climate signal in physical, chemical, and biological variables during the year. A meta-analysis approach was chosen because we wished to emphasize the overall coherence pattern rather than individual lake responses. A particular strength of our approach is that time-series from each of the 18 lakes were subjected to the same robust statistical analysis covering the same 23-year period. Although the strongest overall coherence in response to the winter NAO was exhibited by lake water temperatures, a strong, coherent response was also exhibited by concentrations of soluble reactive phosphorus and soluble reactive silicate, most likely as a result of the coherent response exhibited by the spring phytoplankton bloom. Lake nitrate concentrations showed significant coherence in winter. With the exception of the cyanobacterial biomass in summer, phytoplankton biomass in all seasons was unrelated to the winter NAO. A strong coherence in the abundance of daphnids during spring can most likely be attributed to coherence in daphnid phenology. A strong coherence in the summer abundance of the cyclopoid copepods may have been related to a coherent change in their emergence from resting stages. We discuss the complex nature of the potential mechanisms that drive the observed changes. Global Change Biology, 2007, V13, N7, JUL, pp 1314-1326. 08.1-240 The ecology of European ponds: defining the characteristics of a neglected freshwater habitat Cereghino R, Biggs J, Oertli B, Declerck S France, England, Switzerland, Belgium Marine & Freshwater Biology , Biodiversity , Ecology There is growing awareness in Europe of the importance of ponds, and increasing understanding of the contribution they make to aquatic biodiversity and catchment functions. Collectively, they support considerably more species, and specifically more scarce species, than other freshwater waterbody types. Ponds create links (or stepping stones) between existing aquatic habitats, but also provide ecosystem services such as nutrient interception, hydrological regulation, etc. In addition, ponds are powerful model systems for studies in ecology, evolutionary biology and conservation biology, and can be used as sentinel systems in the monitoring of global change. Ponds have begun to receive greater protection, particularly in the Mediterranean regions of Europe, as a result of the identification of Mediterranean temporary ponds as a priority in the EU Habitats Directive. Despite this, they remain excluded from the provisions of the Water Framework Directive, even though this is intended to ensure the good status of all waters. There is now a need to strengthen, develop and coordinate existing initiatives, and to build a common framework in order to establish a sound scientific and practical basis for pond conservation in Europe. The articles presented in this issue are intended to explore scientific problems to be solved in order to increase the understanding and the protection of ponds, to highlight those aspects of pond ecology that are relevant to freshwater science, and to bring out research areas which are likely to prove fruitful for further investigation. Hydrobiologia, 2008, V597, FEB, pp 1-6.
Global Change Abstracts – The Swiss Contribution | Oceans and Fresh Water Systems 08.1-241 Biodiversity and distribution patterns of freshwater invertebrates in farm ponds of a southwestern French agricultural landscape Cereghino R, Ruggiero A, Marty P, Angelibert S France, Switzerland Biodiversity , Marine & Freshwater Biology , Agriculture, Soil Sciences , Ecology , Zoology We assessed the importance for biodiversity of man-made farm ponds in an agricultural landscape in SW France lacking natural wetlands. The ponds were originally created to provide a variety of societal services (irrigation, visual amenity, water for cattle, etc.). We also assessed the environmental factors influencing invertebrate assemblages in these ponds. Only 18 invertebrate taxa out of 114 taxa occurring in the study area were common to ponds and rivers indicating that the contribution of farm ponds to freshwater biodiversity was potentially high. A Self-Organizing Map (SOM, neural network) was used to classify 36 farm ponds in terms of the 52 invertebrate families and genera they supported, and to specify the influence of environmental variables related to land-use and to pond characteristics on the assemblage patterns. The SOM trained with taxa occurrences showed five clusters of ponds, most taxa occurring only in 1-2 clusters of ponds. Abandoned ponds tended to support higher numbers of taxa, probably because they were allowed to undergo a natural succession. Nevertheless, abandoned ponds were also amongst the largest, so that it remained difficult to separate the effects of pond size and abandonment, although both factors were likely to interact to favour higher taxon richness. The invertebrate communities in the ponds appeared to be influenced mainly by widely acting environmental factors (e.g. area, regionalization of assemblages) with little evidence that pond use (e.g. cattle watering, amenity) generally influenced assemblage composition. Our results support the idea that agricultural landscapes containing man- made ponds make a significant contribution to freshwater biodiversity indicating that protection of farm ponds from threats such as in- filling and pollution can make a positive contribution to the maintenance of aquatic biodiversity. This added value for biodiversity should be considered when calculating the economic costs and benefits of constructing water bodies for human activities. Hydrobiologia, 2008, V597, FEB, pp 43-51. 129 08.1-242 The Mar Menor lagoon (SE Spain): A singular natural ecosystem threatened by human activities Conesa H M, Jimenez Carceles F J Switzerland, Spain Ecology , Agriculture, Soil Sciences , Marine & Freshwater Biology The Mar Menor lagoon is one of the most important ecological singularities in the Mediterranean area. At the same time, it is an area where many economic and industrial activities meet. The sum of the impacts of mining, agriculture and urban development in the surroundings to the lagoon during the last decades has affected its ecosystem. In this paper, we have reviewed the studies done by researchers over two decades regarding the impacts of human activities in the lagoon, reporting data of contamination levels and the effects generated in the ecosystem of the lagoon. The discharge of enriched nutrient waters seems to be the most important input in the lagoon. Changes to more friendly agricultural techniques in the surrounding areas are therefore necessary. After our review, we can conclude that it is necessary to have higher efforts from the public administrations and stricter environmental regulations in order to preserve, on one hand, the important ecological values of the lagoon, and on other hand, public health. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2007, V54, N7, JUL, pp 839-849. 08.1-243 Earth Observation for wetland inventory, assessment and monitoring Davidson N C, Finlayson C M Switzerland, Sri Lanka Marine & Freshwater Biology , Instruments & Instrumentation , Remote Sensing , Ecology 1. Wetland inventory, assessment and monitoring are widely recognized as essential tools for a range of purposes that underpin sound decisionmaking and the management of wetlands so as to maintain their ecological character, including the critical services they provide to people worldwide. 2. In recognition of this, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands has adopted a suite of tools designed for: (i) describing the ecological character of wetlands; (ii) assessing the pressures and associated risks of adverse change; and (iii) monitoring the extent of any change that occurs as a consequence of management actions. 3. As a prelude to considering the application of Earth Observation techniques to wetlands a review of the needs and purposes of inventory, assessment and monitoring is
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