Effects of hydrological changes on coastal ecosystems

Descrizione del progetto

Valutazione degli effetti della siccità idrologica

Cambiamenti idrologici quali il declino delle falde acquifere potrebbero minacciare le specie vegetali e la produttività degli ecosistemi. Comprendere la sensibilità dell’ecosistema alle alterazioni idrologiche e ai relativi processi ecofisiologici è fondamentale per gli ecosistemi stagionalmente secchi e semi-aridi delle dune costiere della penisola iberica che subiscono una forte pressione umana. Sono sempre più richiesti metodi a livello comunitario che possano indicare la vulnerabilità della vegetazione alla diminuzione delle risorse idriche sotterranee. Il progetto HyChanCEs, finanziato dall’UE, intende valutare l’impatto dei cambiamenti idrologici, in particolare la diminuzione del livello delle falde freatiche, sugli ecosistemi semi-aridi delle dune costiere e determinare la loro vulnerabilità alla diminuzione delle acque sotterranee. I risultati contribuiranno a moderare l’impatto dei cambiamenti delle risorse idriche sugli ecosistemi costieri.

Obiettivo

Groundwater dynamics and water table level can greatly influence the physiological performance of plant species, composition of vegetation and ecosystem productivity. Understanding ecosystem sensitivity to hydrological changes such as groundwater decline, and the ecophysiological processes involved, are important challenges. This is particularly relevant in seasonally dry semi-arid coastal dune ecosystems of the Iberian Peninsula, where the human pressure is currently high, exacerbating climatic trends of groundwater scarcity.
Community-level assessments and integrated trait syndromes that can point out vegetation vulnerability to the reduction of groundwater resources are greatly needed. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the effects of hydrological drought, particularly water table lowering, on semi-arid coastal dune ecosystems, and define their vulnerability to groundwater limitation, helping to mitigate the impact of water-resources’ changes on relevant coastal ecosystems.
The project will be based on physiological measures, manipulative approaches, functional diversity, vegetation structure, remote sensing, water-table depth modeling, up-scaling processes and assessment of integrated vegetation responses to groundwater changes. Through a multi-level (plant to ecosystem), cross-scale (local to regional) approach, I will define suitable indicators of the impact of groundwater changes on coastal dune ecosystems and map their vulnerability to hydrological droughts. The outputs of the project will have great implications for water-management plans, by signaling vulnerable and endangered coastal areas to current and future groundwater changes. Ultimately, it will contribute to better outline sustainable management strategies conciliating habitat conservation and water-resources use.