Periodic Reporting for period 3 - PONDERFUL (POND Ecosystems for Resilient FUture Landscapes in a changing climate)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2023-12-01 al 2024-11-30
The overarching aim of PONDERFUL was to develop methods for maximizing the use of ponds and pondscapes in climate change adaptation and mitigation, biodiversity conservation and the delivery of other ecosystem services. PONDERFUL results, based on more than 1900 ponds and eight demo sites, showed that ponds deliver a wide range of ecosystem services and Nature’s Contributions to People (i.e. benefits to people) and that have immense potential to function as nature-based solutions (NBS). Success stories in PONDERFUL illustrate how pond NBS address major societal challenges, including biodiversity loss, global warming, water scarcity, flood risks, human health and people’s wellbeing.
PONDERFUL provided the stakeholders and policy-makers with a set of new science-based tools for implementing pond NBS for addressing various societal challenges, such as a technical guidance with best-practices for pond NBS implementation, a guidance for policy makers, an interactive decision tool and a sustainable finance and investment guide. PONDERFUL also provided priority intervention maps pinpointing the regions where ponds and their surrounding landscapes face the greatest threats to biodiversity and provision of ecosystem services. These could be used to target pond restoration or creation projects where they could make the most difference to climate change adaptation. Additionally, PONDERFUL has created standards for the design of climate mitigating ponds (i.e. CLIMA-ponds).
PONDERFUL provided the stakeholders and policy-makers with a set of new science-based tools for implementing pond NBS for addressing various societal challenges, such as a technical guidance with best-practices for pond NBS implementation, a guidance for policy makers, an interactive decision tool and a sustainable finance and investment guide. PONDERFUL also provided priority intervention maps pinpointing the regions where ponds and their surrounding landscapes face the greatest threats to biodiversity and provision of ecosystem services. These could be used to target pond restoration or creation projects where they could make the most difference to climate change adaptation. Additionally, PONDERFUL has created standards for the design of climate mitigating ponds (i.e. CLIMA-ponds).
Key insights from the policy analysis are that there is general policy support for nature-based solutions but there are also many limitations and they often lack legal backing. Our study also showed that conservation status can help in implementing pond/pondscape nature-based solutions and that local leadership may be more important than policies. We identified 22 financing instruments for pond and pondscape nature-based solutions, which can be applied to different contexts.
The analyses of pond biodiversity identified two major underlying gradients at a European spatial scale. The first differentiates ponds based on hydroperiod, while the second gradient captures variation in eutrophication-associated variables. The analyses also reveal that cropland in close proximity to ponds enhances eutrophication, which impacts community composition and reduces richness of multiple aquatic organism groups.
Obtained results also suggest that effective pond biodiversity conservation can promote pond ecosystem multifunctionality, whereas ecosystem deterioration as a result of land use intensification and its associated eutrophication detrimentally affect several pond ecosystem functions. In addition, the number of ponds, their spatial distribution, and connections with other freshwater environments need to be considered for preserving pond diversity, resilience and associated ecosystem services.
The analyses on pond greenhouse gas (GHG) dynamics reveal that increases in nutrient and to a some extent temperature are likely to increase GHG emission from ponds. The results also indicate that reduction of nutrient loads in ponds would maximize net carbon sequestration, and that the presence of abundant submerged plants can provide some buffer against increased temperatures and/or nutrient enrichment. PONDERFUL analysis also revealed that temporary ponds act as sources of CO2 during the dry phase, with sediment moisture and temperature identified as the primary drivers of CO2 emissions. We also provided evidence that pond restoration significantly reduces GHG emissions. Our findings also suggest that climate-change induced drought will be a threat to pollinator communities at ponds because dry ponds have less complex and resilient plant-pollinator networks compared to ponds with water.
We analysed pondscapes’ efficiency and effectiveness in delivering ecosystem services and developed an approach for measuring their performance. Our surveys conducted with people living near pondscapes showed that these habitats greatly enhance quality of life. PONDERFUL also interacted with stakeholders across multiple workshop sessions to gather insights on their interactions with their pondscapes, their perspectives on conservation efforts, their knowledge about the potential impacts of climate change as well as to apply stakeholder input to land-use scenario development and modelling. With the extensive pond data collected through fieldwork and the information obtained from workshops, an integrative modelling framework was developed to predict the impact of climate and land use change on multiple indicators of biodiversity and ecosystem services. We also produced maps that identify high-priority areas at the European level where interventions are likely to have the greatest impact under different land use and climate scenarios.
Using the knowledge generated, we finally provided stakeholders and policy-makers with a set of new science-based tools for implementing pond-pondscapes nature-based solutions for addressing societal challenges. The tools are:
• An inventory of 183 nature-based solutions in Europe, coupled to eight PONDERFUL DEMO-sites, with success stories demonstrating the efficiency of pond/pondscapes for providing ecosystem services and Nature’s Contributions to People. These success stories are now included in a series of DEMO-site leaflets.
• CLIMA-Pond designs presenting a prototype of a pond as a nature-based solution for addressing climate change challenges in natural, rural and urban landscapes.
• A technical handbook on restoring, managing and creating ponds and pondscapes as nature-based solutions.
• A guidance document for policy makers, including a step-by-step guide to producing a national plan for ponds and pondscapes.
• A multi-criteria decision making tool that helps in the implementation of pond and pondscapes as nature-based solutions, by forecasting the potential Nature’s Contributions to People/ecosystem services and biodiversity benefits delivered under various scenarios of climate change and under different management actions.
Project results were disseminated through the PONDERFUL website, newsletters, technical webinars, animation videos, the PONDERFUL Information System, social networks, traditional media, conferences, scientific journals, workshops and external websites such as OPPLA and Horizon Result Platform.
The analyses of pond biodiversity identified two major underlying gradients at a European spatial scale. The first differentiates ponds based on hydroperiod, while the second gradient captures variation in eutrophication-associated variables. The analyses also reveal that cropland in close proximity to ponds enhances eutrophication, which impacts community composition and reduces richness of multiple aquatic organism groups.
Obtained results also suggest that effective pond biodiversity conservation can promote pond ecosystem multifunctionality, whereas ecosystem deterioration as a result of land use intensification and its associated eutrophication detrimentally affect several pond ecosystem functions. In addition, the number of ponds, their spatial distribution, and connections with other freshwater environments need to be considered for preserving pond diversity, resilience and associated ecosystem services.
The analyses on pond greenhouse gas (GHG) dynamics reveal that increases in nutrient and to a some extent temperature are likely to increase GHG emission from ponds. The results also indicate that reduction of nutrient loads in ponds would maximize net carbon sequestration, and that the presence of abundant submerged plants can provide some buffer against increased temperatures and/or nutrient enrichment. PONDERFUL analysis also revealed that temporary ponds act as sources of CO2 during the dry phase, with sediment moisture and temperature identified as the primary drivers of CO2 emissions. We also provided evidence that pond restoration significantly reduces GHG emissions. Our findings also suggest that climate-change induced drought will be a threat to pollinator communities at ponds because dry ponds have less complex and resilient plant-pollinator networks compared to ponds with water.
We analysed pondscapes’ efficiency and effectiveness in delivering ecosystem services and developed an approach for measuring their performance. Our surveys conducted with people living near pondscapes showed that these habitats greatly enhance quality of life. PONDERFUL also interacted with stakeholders across multiple workshop sessions to gather insights on their interactions with their pondscapes, their perspectives on conservation efforts, their knowledge about the potential impacts of climate change as well as to apply stakeholder input to land-use scenario development and modelling. With the extensive pond data collected through fieldwork and the information obtained from workshops, an integrative modelling framework was developed to predict the impact of climate and land use change on multiple indicators of biodiversity and ecosystem services. We also produced maps that identify high-priority areas at the European level where interventions are likely to have the greatest impact under different land use and climate scenarios.
Using the knowledge generated, we finally provided stakeholders and policy-makers with a set of new science-based tools for implementing pond-pondscapes nature-based solutions for addressing societal challenges. The tools are:
• An inventory of 183 nature-based solutions in Europe, coupled to eight PONDERFUL DEMO-sites, with success stories demonstrating the efficiency of pond/pondscapes for providing ecosystem services and Nature’s Contributions to People. These success stories are now included in a series of DEMO-site leaflets.
• CLIMA-Pond designs presenting a prototype of a pond as a nature-based solution for addressing climate change challenges in natural, rural and urban landscapes.
• A technical handbook on restoring, managing and creating ponds and pondscapes as nature-based solutions.
• A guidance document for policy makers, including a step-by-step guide to producing a national plan for ponds and pondscapes.
• A multi-criteria decision making tool that helps in the implementation of pond and pondscapes as nature-based solutions, by forecasting the potential Nature’s Contributions to People/ecosystem services and biodiversity benefits delivered under various scenarios of climate change and under different management actions.
Project results were disseminated through the PONDERFUL website, newsletters, technical webinars, animation videos, the PONDERFUL Information System, social networks, traditional media, conferences, scientific journals, workshops and external websites such as OPPLA and Horizon Result Platform.
PONDERFUL has provided a quantitative framework on pondscape biodiversity, ecosystem functions and climate interactions as a basis to predict responses to climate change and land use scenarios. PONDERFUL has also quantified the contribution of ponds for climate change mitigation and adaptation and provided the best-practices for pond NBS implementation to enhance biodiversity and climate change resilience at both local and regional scales.
PONDERFUL has provided stakeholders with tools (interactive decision tool, Technical guidance, CLIMA-ponds prototype, sustainable finance and investment guide) to widely use pondscapes as Nature-based solutions to increase resilience to global change. The project has also provided support for the integration of ponds into policies (e.g. New Restoration Law) and has disseminated to local, national and international governments and administrations, SMEs, NGOs and land managers the importance of ponds and pondscapes with respect to biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and other ecosystem services.
PONDERFUL has provided stakeholders with tools (interactive decision tool, Technical guidance, CLIMA-ponds prototype, sustainable finance and investment guide) to widely use pondscapes as Nature-based solutions to increase resilience to global change. The project has also provided support for the integration of ponds into policies (e.g. New Restoration Law) and has disseminated to local, national and international governments and administrations, SMEs, NGOs and land managers the importance of ponds and pondscapes with respect to biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and other ecosystem services.