•We still observed wildfire effects on pinewood soils four years post-fire.•Organic layers (L + F) have not recovered after four years from wildfire.•We estimate a loss of about 2 t Corg ha−1 from ...organic layers.•Changes in N-cycle processes occurred in burnt mineral soil, without effects of burn severity.•A. saligna density increased in a burnt site but did not affect soil.
Wildfire frequency and severity have greatly increased in Mediterranean areas in recent decades affecting ecosystems functioning due to alteration in the above- and below-ground process. This study aimed to investigate how wildfire severity, in the medium-term (2–5 years), impacts soil properties within a Pinus halepensis woodland located in the Special Area of Conservation (SAC) of the Natura 2000 network (IT9130006 - Pinewoods of the Ionian Arch). In 2021, four years after a large wildfire in 2017, the woodland still exhibited fire effects with evidence of low, medium or high burn severity in different sites (named LBS, MBS, HBS, respectively). In addition, we observed an area burnt at medium severity that was invaded by Acacia saligna (MBSA site), a fast-growing, highly invasive, drought-tolerant nitrogen-fixing plant, thus we also examined the combined effect of wildfire and A. saligna on the soil. We compared soil properties across burnt sites with a nearby unburnt site (control). Thickness, weight and organic carbon of litter (L) and fermentation (F) layers were measured, alongside physical, chemical and biological properties in the underlying mineral soil (0–10 cm). Our results show that wildfire destroyed the organic layers and these had not recovered four years after the wildfire (except for L-layer within LBS) with a consequent loss (∼2 t C ha−1) of this carbon pool. In mineral soil we identified fourfold increases in N mineralization and nitrification rates across all burnt sites, regardless of the burn severity and A. saligna presence, suggesting an alteration of N-cycle processes. On the contrary, total microbial biomass and soil respiration as well as most of the physical and chemical properties of the soil were comparable between the burnt and control soils. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) highlighted that burn severity affected soil variables with lower changes in LBS than in other burnt soils. Also, the HBS soil did not show greater negative impacts compared to MBS sites. This is probably due to the increased post-fire colonization by herbaceous plants in HBS, favoured by the complete destruction of trees. In this case, waiting for natural vegetation recovery can be a valid management option, but periodic monitoring of fire-soil-vegetation interaction mainly to avoid invasive species widespread is advocated.
Environmental education activities should be organized in order to protect the nature and to increase population awareness in this sense. The present paper aims to achieve this objective, by using ...Valea Roșie Nature 2000 tourist map in print and digital form as an instrument for environmental education activities. These types of graphical and cartographic materials can be efficient means for transmitting information to pupils/students, tourists etc. Also, it can contribute to school curriculum improvement in a moment when many educational institutions have eliminated or drastically reduced environmental education classes and activities.
Located in the Cantabrian Sea (NE Atlantic), 30 nm off the Asturian coast, “El Cachucho” was the first off-shore Marine Protected Area (MPA) to be declared in Spain. The area includes Le Danois Bank ...and its intraslope basin. It joined the OSPAR Network of MPAs in 2009 and, thereafter, was included in the Natura 2000 Network in 2011. The main reason for its declaration as MPA was the presence of the 1170 Reefs habitat included in Annex I of the EU Habitats Directive. In 2018, the MPAs Master Management Plan was under revision and its design criteria were subjected to evaluation. We used Marxan decision support tool to evaluate the MPA's management design criteria. This tool selects the most important conservation features, while minimizing the socioeconomic cost. First, the 1170 Reefs habitat was defined as the main environmental value. Specifically, we took into account the six large sized target species that are more representative of this habitat in the area: the sponges Asconema setubalense, Geodia cf. barretti and Phakellia robusta, the anthipatarian Leiopathes glaberrima, and the gorgonians Placogorgia sp. and Callogorgia verticillata. A spatial distribution map was produced for each species using Generalized Additive Models (GAM). We also considered the presence of spawning stocks of fish species which are present in the area as an important conservation value. Their spatial distribution was modeled through Maxent software. Additionally, for the socioeconomic cost, fishing effort of the different fisheries operating in the area was estimated linking VMS/Logbook data before and after the MPA was declared. The first results obtained with the Marxan tool were presented in public consultation, in the context of the LIFE + INTEMARES Project, to help in decision making within the new Management Plan. Thus, to improve the management measures aimed at the conservation of the environmental values of the MPA, an enlargement of the protected area to the West was proposed, and a more reasonable use of the buffer area to fishermen than that defined in the former Management Plan was suggested. Involving all stakeholders in the development of the management plan for this MPA is a decisive step for the creation and consolidation of an important network of MPAs in Spain.
•Explain the methodology used to identify the main environmental and socio-economic values of El Cachucho MPA.•Analyze the current Management Plan of the MPA by ensuring the representativeness of the vulnerable habitats.•Ensure an adequate protection of the environmental values with a minimum socio-economic impact on local communities.•Describe how spatial planning approach may help in shaping and updating the boundaries and zones of MPAs.•Emphasize the relevance of actively involve all the stakeholders in the MPAs follow-up processes.
Abstract Climate change is producing large impacts on rivers, amplifying hydrological extremes. Prolonged drought periods result in dramatic stress for river biota and associated processes due to low ...discharge, reducing the interactions between rivers and their lateral environments or leading to hydrological intermittency. New quantitative methods are needed, to correlate discharge with the available riverine habitats. In this work we have mapped the wet surface and paths of two stretches of the Taro and Trebbia Apennine rivers, analyzing satellite images from periods with contrasting discharge. The considered stretches are critical due to different human pressures (large water withdrawals for agriculture and industrial use) and are particularly vulnerable to further, climate‐driven discharge reductions. The produced images offer multiple possibilities to extract qualitative and quantitative information at the whole stretch scales, including habitat reduction along with decreasing discharge, threshold discharge limiting lateral interactions, or the evaluation of longitudinal river continuity. We discuss the limitation and the potentialities of the method and the maps produced in terms of possible application in the field of river geomorphology, ecology, the definition of ecological river flow, risk assessment, and river management.
The goal of this work is to present the valorisation of national park based on the criteria resulting from standard data forms (SDF). The analysis covered a number of areas protected under the Birds ...Directive and Habitats Directive with the A, B or C category. Habitats and species marked as D in the SDF are not protected in the Nature 2000 areas, which is why they were not taken into account in the analysis. The presented characteristics made it possible to determine the hierarchy of national parks amongst the most valuable natural objects that deserve protection in the first place and also to verify the views on most valuable areas.
Mediterranean coastal lagoons are environmentally important ecosystems whose conservation has been challenged due to anthropogenic impacts that promoted the expansion of non-indigenous and, ...sometimes, invasive species. Therefore, it is crucial to inventory biodiversity in these areas for the development of strategies of conservation and management. Classical methods used for biodiversity surveys and detection of non-native species may be unsuccessful for the detection and identification of species in early development stages such as cryptic, microscopic, elusive, and new coming species at low population density. The development of metabarcoding techniques in the last decade offers new opportunities for reliable biodiversity surveillance and facilitates early detection of nuisance species. The objective of this study was to analyze the species occurring in the protected coastal lagoon Canet-Saint Nazaire using a simple sampling protocol based on water samples and environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding with a single barcode (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I COI gene). Two invasive species (Polydora cornuta and Acartia tonsa), two polychaete bioindicators of pollution (Hediste diversicolor and Capitella capitata), and one alga that produces harmful algal blooms were detected from only 6 L of water, indicating environmental degradation in the lagoon despite its protected status. These results demonstrate the importance of COI as single barcode together with eDNA as an ecological early warning system and suggest the need for environmental restoration in this lagoon.
Changes in Landscape Metrics Induced by Deforestation in RoOSCI0358 Pricop-Huta-Certeze Nature 2000 Site. The paper analyzes the changes in the landscape structure within the territory of the Site of ...Community Interest ROSCI0358 Pricop-Huta-Certeze as a consequence of deforestation. Deforestations between 1972 and 2010 were analyzed and mapped. GIS instruments have been used in order to identify the changes in the spatial structure of landscape units induced by deforestation (changes in land parcels shape, number, edge etc.) by the help of some relevant landscape metrics indices. Results are discussed in relation to the protection status of the area (included in the Nature 2000 ecological network) and its conservation objectives.
Changes in Landscape Metrics Induced by Deforestation in RoOSCI0358 Pricop-Huta-Certeze Nature 2000 Site. The paper analyzes the changes in the landscape structure within the territory of the Site of ...Community Interest ROSCI0358 Pricop-Huta-Certeze as a consequence of deforestation. Deforestations between 1972 and 2010 were analyzed and mapped. GIS instruments have been used in order to identify the changes in the spatial structure of landscape units induced by deforestation (changes in land parcels shape, number, edge etc.) by the help of some relevant landscape metrics indices. Results are discussed in relation to the protection status of the area (included in the Nature 2000 ecological network) and its conservation objectives.
Between 2009 and 2013, research was conducted in the commune offices for the Podlaskie voivodeship which have large areas of protected Natura 2000 sites. The research is repeated every few years and ...widened to include new communes. The aim of the research was to determine the influence of the protected areas on the economic conditions of the communes. It is widely assumed that protected areas generate income for communes, however the communes claim that they incur large additional costs. The surveyed communes were critical of obligatory legal requirements in relation to the protected areas. It was argued that there are problems with obtaining natural resources and with the establishment of new summer resorts, residential and farm buildings and infrastructure; as well as the use and management of the site. The communes’ benefits incidental to the ownership of the protected area are not clear. As part of the benefits, the protected areas offer an opportunity for tourism development. According to the communes, protected areas generate losses in which the estimated losses are several times higher than the potential income. Studies indicate that the conservation cost factor should be considered in terms of financing the communes from the state budget.
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