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A recent article published by researchers at the University of Murcia (UMU) in the Journal of Applied Ecology has proposed the use of new ecological indicators to analyze how human activities affect the health of nature.
The research explores how riparian vegetation responds against human disturbance (agricultural intensification and dam construction) and natural stress (seasonal drought) in the River Segura basin.
The particularity of this work is that the ecological characteristics of plant species (leaf shape, size, depth of roots, etc.) are used to study the functioning of the ecosystem.
"From this information we can classify plants into groups that perform a similar contribution to ecosystem functioning, functional groups, such as fixing soil, shading runway or drought resistance," the researchers article.
The results of the study indicate that this method of functional redundancy is more sensitive than other functional when detect human alteration measures in Mediterranean rivers.
Furthermore, the method can predict the values ​​of functional redundancy for the entire river network, which is valuable information for the environmental management of the Segura basin.
According to Daniel Bruno and Josefa Velasco, researchers from the Department deEcología and Hydrology of the UMU and two of the authors, in general, the most negative impact due to human pressure on the riverbanks studied and its functionality is derived from agricultural intensification followed by seasonal drought and flow regulation.
Furthermore, the results show that temporary rivers that flow through agricultural basins where there is a strong water regulation show a loss of species with similar ecosystem functions (have low values ​​of functional redundancy).
By contrast, the headwater streams with permanent flow, little agriculture and no dams on its course, have greater functional redundancy, ensuring better performance and greater stability to human impacts.
"Ecosystems are experiencing an increase in the intensity of human impact globally, and loss of biodiversity unprecedented observed," say the researchers, who argue that this impact could be especially marked in areas with arid climate and semiarid as Mediterranean, since the conditions of these areas will become even more extreme in the short term as a result of climate change.
Therefore "it is necessary to develop methods of ecological assessment to predict the consequences of environmental change on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, and contribute to successfully guide conservation efforts and management of natural resources," he added.
Source: Universidad de Murcia
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