AQUALIFE Software: A New Tool for a Standardized Ecological Assessment of Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems

Giovanni Strona,Simone Fattorini,Tiziana Di Lorenzo,Mattia Di Cicco,Diana M P Galassi,Barbara Fiasca,Francesco Boccacci,Walter Lorenzetti

doi:10.3390/w11122574

Giovanni Strona, Simone Fattorini + Show 6 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/w11122574

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Abstract

We introduce a suite of software tools aimed at investigating multiple bio-ecological facets of aquatic Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems (GDEs). The suite focuses on: (1) threats posed by pollutants to GDE invertebrates (Ecological Risk, ER); (2) threats posed by hydrological and hydromorphological alterations on the subsurface zone of lotic systems and groundwater-fed springs (Hydrological-Hydromorphological Risk, HHR); and (3) the conservation priority of GDE communities (Groundwater Biodiversity Concern index, GBC). The ER is assessed by comparing tolerance limits of invertebrate species to specific pollutants with the maximum observed concentration of the same pollutants at the target site(s). Comparison is based on an original, comprehensive dataset including the most updated information on tolerance to 116 pollutants for 474 freshwater invertebrate species. The HHR is assessed by accounting for the main direct and indirect effects on both the hyporheic zone of lotic systems and groundwater-fed springs, and by scoring each impact according to the potential effect on subsurface invertebrates. Finally, the GBC index is computed on the basis of the taxonomical composition of a target community, and allows the evaluation of its conservation priority in comparison to others.

Highlights

Groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs) are ecosystems whose biological structure and ecological processes are directly or indirectly influenced by groundwater [1,2]
This is due to the higher level of knowledge that is available for the ecological risk compared to the hydrological-hydromorphological risk for which scoring is available only for surface water bodies, preventing a fine-tuning of the HHR scoring for the Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems (GDEs)
The purpose of this paper is to present the AQUALIFE software, which is the main product of the AQUALIFE project

Summary

Introduction

Groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs) are ecosystems whose biological structure and ecological processes are directly or indirectly influenced by groundwater [1,2]. Aquatic GDEs are known to host a high biodiversity, including highly specialized, rare, and often narrow endemic species [3,4,5]. Some regulations for the protection of GDEs have recently entered in force in the Australian subcontinent [14,15] and, to a lesser extent, in Europe [10].

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