Las Tablas De Daimiel Research Articles

Air quality in a small city: criteria pollutants, volatile organic compounds, metals, and microbes.

This work presents a year-long integral study of air quality parameters in Ciudad Real, a small city in the center of Spain, and its influence on the nearby national park, Las Tablas de Daimiel. The study covers meteorological parameters and criteria pollutants such as O3, NO, NO2, SO2, and PM10. Additionally, for each month, a 1-week campaign was performed sampling air in sorbent tubes with 8-h time resolution to analyze anthropogenic volatile organic compounds and the effects of seasons, daytime, and working-weekend days. During these campaigns, 24-h PM2.5 samples were also collected to measure the load of bacteria and fungi, as well as the trace concentrations of elements.The city and the national park NOx profiles showed that emissions from the town had a non-perceivable effect on the protected area. PM10 levels in Ciudad Real were influenced by Saharan intrusions, as was the national park; however, Ciudad Real had a higher contribution from anthropogenic sources. Ozone levels were lower in the city during the cold season due to the higher concentration of NOx and have not changed significantly in the last decade.The VOCs with higher average concentrations were toluene, m,p-xylene, benzene, methylene chloride, and o-xylene, with traffic being the main source of these pollutants in the city. For benzene and carbon tetrachloride levels, weak carcinogenic risks were estimated. In PM2.5, the most abundant metals were Na, Zn, Mg, Ca, Al, Fe, and K. The carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks estimated from the levels of the studied metals were negligible. Bacterial and fungal counts positively correlated with the concentration of PM2.5. Microbial community composition showed seasonal variability, with the dominance of human pathogenic bacteria which correlated with certain pollutants such as SO2. Bacillus and Cutibacterium were the most abundant genera.

Air quality assessment in biosphere reserves close to emission sources. The case of the Spanish “Tablas de Daimiel” national park

This work shows that biosphere reserves, national parks and other protected natural areas require in situ tools to monitor and detect local and remote air pollution sources which are a threat to flora, fauna water and soil. Industries in surrounding areas, traffic and long-range transport of air pollution, can change with time and meteorology and so each national park should also have a historical database of the air quality in the site. This study reports surface measurements of ozone, NO, NO2, CO, SO2 and PM2.5 acquired from March 2020 to July 2021 in “Las Tablas de Daimiel”, a wetland Mediterranean National Park bordered by different cities and new industries in the field of the revalorization of agricultural wastes. Simultaneous data from a background station in a rural area isolated from air pollution are considered as reference.Twelve campaigns of one week duration were also performed to sample air in sorbent tubes to analyse volatile organic compounds from anthropogenic sources. Data are discussed considering meteorology, especially wind speed and direction together with the assessment of back-trajectories of air masses from distant sources. The results show that the effects of pollution from local and faraway sources on air quality in the park were weak. Thus, except for the high levels of ozone, with a mean value of 71 μg.m−3, measured mass loadings for pollutants were low and not in exceedance of the air quality standards. Saharan dust events were frequent and contributed to PM2.5 levels in the site. NOx and SO2 average concentrations (3.2 and 0.4 μg.m−3, respectively) were below the recommended critical levels for vegetation and all the quantified VOCs were found in average concentration levels below 0.5 μg.m−3.

Dinámica a largo plazo de las praderas de carófitos y los masegares en el humedal de Las Tablas de Daimiel (Ciudad Real, España): relación con las perturbaciones ambientales

Este trabajo presenta los cambios en la extensión de las superficies ocupadas por las praderas sumergidas de carófitos y por las formaciones emergentes de masiega en el humedal del Parque Nacional Las Tablas de Daimiel (Ciudad Real, España). Se estudian las dinámicas de ocupación desde los años cincuenta hasta la actualidad, y se relacionan con las perturbaciones más relevantes como sequía, incendios y contaminación. Se destaca el papel de estos dos componentes del ecosistema acuático como indicadores de la calidad ambiental de esta zona húmeda continental.

La información a largo plazo como herramienta clave para la evaluación de los cambios ambientales en las tablas de Daimiel: LTER-Daimiel.

Sanchez-Carrillo, S., Alvarez-Cobelas, M., Cirujano, S., Carrasco-Redondo, M., Diaz-Cambronero, A. 2016. Long-term observations as a key tool for the assessment of environmental changes in Las Tablas de Daimiel: LTER-Daimiel. Ecosistemas 25(1): 04-08. Doi.: 10.7818/ECOS.2016.25-1.02 Most ecological processes can only be understood from a long-time perspective. Ecosystems are changing in such a complex way that we are still trying to identify how and at what rate they are changing according to the complex network of stressors that impinges on them. The existing long-term observations in the LTER-Daimiel node allow us to assess the main causes and effects of major environmental changes in Las Tablas de Daimiel for the past 70 years. We show three examples of the validity of long-term observations as opposed to short-term records to assess the effects of various environmental impacts occurring in the wetland.

Wetland soil organic matter composition in a Mediterranean semiarid wetland (Las Tablas de Daimiel, Central Spain): Insight into different carbon sequestration pathways

Wetland soils from a Mediterranean semiarid wetland (Las Tablas de Daimiel, Central Spain) were studied to characterize the organic matter (OM) and determine its origin and transformation. Cross polarization magic angle spinning (CPMAS) 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mathematical molecular mixing allowed analysis of the organic fraction in terms of six generic components (carbohydrate, protein, lignin, lipid, char and “carbonyl”). Las Tablas is an active carbon sink, with total organic carbon (TOC) content independent of soil OM quality; the TOC content of the upper sediment is 10.0±7.8%. The inorganic carbon content is also high (5.4±3.3%) and is associated mainly with OM of aliphatic character. The OM composition is variable; samples predominantly aliphatic (carbohydrate, lipid and protein) are characteristic of the northern sector, whereas predominantly aromatic samples are typical of the southern Tablas. A strong negative relationship between protein content and lignin content was found, interpreted as a consequence of different proportions of vascular vs. non-vascular (mostly charophyte) litter input. The effect of perturbation is apparent in the extended presence of char, particularly abundant in fire-prone areas. OM quantity and quality do not seem to depend on hydrology (although seasonal flooding is associated with lower TOC wetland soils) or soil characteristics. Dominant vegetation and fire are the main drivers of OM content and composition. Structural carbohydrate, protein and lipid (>60% of total organic fraction) dominate. Widespread anaerobic conditions and the recent character of the sediments could explain the preservation of different fractions of the original detritus composition (due to different vegetation and presence of microbes).

Bayesian belief networks as a tool for participatory integrated assessment and adaptive groundwater management: the Upper Guadiana Basin, Spain

Las Tablas de Daimiel, together with other wetlands in La Mancha, Spain, situated in the Upper Guadiana Basin (Fig. 1), has been catalogued as a Biosphere Reserve Area since 1981 as part of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere programme. Between the mid-1970s and late 1980s, over 150 000 hectares of new irrigation areas were established, mainly as a result of private initiative. The average recharge rate of groundwater in the western La Mancha aquifer in the Upper Guadiana Basin is estimated to be between 200 and 500 million m3 per year, in dry and wet years respectively. Recharge also depends on the depth of the water table (Martínez-Cortina & Cruces 2003). Abstraction reached 600 million m3 per year by the end of the 1980s. Up to this time a total of 3000–5000 million m3 of the Upper Guadiana Basin aquifer’s water reserves was withdrawn (Bromley et al. 2000; Lopéz-Geta et al. 2006). The intensive use of groundwater has been a main factor for the improvement of the social and economic situation in this region, with a population of about half a million people, and where the agricultural sector is very important (Llamas et al. 2006). Water-table drawdown due to the intensive abstraction of groundwater for irrigation has caused severe negative impacts on wetlands, streams and rivers, and has resulted in a lowering of groundwater levels by up to 50 m. The main conflicts in the area are between farmers and conservationists, between central, regional and local government water agencies, and between small farmers and big farmers. The conflicts began about three decades ago (Llamas 1988) and have not yet been settled. In 2001 the Spanish Parliament asked the Government to present a hydrological plan for the Upper Guadiana Basin within one year. More than 20 draft proposals have been presented, the last one in 2006 with a budget of almost four billion Euros. This proposal has been met with strong opposition from most farmer lobbies. The Guadiana Basin is one of seven trans-boundary case studies of the EU NeWater research project (New Approaches for Adaptive Water Management under Uncertainty). The principal water-management issues in the project are addressed by adaptive and integrated water-resource manage ment. This includes uncertainty and risk mitigation, governance, crosssectoral integration, scale analysis, information management, stakeholder participation, financial aspects, system resilience and vulnerability. One work block in the NeWater project has the task of translating research outputs into tools for practitioners and end-users. As part of this effort, Bayesian belief networks (Bns) were selected as one possible tool to be developed as an aid to stakeholder participation in integrated assessment of gaps, being a suitable tool for dialogue in order to identify gaps in water-resource management functions, gaps to meet the goals of the EU Water Framework Directive and to analyse management potentials and constraints. The purpose of this paper is to describe the testing of Bns as a tool for participatory integrated assessment and adaptive and integrated water-resource management in the Upper Guadiana Basin.

Environmental and geochemical record of human-induced changes in C storage during the last millennium in a temperate wetland (Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park, central Spain)

Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park has experienced many hydrological and ecological modifications through out its history, both of natural as well as anthropogenic origin, which have affected its carbon storage capacity and carbon fluxes. The study of those variations has been carried out by the analysis of its sedimentary record (geochemistry and pollen) and historical data. The natural changes have a wider variation range than the anthropogenic ones, showrepetitive patterns and the system reacts readjusting the equilibrium among its components. Anthropogenic effects depend on the direct or indirect impact on the wetlands of change and its intensity. In addition, the anthropogenic impacts have the capacity of breaking the natural balance of the ecosystem and the internal interactions.

Las Euglenófitas en las Tablas de Daimiel como ejemplo de las limitaciones de los indicadores biológicos de la degradación ambiental

Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park is a semiarid, hypertrophic wetland located in La Mancha (Ciudad Real, Central Spain). During the period 1996-2002 we carried out monthly samplings at three sites of Las Tablas. Thirty five taxa of Euglenophytes of the genera Astasia (1 taxon), Euglena (15), Lepocinclis (6), Phacus (9), and Trachelomonas (4) were identified. Six taxa are new records for Spain. Abundance, species richness, species groups and absolute and relative biomass of Euglenophytes widely fluctuated spatio-temporally in Las Tablas, without any statistically significant relationship (P > 0.05) with organic carbon (either particulate or dissolved), which has been long considered the main factor controlling the occurrence and abundance of Euglenophytes. The same lack of relationship was observed for other nutrients, such as ammonia, soluble reactive phosphorus and total nitrogen and phosphorus. Our results challenge the role of Euglenophytes for assessing environmental degradation in hypertrophic ecosystems, a topic of increasing interest in view of the newly implemented European Water Framework Directive and its proposals for biological monitoring. However, these results might invigorate ecological studies on Euglenophytes, still in its infancy unlike in other algal groups.

On the Importance of Water Depth, Macrophytes and Fish in Wetland Picocyanobacteria Regulation

Current paradigms contend abiotic regulation of wetland biota most important, although recent studies show that biotic configuration can play an important role in wetland functioning within the constraints set by abiotic forces. Picocyanobacteria (PC) – although little studied in wetlands – may prove promising candidates for determining the response to experimental manipulation of important physical and biological components of wetland ecosystems (water depth, vegetation, fish) in the short term, because of their fast growth and high reproduction, and thus to test for the importance of biotic or abiotic regulation of PC in wetlands. In this study, the densities of the dominant fish species (Cyprinus carpio, Lepomis gibbosus and Gambusia holbrooki), and submerged (charophytes) and emergent (Cladium mariscus) macrophytes were manipulated in enclosures that were installed in deeper (1.0 m) and in shallower (0.4 m) zones of the Spanish National Park, Las Tablas de Daimiel. Principal component analyses showed that the manipulation of biotic elements brought about significant differences in the limnological environment, but PC (chiefly Cyanobium sp.) abundances were relatively unresponsive to the biota-mediated effects. Instead we observed consistently higher PC abundances in all deeper site treatments compared with the shallower site treatments. Generalised linear models suggested that water depth has overridden any biota-mediated regulation of PC. Although the ultimate cause for PC regulation could not be revealed, results indicate that water depth may strongly mediate PC abundances in wetlands. Furthermore the marginal effect of biota-mediated effects, suggests PC being regulated to a great extent by abiotic forces during our study, thereby matching current paradigms of wetland functioning.

Descomposición de helófitos en un humedal semiárido hipertrófico

This study represents the first attempt to outline the dynamics of litter decomposition of Cladium mariscus (cut-sedge) and Phragmites australis (common-reed) in Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park (Central Spain). From April 1998 to September 1999, two experiments were conducted to measure the overall decomposition in large-pore bags (7 months) and the chemical-microbiological decomposition in entire bags (14 months). Despite the hypertrophic condition of the wetland, that might have enhanced plant litter decaying rates, decomposition was a slow process in Las Tablas de Daimiel for both species, resulting in more than 50% of initial biomass a year and a half later. There were no significant correlations between environmental variables and decomposition rates. An initial phase of leaching with the highest rates (P –1 for C. mariscus and 0.0029 ± 0.002 day –1 for P. australis in the overall decomposition experiment, and respectively 0.0019 ± 0.001 day –1 and 0.0016 ± 0.001 day –1 due to chemical-microbiological decomposition, suggesting the negligible significance of invertebrates in the plant decomposition process. Furthermore, no significant difference was observed for nutrient release, except that Phragmites lost more phosphorus (P Cladium . Plant litter decaying rates were roughly an order of magnitude lower than nutrient release rates in both species. Our results suggest that slow decomposition rates of helophitic plant biomass increases organic matter sedimentation and reduces water quality of Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park.

Nutrient Dynamics and Eutrophication Patterns in a Semi-Arid Wetland: The Effects of Fluctuating Hydrology

A three-year study was carried out in Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park, a Spanish semi-arid wetland, to describe eutrophication patterns and the responses of the main primaryproducers in contrasting inundation years. Total and dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus, phytoplankton chlorophyll-a(monthly) and emergent macrophyte cover (yearly) were measured together with water levels. Water balances were taken to assessphosphorus and nitrogen annual nutrient budgets. The wetland could be termed hypertrophic. Nutrients displayed distinct seasonality because nitrogen peaked both in winter and summer,whereas phosphorus did so in late spring and early summer. A reduction in both total nitrogen and phosphorus in humid yearsdue to higher water levels was also observed. An important spatial heterogeneity in nutrient content occurred throughout the study, part of which could be ascribed to hydrological fluctuations since the input site showed higher mean values in rainy years. Mass balances suggested that sedimentation played a key role in nutrient dynamics, with macrophyte leaching and waterfowl additions being minor sources. Internalloading was much higher than external loading in this wetland,thereby being responsible for higher sedimentation rates.Phytoplankton chlorophyll-a displayed seasonality, withpeaks in late summer, when macrophyte activity was decreasing.No relationship between either chlorophyll-a and nutrients or hydrological conditions could be ascertained formost sampling stations and years of study. However, the waterlevel-dependent, emergent macrophyte sawgrass (Cladium mariscus) presented a statistically significant relationship with both nitrogen and phosphorus. Our results demonstrate thatmacrophytes must be taken into account in wetland eutrophicationmodels. A conceptual model comparing the responses of primary producers to eutrophication in lakes and wetlands is outlined.

Hydrological and botanical man-made changes in the Spanish wetland of Las Tablas de Daimiel

Man-made change in wetland ecosystems is mainly a 20th century process. Here, we report the changes over the last 55 years in the hydrology and botany of a Spanish semi-arid wetland, Las Tablas de Daimiel, a Ramsar site and a National Park. The landscape is valuable because of interesting waterfowl and plant species (particularly, Netta ruffina and Cladium mariscus) brought about by the fluctuations in water table arising from the interaction of surface flooding due to stream- and groundwater discharges and water retention by watermill dams. However, drainage reduced the wetland area to one seventh of its original value in 8 years between 1965 and 1973, and watermills were destroyed in the 1960s. Water pollution, mainly organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus, coming from point (towns and agroindustry) and non-point sources (agricultural practices in the watershed) started in the late 1970s and peaked by the middle of next decade, decreasing later as a result of newly-implemented, water treatment plants in the catchment area. Water availability was reduced greatly between the late 1970s and the 1990s because of irrigation programs in the catchment area, which exhausted the groundwater aquifer, and their effects on plants were mediated by decreasing yearly average flooding and its variability. The combined effect of increased eutrophication and decreased water inputs reduced the Cladium cover 10-fold, reduced the extent of Charophyte meadows and three quarters of hydrophyte species were lost. The reed ( Phragmites communis) cover increased 22-fold. Later, a sudden increase in water inputs coming from a nearby aquifer raised the number of hydrophytes and the Cladium cover, and reduced the reed cover. Thus, decreases in water quantity and quality have acted together on wetlands over the last 35 years affecting plant species richness and cover. Wetland survival is endangered if no remedial actions, such as those we propose, are implemented.

Fitoplancton del Parque Nacional Las Tablas de Daimiel. II. Las cianofíceas, los dinoflagelados, las criptofíceas, las crisofíceas y las xantofíceas

Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park is a semiarid wetland that exhibits a high biodiversity but is suffering an inexorable eutrophication process. The study of the phytoplankton in this wetland is interesting because of its hydrological fluctuations (drought period until 1996) and its trophic condition. This papers shows the taxonomy, dynamic, and ecology of microalgae in five areas of the Park from 1996 to 1998, which allow comparisons to be made between the present state and the 1992-1993 period. Twelve taxa of Cyanophyta , 4 of Dynophyceae , 8 of Cryptophyceae , 5 of Chrysophyceae and one of Xanthophyceae were found. Almost all species have been already cited in Spain and are typical for eutrophic environments. Cyanophyceae and Cryptophyceae were the most important groups (Planktothrix agardhii, Anabaenopsis elenkinii, Cryptomonas erosa as the most common algae). Moreover, oscillatorial Cyanophyceae (in 1992) have been replaced by N-fixing nostocal ones, related to the high level of pollution found in recent years.

Fitoplancton del Parque Nacional de las Tablas de Daimiel. I. Las euglenofitas

Las Tablas de Daimiel is one of the most important wetlands in the Iberian Peninsula. The increase of water contamination is producing obvious eutrophication. Monthly water samples were taken during 1996 and 1997 at five places - both from channels and shallow water (tablas). 18 taxa of Euglenophyta were found, two of them had been found before in Las Tablas de Daimiel (Astasia sp. and Euglena acus). Nine species are new records for this wetland (E. acilis, E. polymorpha, Lepocinclis ovum var. dimidio-minor. Phacus brevicaudatus, P. pyrum, P. skujae, Trachelomonas armata, T. abrupta and T. volvocinopsis) ; six species are new records for Spain (E. agilis var. piriformis, E. clara, E. oxyuris var. oxyuris, E. splendens, L. ovum var. globula, and P. brachykentron) , and one species is new record for Europe (T. sculpta). The richness of Euglenophyta has increased conspicuously (1 species in 1975, 8 species in 1992-1993 and 18 species in 1996-1997). Moreover, the increasing water level from 19% has reduced the Euglenophyta density and these populations have simultaneously spread throughout the whole Park. The fluctuation seen in the Euglenophyte populations of the Tablas de Daimiel is not a response to contamination events, but the result of a the long eutrophication process endured by these wetlands.

Reduction in Diversity of Aquatic Plants in a Spanish Wetland: The Effect of the Size of Inundated Area

ABSTRACT The effect of subsequent decreases in inundated area on the reduction in diversity of aquatic plants in Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park was examined. This Spanish wetland was declared a national park in 1973 in an attempt to protect it from degradation. However, human actions, such as canalization of superficial waters and extraction of subterranean waters, together with the cumulative effects of successive years of low rainfall, resulted in a marked decline in both surface and groundwater resources during the 1980s and 1990s. Diversity of aquatic plants (number of hydrophyte species, genera and families) and size of inundated area (ha) in 1956, 1975 and 1994 were estimated. The power function model S = CAz (or log S = log C+ z log A) was applied to detect a linear relationship between hydrophyte diversity and inundated area. The number of hydrophyte species, genera, and families decreased with decreasing the size of inundated area; the highest values were estimated in 1956 whereas the lowest values were estimated in 1994. This linear relationship implies that a tenfold decrease in inundated area approximately cuts hydrophyte diversity in half.