Using Earth Observation to update a Natura 2000 habitat map for a wetland in Greece

The European Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC has defined the need for the conservation of habitats and species with the adoption of appropriate measures. Within the Natura 2000 ecological network of special areas of conservation, natural habitats will be monitored to ensure the maintenance or restoration of their composition, structure and extent. The European Space Agency's GlobWetland project has provided remotely sensed products for several Ramsar wetlands worldwide, such as detailed land cover-land use, water cycle and inundated vegetation maps. This paper presents the development and testing of an operational methodology for updating a wetland's habitat map using the GlobWetland products, and the evaluation of the extent to which GlobWetland products have contributed to the habitat map updating. The developed methodology incorporated both automated and analyst-supervised techniques to photo-interpret, delineate, refine, and evaluate the updated habitat polygons. The developed methodology was proven successful in its application to the wetland complex of the Axios-Loudias-Aliakmon delta (Greece). The resulting habitat map met the European and Greek national requirements. Results revealed that GlobWetland products were a valuable contribution, but source data (enhanced satellite images) were necessary to discriminate spectrally similar habitats. Finally, the developed methodology can be modified for original habitat mapping.     

Assessing Ecological Water Quality with Macroinvertebrates and Fish: A Case Study from a Small Mediterranean River

Biological elements, such as benthic macroinvertebrates and fish, have been used in assessing the ecological quality of rivers according to the requirements of the Water Framework Directive. However, the concurrent use of multiple organism groups provides a broader perspective for such evaluations, since each biological element may respond differently to certain environmental variables. In the present study, we assessed the ecological quality of a Greek river (RM4 type), during autumn 2003 and spring 2004 at 10 sites, with benthic macroinvertebrates and fish. Hydromorphological and physicochemical parameters, habitat structure, and riparian vegetation were also considered. Pollution sensitive macroinvertebrate taxa were more abundant at headwaters, which had good/excellent water quality according to the Hellenic Evaluation System (HES). The main river reaches possessed moderate water quality, while downstream sites were mainly characterised as having bad or poor water quality, dominated by pollution-tolerant macroinvertebrate taxa. Macroinvertebrates related strongly to local stressors as chemical degradation (ordination analysis CCA) and riparian quality impairment (bivariate analysis) while fish did not. Fish were absent from the severely impacted lower river reaches. Furthermore, external pathological signs were observed in fish caught at certain sites. A combined use of both macroinvertebrates and fish in biomonitoring programs is proposed for providing a safer assessment of local and regional habitat impairment.     

Integrated Environmental and Hydraulic Design of Xerias River,Corinthos, Greece,Training Works

The modern design of flood protection and training works in cases of major natural streams and creeks, requires a fine balance between a sound engineering approach in all engineering aspects on one hand, and an environmentally acceptable solution on the other. Progress in integrating environmental and hydraulic design has been achieved over the years due to different factors, like proper collaboration of engineering disciplines, hydraulic modeling enhancement, development and use of suitable materials, amelioration of the construction methods, and proper restoration and use of the affected areas. In this paper, a synopsis of the experience that has been gained by our firm over the years in designing flood protection and river training works for urban and rural areas is presented, including the general design principles to be used as guidelines, and illustrated with the case study of river Xerias, Greece. The river Xerias is located in Peloponnese, Greece. It flows from south to north and has a catchment area of 170 km². For the last 1500 m before discharging into the Corinthian gulf, the river flows through the city of Corinthos. This is the reach, which overflowed and flooded the city during the January 1997 flood, causing a lot of damage and human life casualties.     

Evaluation Score and Interpretation Index for the Ecological Quality of Running Waters in Central and Northern Hellas

The present study aims at creating an evaluation system for the quality of running waters, based on the analysis of benthic macroinvertebrate records from Hellenic rivers (473 samples from 8 river basins). The proposed evaluation system (Hellenic Evaluation Score and its Interpretation Index) may be used for waters sampled with the cost effective semi-quantitative sampling method of “3 min kick-sweep” and requires benthic macroinvertebrates to be identified to the taxonomic level of family. Though resulting from a modification of the Spanish score BMWP, it differs from it in the following characteristics: a) it includes the relative abundance of benthic macroinvertebrates and b) it takes into consideration the habitat diversity of the studied site, classifying it as “poor” or “rich”, based on some parameters of the System B of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EU). Its interpretation is also based on a five-scaled classification system, consistent with the provisions of the same Directive.     

Socio-economic factors influencing farmers’ willingness to undertake environmental responsibility

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Acknowledging the importance of water resources protection and sustainable management, the European Parliament enacted directives based on the...     

Perennial-like adaptation mechanisms of annual legumes to limited irrigation

The hydrodynamic behavior of two annual legumes (Trifolium angustifolium L. and Onobrychis caput-galli (L.) Lam.) under water shortage was studied in a rain shelter experiment. Seeds were collected from natural grasslands of northern Greece and were sown in pots. Two months after seedlings' emergence, full irrigation (up to field capacity) and limited irrigation (40% of field capacity) were applied. During the vegetative period the leaf water potential and the relative water content were measured at seven day intervals in both treatments. T. angustifolium retained the lowest values of psi both under full (-0.11 to -1.78 MPa) and limited irrigation (-0.16 to -2.90 MPa), while the highest values in both cases were those of O. caput-galli (-0.05 to -0.5 MPa). The results suggested that T. angustifolium was the species mostly affected by limited water supply. T. angustifolium seemed to display adaptation mechanisms to drought similar to those of perennial plants. O. caput-galli displayed a more isohydric behavior by not altering its water potential under limited irrigation.     

Glutathione S-transferase in the branchiopod<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Artemia salina</Emphasis>

The glutathione S-transferase enzyme system, which belongs in phase II of detoxification, has been studied in developmental stages of the branchiopod Artemia salina. The highest total activity and specific activity towards 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene was observed 48 h after hatching. The number of isoenzymes present in A. salina varies between three and four, depending on the developmental stage. The two major isoenzymes, with corresponding isoelectric points of 8.5 and 7.2, were present in all developmental stages, but at a varying rate: as the organism grew older, the alkaline isoenzyme was expressed at a higher rate. The kinetic and molecular characteristics of the enzyme were similar to those of other aquatic organisms. With regards to the kinetic characteristics, significant differences were observed between the two major isoenzymes, and, since the rate of their expression changes as the organism grows, the detoxification potential of the organism varies according to developmental stage.Communicated by O. Kinne, Oldendorf/Luhe