On a Limit of Perturbed Conservation Laws with Diffusion and Non-Positive Dispersion

We consider a conservation law perturbed by a linear diffusion and a general form of non-positive dispersion. We prove the convergence of the corresponding solution to the entropy weak solution of the hyperbolic conservation law.

Assessing the conservation status of Mediterranean temporary ponds using biodiversity: a new tool for practitioners

The assessment of the habitat condition is the first step of conservation actions and several tools are available to assess wetlands. However, only a few tools are adapted to the priority habitat Mediterranean temporary ponds. Thus, our objectives were (i) to identify biological indicators associated with the different conservation status of Mediterranean tem- porary ponds and (ii) to create an efficient evaluation tool for non-experts using indicators of conservation status. A total of 87 ponds were sampled in southwest Portugal to assess the presence of plants, large branchiopods, amphibians, threatened voles and bats. Ponds with favourable conservation status showed higher species richness of plants, large branchiopods and amphibians. We identified eighteen indicators for favourable ponds: 15 plants, one large branchiopod and two amphibian taxa. We propose a new tool to assess the conservation status of Mediterranean tem- porary ponds based on the presence of these indicators. This tool is an alternative to other common, but time- consuming, methods and can be readily used by trained practitioners. The replication and adaptation of this tool to other regions and habitats enables the collection of comparable data and the geographical scaling-up of the assessments.

Assessing the conservation status of Mediterranean temporary ponds using biodiversity: a new tool for practitioners

The assessment of the habitat condition is the first step of conservation actions and several tools are available to assess wetlands. However, only a few tools are adapted to the priority habitat Mediterranean temporary ponds. Thus, our objectives were (i) to identify biological indicators associated with the different conservation status of Mediterranean temporary ponds and (ii) to create an efficient evaluation tool for non-experts using indicators of conservation status. A total of 87 ponds were sampled in southwest Portugal to assess the presence of plants, large branchiopods, amphibians, threatened voles and bats. Ponds with favourable conservation status showed higher species richness of plants, large branchiopods and amphibians. We identified eighteen indicators for favourable ponds: 15 plants, one large branchiopod and two amphibian taxa. We propose a new tool to assess the conservation status of Mediterranean temporary ponds based on the presence of these indicators. This tool is an alternative to other common, but time consuming, methods and can be readily used by trained practitioners. The replication and adaptation of this tool to other regions and habitats enables the collection of comparable data and the geographical scaling-up of the assessments.

Vegetation series as a basis for habitats and species conservation: methodological aspects

Vegetation series, defined as the sequence of stages in a sucession, and know as sigmetum (synassociation), describes the set of plant communities or stages that can be found in similar tesselar spaces as a result of the sucession process. This establishes the concept of vegetation series; a climatophilous series is one that depends on the climate, whereas an edaphoxerophilous series depends on the dryness of the soil, and is found on crests, spurs, ledges and limestone and siliceous rock fields. Edaphohygrophilous series are located in valleys, dry water courses and river terraces, and depend on the water present in the soil, which may become temporarily flooded and thus condition the temporihygrophilous series; they represent the transition between the clearly edaphohygrophilous and climatophilous series. The vegetation permaseries represents the perennial communities of permatesselae or similar permatesselar complexes, as occurs in polar territories, hyperdesert, high-mountain peaks, and non-stratified communities lacking in serial communities. The edaphoxerophilous series may include -in addition to the series head- permaseries (permanent communities) and other habitats, such as annual and crevice habitats. A territory behaves undergoes soil-loss phenomena it may become an edaphoseries, if the loss of the soil factor produces a situation of rocky crest. Thus the edaphoseries may act as dynamic transitional stage between the climatophilous series and the permaseries.

Non perennial Mediterranean Rivers in Europe: Status, pressurs, and challanges for research and management

Non-perennial rivers and streams (NPRS) cover >50% of the global river network. They are particularly predominant in Mediterranean Europe as a result of dry climate conditions, climate change and land use development. Historically, both scientists and policy makers underestimated the importance of NRPS for nature and humans alike, mainly because they have been considered as systems of low ecological and economic value. During the past decades, diminishing water resources have increased the spatial and temporal extent of artificial NPRS as well as their exposure to multiple stressors, which threatening their ecological integrity, biodiversity and ecosystem services. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive overview of the structural and functional characteristics of NPRS in the European Mediterranean, and discuss gaps and problems in their management, concerning their typology, ecological assessment, legislative and policy protection, and incorporation in River Basin Management Plans. Because NPRS comprise highly unstable ecosystems, with strong and often unpredictable temporal and spatial variability - at least as far as it is possible to assess - we outline the future research needs required to better understand, manage and conserve them as highly valuable and sensitive ecosystems. Efficient collaborative activities among multidisciplinary research groups aiming to create innovative knowledge, water managers and policy makers are urgently needed in order to establish an appropriate methodological and legislative background. The incorporation of NPRS in EU-Med River Basin Management Plans in combination with the application of ecological flows is a first step towards enhancing NPRS management and conservation in order to effectively safeguard these highly valuable albeit threatened ecosystems