MANAGING THE EFFECTS OF
MULTIPLE STRESSORS ON
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS WITH
WATER SCARCITY
The research leading to GLOBAQUA has received funding from the
European Union’s Seventh Programme under grant agreement No 603629
BACKGROUND
Currently freshwater systems are under threat from a variety of stressors, such as organic and inorganic pollution, geomorphological alterations, land cover change, water abstraction, invasive species and
patho-gens. The interaction between stressors can result in complex
effects on organisms and ecosystems, with implications for water
bodies’ eco¬logical status and their ecosystem services.
Persistent stressors such as water scarcity can limit biodiversity
and economic activities in entire regions. In addition, water scarcity
can drive the effects of other stressors acting on river ecosystems,
lead¬ing to intermittency in water flow, and also have implications on
hydro¬logic connectivity, negative side effects on biodiversity, water
quality, and ecosystem functioning. The combination of a number of
stressors (chemical, geomorphological, biological) in a situation of
water scar¬city may produce novel and unfamiliar synergies and may
well have very pronounced effects.
This is the rationale behind the EU-funded project GLOBAQUA (Managing the effects of multiple stressors on aquatic ecosystems suffering
from water scarcity). GLOBAQUA aims to identify the prevalence of,
and interac¬tion between, stressors under water scarcity in order to
improve knowledge of relationships between multiple stressors and to
improve water management practices and policies.
The project received funds under the Theme FP7- ENV.2013.6.21 ‘Water resources management under complex, multi-stressor
condi¬tions’.
SPECIFIC GOALS
GLOBAQUA aims to improve the scientific knowledge regarding the
rela¬tionships between multiple stressors so as to identify potentially
synergistic linkages, and to assess how these interactions determine
changes in the chemical and ecological status of water bodies. Special attention will be given to the role of water scarcity and to the relationships between biota and stressors in this condition. An integrative
approach to effects on water quality, organisms and eco¬systems
function and services will be used. Moreover, GLOBAQUA aims to
estab¬lish cause-effect relationships between multiple levels through
the use of inte¬grative modelling. The alteration of ecosystem services related to the effects on socio-economic development will also
be investigated.
GLOBAQUA will contribute to improving water management practices
and policies by taking into account the influence of multiple stressors.
An analysis of current poli¬cies will be carried out as well as the definition of scenarios of alternative management prac¬tices and policies
(e.g.: the EU Water Framework Directive (2000/60/ EC) and other
related regulations).
EXPECTED IMPACTS
• Better understanding of the relationships between multiple
stressors and their impacts on organisms and ecosystems
• Definition of how multiple stressors under water scarcity determine changes in the chemical and ecological status of several
basins, and implications for water management practices and
policies within the EU Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC)
and other related regu¬lations
APPROACH
The project will last five years, from February 2014 to January
2019. GLOBAQUA will focus on six case-study river basins, which
encom¬pass a rich set of socio-ecological conditions (mountainous
areas, highly populated regions, agricultural and industrial areas), and
a wide geographic coverage.
Two of the basins are located in the Mediterranean European region
(Ebro - Spain and Evrotas - Greece), and one basin in North Africa
(Souss Massa - Morocco). One continental basin (Sava – Slovenia,
Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia), one Alpine basin (Adige
- Italy) and one UK river basin (Anglian River - UK) provide further
out¬look on the implications between multiple stressors and water
quality and quantity. In some of the basins (Adige, Sava and Evrotas)
extensive fieldwork will serve to collect information, while in Anglian,
Ebro and Souss Massa the existing data will be used to evaluate different management scenarios. Field work will be complemented with
manipulative field experiments and indoor experimental approaches
using artificial channels.
GLOBAQUA is organised through highly integrated WPs grouped in
five main Modules:
The STRESSORS module aims to understand the mechanisms behind the multiple stressors acting in each case study. It will involve:
• the collection of existing data from basin authorities and previous
research projects, as well as the experimental data generated
within the project
• the creation of climatic, socioeconomic and land-use scenarios
for impact modelling
• the analysis of surface and groundwater hydrological patterns,
sediment and pollutant transport, quality of the physical habitat
and the fate of inorganic and organic pollutants
The RECEPTORS module will analyse the effects of the stressors on
biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Research will be based on:
• manipulative laboratory experiments using artificial streams
• each-scale measurements
• basin-scale surveys
The IMPLICATIONS module will focus on:
• relating changes in stressors to those in diversity and ecosystem
functioning, and in ecosystem services
• characterizing the socio-economic setting of case-study basins
• defining the impact of water scarcity on ecosystem services in
economic terms
The ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT module will define the
impact of multiple stressors on water quality, quantity, and ecosystems, and the potential implementation of major findings on European
policy. In particular it will:
• develop a model framework to assess scenarios affecting availability, quality and demand for water on a European scale
• define the implications of the stressors interactions for European
policy
The DISSEMINATION module will guarantee:
• communication of the results to researchers, policy makers, water managers, and land planners
• training programs for different end-users
• co-operation with stakeholders and scientific panels.
STRESSORS
THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
POLLUTANTS
GLOBAL CHANGE
PHYSICAL HABITAT
ALTERATION
BIOLOGICAL ELEMENTS
ECOSYSTEM
FUNCTIONING
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY
EFFECTS ON HUMAN
WELLBEING
PRIORITIZATION OF
STRESSOR IMPACT
MANAGEMENT
LAND USE
WATER
POLICIES
WATER SCARCITY
MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
RECEPTORS
PATHOGENS AND
INVASIVE SPECIES
GLOBAQUA TARGET BASINS
EBRO
SOUSS MASSA
CONSORTIUM
BELGIUM/ITALY
JRC - Joint Research Centre - European
Commission
CANADA
INRS - Institut National de la Recherche
Scientifique
GERMANY
LMU - Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen
EKUT - Eberhard Karls Universitaet
Tuebingen
UFZ - Helmholtz Zentrum Fuer Umweltforschung
SPAIN
CSIC - Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas
UB - Universitat de Barcelona
ICRA - Fundacio Institut Catala de Recerca de l’aigua
UPV/EHU - Universidad del Pais Vasco
FRANCE
CNRS - Centre National de da Recherche
Scientifique
GREECE
HCMR - Hellenic Centre for Marine Research
ATHENA - Athena Research and Innovation Center in Information Communication
& Knowledge Technologies
ANGLIAN
ADIGE
SAVA
EVROTAS
ITALY
AEIFORIA srl
UNIPD - Universita degli Studi Di Padova
UNITN - Universita degli Studi Di Trento
MOROCCO
IAVCHA - Institut Agronomique et Veterinaire Hassan II
NETHERLANDS
ALTERRA - Stichting Dienst Landbouwkundig Onderzoek
TNO - Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek
WU - Wageningen University
SERBIA
IBISS - Institut za Bioloska Istrazivanja
SLOVENIA
JSI - Institut Jozef Stefan
SWEDEN
SMHI - Sveriges Meteorologiska och Hydrologiska Institut
UNITED KINGDOM
IMPERIAL - Imperial College of Science,
Technology And Medicine
Contact information
Project Coordinator
Prof. Damià Barceló, CSIC [email protected]
Project Deputy Coordinators
Dr. Alícia Navarro, CSIC [email protected]
Laia Sabater, CSIC [email protected]
www.globaqua-project.eu