The vascular flora ecological diversity in the mid-field woodlots situated on the agricultural outskirts of Wrocław

The paper presents an analysis of the ecological requirements and sociological-ecological relations of 403 species of vascular plants recorded in 82 mid-field woodlots located among crop fields in the agricultural outskirts of Wrocław. The aim of the research and analyses was to determine what is the species composition of these woodlots and whether they are ecologically more similar to those situated in environment of farmlands or urban wastelands. The authors assumed the latter. It was found that the mid-­ -field woodlots occupied less than 1% of arable land and were located exclusively in close proximity to the city’s administrative borders, and more than half of them were related to the hydrographic network of the area. Their flora, in general assessment, shows a great variety in terms of water requirements and has the features of woodlots described from typically agricultural areas. This applies to the dominance of forest, shrub and meadow species with a constant, usually not exceeding 20%, share of ruderal plants and a small number of weeds in crops. Thus, the assumption that the flora of the studied woodlots will show signs of ruderalization to a large extent has not been confirmed. 72% of species occurred in no more than 10 objects, which shows that the described ecological diversity of the flora studied is based on single or few locations. The most frequent species were nitrophilic and in over 50% they represented a group of shrub communities. The list of the species recorded with estimation of their frequency is provided.

Approaches to Visibility and Strategical Control of the Sierra Harana Schematic Rock Art (Granada, Spain)

An approach about territorial control and mobility in Sierra Harana (Granada, Spain) during Late Prehistory is presented in this paper, according to rock shelters with schematic rock art distribution. Different aspects have been analysed by using tools provided by Geographic Information Systems (GIS): the relationship between rock shelters and hydrographic network and water springs, and, mainly, their visual control. The association between rock shelters with schematic rock art and burial caves use during the Neolithic period is observed in the study area. A strong link between rock shelters and traditional pathways is also attested. These facts can be read as a way to mark symbolically certain routes that could be aimed to short transhumance practice.

Modelling a Severe Transient Anoxia of Continental Freshwaters due to a Scheldt Accidental Release (Sugar Industry)

Most anthropogenic pollution can be controlled, such as domestic and industrial releases, loads from agriculture, etc. However, some of them, which are associated to illegal discharges, industrial accidents, etc., are more difficult to forecast. This study was performed on the Tereos sugar industry accident that occurred during the night of 9 April 2020, when 88,000 cubic meters of effluents loaded with organic matter discharged in the Scheldt River (a 350 km long transnational river that flows through Northern France and Western Belgium). The accident had dramatic consequences on the receiving watercourse, over 120 km downstream. Fish mortalities have been observed and severe deoxygenation, reaching zero concentration in dissolved oxygen, have impacted river chemical quality. The objective was to understand and describe the dynamics of the chemical pollution and its propagation along the transboundary hydrographic network of the Scheldt. A method based on the processes of organic matter degradation in the river ecosystem was enhanced. It is demonstrated that the accident is doubtless the cause of the water column deoxygenation. This paper shows how the water quality modelling can help to understand and therefore to prevent the consequences of accidental pollution on a river network.

Biodiversity of a boreal mire, including its hydrographic network (Shichengskoe mire, north-western Russia)

The paper is based on the dataset whose purpose was to deliver, in the form of GBIF-mediated data, diverse materials on the biodiversity of a large mire, Shichengskoe mire (Vologda Region, north-western Russia), including its various mire sites and intra-mire water bodies. The dataset was based on our materials collected for two decades (from 2000 to 2021) in different parts and biotopes of the Shichengskoe mire and complemented by scarce data obtained previously by other researchers. The data contain materials on the diversity of Animalia (2886 occurrences), Bacteria (22), Chromista (256), Fungi (111), Plantae (2463) and Protozoa (131). Within the study period, the most detailed and long-term biodiversity studies were carried out for higher plants and invertebrates. On the other hand, the data on the composition of lichens, protozoa, algae, basidiomycetes, some groups of invertebrates and, to a lesser extent, lichens and vertebrates are far less comprehensive and require further substantial research efforts. The list includes occurrences from both the peatland (mire sites and mire margins different in typology) and the objects of the mire hydrographic network. In a standardised form, this article summarises both already published (mainly in Russian) and unpublished materials. The paper summarises the results of long-term research on the biodiversity of a boreal mire, including its hydrographic network. A total of 5869 occurrences were included in the dataset published in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF, gbif.org) for the first time. According to the GBIF taxonomic backbone, the dataset covers 1358 taxa, including 1250 lower-rank taxa (species, subspecies, varieties, forms) and 108 taxa identified to the genus level. Several species found in the Shichengskoe mire, mainly belonging to Bacteria, Chromista and Protozoa, have never been listed in GBIF for the territory of Russia before. The overwhelming majority of occurrences and identified species came from the territory of Shichengskiy Landscape Reserve. Due to our work, this Reserve is now the most studied regional reserve in the Vologda Region with respect to biodiversity. By the number of revealed species, it is close to two federal protected areas: Darwinskiy State Nature Biospheric Reserve and National Park "Russkiy Sever".

Hydro-Morphological Assessment of Dittaino River, Eastern Sicily, Italy

The present conditions of the Dittaino River were investigated by using tools addressing different components of the IDRAIM (stream hydro-morphological evaluation, analysis, and monitoring system) procedure. After the segmentation of the river, the Morphological Quality Index (MQI) and the Morphological Dynamic Index (MDI) were assessed to analyze its morphological quality and to classify the degree of channel dynamics related to progressive changes occurring in the relative long-term (i.e., 50–100 years), respectively. The results show that 45% and 22% of the analyzed reaches (mainly located in highest zones of the hydrographic network) were, respectively, of high and good quality. The MQI class decreased to good and then to moderate in the downstream direction, and two reaches were of poor class. The highest MDI classes were also mainly identified in the highest zones of the hydrographic network. Some limitations (i.e., the elevated number of indicators, as well as their simplification) and strengths (i.e., the easy applicability to a large number of reaches) were identified during the application of the MQI method to the Dittaino River.

Changes in the Water Resources of Selected Lakes in Poland in the Period 1916–2020 as Information to Increase Their Availability

The historical effects of land development on water management currently require a new approach, in many cases involving attempts at the restoration of the quasi-natural state. This is evident in reference to many regions in Poland, where the hydrographic network has been diminishing over the centuries, among others in favour of obtaining new agricultural land. Such activities overlap with natural processes causing transformations of the hydrosphere. The most serious problems currently include water deficits resulting from climate change and human activity. This paper employed archival bathymetric maps from the beginning of the 20th century for the determination of the scale of changes in the morphometric parameters of six lakes in western Poland. It was determined that over a period of more than a hundred years, the surface area (12.2%) and original volume of water bodies (13.9%) were largely reduced. This situation was caused by both natural (overgrowing and shallowing) and anthropogenic (change in water level) factors. The obtained information points to the need of an inventory of historical bathymetric maps of lakes. In combination with modern research, this will allow for the determination of changes in the water resources of lakes and, in a longer-term perspective, potential possibilities of their renaturisation. This knowledge is important in the context of the reconstruction of water resources in the territory of Poland, where their deficits are recorded increasingly frequently. It should also be emphasised that the restoration of the natural capacity of water retention in lakes is a more economical solution and, most importantly, it is not invasive for the environment.

The Impact of Exploiting Lignite in Lupoaia Open Pit on Environmental Water

The impact of extracting lignite in Lupoaia open pit over waters is local and regional, and temporary. The hydrographic network in Lupoaia open pit depends on River Motru, with its afluents, Ploștina and Lupoița Valley Rivers. The aquifers are to be found in the coal layers V-XII, mainly of sands formation. The impact over water in Lupoaia consists of water pollution and of changes in both the quality and the quantity of ground and surface waters. The surface waters are polluted resulting in industrial wastewaters, household wastewaters and waste rainwater. The wastewater is polluted within maximum admitted limits. The quality of groundwaters is influenced and modified by extracting coal resulting in the extinction of some aquifers. Environmental risks that can occur when extracting lignite are water floods, landslides, disasters which can be prevented by building guard channels around the open pit. The actions for reducing the impact are, in general, accomplished through monitoring both the water pollutants and the morphological changes caused by extracting lignite. That is why wastewater treatment plants must function. The impact of the activity in Lupoaia open pit over the hydrographic net of the area is to be observed during the entire extracting period, and monitoring this activity is highly demanded by the European environmental protection laws.

OpenHiGis: A national geographic database for inland waters of Greece based on the INSPIRE Directive Hydrology Theme

<p>The Open Hydrosystem Information Network (OpenHi.net) is an information infrastructure for the collection, management and dissemination of hydrologic information related to inland waters in Greece. The OpenHi.net is under development in the context of HIMIOFoTS, a national infrastructure integrating both marine and inland waters. OpenHi.net is mainly oriented to collect and manage river and lake stage data. Geographic data are essential to link stage data with the upstream basin’s hydrologic characteristics. The OpenHiGis is the GIS component of the OpenHi.net platform. The geographic database design and implementation are based on the Hydrography Theme specified by the INSPIRE Directive. The main goal is to collect, query, analyze, and offer web services relevant to hydrologic - geographic information for hydrographic network, lakes and reservoirs, river basins, drainage basins and station basins at a national level. In this sense, data stored for (a) hydrographic network (geometry, length, segment’s slope, geographical name and stream order), (b) lakes and reservoirs (geometry, area, elevation and geographical name) , and (c) basins (geometry, area, elevation, slope, basin order, main watercourse length and slope, runoff Curve Number.</p><p>The European Digital Elevation Model (Copernicus, EU-DEM version 1.1) with spatial resolution of 25 m, is selected (after examining a few well-known elevation models) for extracting hypsometric information, which is basic for river basin’s response. Other main data sources found and used are the: (a) hydrographic network, lakes and reservoirs from the implementation of EU 2000/60/EC Directive, (b) hydrographic network from EU 2007/60/EC Directive and (c) OpenStreetMap publically available hydrographic network and river networks from various scanned maps at scales approximately 1:50 k.</p><p>The ArcGIS Model Builder environment is used as the main spatial analysis tool. Several models are created to run the geographic processes and perform calculations (create INSPIRE compliant geodatabase, data import from various sources, watercourse extraction from DEM and hydrographic network definition, river basins delineation and geomorphologic attributes calculation, watercourse naming, topology creation and validation). The extraction of a primary (before editing) watercourse line is achieved by using the EU-DEM, applying  an upslope contribution area threshold equal to 10 km<sup>2</sup>, which is proposed by the EU 2000/60/EC Directive. Spatial relationships between features are defined using topological rules. All the modeling procedures and the output datasets are considered to be at a scale 1:50 k.</p><p>The QGIS software is used to perform the final editing by using OSM’s, ESRI’s, Google’s and Bing’s base-maps. Furthermore, QGIS is used to make a connection to the ArcGIS geodatabase and transfer the data to PostGIS (Postgres). Finally, the MapServer software is used for publishing the data to the web. Two services, the Web Map Service (WMS) and the Web Feature Service (WFS), are provided to the user to access, query or download the geographic data through the OpenHi.net platform.</p>

Geostatistical Analysis of the Spatial Correlation between Territorial Anthropization and Flooding Vulnerability: Application to the DANA Phenomenon in a Mediterranean Watershed

Climate change is making intense DANA (depresión aislada en niveles altos) type rains a more frequent phenomenon in Mediterranean basins. This trend, combined with the transformation of the territory derived from diffuse anthropization processes, has created an explosive cocktail for many coastal towns due to flooding events. To evaluate this problem and the impact of its main guiding parameters, a geostatistical analysis of the territory based on GIS indicators and an NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) analysis is developed. The assessment of the validity of a proposed methodology is applied to the case study of the Campo de Cartagena watershed located around the Mar Menor, a Mediterranean coastal lagoon in Southeastern Spain. This area has suffered three catastrophic floods derived from the DANA phenomenon between 2016 and 2019. The results show that apart from the effects derived from climate change, the real issue that amplifies the damage caused by floods is the diffuse anthropization process in the area, which has caused the loss of the natural hydrographic network that traditionally existed in the basin.