article · Hydrogeology Journal
Karst groundwater-dependent ecosystems across the Mediterranean region, including caves, springs, wetlands and rivers, provide essential ecosystem services and sustain regional biodiversity. An assessment of 112 selected sites reveals that the unique combination of varied karst landscapes and emerging groundwater creates critical habitats, especially in arid climates where these areas serve as vital refuges for vulnerable species. However, these environments face severe pressures from human activities such as mass tourism and overfishing, alongside water shortages driven by aquifer over-extraction and climate change. Water quality deterioration is also widespread. Although the majority of these ecosystems hold formal protection status, existing conservation strategies are frequently inadequate. Management shortcomings typically stem from sparse environmental data, limited understanding of invertebrate conservation needs, and conflicting local interests, pointing to a clear requirement for integrated monitoring of water resources and biological communities.
Groundwater-dependent ecosystems in arid Mediterranean regions act as vital life-support systems, sustaining unique wildlife that cannot survive elsewhere. When groundwater is over-extracted or polluted, entire regional ecosystems are jeopardised. Recognising that formal protection status alone does not guarantee safety helps policymakers and resource managers address the underlying data gaps, local community conflicts, and management failures currently compromising these critical water and ecological reserves.
The abstract does not indicate an immediate commercial application pathway or product development, reflecting early-stage baseline environmental research. The findings primarily inform environmental regulators, conservation agencies, and water resource authorities. The identified need for interdisciplinary monitoring of water quality, volume, and biological health could potentially direct future demand for specialised ecohydrological monitoring tools, data platforms, or environmental consultancy services focused on karst catchment management.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
Abstract Karst groundwater-dependent ecosystems (KGDEs) in the Mediterranean region are important in terms of ecosystem services and biodiversity but are increasingly under anthropogenic pressures and climate-change constraints. For this study, the ecohydrological characteristics, threats, and protection status of 112 selected KGDEs around the Mediterranean Sea, including caves, springs, rivers and wetlands, were evaluated, based on local expert knowledge and scientific literature. Results demonstrate that KGDEs contribute considerably to regional biodiversity. The diversity of karst landscapes, combined with the groundwater emergence at springs, leads to exceptional habitat diversity, particularly in arid climates, where KGDEs serve as a refuge for species that could not thrive in the surrounding environment. The most common threats identified among the selected sites are direct human disturbances, such as mass tourism or overfishing, water-quality deterioration and water shortage from aquifer overdraft and/or climate change. Although most of the selected sites are under protection, conservation measures are frequently insufficient. Such shortcomings are often caused by poor data availability, little knowledge on conservation needs of invertebrate species, and conflicts of interest with the local population. For this purpose, it is necessary to raise environmental awareness and promote interdisciplinary research, in order to monitor water quality and quantity in addition to the status of the biocenoses.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.1007/s10040-023-02711-9
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
