The ecological role of ponds in a changing world
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THE ROLE OF PONDS
The ecological role of ponds in a changing world Re´gis Ce´re´ghino • Dani Boix Henry-Michel Cauchie • Koen Martens • Beat Oertli
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Received: 14 October 2013 / Accepted: 19 October 2013 / Published online: 7 November 2013 Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013
Abstract The fifth conference of the European Pond Conservation Network (Luxembourg, June 2012) brought together researchers, environmental managers, and other stakeholders with the aim to share stateof-the-art knowledge on the ecology, management, and conservation of ponds in the context of the many challenges facing the wider water environment. Although well-known ecological patterns apply to most ponds in Europe and elsewhere, recent data highlight that part of the environmental variables governing pond biodiversity remain specific to climatic/biogeographic regions and to elevation ranges, suggesting that, in addition to common practice, management plans should include range-specific
Guest editors: R. Ce´re´ghino, D. Boix, H.-M. Cauchie, K. Martens & B. Oertli / Understanding the role of ponds in a changing world R. Ce´re´ghino (&) INP, UPS EcoLab (Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement), Universite´ de Toulouse, 31062 Toulouse, France e-mail: [email protected] R. Ce´re´ghino CNRS, EcoLab (UMR-CNRS 5245), 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse, France D. Boix Institut d’Ecologia Aqua`tica, Universitat de Girona (UdG), Girona, Campus Montilivi, 17071 Girona, Catalonia, Spain
measures. Beyond the contribution of individual ponds to the aquatic and terrestrial life, connected networks of ponds are vital in the provision of new climate space as a response to global climate change, by allowing the observed northward and/or upward movements of species. In terms of services, ponds offer sustainable solutions to key issues of water management and climate change such as nutrient retention, rainfall interception, or carbon sequestration. While the ecological role of ponds is now wellestablished, authoritative research-based advice remains needed to inform future direction in the conservation of small water bodies and to further bridge the gap between science and practice. Keywords Biological diversity Conservation Climate change Ecosystem services Freshwater ecology
H.-M. Cauchie Centre de Recherche Public Gabriel Lippman, 41, Rue du Brill, 4422 Belvaux, Luxembourg K. Martens Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Vautierstraat 29, 1000 Brussels, Belgium B. Oertli University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland, Hepia Lullier, 150 Route de Presinge, 1254 Jussy-Geneva, Switzerland
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Introduction Worldwide, ponds of both natural of human origin occur in all biogeographical regions, from desert to tundra pools in the Arctic Circle. Estimates suggest that there are 277,400,000 ponds less than 1 hectare in size, plus 24,120,000 water bodies ranging from 1 to 10 ha, thus representing over 90% of the global 304 millions standing waterbodies, or 30% of global standing water by surface area (Do
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