Life Canal de Castilla Bulletin nº7 may of 2010 LIFE CANAL DE CASTILLA BULLETIN Regular Newsletter of the LIFE- Nature project: Wetland Restoration and Management: Canal de Castilla Special Protection Area Editorial nº7 May of 2010 he countdown to the end of the LIFE Canal de Castilla project has already started. Four years of illusions and Thard-work will culminate next September. We have had many experiences, both good and bad and with greater or less success, which will function as an example for future integrated management of the wetlands related to the Canal de Castilla. CANAL DE CASTILLA Content Water framework directive pag 2 News pag 3 Freshwater insects pag 4 Agenda pag 6 From the pages of this bulletin we want to thank the collaboration of those who have participated directly or not in the development of this project. Without their help this project wouldn't have got over all difficulties. It is also important to remember all the entities which have collaborated on it as partners or financial backers like the Duero Hydrographic Confederation, the Natural Heritage Foundation of Castilla y León, Palencia's Provincial Government, the Biodiversity Foundation, LAR's Group, the benevolent funds of Caixa Catalunya and Caja Circulo, Caja Navarra Foundation, and L oreal y Unilever's Group. Thanks to you all! Page 1 of 6
Life Canal de Castilla Bulletin nº7 mayo of 2010 ater is crucial for life and many financial sectors depend on this Wresource. Water is submitted to more and more pressures in Europe because of pollution and the increasing need of water of good quality. In 2000 the European Union has established a common framework for water protection and management through the Water Framework Directive (WFD: Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council) with the aim of standardizing all European Union's water management actions. What are the Directive aims? The Framework Directive creates a legal framework for the definition and analyses of European water among river basins and hydrographic demarcations, as well as the adoption of management plans LIFE and the Directive Water Framework Directive and programs with suitable measures for each water body. By 2015, Member States are to achieve "good ecological status" for all European water and the sustainable usage of water in all Europe. Three key elements have Huebra river, Salamanca been fixed to achieve such aims: Protect all water rivers, lakes, coastal and ground water. Set up suitable management in each hydrographic basin with transboundary coordination. LIFE program has supported the WFD implementation in several environmental policies of the European Union countries. Since the beginning of this program in 1992 a percentage of 11% of the projects of LIFE Environment have been related to water and 47% of these aimed the reduction of eutrophication in continental and coastal water bodies one of the most important problems affecting the several continental water bodies in Europe nowadays. You can download the publication Water for life LIFE for Water, about water matters and LIFE program at the following link: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/publications/lifepublications/lifefocus/documents/wa terlife.pdf (-6,8 MB). Assure the active participation of all Member States in water management activities. Wetlands and the Directive Wetlands are under the protection of WFD according to the definition given to continental water by the Directive although there isn't any specific definition for them. Also the way to achieve the environmental goals proposed by the WFD is not clearly established. WFD goes for the quality of water ecosystems by means of attaining a good ecological condition to achieve these goals. A good ecological condition is defined as: an expression of the quality of the structure and operation of water ecosystems related to surface water, classified according to the Annex V. Page 2 of 6
Life Canal de Castilla Bulletin nº7 mayo of 2010 NEWS poisoned marsh harrier Illegal use of poison During April 2009 several dead specimens of Marsh Harrier were collected in one of the Canal de Castilla plots. After getting the report from the Wildlife forensic Laboratory, the ecotoxicologic reports manifested that the death had been produced by poisoning. Furthermore, Potamogeton, a male Marsh Harrier that carried a GPS transmitter was found dead in the Nature Reserve of the Villafáfila lagoons in Zamora. The toxicological reports are waited to confirm its dead by illegal use of poisoned feed. These facts represent a serious problem for this species conservation in the Canal de Castilla Ponds, which are home to one of the biggest populations of this species in Castilla y León. You can t please everybody Winter 2009-2010 has worked out to be very wet to extremely wet in most of the national territory, so that the average precipitation was of about 400 mm the double of the average value and it is considered the third rainiest year since 1947, after 1978-79 and 1995-96. The heavy rain has permitted the more than seventy wetlands related to the Canal de Castilla to register maximum flood levels, recovering in many cases its original extension. This is a very positive phenomenon for these aquatic systems since their main threat is the water shortage due to hard changes on the watercourses which fed them and due to several attempts of drainage to obtain cultivable land. Inform to conserve Bú, the bittern. The LIFE Canal de Castilla project's informative book and the teacher's booklet are available since the beginning of the school year. This informative resource is being used as an interpretative element for the students from the several educational centres receiving the travellingexhibition. Habitat s restoration During last February the works of hydrological restoration, reforestation and vegetation use were finished. 54,524 trees and bushes were planted and they will represent 9,845 linear metres of hedges around the lagoons. Furthermore eight water inlets have been made and will endorse an appropriate management of the water levels of the Ponds. 203 ha of vegetable matter were handled at ten ponds of the Canal de Castilla. Breeding pair census During 2009 the works of the most emblematic breeding species at the Canal de Castilla Ponds were continued. 0-2 pairs of Purple Herons (Ardea purpurea) as well as 34 pairs of March Harrier (Circus aeruginosus) were estimated. By-pass Page 3 of 6
Life Canal de Castilla Bulletin nº7 may of 2010 The Others ; The Canal de Castilla freshwater insects. Introduction ater systems are environments of big singularity because of Wits environmental conditions, the processes related to their function and the organisms which occupy them many of them with a great geographical and conservation interest. The presence of certain species of fauna and flora at the wetlands represent the habitat's ecological quality. At the wetlands the presence of several species of invertebrates indicates good quality of the water and, in general, the ecosystem's good condition of conservation and naturalness. Among the arthropods, the study of aquatic insects has assumed a great importance in the last years, mainly because of the possibility of using this group as biological indicators of water quality. Furthermore, the importance of this faunistic group in the analysis and decision of the aquatic systems quality boosted even more with the implementation of the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/CE, which establishes that the biological indicators will determine a water body ecological condition in the last analysis. Among the most common groups of insects which live in aquatic systems, two big groups of aquatic insects can be distinguished: those who live almost all their life in the water (some aquatic beetles and bedbugs families although some organisms have aquatic juvenile and terrestrial adults forms and vice versa also in these groups) and those who spend a stage of their life in the water (generally during the juvenile stage of larva or nymph) and the other in the land (usually as an adult or at the breeding time) but related to water bodies since they have to deposit their eggs in these environments or around them. This is the usual case in groups like the Dragonflies and Damselflies, the mayflies, the alderflies, the stoneflies, the caddisflies and many mosquitoes; and also in some net winged insects like the osmylids and the spongeflies, wasps like those of the Agryotipus genus, parasitic larvae of aquatic insects, and some butterflies like the snout moths. Water beetles Diving beetles Beetles form a group which represents living creatures' diversity; a third of the species described until now belong to this insects' order. Nowadays 18,000 species of aquatic beetles are described, from which 1,000 were located in Europe and 600 live in the Iberian Peninsula, representing 20% of the endemisms present among the Iberian fauna. Coleopterans constitute a group of great interest and biological importance since they are very useful to determine the habitats' conservation condition level. They represent one of the most traditionally groups used as indicators of those habitats' water quality because they occupy all kind and size of continental water and because of the great number of species that they present. The predaceous water beetles are, for example, used as indicators of water oxygenation and its ph. The Canal de Castilla Ponds have a great variety of aquatic beetles because of their geographical location and of their environmental conditions mainly its temporality. 92 species divided into 12 families have been catalogued in a study made by researchers of the University of León. Among them the presence of two endemic species of the Dytiscidae family stands Page 4 of 6
Life Canal de Castilla Bulletin nº 7 may of 2010 out: one very typical at the peninsular centre but nevertheless not so common: Graptodytes castilianus; and other endemic species recently denominated Stictotarsus ibericus. Also the presence of Hydraena rugosa is interesting because it is spread all around the Peninsula but it cannot be watched so often and usually indicates temporal environments. Almost all big peninsular coleopterans are found here: the three Dystiscus genus species (D. circumflexus, D. marginalis and D. semisulcatus) Cybister lateralimarginalis, Hydrophilus pistaceus and Hydrochara flavipes. Dragonflies and Damselflies Dragonflies and Damselflies are mainly tropical or subtropical insects, that is to say they present maximum diversity in these areas. 138 species, from the almost 5,600 recognized around the world, live in Europe and 82 have been quoted in Spain. The Odonata are one of the best known groups of insects for the study and conservation of aquatic environments due to their abundance, diversity, interest in conservation and their ecological demands. Their value as indicators of biodiversity and conservation condition of the habitat where they live is very well documented and some families like the Coenagrionidae have inclusively been proposed as the best indicator taxon for invertebrates' biodiversity at wetlands. At the present time there isn't any catalogue about the Odonata present at the Canal de Castilla and its related ponds. Nevertheless, the presence of species which require priority conservation in Europe has Narrow winged damselflies been detected here. Such was the case of the Coenagrion mercuriale or isolated cases like the Sympetrum meridionale and Sympetrum sanguineum. The Southern Damselfly (Coenagrion mercuriale) is an Atlantic-Mediterreanean species which uses Spain, France and Italy as its central distribution area. At the present time we are observing a regressive tendency of the species, which is considered as vulnerable all through its distribution area. It is present at the whole Peninsula, inhabiting sunny running water of small dimensions, and with well developed emerging vegetation. It has also been observed at permanent stagnant water which is euthrophic, sunny, large and with well developed aquatic vegetation. The flying period goes from the beginning of May to the end of September, although the presence of some quotes in April and November. It is largely spread in Spain, nevertheless it is not so usual or it is very rare in the rest of Europe, and it is therefore catalogued in the following agreements: Annex II of the Berne Agreement (strictly protected species), Annex II Habitat's Directive (animal species of communitarian interest which requires special conservation areas for its conservation). It is the only damselfly included in the Spanish legislation inside the National Catalogue of Endangered Species as species of special interest in Spain. Threats and conservation The changes produced by agricultural intensification in the last decades have derived into the main threats for this species. The drainage and the ploughing of the trays as to incorporate them to the cultivable land, as well as the pollution provoked by farming waste which provokes an increase of the euthrophication and reduces in medium-term the community of aquatic macro-invertebrates, simplifying it. This may affect negatively the rest of vertebrates which occupy this environment and which fundamental feeding proceeds from these organisms. According to the last edition of the Red List of Endangered Species of the UICN, made at the request of the European Commission, 14% of the Dragonflies and Damselflies are endangered in Europe. Page 5 of 6
Life Canal de Castilla Bulletin nº7 may of 2010 Agenda Final conference th th From May 11 to 13 several European conferences about the Aquatic Warbler conservation will be held at the National Park of Bierza, Poland, within the framework of the LIFE project Wodnizkca (LIFE05NAT/PL/010001), which was set up in 2006. At these conferences several experts from Europe are going to share experiences about the conservation and study of this marsh passeriforme species and the results and experiences achieved during this project's process are going to be presented. More information about this project and the conferences at the project's webpage: http://www.wodniczka.pl/ LIFE Nature and biodiversity - preparing the future The conference LIFE Nature and Biodiversity preparing the future, which was organized by the LIFE Unit, will be celebrated just before the beginning of the Green Week of the European st Union between May 31 and st June 1, 2010.Tthe Commission will be seeking to clarify what the needs, the gaps and the constraints are in this field, as well as what our expectations are regarding possible LIFE+ Biodiversity projects More information at: http://www.astrale.org/l IFE-biodiversityconference.html European Green Week This year the European Green Week will deal with biodiversity and nature condition in Europe and in the world. The benefits they bring, the current pressures and the potential solutions for the present loss taxes will be discussed as well. The way which the European Union policies must follow, the financial dimension of biodiversity, ecosystems services and Natura 2000 network will be analyzed. The Green Week will be a sole opportunity for the exchange of experiences and good practice in relation to biodiversity. st It will take place from June 1 to th 4. More information at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ greenweek/ The LIFE Canal de Castilla Bulletin is part of the awareness raising and information dissemination actions of the project LIFE06 NAT/000213 Wetland Restoration and Management: Canal de Castilla Special Protection Area, Fundación Global Nature is the project beneiciary and Confederación Hidrográfica del Duero, Fundación Patrimonio Natural y Diputación Provincial de Palencia participate as partners and co-financers. The European Commision provides 40 % of project co-financing. Publication and desing: Fundación Global Nature Photography: FGN http://www.lifecanaldecastilla.org/ Free distribution 2010 Fundación Global Nature MORE INFORMATION CONTACT ADDRESS: Corro Postigo 1, 34337 Fuentes de Nava Palencia. España Tél: 00 34 979 842 398 Fax: 00 34 979 842 399 Mail: lanava@fundacionglobalnature.org Page 6 of 6