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Stressors in Mediterranean River Basins under water scarcity
Journal of Hazardous Materials 263P (2013) 93–94
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Hazardous Materials journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jhazmat
Editorial
Stressors in Mediterranean River Basins under water scarcity
Water has become a precious resource on which the wellbeing and even the survival of future generations critically depend. Around the world, there are many warnings that human water use exceeds supportable levels. Groundwater depletion, low or nonexisting river flows, and worsening contamination levels are among the more palpable indicators. Consequently, issues relating to water such as quality, quantity, availability, planning and management will have to be seriously tackled now and in the future. Currently most freshwater systems in Europe are threatened by a variety of stressors (organic and inorganic pollution, geomorphological alterations, changes in land uses, climate variability and change, water abstraction, invasive species and pathogens). Stressors are of diverse nature but cause adverse effects on organisms and ecosystems. Ultimately, these effects threaten water quality and biological diversity of European water bodies, which has important economic consequences. Most ecosystems are exposed simultaneously to several stressors, in the so-called multiple-stress situations. In some cases stressors may act independently to each other, in some others they interact, thus leading to synergistic/antagonistic effects, either directly (if acting on the same target) or indirectly (if acting on different targets). The combination of stressors can have deleterious effects on freshwater ecosystems although most current knowledge is limited to the effects of single stressors on the chemical and ecological status of water bodies and on ecosystem functioning. Some stressors such as water scarcity can limit biodiversity and economic activities in entire regions. In addition of being a stressor on its own, water scarcity can drive the effects of other stressors acting upon river ecosystems. It leads to intermittency in water flow, and therefore has implications for hydrologic connectivity, negative side-effects on biodiversity, water quality, and river ecosystem functioning. Water scarcity can amplify the effects of water pollution by reducing the natural diluting capacity of rivers. Interactions between stressors may be exacerbated by climate change. For instance, warmer temperatures and reduced river flows will likely increase the physiological burden of pollution on the aquatic biota, and biological feedback between stressors (e.g. climate change and nutrient pollution) may produce unexpected outcomes. Degradation of drainage basins, destruction of natural habitats, over-exploitation of fish populations and other natural resources, or the establishment of invasive species, are factors whose impacts combine and may give rise to synergistic effects, especially during periods of water shortage. The effects of these stressors are very relevant for the chemical and ecological status of water bodies as well as for the sustainability of ecosystem services they provide.
0304-3894/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2013.11.002
Water scarcity is a key stressor with direct and indirect effects. The relevance of water scarcity as a stressor is most important in semi-arid regions such as the Mediterranean basin, characterized by highly variable river flows and the periodic occurrence of low flows and even no-flows. Climate change previsions forecast an increase in the frequency and magnitude of extreme events. Although extremes are part of the normal hydrologic behaviour in Mediterranean-type rivers, many already show a consistent trend towards decreased discharge. The Spanish funded project SCARCE wants to tackle water scarcity in our country. To solve this problem, it will assess and predict the effects on water quantity and quality in four Iberian river basins: Ebro, Llobregat, Xúquer and Guadalquivir caused by global change scenarios. There is a continuous exchange of information and translation between scientists and river basin authorities in order to put into practice the results achieved during the project duration. One of the instruments used are the annual international SCARCE conferences held since 2010. This special issue contains a selection of key articles presented at the 3rd International Conference of the SCARCE-CONSOLIDER project that was held in Valencia, Spain, in November 2012. Previous conferences were held in Girona and Madrid in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Two special issues, one on “Understanding effects of global change on water quantity and quality in river basins” in Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 19 (2012) 915–917 and another on “Integrated modelling and monitoring at different river basin scales under global change” in Science of the total Environ. 440 (2012) 1–320 were published. The conference held in Valencia was focused on the need to bridge the gap between the broad spectrum of toxicants and stressors that specially affect quality of water under scarcity and its sustainable management, bringing them together with specialists in physical sciences, biology, environmental sciences, health and others. The papers included in this special issue were carefully chosen to improve our understanding of the hazards and risk that certain materials pose to human being and the environment as well as to deal with ways of controlling these hazards and associated risks. They are focused on characterization of the harmful effects of chemicals, measurement and monitoring of Hazardous Materials, transport and fate of stressors in Environment, risk assessment and management, physico-chemical and separation processes as well as biological processes. This broad scope is limited by the area of application “Mediterranean River Basins” and the forthcoming and dangerous situation “water scarcity”. In this sense, water scarcity is among the main problems to be faced by many societies and the World in the XXIst century.
94
Editorial / Journal of Hazardous Materials 263P (2013) 93–94
Although the topic “Mediterranean” could seem a too specific geographic area, it should be consider that Mediterranean climate also prevails in much of California, in parts of Western and South Australia, in southwestern South Africa, sections of Central Asia, and in parts of central coastal Chile. This ensure a worldwide coverage and interest in this special issue increased by the fact, that these Mediterranean type areas are one of the most affected by water scarcity and its associated risks. This special issue includes nineteen papers covering topics of special interest about stressors in Mediterranean Rivers Basin under water scarcity. The most basic topic is the long-term monitoring to establish the occurrence of a number of emerging contaminants and stressors in the Iberian River Basins (Masiá et al.; Hiskia et al.; Eljarrat et al.; Roig et al.; Campins et al.; Arroita et al.; Campo et al.). The processes that favor the removal, detoxification or reuse are worthy of special attention including reaction pathways and transformation products of contaminants (OchandoPulido et al.; Perez et al.). As a step forward, risk assessment (Nadal et al.), dynamic interactions (Kumar et al.), modelling (Aldekoa et al.) and forensic procedures (Pascual-Aguilar et al.) related the fate and behavior of contaminants and stressors with the hydrological and environmental conditions of the rivers. There is a special insight in the effect that this global climatic changes will have on the ecosystem services (Marques et al.). A final overview on ultimate multi-stressors approaches to study toxicity and sublethal effects of contaminants on aquatic fauna (Gonzalez Ortegon et al.; Lopez-Roldan et al.; De Castro Catala et al.; Nieto et al.) is provided. Last but not least, we would like to thank to the authors for their contributions that for sure will make of this special issue a very remarkable and fruitful compilation of the latest scientific
knowledge presented at the conference. Without your cooperation it had not been either possible or successful. We would also thank the editorial board of the Journal of hazardous materials for their kind and valuable assistance as well as all those who contributed to the development of the SCARCE project and the celebration of its 3rd International Conference. Specially, we would like to deeply acknowledge the valuable support of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain that considering the difficult economic situation of our country is even much more appreciated. Yolanda Picó ∗ Valencian University, Spain Alícia Navarro-Ortega IDAEA-CSIC, Barcelona, Spain Damià Barceló a,b IDAEA-CSIC, Barcelona, Spain b Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), Girona, Spain a
∗ Correspondence to: Universitat de Valencia, Laboratori de Bromatologia i Toxicologia, Facultat de Farmacia, Av. Vicent Andres Estelles s/n, 46100 Burjassot, Valencia, Spain. Tel.: +34 96 354 3092; fax: +34 96 354 4954. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (Y. Picó), [email protected] (A. Navarro-Ortega), [email protected] (D. Barceló)
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Hazardous Materials journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jhazmat
Editorial
Stressors in Mediterranean River Basins under water scarcity
Water has become a precious resource on which the wellbeing and even the survival of future generations critically depend. Around the world, there are many warnings that human water use exceeds supportable levels. Groundwater depletion, low or nonexisting river flows, and worsening contamination levels are among the more palpable indicators. Consequently, issues relating to water such as quality, quantity, availability, planning and management will have to be seriously tackled now and in the future. Currently most freshwater systems in Europe are threatened by a variety of stressors (organic and inorganic pollution, geomorphological alterations, changes in land uses, climate variability and change, water abstraction, invasive species and pathogens). Stressors are of diverse nature but cause adverse effects on organisms and ecosystems. Ultimately, these effects threaten water quality and biological diversity of European water bodies, which has important economic consequences. Most ecosystems are exposed simultaneously to several stressors, in the so-called multiple-stress situations. In some cases stressors may act independently to each other, in some others they interact, thus leading to synergistic/antagonistic effects, either directly (if acting on the same target) or indirectly (if acting on different targets). The combination of stressors can have deleterious effects on freshwater ecosystems although most current knowledge is limited to the effects of single stressors on the chemical and ecological status of water bodies and on ecosystem functioning. Some stressors such as water scarcity can limit biodiversity and economic activities in entire regions. In addition of being a stressor on its own, water scarcity can drive the effects of other stressors acting upon river ecosystems. It leads to intermittency in water flow, and therefore has implications for hydrologic connectivity, negative side-effects on biodiversity, water quality, and river ecosystem functioning. Water scarcity can amplify the effects of water pollution by reducing the natural diluting capacity of rivers. Interactions between stressors may be exacerbated by climate change. For instance, warmer temperatures and reduced river flows will likely increase the physiological burden of pollution on the aquatic biota, and biological feedback between stressors (e.g. climate change and nutrient pollution) may produce unexpected outcomes. Degradation of drainage basins, destruction of natural habitats, over-exploitation of fish populations and other natural resources, or the establishment of invasive species, are factors whose impacts combine and may give rise to synergistic effects, especially during periods of water shortage. The effects of these stressors are very relevant for the chemical and ecological status of water bodies as well as for the sustainability of ecosystem services they provide.
0304-3894/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2013.11.002
Water scarcity is a key stressor with direct and indirect effects. The relevance of water scarcity as a stressor is most important in semi-arid regions such as the Mediterranean basin, characterized by highly variable river flows and the periodic occurrence of low flows and even no-flows. Climate change previsions forecast an increase in the frequency and magnitude of extreme events. Although extremes are part of the normal hydrologic behaviour in Mediterranean-type rivers, many already show a consistent trend towards decreased discharge. The Spanish funded project SCARCE wants to tackle water scarcity in our country. To solve this problem, it will assess and predict the effects on water quantity and quality in four Iberian river basins: Ebro, Llobregat, Xúquer and Guadalquivir caused by global change scenarios. There is a continuous exchange of information and translation between scientists and river basin authorities in order to put into practice the results achieved during the project duration. One of the instruments used are the annual international SCARCE conferences held since 2010. This special issue contains a selection of key articles presented at the 3rd International Conference of the SCARCE-CONSOLIDER project that was held in Valencia, Spain, in November 2012. Previous conferences were held in Girona and Madrid in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Two special issues, one on “Understanding effects of global change on water quantity and quality in river basins” in Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 19 (2012) 915–917 and another on “Integrated modelling and monitoring at different river basin scales under global change” in Science of the total Environ. 440 (2012) 1–320 were published. The conference held in Valencia was focused on the need to bridge the gap between the broad spectrum of toxicants and stressors that specially affect quality of water under scarcity and its sustainable management, bringing them together with specialists in physical sciences, biology, environmental sciences, health and others. The papers included in this special issue were carefully chosen to improve our understanding of the hazards and risk that certain materials pose to human being and the environment as well as to deal with ways of controlling these hazards and associated risks. They are focused on characterization of the harmful effects of chemicals, measurement and monitoring of Hazardous Materials, transport and fate of stressors in Environment, risk assessment and management, physico-chemical and separation processes as well as biological processes. This broad scope is limited by the area of application “Mediterranean River Basins” and the forthcoming and dangerous situation “water scarcity”. In this sense, water scarcity is among the main problems to be faced by many societies and the World in the XXIst century.
94
Editorial / Journal of Hazardous Materials 263P (2013) 93–94
Although the topic “Mediterranean” could seem a too specific geographic area, it should be consider that Mediterranean climate also prevails in much of California, in parts of Western and South Australia, in southwestern South Africa, sections of Central Asia, and in parts of central coastal Chile. This ensure a worldwide coverage and interest in this special issue increased by the fact, that these Mediterranean type areas are one of the most affected by water scarcity and its associated risks. This special issue includes nineteen papers covering topics of special interest about stressors in Mediterranean Rivers Basin under water scarcity. The most basic topic is the long-term monitoring to establish the occurrence of a number of emerging contaminants and stressors in the Iberian River Basins (Masiá et al.; Hiskia et al.; Eljarrat et al.; Roig et al.; Campins et al.; Arroita et al.; Campo et al.). The processes that favor the removal, detoxification or reuse are worthy of special attention including reaction pathways and transformation products of contaminants (OchandoPulido et al.; Perez et al.). As a step forward, risk assessment (Nadal et al.), dynamic interactions (Kumar et al.), modelling (Aldekoa et al.) and forensic procedures (Pascual-Aguilar et al.) related the fate and behavior of contaminants and stressors with the hydrological and environmental conditions of the rivers. There is a special insight in the effect that this global climatic changes will have on the ecosystem services (Marques et al.). A final overview on ultimate multi-stressors approaches to study toxicity and sublethal effects of contaminants on aquatic fauna (Gonzalez Ortegon et al.; Lopez-Roldan et al.; De Castro Catala et al.; Nieto et al.) is provided. Last but not least, we would like to thank to the authors for their contributions that for sure will make of this special issue a very remarkable and fruitful compilation of the latest scientific
knowledge presented at the conference. Without your cooperation it had not been either possible or successful. We would also thank the editorial board of the Journal of hazardous materials for their kind and valuable assistance as well as all those who contributed to the development of the SCARCE project and the celebration of its 3rd International Conference. Specially, we would like to deeply acknowledge the valuable support of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain that considering the difficult economic situation of our country is even much more appreciated. Yolanda Picó ∗ Valencian University, Spain Alícia Navarro-Ortega IDAEA-CSIC, Barcelona, Spain Damià Barceló a,b IDAEA-CSIC, Barcelona, Spain b Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), Girona, Spain a
∗ Correspondence to: Universitat de Valencia, Laboratori de Bromatologia i Toxicologia, Facultat de Farmacia, Av. Vicent Andres Estelles s/n, 46100 Burjassot, Valencia, Spain. Tel.: +34 96 354 3092; fax: +34 96 354 4954. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (Y. Picó), [email protected] (A. Navarro-Ortega), [email protected] (D. Barceló)