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Description of the Mediterranean watersheds selected in the GUADALMED project

Abstract:

The aim of the GUADALMED Project is to produce an integrated index to define the ecological status of Spanish Mediterranean rivers. The project includes 12 watersheds: 10 in the Mediterranean watershed of Iberian Peninsula, and 2 in the Balearic Islands, located along a latitudinal, thermal and pluviometric gradient. A total of 157 sampling sites from 65 different rivers were studied. The geology of these watersheds is predominantly limestone or sedimentary. All watersheds are located in the Mediterranean climatic region of the Iberian Peninsula. The river ecosystems under this climatic regime experience large fluctuations between wet periods (Autumn to Spring) and dry and warm conditions (Summer). Thus, there is a seasonal hydric deficit coinciding with maximum annual temperatures. Most of the watersheds have been subject to various modifications by human activities, especially the river flow, which has been regulated by a large number of dams distributed along most of the main rivers. Intensive land use for irrigation agriculture, together with urban and industrial areas, are other important sources of impacts on the studied river ecosystems. © Asociación Española de Limnología, Madrid. Spain.