Fabio Delle Grazie1, Laurence Gill1 , Owen Naughton1,2
1DepartmentofCivil,StructuralandEnvironmentalEngineering,TrinityCollegeDublin,Dublin2,Ireland,2GeologicalSurveyofIreland
Ecohydrology and ecosystem services of groundwater-dependent wetlands in Irish karst
This publication has emanated from research with financial support in part from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) under grant number 13/RC/2092 and 17/RC-PhD/3481 with support from the Geological Survey Ireland (GSI), and is co-funded under the European Regional Development Fund.
Withsupportfrom
Background• Turloughs are topographic depressions in karst, which are
intermittently flooded on an annual cycle via groundwatersources and have substrate and/or ecological communitiescharacteristic ofwetlands.Most of them are located in thewest of Ireland and developed on carboniferous limestone(figure1).
• Ecosystemservicescanbedefinedasthecontributions that ecosystems make tohuman well-being, CICES, Haines-Youngand Potschin, 2013). It uses three maincategories with some sub-categories:provisioning, regulating and culturalecosystemservices.
• As inland wetlands, they are valuableecosystemsthoughanevaluationoftheirecosystem services has yet to beperformed.
Figure1.Irishturloughs
Methods
• Monthly samples of water, as well as soil samples and greenhouse gasmeasurements(CO2,CH4,N2O).
• The relevant ecosystem provided by the turloughs were selected from the CICESclassification.
Figure3.Studiedsites
• Previousstudyof22turlough in theWestof IrelandwasfundedbytheNationalParks&WildlifeServiceofIrelandand it integrated hydrological, biological and chemicalnutrientdata(Waldrenetal.,2015).
• Following up from this study,7 turloughswere selected
which reflected different hydrological regimes andecosystemcharacteristics(figure3).
Results:waterbiogeochemistry
• Monthly samples of water, as well as soil samples and greenhouse gasmeasurements(CO2,CH4,N2O).
• The relevant ecosystem provided by the turloughs were selected from the CICESclassification.
.
Figure3.Studiedsites
• Previousstudyof22turlough in theWestof IrelandwasfundedbytheNationalParks&WildlifeServiceofIrelandand it integrated hydrological, biological and chemicalnutrientdata(Waldrenetal.,2015).
• Following up from this study,7 turloughswere selected
which reflected different hydrological regimes andecosystemcharacteristics(figure3).
Results:soilchemistry
• Monthly samples of water, as well as soil samples and greenhouse gasmeasurements(CO2,CH4,N2O).
• The relevant ecosystem provided by the turloughs were selected from the CICESclassification.
.
Figure3.Studiedsites
• Previousstudyof22turlough in theWestof IrelandwasfundedbytheNationalParks&WildlifeServiceofIrelandand it integrated hydrological, biological and chemicalnutrientdata(Waldrenetal.,2015).
• Following up from this study,7 turloughswere selected
which reflected different hydrological regimes andecosystemcharacteristics(figure3).
Results:ecosystemservices
• Monthly samples of water, as well as soil samples and greenhouse gasmeasurements(CO2,CH4,N2O).
• The relevant ecosystem provided by the turloughs were selected from the CICESclassification.
.
Figure3.Studiedsites
• Previousstudyof22turlough in theWestof IrelandwasfundedbytheNationalParks&WildlifeServiceofIrelandand it integrated hydrological, biological and chemicalnutrientdata(Waldrenetal.,2015).
• Following up from this study,7 turloughswere selected
which reflected different hydrological regimes andecosystemcharacteristics(figure3).
Results:ecosystemservicesFigure3.Studiedsites
Ecosystemservices
TurloughWaterprovisionforhumans
Waterprovisionforcattleandgrazing
Nutrientretention
Carbonsequestration
Floodregulation
Habitatpreservation
Tourism/recreation
Aesthetic/spiritualvalue
Blackrock X X X XX X Caranavoodaun X XX X XX X X
Coolcam X X X XX X XX XLoughAleenaun X X X X X X
LoughCoy X X X X X
LoughGealain X X XX X XX XX XX
Skealoghan X X X XX X X
• AqualitativeassessmentoftheecosystemsservicesprovidedbytheturloughscanbefoundinTable3.
• Blackrockhas thehighest floodwaterextensionaswell aswaterdepths, therefore
providing the highest amounts of water. Lough Gealain is important for tourism.Caranavoodaun and Lough Gealain have the best for ecosystem conditions. Forcarbonsequestration, turloughswithpeatysoilsandwoodyvegetationwillhaveahighervalue.
• Turloughs can both alleviate flooding in their basins and soils but also cause it,
following exceptional rainfall events. Drainage is one of the main threats toturloughsasitalterstheirfloodedregime,sothatplantsandsoilsareaffected.Itissometimesproposedtoalleviatefloodingtonearbyhouses.
• Turloughsareveryimportantculturallyandsomeofthemfortourism.Forexample,
LoughGealain (photo in the first slide) is located in theBurrenNational Park andreceviedthousandsofvisitorsannually.
Discussion
• Wetlands have been recognised as some of the most important and most valuableecosystems on Earth. Turloughs are intermittent inland wetlands, therefore showingboththecharacteristicsofwetlandsandofterrestrialhabitats(ecotones).
• Theecosystems servicesofwetlands are subject to increasing interestbecauseof therangeandvalueofecosystemservices theycanprovided.OnepopularevaluationhasbeenperformedbyDeGrootetal.(2012)andforinlandwetlandsrecognisesregulatingservices (flood risk reduction, nutrient retention, carbon sequestration) as the mostvaluable(Table5).Similarresultsareexpectedforturloughs,especiallyforthefloodriskreductionservice.
• There seems to be enrichment in nutrients in Caranavoodaun, Lough Gealain and
Skealoghan. Blackrock has the highest floodwater extension as well as water depths,therefore providing the highest amounts of water. Lough Gealain is important fortourism. Caranavoodaun and Lough Gealain have the best ecosystem condition. Forcarbon sequestration, turloughs with peaty soils and woody vegetation will have ahighervalue.
Turloughsareveryimportantculturallyandsomeofthemfortourism.Forexample,LoughGealainislocatedintheBurrenNationalParkandreceviedthousandsofvisitorsannually.The relevant authorities, like NPWS (or the Burren Centre for Lough Gealain) can becontacted tohave figures about tourist visits.Alternatively, interviews canbeperformedwithtouristsaskingabouttheirexpensesatthesiteandhowmuchtheywouldbewillingtopay (willingness to paymethod). Other methods that can be used are surveys that canestablish thewillingness-to-payof tourists therefore incorporating additional non-marketvalues.
Figure3.Studiedsites
Preliminaryconclusions
• Smallinlandwetlandshavebeenrecognisedasprovidingimportantecosystemservicesandarenotaswellstudiedasthebiggerones.
• Morethan400turloughsarepresentinIrelandandtheyareprotectedundertheWater
Framework Directive (WFD, Directive 2000/60/EC). As they host protected fauna andflora, they are also designated as a Priority Habitat in Annex 1 of the EU HabitatsDirective(92/43/EEC).
• Quantification of the ecosystem services of turloughs can help better inform the
appropriatestakeholderswhendecidingonconflictingdevelopmentsandcanalsohelpin specific accounting projects like carbon accounting schemes and ecosystem servicequantificationandmapping like theMappingandAssessmentofEcosystemsandtheirServices(Maes,2013).
• Sinceturloughsdryupinsummertheyareconsideredecotonesbetweenwetlandsandterrestrialhabitats,thereforetheirecosystemserviceswillreflectthis.
Figure3.Studiedsites
