Defining the maximum nitrogen surplus in water management plans to recover nitrate polluted aquifers in Spain.

Nitrate pollution in aquifers is a global concern. Spain has developed a national strategy to recover nitrate polluted aquifers aligned with the European Union (EU) policies, specifically through the water planning under the EU Water Framework Directive. River basin management plans use PATRICAL model results to define the maximum nitrogen surplus in each polluted aquifer for the first time.

Effect of climate change on the water quality of Mediterranean rivers and alternatives to improve its status.

Surface water (SW) quality is particularly vulnerable to increased concentrations of nutrients, and this issue may be exacerbated by climate change. Knowledge of the effects of temperature and rainfall on SW quality is required to take the necessary measures to achieve good SW status in the future. To address this, the aims of this study were threefold: (1) to assess how a changing climate may alter the nitrate, ammonium, phosphorus and biological oxygen demand status (BOD) of SW; (2) assess the relationship between water quality and flow; and (3) simulate diffuse and point source pollution reduction scenarios in the Júcar River Basin District in the Mediterranean region.

Fertigation to recover nitrate-polluted aquifer and improve a long time eutrophicated lake, Spain.

Use of nitrogen and phosphorus in agriculture increases agricultural production but also generates important environmental problems around the world, such as high nitrate levels in aquifers and an increase in eutrophication of waters. A set of tools and models are used, ENVIRO-GRO and PATRICAL models, to analyse the effect of large irrigation system modernization, 13,700 ha, from traditional flood irrigation to modernized drip irrigation, in the aquifer nitrate levels and in the phosphorus inputs to a 50-years eutrophicated RAMSAR lake, Albufera lake. Based on data collected from end users, modernized irrigation system reduces the amount of nitrogen applied from 25 % to 45 % and phosphorus applied around 90-95 %, so phosphorus content on soil, phosphorus legacy, is reducing by time.

Risk assessment of climate change impacts on Mediterranean coastal wetlands. Application in Júcar River Basin District (Spain).

Sea level rise (SLR) produced by climate change affects severely coastal ecosystems which are currently being impacted by sea level rise in many parts of the world. In relation with coastal wetlands, the most relevant induced effect will occur on water and soil's salt content, especially in areas below sea level. This could lead into a reduction of habitat for the wetlands' biota.

Adapting water resources systems to climate change in tropical areas: Ecuadorian coast.

Climate change is expected to increase rainfall and temperature in the tropical areas of the Ecuadorian coast. The increase in temperature will also increase evapotranspiration therefore, future water balance on Ecuadorian coast will have a slight variation. Changes in precipitation patterns and evapotranspiration will produce an increase in the water requirements for current crops, so an imbalance in the water resources systems between natural resources and water demands is expected.

Linking El Niño Southern Oscillation for early drought detection in tropical climates: The Ecuadorian coast.

El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the most determining climate pattern in the tropics of the Pacific coast of America that regulate flood and drought periods. Over the last decades, Ecuador has incurred in significant economic losses due to drought events, around 4% of the GDP, mainly in the agricultural and livestock sectors and the hydropower generation. The use of Drought Indicators and the Early Drought Detection can contribute to reduce the impacts of these events.

Improvement of the drought indicators system in the Júcar River Basin, Spain.

Droughts are one of the gravest natural threats currently existing in the world and their occurrence and intensity might be exacerbated in the coming years due to climate change. The severe impacts that droughts cause to inland water resources and to the associated socio-economic activities justify the continuous monitoring of the drought. The case study presented shows a practical application of a distributed drought monitoring system implemented in a real river basin district, the Júcar River Basin District (43,000km), where drought periods of marked intensity have occurred historically and the climate ranges from humid in the north to semiarid in the south.

GIS-based models for water quantity and quality assessment in the Júcar River Basin, Spain, including climate change effects.

This paper describes two different GIS models - one stationary (GeoImpress) and the other non-stationary (Patrical) - that assess water quantity and quality in the Júcar River Basin District, a large river basin district (43,000km(2)) located in Spain. It aims to analyze the status of surface water (SW) and groundwater (GW) bodies in relation to the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) and to support measures to achieve the WFD objectives. The non-stationary model is used for quantitative analysis of water resources, including long-term water resource assessment; estimation of available GW resources; and evaluation of climate change impact on water resources.

Histopathology of cutaneous amebiasis.

Cutaneous amebiasis (CA) is the manifestation in the skin and underlying soft tissues of the pathogenic properties of Entamoeba histolytica, which may be the only expression of the infection or may be associated with disease in other organs. So far, there have been only isolated case reports on this disease. We herein report the histopathologic findings on a series of seven cases, six adults and one child, of CA.