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15 pages, 3720 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Simulation Modeling Unveils the Unalike Effects of Alternative Strategies for Waterbird Conservation in the Coastal Wetlands of Sardinia (Italy)

by Alessandro Ferrarini, Marco Gustin and Claudio Celada

Biology 2023, 12(11), 1440; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12111440 - 16 Nov 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1788

Abstract

The Sardinian wetlands (Italy) act as stopover sites for many migratory birds along the central eastern Mediterranean bird flyway. These wetlands are now severely threatened by human activities and climate change. Accordingly, we built a simulation framework to predict the effects of several counterfactual and management scenarios on the level of avian diversity in the coastal wetlands of Sardinia. We found that the alpha avian diversity (i.e., the mean number of avian species per wetland) is destined to (a) decrease due to the most likely increase in water salinity, water discharges, and tourism pressure; and (b) halve (from 14.9 to 7.4, with 9 wetlands out of 22 predicted to host only between two and five waterbird species) in the worst possible scenario. However, the results also showed that proper management strategies could prevent and reverse such outcomes. Restrictions on tourism activities, water desalination, prevention of future saltwater intrusions, and the prohibition of water discharges could markedly favor the avian diversity in these wetlands, with an expected increase in the alpha avian diversity from 14.9 to 24.8 (and 10 wetlands out of 22 predicted to host from 29 to 32 waterbird species) in the best possible scenario. The importance of our results could be emphasized in the management plans of these important wetlands, most of which belong to the Natura 2000 network. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Conservation Biology and Biodiversity)

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12 pages, 2634 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Long-Term Performance and Stability of Interlayer-Free Mesoporous Silica Membranes for Wetland Saline Water Pervaporation

by Muthia Elma, Muhammad Roil Bilad, Amalia Enggar Pratiwi, Aulia Rahma, Zaini Lambri Asyyaifi, Hairullah Hairullah, Isna Syauqiah, Yulian Firmana Arifin and Riani Ayu Lestari

Polymers 2022, 14(5), 895; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14050895 - 24 Feb 2022

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 2635

Abstract

Wetland water is an alternative water resource around wetland areas. However, it is typically saline due to seawater intrusion and contains high natural organic matter (NOM) that is challenging to treat. This study evaluated the stability of interlayer-free mesoporous silica matrix membranes employing a dual acid–base catalyzed sol–gel process for treatment of saline wetland water. The silica sols were prepared under a low silanol concentration, dip-coated in 4 layers, and calcined using the rapid thermal processing method. The membrane performance was initially evaluated through pervaporation under various temperatures (25–60 °C) using various feeds. Next, the long-term stability (up to 400 h) of wetland saline water desalination was evaluated. Results show that the water flux increased at higher temperatures up to 6.9 and 6.5 kg·m⁻²·h⁻¹ at the highest temperature of 60 °C for the seawater and the wetland saline water feeds, respectively. The long-term stability demonstrated a stable performance without flux and rejection decline up to 170 h operation, beyond which slow declines in water flux and rejection were observed due to fouling by NOM and membrane wetting. The overall findings suggest that an interlayer-free mesoporous silica membrane offers excellent performance and high salt rejection (80–99%) for wetland saline water treatments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Polymeric Membranes for Wastewater Reclamation and Water Purification)

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21 pages, 3147 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Combined Discharge and Thermo-Salinity Measurements for the Characterization of a Karst Spring System in Southern Italy

by Ivan Portoghese, Rita Masciale, Maria C. Caputo, Lorenzo De Carlo and Daniela Malcangio

Sustainability 2020, 12(8), 3311; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083311 - 18 Apr 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2636

Abstract

The hydrological monitoring of springs is an auxiliary and indispensable tool that goes alongside investigations in wells to reconstruct a conceptual phenomenological model of an aquifer–groundwater system and its interactions with surface waters. There are manifold ways to carry out this monitoring, but the choice of which way is significant for a correct qualitative and quantitative knowledge of spring systems. The present work focuses on the characterization of the thermo-saline and flow regimes of the Tara spring system along the northern coast of Taranto (southern Italy), where a karst groundwater basin is the major source of the Tara River and the surrounding coastal wetland. A series of measurements was carried out on the spring system to support a technical feasibility study on the possible use of the brackish water of this river to feed a future desalination plant. To estimate the flow rate, a comparison was made between different flow measurement methods in a derivation channel. Through an analysis of the available dataset, the response of the aquifer to the autumn–winter recharge, for which updated hydrologic measurements were not available, is highlighted. Full article

(This article belongs to the Collection Sustainability of Water Environment)

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