Long-term research on springs and springbrooks in the UNESCO Biosfera Engiadina Val Müstair (CH)
Assigned Session: FS 3.168: A multidisciplinary approach to the science and conservation of global mountain spring ecosystems
Abstract ID: 3.11963 | Not reviewed | Requested as: Talk | TBA | TBA
Stefanie Von Fumetti (1)
Angelika, Abderhalden (2)
(1) University of Bas, Klingelbergstr. 27, 4056 Basel, CH
(2) UNESCO Biosfera Engiadina Val Müstair, Chasa cumünala, Bagnera 170, CH-7550 Scuol
Abstract
Evidence-based long-term data on how alpine headwaters react to climatic changes are rare and hardly exist for groundwater-fed springs. A long-term research was therefore implemented in 2019 at 15 springs, seven springbrooks and three brooks in the UNESCO Biosfera Engiadina Val Müstair. The goal is to gain empirical data on hydro-ecological aspects over several decades to understand if a) the environmental conditions in groundwater-fed headwaters change over time and b) how these changes influence species composition. First results confirm environmental stability typical for groundwater-fed systems. A certain seasonal variability of the discharge and the water temperature possibility indicates an influence of permafrost or snow meltwater. The species assemblages differ significantly between sites and species richness is higher in the springbrooks. Elevation and the availability of wood are thereby of special importance for the species composition, and eDNA-Metabarcoding underlines the importance of non-biting midges also in springs. In the Swiss National Parc, we also have the unique opportunity to compare data from 1937 and 2024 along a ~200 m stretch of four springbrooks. The water temperature stayed stable or even decreased over the 80-year period, indicating, again, a possible influence of permafrost. The species composition changed slightly with rhithral species such as Amphinemura sulcicollis being more abundant in 2024. The data gained in the UBEVM provide a fundamental basis for the interpretation of changes identified on a long-term basis in springs and springbrooks in the Central Alps.
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