Share:


Mapping over 80 years of wetland sensitivity to human intervention. The spatial dynamics of the lakes and wetlands of the Jijia-Iași Wetlands Ramsar Site in 1935–2018

    Andra-Cosmina Albulescu Affiliation
    ; Ionuț Minea Affiliation
    ; Daniela Larion Affiliation
    ; Marina Iosub Affiliation
    ; Daniel Boicu Affiliation

Abstract

Wetlands are at the top of the list in terms of valuable ecosystem services, at the same time being one of the most sensitive ecosystems that are subject to human-induced changes. The delicate balance between their ever-changing waterlogged and dry areas, together with the associated rich flora and fauna, are easily disturbed by human drivers, which are also responsible for long-term land use conversions. This paper aims to 1) document the spatial dynamics of the wetland areas and lakes in the Jijia-Iași Wetlands Ramsar Site, using historical cartographic materials and modern land use data, and 2) pinpoint the anthropic drivers that shaped these dynamics, via a literature review. This Ramsar Site constitutes an eloquent example of a wetland landscape that was mainly shaped by human intervention. A timeline is used to put into perspective the resulting maps and synthesised findings, and several inferences regarding the past, present, and future sensitivity of the wetlands in the study area are formulated. In 1935–2018, the two analysed elements followed opposite trends: while the wetland areas decreased from 10.61% of the study area to 4.79%, the lake features increased in size, from 0.68% of the Jijia-Iași Wetlands to 10.84%. In order to explain these changes, anthropogenic interventions were divided into three types of management (detrimental high human pressure, beneficial high human pressure, and beneficial low human pressure). In the long term scientific works, the unbalanced dynamics proved to be beneficial to the environment, as the construction of water collections determined a biodiversity boost and the designation of the study area as a Ramsar Site. This paper complements the scientific work focusing on “the Delta of Moldavia”, highlighting the practical implications of the management strategies applied during the reference period.

Keyword : wetlands, wetland sensitivity, wetlands spatial dynamics, Jijia-Iași Wetlands, Ramsar

How to Cite
Albulescu, A.-C., Minea, I., Larion, D., Iosub, M., & Boicu, D. (2023). Mapping over 80 years of wetland sensitivity to human intervention. The spatial dynamics of the lakes and wetlands of the Jijia-Iași Wetlands Ramsar Site in 1935–2018. Journal of Environmental Engineering and Landscape Management, 31(4), 275–287. https://doi.org/10.3846/jeelm.2023.20046
Published in Issue
Nov 9, 2023
Abstract Views
318
PDF Downloads
258
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Arias-García, J., Serrano-Montes, J. L., & Gómez-Zotano, J. (2016). Fauna in wetland landscapes: A perception approach. Landscape Research, 41(5), 510–523. https://doi.org/10.1080/01426397.2015.1081160

Baily, B. (2007). The extraction of digital vector data from historic land use maps of Great Britain using image processing techniques. e-Perimetron, 2(4), 209–223.

Blicharska, M., Orlikowska, E. H., Roberge, J. M., & Grodzinska-Jurczak, M. (2016). Contribution of social science to large scale biodiversity conservation: A review of research about the Natura 2000 network. Biological Conservation, 199, 110–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.05.007

Bridgewater, P., & Kim, R. E. (2021). The Ramsar convention on wetlands at 50. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 5(3), 268-270. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01392-5

Bucur, D., & Moca, V. (2012). Tile drainage on agricultural lands from North-East Romania-experimental variants and technical efficiency. In M. S. Javaid (Ed.), Drainage systems (pp. 211–240). IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/23888

Buruiană, D., Apostol, L., Machidon, D., & Buruiana, M. (2012a). Some aspects of hydrological risk manifestation in Jijia basin. Aerul si Apa: Componente ale Mediului, 9.

Buruiană, D., Apostol, L., Machidon, O., & Buruiană, M. (2012b). The identification of vulnerable localities to flash flows from the inferior basin of Jijia River through the physiographic method. Annals & Proceedings of DAAAM International, 23(1), 0707–0710. https://doi.org/10.2507/23rd.daaam.proceedings.165

Chiang, Y. Leyk, S., & Knoblock, C. A. (2014). A survey of digital map processing techniques. ACM Computing Surveys, 47(1), 44. https://doi.org/10.1145/2557423

Ciobotaru, N., Laslo, L., Matei, M., Mușat, C., Lupei, T., Boboc, M., & Deák, G. (2016). Mapping romanian wetlands – a geographical approach [Conference presentation]. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference Water Resources and Wetlands, Tulcea.

Cîșlariu, A. G., Ichim, P., & Mânzu, C. C. (2020). Long term changes of wetlands in the context of anthropic influences: The case of ROSCI0222 (North-Eastern Romania). Carpathian Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 15(1), 27–36. https://doi.org/10.26471/cjees/2020/015/105

Corine Land Cover. (2018). Land Cover Status Layer. https://land.copernicus.eu/pan-european/corine-land-cover/clc2018

Costanza, R., d’Arge, R., De Groot, R., Farber, S., Grasso, M., Hannon, B., Limburg, K., Naeem, S., O’Neill, R. V., Paruelo, J., Raskin, R. G., Sutton, P., & van den Belt, M. (1997). The value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature, 387, 253–260. https://doi.org/10.1038/387253a0

Croitoru, A. E., & Minea, I. (2015). The impact of climate changes on rivers discharge in Eastern Romania. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 120(3), 563–573. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-014-1194-z

Croitoru, A. E., Piticar, A., Imbroane, A. M., & Burada, D. C. (2013). Spatiotemporal distribution of aridity indices based on temperature and precipitation in the extra-Carpathian regions of Romania. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 112(3), 597–607. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-012-0755-2

De Groot, R., Brander, L., Van Der Ploeg, S., Costanza, R., Bernard, F., Braat, L., Christie, M., Crossman, N., Ghermandi, A., Hein, L., Hussain, S., Kumar, P., McVittie, A., Portela, R., Rodriguez, L. C., ten Brink, P., & Van Beukering, P. (2012). Global estimates of the value of ecosystems and their services in monetary units. Ecosystem Services, 1(1), 50–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2012.07.005

Dömötörfy, Z., Reeder, D., & Pomogyi, P. (2003). Changes in the macro-vegetation of the Kis-Balaton Wetlands over the last two centuries: A GIS perspective. Hydrobiologia, 506(1), 671–679. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:HYDR.0000008598.56151.5e

Fekri, E., Latifi, H., Amani, M., & Zobeidinezhad, A. (2021). A training sample migration method for wetland mapping and monitoring using sentinel data in google earth engine. Remote Sensing, 13(20), 4169. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13204169

Feranec, J., Šúri, M., Ot’ahel, J., Cebecauer, T., Kolář, J., Soukup, T., Zdeňková, D., Waszmuth, J., Vâjdea, V., Vîjdea, A.-M., & Nitica, C. (2000). Inventory of major landscape changes in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovak Republic 1970s–1990s. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 2(2), 129–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0303-2434(00)85006-0

Gache, C. (2012). Management of Nature 2000 sites and the involvement of local community: Vlădeni wetland (Iaşi County). Argesis, 43.

Gâştescu, P., & Ciupitu, D. (2014). The wetlands–categories, functions, ecological reconstruction and management with special reference to Romania [Conference presentation]. Procee­dings of the 3rd International Conference Water Resources and Wetlands, Tulcea.

Ghaffar, A. (2005). Monitoring land use change: Use of remote sensing and GIS. Pakistan Geographical Review, 60(1), 19–26.

Gheorghe, R. (2015). Hydrological regime of the Prut River on the Romanian territory. Lucrările Seminarului Geografic “Dimitrie Cantemir”, 40, 5–22.

Hamman, E., Van Geelen, T., & Akhtar-Khavari, A. (2019). Governance tools for the conservation of wetlands: The role of the Montreux Record under the Ramsar Convention. Marine and Freshwater Research, 70(11), 1493–1502. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF18483

Huțanu, E., Urzică, A., Paveluc, L. E., Stoleriu, C. C., & Grozavu, A. (2019). The role of hydro-technical works in diminishing flooded areas. Case study: The June 1985 flood on the Miletin River [Conference presentation]. Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology (CEST2019), Rhodes.

Ion, C., Baltag, E. Ş., Ursu, A., Sfîcă, L., Ignat, A. E., & Stoleriu, C. C. (2019). Relationship between environmental features and bird assemblages in the wetlands of eastern Romania. Present Environment and Sustainable Development, (1), 265–290. https://doi.org/10.2478/pesd-2019-0021

Iosub, M., Enea, A., & Minea, I. (2019). Flash flood impact on the cultural heritage in Moldova region, Romania. Case study: Jijia Valley. Proceedings of International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference: SGEM, 19(2.2), 839–846. https://doi.org/10.5593/sgem2019/2.2/S11.103

Iosub, M., Minea, I., Chelariu, O. E., & Ursu, A. (2020). Assessment of flash flood susceptibility potential in Moldavian Plain (Romania). Journal of Flood Risk Management, 13, e12588. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfr3.12588

Jiao, C., Heitzler, M., & Hurni, L. (2020). Extracting wetlands from swiss historical maps with convolutional neural networks. In Proceedings of automatic vectorisation of historical maps (pp. 33–38). ICA Commission on Cartographic Heritage into the Digital, Department of Cartography and Geoinformatics, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University. https://doi.org/10.21862/avhm2020.03

Kaim, D., Kozak, J., Ostafin, K., Dobosz, M., Ostapowicz, K., Kolecka, N., & Gimmi, U. (2014). Uncertainty in historical land-use reconstructions with topographic maps. Quaestiones Geographicae, 33(3), 55–63. https://doi.org/10.2478/quageo-2014-0029

Kingsford, R. T., Bino, G., Finlayson, C. M., Falster, D., Fitzsimons, J. A., Gawlik, D. E., Murray, N. J., Grillas, P., Gardner, R. C., Regan, T. J., Roux, D. J., & Thomas, R. F. (2021). Ramsar wetlands of international importance–improving conservation outcomes. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 9, 53. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2021.643367

Louette, G., Adriaens, D., Adriaens, P., Anselin, A., Devos, K., Sannen, K., Van Landuyt, W., Paelinckx, D., & Hoffmann, M. (2011). Bridging the gap between the Natura 2000 regional conservation status and local conservation objectives. Journal for Nature Conservation, 19(4), 224–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2011.02.001

Maltby, E., & Acreman, M. C. (2011). Ecosystem services of wetlands: Pathfinder for a new paradigm. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 56(8), 1341–1359. https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2011.631014

Matei, M., Laslo, L., Ciobotaru, N., Musat, C., Madalina, B., Raischi, M., & Gyorgy, D. (2016). Assessment of pressures caused by climate changes on wetlands in Romania based on MAES framework. International Journal of Environmental Science, 1, 265–271.

Mânzu, C. C., Irimia, I., Câșlariu, G., & Chinan, V. C. (2020). Chorological data for some rare plant species from ROSCI0222 sărăturile jijia inferioară-prut and ROSPA0042 eleșteele jijiei și miletinului (Iași County). Acta Horti Botanici Bucurestiensis, 46, 35–54.

Matthews, G. V. T. (1993). The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands: Its history and development. Ramsar Convention Bureau.

McInnes, R. J. (2013). Recognizing ecosystem services from wetlands of international importance: An example from Sussex, UK. Wetlands, 33(6), 1001–1017. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-013-0458-1

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. (2005). Ecosystems and human well-being: Synthesis. Island Press.

Minea, I. (2020). The vulnerability of water resources from Eastern Romania to anthropic impact and climate change. In A. Negm, G. Romanescu, & M. Zeleňáková (Eds.), Water resources management in Romania (pp. 229–250). Springer Water, Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22320-5_7

Minea, I., Iosub, M., & Boicu, D. (2020). Groundwater resources from Eastern Romania under human and climatic pressure. Sustainability, 12(24), 10341. https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410341

Minea, I., & Chelariu, O. E. (2021). Anomalies and trends of high river flow under temperate climatic conditions in North-Eastern part of Romania. Journal of Water and Climate Change, 12(2), 552–565. https://doi.org/10.2166/wcc.2020.124

Minea, I., & Croitoru, A. E. (2017a). Evaluation of hydrological drought in small basins in North-Eastern part of Romania. In SGEM 2017, Conference Proceedings (pp. 269–276). https://doi.org/10.5593/sgem2014B31

Minea, I., & Croitoru, A. E. (2017b). Groundwater response to changes in precipitations in North-Eastern Romania. Environmental Engineering & Management Journal, 16(3). https://doi.org/10.30638/eemj.2017.066

Minea, I., & Vasiliniuc, I. (2007). Considerations on the hydro-geological characteristics of the surface aquifers from the Jijia-Prut confluence area. Analele stiintifice ale Universitatii “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” din Iasi-seria Geografie, 53, 37–44.

Mitsch, W. J., Bernal, B., & Hernandez, M. E. (2015). Ecosystem services of wetlands. International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services & Management, 11(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1080/21513732.2015.1006250

Obreja, A. (1958). Morfohidrografia șesului Jijia dintre Larga și Vlădeni [Morphohydrography of Jijia Plain between Larga and Vlădeni]. Analele Ştiințifice ale Universității Al. I. Cuza din Iaşi, Științele Naturii, 4, 489–494.

Pascal, M., Romanescu, G., Mihu-Pintilie, A., & Stoleriu, C. C. (2014). Wetlands landscape changes in common floodplain of Jijia-Rrut rivers analyzing the variation of water body surfaces [Conference presentation]. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference Water Resources and Wetlands, Tulcea.

Pavelková, R., Frajer, J., Havlíček, M., Netopil, P., Rozkošný, M., David, V., Dzuráková, M., & Šarapatka, B. (2016). Historical ponds of the Czech Republic: An example of the interpretation of historic maps. Journal of Maps, 12(sup1), 551–559. https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2016.1203830

Prăvălie, R., Piticar, A., Roșca, B., Sfîcă, L., Bandoc, G., Tiscovschi, A., & Patriche, C. V. (2019). Spatio-temporal changes of the climatic water balance in Romania as a response to precipitation and reference evapotranspiration trends during 1961-2013. Catena, 172, 295–312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2018.08.028

Ramsar Site. (2020). Jijia-Iași Wetlands, Romania. https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/2422?language=en

RIS (RAMSAR Information Sheet). (2020). Jijia-Iași Wetlands, Romania. https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/2422

Romanescu, G. (2008). Inventarierea şi tipologia zonelor umede şi apelor adânci din Podişul Moldovei [The inventory and typology of the wetlands and deep waters from the Moldavian Plateau]. Terra Nostra.

Romanescu, G., Dinu, C., Stoleriu, C., & Romanescu, A. M. (2010). Present state of trophic parameters of the main wetlands and deep waters from Romania. Present Environment and Sustainable Development, 4, 159–174.

Romanescu, G., Stoleriu, C., & Zaharia, C. (2011). Territorial repartition and ecological importance of wetlands in Moldova (Romania). Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering, 5(11), 1435–1444.

Romanescu, G., Pascal, M., Pintilie Mihu, A., Stoleriu, C. C., Sandu, I., & Moisii, M. (2017). Water quality analysis in wetlands freshwater: Common floodplain of Jijia-Prut Rivers. Revista de Chimie, 68(3), 553–561. https://doi.org/10.37358/RC.17.3.5500

SOR Site (Romanian Ornithological Society). (2022). Elaborarea Planurilor de Management pentru ariile protejate Acumulările Belcești, Sărăturile Jijia Inferioara Prut, Eleșteiele Jijiei și Miletinului și Balta Teiva Vișina [Elaboration of management plans for the protected areas of Belcești water collections, Salty Meadwos of Jijia and Prut Rivers, Ponds of Jijia and Miletin Rivers and the Teiva Vișina]. https://www.sor.ro/proiect/elaborarea-planurilor-de-management-pentru-ariile-protejate-acumularile-belcesti-saraturile-jijia-inferioara-prut-elesteele-jijiei-si-miletinului-si-balta-teiva-visina/

Simon, T., & Andrei, M.-T. (2021). Biodiversity and its revaluation trough nature tourism, including wetlands. Study case: Romania [Conference presentation]. Proceedings of the 5th International Hybrid Conference Water Resources and Wetlands, Tulcea.

Šantrůčková, M., Demková, K., Weber, M., Lipský, Z., & Dostálek, J. (2017). Long term changes in water areas and wetlands in an intensively farmed landscape: A case study from the Czech Republic. European Countryside, 9(1), 132. https://doi.org/10.1515/euco-2017-0008

Stoica, D. L. (2011). Assessment of Conservation Status in the Lower Jijia–Prut Rivers Natura 2000 Site. Bulletin UASVM Agriculture, 68, 2. https://doi.org/10.15835/buasvmcn-agr:6540

Tanislav, D. (2014). Protected wetlands in Romania [Conference presentation]. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference Water Resources and Wetlands, Tulcea.

Thamaga, K. H., Dube, T., & Shoko, C. (2022). Advances in satellite remote sensing of the wetland ecosystems in Sub-Saharan Africa. Geocarto International, 37(20), 5891–5913. https://doi.org/10.1080/10106049.2021.1926552

Tiner, R. W. (2017). Wetland indicators: A guide to wetland formation, identification, delineation, classification, and mapping (2nd ed.). CRC Press.

Török, Z. (2000). Zonele umede din România – tipuri, impotanță [Wetlands in Romania – types, importance]. Probleme de Ecologie Teoretică și aplicată în România – Direcții actuale, 5.

Triantafyllidis, V., Zotos, A., Kosma, C., & Kokkotos, E. (2020). Effect of land-use types on edaphic properties and plant species diversity in Mediterranean agroecosystem. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 27(12), 3676–3690. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2020.08.012

Tsiafouli, M. A., Apostolopoulou, E., Mazaris, A. D., Kallimanis, A. S., Drakou, E. G., & Pantis, J. D. (2013). Human activities in Natura 2000 sites: A highly diversified conservation network. Environmental Management, 51(5), 1025–1033. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-013-0036-6

Valent, P., Roncák, P., Maliariková, M., & Behan, S. (2016). Utilization of historical maps in the land use change impact studies: A case study from Myjava river basin. Slovak Journal of Civil Engineering, 24(4), 15. https://doi.org/10.1515/sjce-2016-0018

Vartolomei, F. (2004). Date privind amenajările hidrotehnice din bazinul hidrografic Prut (sectorul românesc) [Data regarding the hydrotechnical works in the Prut River catchment (the Romanian sector)]. Factori şi procese pedogenetici din zona temperată, 3, 153–162.

Wu, Q. (2018). GIS and remote sensing applications in wetland mapping and monitoring. In Comprehensive geographic information systems (pp. 140–157). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-409548-9.10460-9

Zariņa, A., Vinogradovs, I., & Šķiņķis, P. (2018). Towards (dis)continuity of agricultural wetlands: Latvia’s polder landscapes after Soviet productivism. Landscape Research, 43(3), 455–469. https://doi.org/10.1080/01426397.2017.1316367

Zhang, X., Liu, L., Zhao, T., Chen, X., Lin, S., Wang, J., Mi, J., & Liu, W. (2023). GWL_FCS30: A global 30 m wetland map with a fine classification system using multi-sourced and time-series remote sensing imagery in 2020. Earth System Science Data, 15(1), 265–293. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-265-2023

Zotos, A., Kosma, C., Triantafyllidis, V., Kakabouki, I., Ke­hayias, G., Roussis, I., Mavroeidis, A., Tataridas, A., & Bilalis, D. (2021). Plant species diversity of the wet meadows under natural and anthropogenic interventions: The case of the Lakes Amvrakia and Ozeros (W. Greece). Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca, 49(3), 12435. https://doi.org/10.15835/nbha49312435