A group of researchers from the University of Seville have released the results of a study that highlights the possibility Disappearance of the Doñana Marshes as a consequence of climate change. According to what they indicate, this could take place over a period of between 42 and 189 years.
The report was signed by José Lázaro Amaro Mellado and Emilio Ramírez Juidias, both from the Department of Hispalense Graphic EngineeringThey benefited from the collaboration of the Remote Sensing Laboratory of the Technological University of Peru.
In their study, they concluded that reducing the floodable area in the National Park is “worrying”. Similarly, “alterations in sediment dynamics” have continued. All this “endangers” the ecological balance of the region and biodiversity.
According to the researchers, the cocktail of rising temperatures and decreasing precipitation could lead to the disappearance of the marshes. As they need them, in 42 years old The area could already be left without wetlands, although the period of gradual water decline could last 189 years.
Likewise, they indicate that due to the loss of water, the flora and fauna of Doñana, with species in danger of extinction, are already seeing how their habitat.
792 satellite images
As reported by the University of Seville, a multidisciplinary team participated in the study. Thus, they created a “new procedure” identify what were the main consequences of climate change in the Doñana marshes between 2009 and 2020.
Among the sources used, they analyzed 792 satellite images. They used cutting-edge geomatics techniques, such as advanced remote sensing, LIDAR data, climate change models and Big Data analysis. All were integrated into a geographic information system.
They were thus able to study in detail the behavior of sediments and the flow of water in the area. They certified “a significant drop in water levels” and “the capacity of renewal of paths“According to them, these two issues are essential to the survival of the ecosystem.
As the professors of the University of Seville indicate, they obtained “high precision data on the topography of the land, reaching precisely the areas most affected by erosion and changes in the flood zone.”
Predicting the future of the marshes was possible, they explain, by crossing geographic information systems with climate models.
They are calling for “urgent measures”
The study leaders not only stopped at the diagnosis, but presented proposals to protect the Doñana National Parkconsidered one of the most biodiverse areas in Europe.
In this sense, they warned that “without adequate intervention”, the reduction of the flooded surface will continue to expand and would trigger “a ecological collapse“.
Therefore they urge you to take “urgent measures”Among them, they demand stricter management of water resources, as well as the restoration of affected areas. Likewise, they demand greater monitoring of illegal farms that exist in the region.
Similarly, they raise the need to undertake further studies using advanced technologies to obtain more precision in the data and that decision-making is always based on scientific evidence.
