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2013 ‐ PLANT ECOLOGY RESEARCH
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GRPOUP [FRESHWATER]
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Department of Biology – University of Patras
PLANT ECOLOGY
• Past Staff
Prof. Th. Georgiadis
Assoc. Prof. E. Economidou
•Implementation of Habitats Directive 92/43/EE‐ NATURA 2000 Network
•Mapping of Habitat types of Community Importance in SW Greece
•Monitoring & Conservation of Habitat types & Flora species
•Management Plans in Natura 2000 protected areas FRESHWATER RESEARCH PERSONNEL Eva S Papastergiadou, Assis. Professor
Plant Ecology (2003‐today)
Teaching Activities
Undergraduate courses:
Ecology II Vegetation Ecology
Graduate courses: Applied Ecology Biodiversity
Biological signals Ecology and Management of Natural areas
Environmental Education
Management of Freshwater Ecosystems
Supervision
4 PhD, 9 MSc and 10 undergraduate theses
Research Interests
Freshwater Ecology & Management. Water Quality, Climate changes, Biological Quality Elements (WFD 2000/60/EE). Monitoring Habitat types & Landscape dynamics .
FRESHWATER RESEARCH PERSONNEL STUDENTS
Post DOCs
Dr Kostas Stefanidis, PhD in Lakes ecology
Dr Paraskevi Manolaki, PhD in Rivers ecology
Post‐Graduate Students
Chrysoula Christia, Coastal Lagoons
Katerina Kostara, Remote Sensing, GIS, Landscape Ecology Graduate Students
A. Masouras
G. Fyttis
M. Papakonstantinou I. Tziortziis
RESEARCH LABORATORY EQUIPMENT
Plant Ecology Lab
Optical & Inverted Microscopes Stereoscope
UV 1800‐ Hitachi
Spectrophotometer
Field work & Lab Equipment
ECOLOGY LAB & FIELD EXERCISES
Plant Ecology Lab
RESEARCH PROJECTS • 14 Research basic research and Monitoring Projects (2003‐2013)
‐2 FP6‐STREP 2004‐EUMON & FP7 –ENV ‐2009‐ REFRESH
‐2 IC‐MEDGIG River Macrophytes (WDD‐Cyprus Funds) ‐LIFE –EU Conservation funds
‐2 Karatheodoris Fund (UPAT)
•Total funding for the years 2003 ‐2013: ~ 380,000.00 euros
RESEARCH PROJECTS [Ongoing] FP7 –ENV ‐2009‐ REFRESH
Adaptive strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change on European freshwater ecosystems‐ REFRESH. Commission of the European Communities, Water Resources. 2010 ‐ 2014. IC‐MEDGIG River Macrophytes.
Assessment of Ecological Quality of Cyprus Rivers with BQE aquatic macrophytes.–WFD Intercalibration Exercise. WDD, Ministry of Agriculture, Cyprus. 2010 ‐ 2012. Karatheodoris Fund
Assessment of the ecological quality and human impacts in freshwater ecosystems of Greece, using biotic communities. Basic Research Project ‐
Karatheodoris Fund ‐University of Patras. 2011 – 2014.
ΕΠΑΜΑΘ
Monitoring of Habitat Types of Community Importance in the protected area of Delta Nestou & Lakes Vistonis‐ Ismaris [ΕΠΑΜΑΘ area]. Management Body of National Park of East Macedonia & Thrace 2013‐2015.
RESEARCH INTERESTS‐ACTIVITIES
… focused on Freshwater Ecology and management included functional aspects of lake & river communities, evaluation of ecological quality, dynamics of aquatic and riparian vegetation, landscape ecology, human activities and change detection analysis, effects of climate changes on aquatic ecosystems.
Specifically:
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Water quality, Ecological Indicators (WFD quality element; macrophytes)
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Biological monitoring, macrophytes community ecology, riparian
ecology and landscape analysis
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Biodiversity Conservation and Management of Habitat Types & Flora
species of Community Interest
FP7‐REFRESH project: Adaptive strategies to mitigate the impact of climate change on European freshwaters
The key objective of REFRESH
is to develop a framework that will enable water managers to design cost‐effective restoration programmes for freshwater ecosystems
REFRESH will evaluate a series of specific adaptive measures that on three principal climate‐related and interacting pressures
i) increasing temperature
ii) changes in water levels and flow regimes
iii) excess nutrients.
The role of aquatic macrophytes in maintaining water clarity
Lake ecology is a huge scientific area!!! However some of our research group’s interests are:
The role of aquatic macrophytes in habitat structuring in lakes consists one important research subject
The structure of the littoral zone along with the macrophyte communities are investigated. The role of littoral zone in providing food source and protection to natural phytoplankton grazers against predators is a matter of high significance in aquatic science
Another significant research subject are the lake food webs consisted by the nutrient dynamics and the top –
down controlling mechanisms
REMOTE SENSING, GIS & SATELLITE ‐BASED APROACH FOR LAND COVER/ USE CHANGES
NDVI VALUES MAPS
NDVI VALUES MAPS
Monitoring of Habitat types
CASE STUDIES CASE STUDIES ECOLOGICAL QUALITY OF GREEK & CYPRUS RIVERS WITH BQE‐MACROPHYTES WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE
2000/60/EΕ
IC Mediterranean assessment methods
The intercalibration exercise is undertaken within Geographical Intercalibration Groups [MedGIG: Portugal, Spain, Greece, Cyprus,
Italy, France, Slovenia]
IBMR‐ Macrophyte Biological Index for Rivers assessment method that was finalized &
formally agreed for the IC of MedGIG highly seasonal rivers:
Boundary Comparison & Harmonisation
…translating the national boundaries, harmonising
boundaries, analyzing the class agreement…
Results IC Types RM 1, RM 2 & RM4
IC results with original boundaries for H/G and G/M. Max ‐ maximum of national EQR class ECOLOGICAL ASSESMENT OF COASTAL LAGOONS‐
WFD 2000/60
Typology of Mediterranean
lagoons
ECOLOGICAL ASSESMENT OF COASTAL LAGOONS‐WFD 2000/60
Water quality indices
Multimetric index TWQI •TRIX (Vollenweider et al. (Transitional Water Quality Index) 1998)
•Carlson’s Trophic State Index DO, Chl‐a, MA & BRP, DIP(TP), DIN(TN)
(TSI) TSI (Chl‐a), TSI (TP)
High
Good
Phytobenthic indices
•EEI (Ecological Evaluation Index)
•E‐MaQI (Expert‐ Macrophyte
quality index)
Poor
Comparison of QV values of DO, Chl-a, DIN, DIP, Macroalgae and BRP in Sacca
di Goro (SG), Lagoon of Lesina (LE), Etang du Thau (ET), Ria Formosa (RF),
Mar Menor (MM) and Gulf of Gera (GG) with the studied lagoons of Rodia (R),
Tsoukalio (T), Logarou (L), Kleisova (K), Araxos (A) & Kaiafas (Kf).
RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH WORKSHOPS ‐ CONFERENCES
October (9 ‐12) 2011. 7th meeting «Intercalibration MEDGIG Exercise 2007‐2012» Madrid, Spain.
April (8‐ 10) 2013.
1st International Conference on “Remote Sensing & Geoinformation”, Pafos, Cyprus.
November (4‐8) 2013. REFRESH meeting entitled «Freshwater Management in a changing world» London, UK.
December (16 ‐19) 2013. VI EUROLAG Conference “COASTAL LAGOON DOMAIN AND PROPERTIES: from fundamental research to policy implementation” Lecce, Italy.
RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS (intern.)
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Department of Freshwater Ecology, National Environmental Research Institute, Aarhus University of Copenhagen, Denmark (Prof. Erik Jeppesen, Martin Sondengaard). University College London, Environmental Change Research Centre (Prof. Rick Batarbee, Dr Martin Kernan)
University of Reading, Department of Geography (Prof. Andrew Wade, Prof. Richard Skeffington)
Technical University of Lisbon (ISA), Forest Department, Faculty of Agronomy, Lisboa (Prof. Maria Teresa Ferreira, Dr Fransisca Aguiar). University of Essen, Applied Zoology/Hydrology, Essen, Germany (Prof. Dr Daniel Hering) Department of Water Protection, University of Adam Mickiewicz, Poznan, Poland (Prof. Dr Kuczyńska‐Kippen)
Middle East Technical University (METU), Biology Department, Ankara, Turkey (Prof. Meryem Beklioglou)
WDD (Water Development Department), Ministry of Agriculture, Natural
Resources and Environment, Lefkosia, Cyprus (Dr G. Dorflinger)
RESEARCH priorities & perspectives
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Climate change research, focus on freshwaters of the Mediterranean biogeographical region and the potential responses of biological communities, food‐webs and other ecosystem characteristics to climate related stressors.
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Monitoring and assessment of Ecological Water Quality and reference conditions of freshwater and transitional water body types (WFD 2000/60) in east Mediterranean •
Landscape ecology and dynamics of aquatic and riparian vegetation
including human activities and long‐term change detection analysis •
Maintain and increase our involvement in long‐term monitoring activities, conservation, and management actions in the context of EU Directives (Habitats 92/43, WFD 2000/60) and Management Bodies of NATURA 2000 areas ( Reporting Art. 17 Direc. 92/43, Management Plans)