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Long-term dynamics of a Mediterranean alkaline vernal pool (Rhone delta, southern France)

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Abstract

Mediterranean vernal pools are threatened habitats that support a number of endangered/ rare plant and invertebrate species. Conservation management of these important habitats is limited by a lack of knowledge, especially concerning their past and present ecological dynamics. A multidisciplinary palaeoecological investigation was conducted on one of the last alkaline vernal pools of the Rhone delta (southern France). Results highlighted the value of a multidisciplinary approach based on several complementary methods, and provide direction for subsequent palaeoecological studies in temporary wetlands. Despite some degradation, fossil assemblages provide an accurate reconstruction of the past ecological dynamics of the vernal pool studied. The pool originated c. 1100 years ago from the infilling of an abandoned palaeochannel and its subsequent fragmentation. It may thus be considered as a legacy of past natural fluvial activity, which ended with the complete channelization and confinement of the River Rhone in 1869 AD. With natural processes disrupted, new pools may need to be artificially constructed in order to preserve the biological communities of alkaline vernal pools of the Rhone delta.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université Montpellier-2, Pl. Eugène Bataillon, 34095, Montpellier cedex 05, France

    Serge D. Muller, Ingeborg Soulié-Märsche & Patrick Schevin

  2. CNRS, Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution de Montpellier Case 061, Université Montpellier-2, 34095, Montpellier cedex 05, France

    Serge D. Muller, Ingeborg Soulié-Märsche & Patrick Schevin

  3. Université de Provence (Aix-Marseille-1), 29, avenue Robert-Schuman, 13621, Aix-en-Provence cedex 1

    Hélène Bruneton & Alain Thiéry

  4. Case 97, 3 place Victor Hugo, 13331, Marseille cedex 3, France

    Hélène Bruneton & Alain Thiéry

  5. CNRS, Centre Européen de Recherche et d’Enseignement des Géosciences de l’Environnement, Europôle méditerranéen de l’Arbois, BP80, F13545, Aix-en-Provence cedex 04, France

    Hélène Bruneton

  6. Archéologie des Sociétés Méditerranéennes, Université Montpellier-3, 34095, Montpellier cedex 05, France

    Tony Rey

  7. CNRS Institut d’Ecologie et de Paléoécologie, Université de Provence, Case 17, 3 place Victor Hugo, 13331, Marseille cedex 3, France

    Alain Thiéry

  8. Case 97, 3 place Victor Hugo, 13331, Marseille cedex 3, France

    Alain Thiéry

  9. Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, K. U. Leuven, Ch. Debériotstraat 32, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Aline Waterkeyn & Luc Brendonck

  10. Station biologique de la Tour du Valat, Le Sambuc, 13200, Arles, France

    Aline Waterkeyn, Nicole Yavercovski & Patrick Grillas

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  1. Serge D. Muller
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  2. Hélène Bruneton
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  3. Ingeborg Soulié-Märsche
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  4. Tony Rey
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Correspondence to Serge D. Muller.

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Muller, S.D., Bruneton, H., Soulié-Märsche, I. et al. Long-term dynamics of a Mediterranean alkaline vernal pool (Rhone delta, southern France). Wetlands 28, 951–966 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1672/07-112.1

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