Abstract
Deltaic coastal areas are often formed by a piecemeal of transitional wetland environments. These environments consist of wetland-aquifer systems, which commonly react rapidly to climate changes. Direct evaporation from surface water bodies like lakes, wetlands and lagoons will increase due to temperature increase leading to salt accumulation. To understand the hydrological exchanges between the transitional coastal wetlands of the Variconi oasis, the unconfined aquifer of the Volturno River Delta and the Tyrrenian Sea, the contributions of various processes were monitored and assessed. Physical-chemical parameters like salinity, pH, Eh and temperature were monitored during the hydrological year 2016–2017 on a monthly basis. Moreover, the use of groundwater and surface water equivalent freshwater heads, along with hydraulic conductivity tests and the geological architecture, permitted to connect the salinity variations in the wetlands with the degree of the hydraulic connection between the wetlands, the Volturno River, the Tyrrenian Sea and the coastal aquifer. The results show that the permanent wetlands fed by both the Volturno River and the Tyrrenian Sea, show a smoothed salinity peak during the summer season; while the ephemeral wetlands hydraulically disconnected from the aquifer show high salinity peaks during the summer season due to evapoconcentration processes. Spatial mapping of salinity and other measured parameters, highlighted an elevated heterogeneity of environments (from saline to freshwater environments) enclosed in the Variconi oasis. This in turn, induced a large biodiversity of both autochthonous and migratory species. Despite of this, the projected increase in salinity of these wetlands due to coastal erosion, augmented evapotranspiration rates and sea level rise, could be of serious concern for the above-mentioned biodiversity, thus monitoring and management strategies are urgently required to preserve this and other oasis in the Mediterranean area that are key sites employed as stop-over along migratory routes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Allen, R. G., Wright, J. L., Pruitt, W. O., Pereira, L. S., & Jensen, M. E. (2007). Water requirements. In Design and operation of farm irrigation systems (2nd ed., pp. 208–288). Michigan, USA: American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.
Amorosi, A., Pacifico, A., Rossi, V., & Ruberti, D. (2012). Late quaternary incision and deposition in an active volcanic setting: The Volturno valley fill, Southern Italy. Sedimentary Geology, 282, 307–320.
Arienzo, M., Adamo, P., Bianco, M. R., & Violante, P. (2001). Chemical, mineralogical and morphological characterization of wet and dry deposition in Campania Region (Southwest Italy). Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry, 79(3–4), 137–156.
Busico, G., Cuoco, E., Kazakis, N., Colombani, N., Mastrocicco, M., Tedesco, D., et al. (2018). Multivariate statistical analysis to characterize/discriminate between anthropogenic and geogenic trace elements occurrence in the Campania Plain, Southern Italy. Environmental Pollution, 234, 260–269.
Childers, D. L. (2006). A synthesis of long-term research by the Florida Coastal Everglades LTER Program. Hydrobiologia, 569(1), 531–544.
Colombani, N., Giambastiani, B. M., & Mastrocicco, M. (2017). Impact of climate variability on the salinization of the coastal wetland-aquifer system of the Po Delta, Italy. Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-Aqua, 66(7), 430–441.
Fraissinet, M., Bruschini, M., Esse, E., Grimaldi, S., Giustino, S., Mastronardi, D., et al. (2014). Andamenti delle anatre svernanti nelle zone umide della Provincia di Caserta nel periodo 2003–2014. Picus, 40, 109–118.
Giustino, S., Bruschini, M., Esse, E., Grimaldi, S., Mastronardi, D., Capasso, S., et al. (2017). Wetland selection, niche breadth and overlap in 10 duck species wintering in northern Campania (Italy). Research in Ornithology, 87(2), 3–8.
Golden, H. E., Lane, C. R., Amatya, D. M., Bandilla, K. W., Kiperwas, H. R., Knightes, C. D., et al. (2014). Hydrologic connectivity between geographically isolated wetlands and surface water systems: A review of select modeling methods. Environmental Modelling & Software, 53, 190–206.
Havens, K. E., & Steinman, A. D. (2015). Ecological responses of a large shallow lake (Okeechobee, Florida) to climate change and potential future hydrologic regimes. Environmental management, 55(4), 763–775.
Holland, M. M., Whigham, D. F., & Gopal, B. (1990). The characteristics of wetland ecotones. In The ecology and management of aquatic-terrestrial ecotones (pp. 171–198).
ISPRA. (2018). Marine National Tide Gauge Network Online Database. https://mareografico.it/.
Kløve, B., Ala-aho, P., Bertrand, G., Boukalova, Z., Ertürk, A., Goldscheider, N., et al. (2011). Groundwater dependent ecosystems. Part I: Hydroecological status and trends. Environmental Science & Policy, 14(7), 770–781.
Lambeck, K., Antonioli, F., Anzidei, M., Ferranti, L., Leoni, G., Scicchitano, G., et al. (2011). Sea level change along the Italian coast during the Holocene and projections for the future. Quaternary International, 232, 250–257.
Lee, S. Y., Dunn, R. J. K., Young, R. A., Connolly, R. M., Dale, P. E. R., Dehayr, R., et al. (2006). Impact of urbanization on coastal wetland structure and function. Austral Ecology, 31(2), 149–163.
Mastrocicco, M., Busico, G., & Colombani, N. (2018). Groundwater temperature trend as a proxy for climate variability. In E-Proceedings of the 3rd EWaS International Conference—Insights on the Water-Energy-Food Nexus (pp. 498–503).
McGrane, S. J. (2016). Impacts of urbanisation on hydrological and water quality dynamics, and urban water management: A review. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 61(13), 2295–2311.
MIPAAF. (2018). Agrometeorological Online Database. https://www.politicheagricole.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/7012.
Nielsen, D. L., & Brock, M. A. (2009). Modified water regime and salinity as a consequence of climate change: Prospects for wetlands of Southern Australia. Climatic Change, 95(3–4), 523–533.
Post, V., Kooi, H., & Simmons, C. (2007). Using hydraulic head measurements in variable-density ground water flow analyses. Ground Water, 45(6), 664–671.
Provincia di Caserta. (2012). Valutazione dell’incidenza del Ptcp sui siti Natura 2000. In Piano territoriale di coordinamento provinciale (p. 158).
Ruberti, D., & Vigliotti, M. (2017). Land use and landscape pattern changes driven by land reclamation in a coastal area: The case of Volturno delta plain, Campania Region, Southern Italy. Environmental Earth Sciences, 76(20), 694.
Ruberti, D., Vigliotti, M., Di Mauro, A., Chieffi, R., & Di Natale, M. (2017). Human influence over 150 years of coastal evolution in the Volturno delta system (Southern Italy). Journal of Coastal Conservation, 1–21.
Webster, I. T. (2010). The hydrodynamics and salinity regime of a coastal lagoon—The Coorong, Australia-Seasonal to multi-decadal timescales. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 90(4), 264–274.
Werner, A. D., Bakker, M., Post, V. E. A., Vandenbohede, A., Lu, C., Ataie-Ashtiani, B., et al. (2013). Seawater intrusion processes, investigation and management: Recent advances and future challenges. Advances in Water Resources, 51, 3–26.
Yu, L., Rozemeijer, J., van Breukelen, B. M., Ouboter, M., van der Vlugt, C., & Broers, H. P. (2018). Groundwater impacts on surface water quality and nutrient loads in lowland polder catchments: Monitoring the greater Amsterdam area 2. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 22(1), 487–508.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to acknowledge all the voluntary personnel working at the Variconi oasis for the tireless help in conserving this precious environment.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this paper
Cite this paper
Mastrocicco, M., Busico, G., Colombani, N., Usai, A., Ruberti, D. (2020). Seasonal Salinity Variations in a Coastal Wetland Induced by Complex Interactions Between Sea, River and Evapoconcentration Processes. In: Nguyen, K., Guillou, S., Gourbesville, P., Thiébot, J. (eds) Estuaries and Coastal Zones in Times of Global Change. Springer Water. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2081-5_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2081-5_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-15-2080-8
Online ISBN: 978-981-15-2081-5
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)