Tesis doctoral de Frédérique Caille
Rivers, particularly in developed regions, are under significant ecological stress as a consequence of the increasing development of human activities in their catchments. This is especially reflected in excess nitrogen (n) and phosphorus (p) emissions, which are the product of complex dynamic systems influenced by demographic, socioeconomic and technological factors among others. This situation has been addressed in europe through specific legislation such as the european water framework directive (wfd). Its application requires conducting an integrated environmental assessment (iea) for the management of nutrients in river basins. In mediterranean regions, where the aquatic ecosystems are particularly vulnerable, an iea is essential for the sustainable management of hydrological resources and to maintain the ecological quality of the ecosystem. in this thesis, using a catalan river catchment as a case study (la tordera, north-east of spain), an integrated and interdisciplinary environmental assessment of nutrient flows was undertaken for the period from early 1990s to early 2000s, and the future, i.E., The 2030 horizon. This assessment involved not only the estimation of n and p fluxes, and the analysis of the socioeconomic system that interact with theses fluxes, but also the participatory development of future scenarios, their quantification and the evaluation of the potential changes in nutrient flows under each of these quantitative scenarios. by analysing the social system and point and diffuse sources of nutrients (n and p), the respective roles of socio-economic driving forces that affect n and p loads and hence water quality were recognised. Interviews were conducted to identify and understand the interactions and feedbacks between the natural and social system over the past and present time, and the analysis of the social actors that contribute to water contamination. The application of a nutrient emission model, moneris (modelling nutrient emissions into river systems), designed for river basin scale, enabled the identification of nutrient sources and quantification of their emissions during the period 1995-2002. This assessment was then followed by the development of narrative socioeconomic scenarios through a participatory process and their quantification. the study conducted can be viewed as an example of the process required for the sustainable management of the anthropogenic sources of nutrients in a river basin. By integrating findings of natural sciences and socioeconomic analysis, it is then possible to obtain information that can assist catchment managers and planners in evaluating optimal management strategies for the anthropogenic sources of n and p as required by the european water framework directive for river basin management plans.
Datos académicos de la tesis doctoral «Integrated environmental assessment of nutrient emissions in a mediterranean catchment: a case study in la tordera, catalonia«
- Título de la tesis: Integrated environmental assessment of nutrient emissions in a mediterranean catchment: a case study in la tordera, catalonia
- Autor: Frédérique Caille
- Universidad: Autónoma de barcelona
- Fecha de lectura de la tesis: 06/03/2009
Dirección y tribunal
- Director de la tesis
- Joan Lluís Riera Rey
- Tribunal
- Presidente del tribunal: louis Lemkow zetterling
- roger Strand (vocal)
- (vocal)
- (vocal)