ResPond Project

What are temporary ponds?

Temporary ponds (i.e. ponds that seasonally or erratically dry) are a ubiquitous component of global biomes found from the equatorial forests to the arctic tundras. However, with the intensification of agriculture and hydrological modification of landscapes, these systems have largely disappeared in Europe and are often strongly degraded. Despite their substantial biodiversity including many species found nowhere else, most temporary ponds lack any formal protection. They are often overlooked and have a poor reputation. For instance, they or considered sources of mosquitoes. However, there are also strong indications that they fulfil important roles in landscapes but the full scope of ecosystem services they provide has not been quantified.

1. Developing guidelines to reduce temporary pond degradation
2. Developing an effective framework for expanding temporary pond conservation in Europe
3. Developing guidelines to improve temporary pond creation and restoration
4. Raising awareness about temporary pond ecosystems and the strategies needed to preserve them

What’s the problem?

What we plan to do

• We will make a temporary pond typology, try to map the their location in the Western Palearctic and perform a threat analysis for different temporary pond types to support conservation prioritization and protective legislation.
• We will prioritize temporary pond threats and check to which extent these are generalizable geographically or to different types of temporary ponds.
• We will analyze the determinants of successful pond restoration and creation projects
• We will measure ecosystem services and disservices and the experimentally test the potential role of large branchiopod crustaceans as keystone species.
• We will adequately inform policy makers, scientists, conservation managers and the general public.