Joumine Marsh, National Park of Ichkeul, Tunisia: floristic diversity, vegetation mapping and dynamics (1925–2011)
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Published source details
Ouali M., Daoud-Bouattour A., Etteieb S., Gammar A.M., Ben Saad-Limam S. & Ghrabi-Gammar Z. (2014) Le marais de Joumine, Parc National de l’Ichkeul, Tunisie: diversité floristique, cartographie et dynamique de la végétation (1925–2011). Revue d'Écologie (La Terre et La Vie), 69, 3-23.
Published source details Ouali M., Daoud-Bouattour A., Etteieb S., Gammar A.M., Ben Saad-Limam S. & Ghrabi-Gammar Z. (2014) Le marais de Joumine, Parc National de l’Ichkeul, Tunisie: diversité floristique, cartographie et dynamique de la végétation (1925–2011). Revue d'Écologie (La Terre et La Vie), 69, 3-23.
Actions
This study is summarised as evidence for the following.
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Raise water level to restore degraded brackish/salt marshes Action Link |
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Actively manage water level: brackish/salt marshes Action Link |
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Raise water level to restore degraded brackish/salt marshes
A before-and-after study in 2005–2011 of a lakeshore brackish/saline marsh in Tunisia (Ouali et al. 2014) reported that after building dams and embankments along a canal to raise the water level in the marsh, the ratio of bulrush-dominated vegetation to salt-marsh vegetation increased. In 2005, after three years of freshwater releases from upstream dams to restore winter flooding, the marsh contained 241 ha of vegetation dominated by bulrush Bolboschoenus glaucus, and 468 ha of salt marsh communities (dominated by glasswort Sarcocornia fruticosa and sea barley Hordeum marinum) – a ratio of 0.5:1. Between 2008 and 2011, after modifying a canal within the marsh to hold back water (dams inserted, and arrays of embankments built perpendicular to the canal) along with continued freshwater releases, the area of bulrush-dominated vegetation increased from 0.5:1 (193:399 ha) to 1:1 (298:296 ha). Methods: Between 2005 and 2011, vegetation in the lakeshore Joumine Marsh was mapped using field surveys and satellite images.
(Summarised by: Nigel Taylor)
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Actively manage water level: brackish/salt marshes
A before-and-after study in 1994–2011 of a lakeshore brackish/saline marsh in Tunisia (Ouali et al. 2014) reported that after releasing water through upstream dams to restore winter flooding, the area of a bulrush-dominated community increased. In 1994–2002, the marsh was drier and more saline than normal. The main waterway feeding the marsh had been channelized to flow through the marsh (rather than into it) and dams had been built upstream. Vegetation dominated by bulrush Bolboschoenus glaucus covered 0–14 ha of the marsh, whilst salt marsh communities (dominated by glasswort Sarcocornia fruticosa and sea barley Hordeum marinum) covered 324–327 ha. In 2005, after three years of freshwater releases (along with heavy rains) that raised the water level of the lake, restored winter flooding and reduced salinity, bulrush-dominated vegetation expanded to cover 241 ha. Salt marsh vegetation covered 468 ha. In 2008–2011, continued freshwater releases (along with construction of dams and perpendicular embankments along the canal within the marsh, to hold back water; see Action: Raise water level to restore degraded marshes or swamps) maintained bulrush-dominated vegetation coverage at 192–298 ha. Salt-marsh vegetation covered 296–399 ha. Methods: Between 2005 and 2011, vegetation in Joumine Marsh was mapped using field surveys and satellite images. The study compared these maps to previously published maps. Large-scale release of freshwater into the lake began in autumn 2002.
(Summarised by: Nigel Taylor)
