Abstract:

A project for monitoring conservation status of the river Albaida is presented. The aim is that the collection of data for research and the development of policy proposals that arrive to the competent authorities can be done with the active participation of users of this interesting environmental area. Social agents to who the project is targeting are mainly: those who perform productive activities -both agricultural and industrial-, those engaged in its recreational use, as well as all those who make an indirect use of the river, as the inhabitants of the surrounding areas. With respect to the latter group, it is especially addressed to formal education as well as unregulated teaching, associations, etc.

It takes as its starting point the information provided in the publication “El riu Albaida, qualitat ambiental de les seues riberes” ("The river Albaida, environmental quality of its river sides").

A working tool composed by a photographic catalog of the flora of the river basin with nearly 2000 photographs has been created: a photo tour with geo-referenced images throughout the study area. It also contains mapping with environmental assessments, as well as all the data on which it is based. All this has been projected as a website, which is easily transferable to media such as tablets, smart-phones, etc. by simply copying the information into a memory card. This tool will help individual users identify the species of flora and make an interpretation of plant communities, habitats and current conservation status without requiring internet connections that are largely unfeasible in many natural areas.

A form for the collection of field data is also created, following the methodology used in the initial study, which is simple and easy to apply, focusing in the degree of coverage of vegetation, structure, riparian plant species as well as on different disturbances and the channel´s degree of conservation. Gathering all this information will increase the knowledge of the riparian ecosystem whilst helping the authorities and environmental managers improve the quality of the river ecosystem.

Keywords:

Assessment, formal education, management, non regulated teaching, riparian quality, vegetation.