Objectives

The overarching aim of the ‘CyaNoServices’ project is to increase the security of freshwater supporting services for biodiversity threatened by harmful cyanobacteria beyond the aquatic boundary, with a focus on insect biodiversity and the multiple key ecosystem services that they provide to wildlife and human well-being. To this end, we will address the following interconnected, 4 core objectives organized in 4 work-packages:

• Obj. 1: To understand the largely overlooked link between cyanobacterial blooms and cross-ecosystem freshwater support to insect biodiversity in real-world ecosystems. We will achieve this objective with an unprecedented field study across climates .
• Obj. 2: To identify specific mechanisms that underlie the above linkages found in real-world landscapes. Robust conclusions will be obtained by using both experiments in the laboratory and field experiments.
• Obj. 3: To enable quantifying the threat of harmful cyanobacteria to ecosystem services beyond the aquatic boundary. We will generate robust indicators for management schemes and stakeholders.
• Obj. 4: To integrate stakeholders for strategic activity planning and co-design of solutions to manage threatened ecosystem services. Based on the Theory of Change, we will employ a stepwise, interdisciplinary approach that includes state-of-the-art digital technologies.

General activities

• Field surveys linking cyanobacterial blooms to cross-ecosystem support of freshwaters for insect biodiversity and services across climates
• Mechanistic understanding of cyanobacterial bloom impacts across ecosystem boundaries
• Synthesis on indicators of freshwater ecosystem service delivery
• Stakeholder awareness, co-design, and transfer of management solutions

Expected results

Our anticipated research outputs  will enhance our understanding of the relationship between cyanobacterial bloom occurrence and supported ecosystem services in land. This understanding is
vital for stakeholders. Our project is also highly important for the integration of stakeholders into solving freshwater security challenges, creating a novel case with the aid of social-based approaches and user-friendly technology previously successfully tested in the drinking water sector. Our strategic activity planning by engaging our stakeholders from the start of the project will allow a co-creation environment for the practical challenges to be addressed, for the vision of change to take place, and impacts to be identified (see impact quantification based on KPIs. Understanding the relationship between cyanobacterial bloom occurrence and the ecosystem services proposed in land here is also not only crucial for stakeholders, but also for current policies and mandatory monitoring schemes. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60/EC considers the abundance of cyanobacteria as an indicator of the ecological status of a waterbody. However, we currently lack knowledge on how such abundance-based thresholds can predict impacts on ecosystem services, and less so on freshwater supporting services across the aquatic-terrestrial boundary. Moreover, the WFD only considers monitoring standing water bodies >50 ha, thus neglecting the importance of small ponds, wetlands, and impoundments, which represent >90% of freshwater bodies worldwide. In our project, standing water bodies <50 ha will be specifically targeted. The EU Drinking Water Directive 2020/2184 and Bathing Water Directive 2006/7/EC also consider mandatory the monitoring of cyanotoxins in freshwater bodies, but only to those considered for drinking or bathing services. In addition, the World Health Organization provided guidelines for cyanotoxin threshold concentrations, but only related to drinking and recreational use. Results from CyaNoServices will then fill important knowledge gaps that are critical to management and policy in support of biodiversity and ecosystem services across ecological boundaries. Also, our timely project strongly connects with the objectives of the new Common Agricultural Policy, which is central to achieving the European Green Deal, as it considers the protection of small farmland water bodies as part of its enhanced conditionality system. This recognition is crucial because it will considerably help integrating stakeholders, such as farmers and beekeepers, into the management and valuation of the benefits of small water bodies, thus increasing the impact of our project.

CyaNoServices project is funded by MICIU/AEI /10.13039/501100011033 and co-financed by the European Union.