Temporary Ponds of the Ribera de la Algaida

With the arrival of summer, the ponds of the Algaida Riverside dry up. The ponds, teeming with life during the spring, begin a natural desiccation process. This process is crucial for the survival of Mediterranean temporary wetlands. These unique ecosystems host a distinctive biodiversity, with animals and plants specifically adapted to these cycles of flooding and drought that could not survive in permanent wetlands.
When the ponds dry up, aquatic plants and invertebrates leave their seeds or eggs in the dry mud, forming a fragile crust that stores these resistant structures, which can remain viable for years, waiting for the arrival of new rains.
The dry beds of the ponds are used by some birds, such as little terns, collared pratincoles, and Kentish plovers, to lay their eggs directly on the ground, where thanks to their cryptic design, they are extraordinarily difficult to see.
With the first autumn rains, the wetland is reborn. The water reactivates the latent life trapped in the mud, creating an exceptionally nutrient-rich soup. Seeds germinate quickly, crustacean eggs hatch, and in no time, the pond regains its vitality, attracting a rich biodiversity of waterfowl that find an inexhaustible food source here.
Although they may seem like dry, dead surfaces, it is essential to avoid walking on them, disturbing the layer of mud where the resistant structures on which the next generation depends lie dormant.
This cycle of life, death, and rebirth, characteristic of Mediterranean temporary wetlands, reminds us of the complexity and fragility of these ecosystems. Conserving and managing them properly is crucial to ensuring the survival of their flora and fauna, a unique natural heritage that we cannot afford to lose.

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