News

Last week, 25-27 October, the EU-Horizon SpongeScapes project kick-off meeting took place in Delft, the Netherlands.

 For three intensive days, colleagues from the 10 different partner organisations participated in workshops, a field visit and insightful discussions to enhance the sponge function of soil, groundwater and surface water systems. 

Sponge function of landscapes refers to the ability of natural or managed ecosystems to absorb, store and slowly release water, thereby mitigating floods and droughts.

Re-starting biodiversity monitoring for the Kavouropotamos stream in 2024 

The growing challenge of drought

Drought is a growing concern in the Upper Biebrza River Basin in Poland. It is affecting the entire region: both agricultural and wetland ecosystems. Water levels in rivers throughout the catchment have been very low for a long time. In particular, on the Biebrza River at the Sztabin gauge - which closes the Upper Biebrza catchment - the water level has reached a record low of 92 cm on 25 September 2024.