Abstract:

The Chongming Dongtan wetland, a representative coastal wetland in East Asia, is subject to a significant ecological threat from the invasive species Spartina alterniflora. The mixed ecotone formed between this invasive species and the native Phragmites australis serves as a highly sensitive and critical indicator of alterations in wetland ecosystem structure and function. Using spring and autumn Sentinel-2 imagery from 2016 to 2023, this study developed a method that integrates a three-dimensional feature space with multi-threshold Otsu segmentation to accurately extract the mixed S. alterniflora–P. australis ecotone. The spatiotemporal dynamics of the mixed ecotone were analyzed at multiple temporal scales using a centroid migration model and the Seasonal Area Ratio (SAR) index. The results suggest that: (1) Near-infrared reflectance and NDVI were identified as the optimal spectral indices for spring and autumn, respectively, which led to a classification achieving an overall accuracy of 87.3±1.4% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.84±0.02. Notably, the mixed ecotone was mapped with producer’s and user’s accuracies of 85.2% and 83.6%. (2) The vegetation followed a distinct land-to-sea ecological sequence of “pure P. australis–mixed ecotone–pure S. alterniflora”, predominantly distributed as an east–west trending belt. This pattern was fragmented by tidal creeks and micro-topography in the northwest, contrasting with geometrically regular linear anomalies in the central area, indicative of human engineering. (3) The ecotone saw continuous seaward expansion throughout the 2016–2023 period. Spring exhibited a consistent annual area growth of 13.93% and a stable seaward centroid migration, whereas autumn exhibited significant intra-annual fluctuations in both area and centroid due to extreme climate events. (4) The SAR index uncovered a fundamental transition in the seasonal competition pattern in 2017, initiating a seven-year spring-dominant phase after a single year of autumn dominance. This spring-dominated era exhibited a distinctive sawtooth fluctuation pattern, indicative of competitive dynamics arising from the phenological advancement of P. australis combined with the niche penetration of S. alterniflora. This study elucidates the multi-scale competition and succession mechanisms between S. alterniflora and P. australis, thus providing a scientific underpinning for effective invasive species control and ecological restoration in coastal wetlands.

Abstract: The invasion of Prosopis juliflora poses a growing threat to dryland ecosystems and pas-toral livelihoods across East Africa. This study presents an integrative approach that combines satellite remote sensing, machine learning, and participatory GIS (PGIS) to de-tect and map the spatial extent and socio-ecological impacts of Prosopis juliflora in Baringo County, Kenya. We evaluated the performance of three satellite platforms, Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, and PlanetScope, using a Random Forest classifier trained on field-collected presence–absence data and vegetation indices. Sentinel-2 outperformed the other sensors, achieving a classification accuracy of 90.65%, with key variables including Visible At-mospherically Resistant Index (VARI), Ratio Vegetation Index (RVI) and red-edge bands emerging as the most important predictors. To enhance contextual understanding and validate remote sensing outputs, we conducted PGIS sessions with gender-disaggregated community groups, capturing local perceptions of invasion hotspots and blocked access to grazing routes and water sources. The comparison of satellite-derived maps and PGIS outputs revealed strong spatial congruence, particularly along water bodies, roads, and croplands. Our findings demonstrate the potential of combining Earth observation and citizen science to generate actionable knowledge for managing invasive species in da-ta-scarce dryland environments. This hybrid framework supports inclusive and spatially targeted interventions for rangeland restoration and ecosystem resilience.

Abstract: Savanna ecosystems are shaped by intricate interactions among rainfall, vegetation productivity, and fire regimes, with these dynamics varying along aridity–humidity gradients. We developed a stochastic, process-based simulation model to investigate how rainfall, fire frequency, and fire intensity jointly regulate grass and shrub biomass in semi-arid Namibian savannas over a 100-year period. The model operates at monthly time steps, linking rainfall-driven biomass accumulation to fuel availability and probabilistic fire occurrence. Simulation results reveal marked contrasts across rainfall regimes. In drier savannas ( 200 mm/year), low and relatively stable grass biomass dominates, supporting frequent but low-intensity fires that exert limited influence on vegetation structure. Mesic savannas ( 300–400 mm/year) exhibit recurrent, moderate- to high-intensity fires that produce pronounced oscillations in grass and shrub biomass, suppressing woody encroachment while maintaining dynamic coexistence with grasses. In humid savannas ( 500 mm/year), high biomass accumulates and fuels are abundant, but fires occur infrequently due to high humidity. When fire events do occur, they are extremely intense, shaping long-term vegetation composition. Rainfall variability amplifies temporal fluctuations in biomass and fire intensity but does not fundamentally shift equilibrium states. Across all regimes, fire characteristics—especially frequency and intensity—emerge as the dominant regulators of savanna structure, while rainfall acts primarily as a stochastic modulator. These findings highlight the need for rainfall-specific fire management strategies: fire suppression in arid systems to protect fragile vegetation, prescribed burns in mesic regions to prevent woody encroachment, and moderate, regular fires in humid savannas to sustain grass–tree coexistence and reduce the risk of extreme wildfires.

Abstract: The northern Brazilian Amazon has ecological transition ecosystems with high diversity and endemism of tree species and few botanical collections. We evaluated the phytosociology between Dense Ombrophilous Forest (Ds) and Forested Campinarana (Ld) within the Anauá National Forest (Flona) in Roraima, Brazil. A total of 14,730 trees with a DBH > 10 cm were inventoried across 30 hectares (ha), distributed among 55 botanical families, 183 genera, 386 species, and 123 undetermined trees. Ten hyperdominant tree families accounted for 69% of the sampled trees and 65% of the stored forest carbon (102.9 ± 5.0 Mg ha-1), like Arecaceae (2,555), Fabaceae (1,738) and Sapotaceae (1,311). Ten hyperdominant species accounted for 32% of the sampled individuals and 32% of the stored forest carbon (46.3 ± 3.8 Mg ha-1), like Euterpe precatoria (1,151), Pouteria macrophylla (561) and Inga alba (574). The Anauá National Forest has great potential for sustainable multiple-use forest management through forest concessions; however, tree mortality due to natural causes and anthropogenic actions (deforestation, illegal selective logging, and forest fires) was considered high (7%) for tropical forests in the Amazon. We recommend further studies to broaden the understanding of tree diversity and forest structure present in ecological transition ecosystems in the Brazilian Amazon.

Abstract: The Strait of Messina (Central Mediterranean Sea) has always been known for the stranding of marine organisms, especially during the spring. We came across an extraordinary event of mass stranding in April 2025, with 453 specimens of Macroramphosus sp. found through a single night. A total of 571 post-larvae and juvenile individuals stranded between February and May 2025 were examined for this study. Clear morphological differences related to the size, especially in post-larvae were highlighted. The relationship between Body Length (BL) and other morphometric measurements, such as Dorsal Spine Length (DSL), Snout Length (SNL), and Body Height (BH) were studied with the aim of identifying without any doubt the species Macroramphosus gracilis. A slightly negative allometric relationship between length and weight shows that it grows faster in length and slower in weight. This study aims to improve the state of knowledge on slender snipefish M. gracilis, and particularly on the somatic features of different post-larval development stages. All these morphological changes could give us a hint at the ecological adaptation to the habit shift related to the development. Larvae and post-larvae of M. gracilis under 36 mm SL appear to be more linked to the epipelagic/hyponeustonic habitat, while adult individuals seem to prefer benthopelagic habits. Our results support the hypothesis that the Strait of Messina represents an exclusive and crucial zone for the reproduction and growth of M. gracilis.

Abstract: The unpredictability, increasing frequency and severity of extreme climatic events, is forcing researchers and farmers to urgently develop adaptation practices to enhance the resilience of agroecosystems to climate change. The identification of farming systems that have withstood recent climatic events and understanding the agroecological features that allowed such systems to resist and/or recover from drought and/or hurricanes is of strategic importance. This paper describes a number of methodologies aimed at assessing the resilience of Latin American agroecosystems by estimating the level of vulnerability and the response capacity of selected farming systems to cope with climatic threats. The methodologies utilize a set of socio-ecological indicators that can be easily evaluated in the field, allowing farmers to assess whether their farms can withstand or not a major climatic event (drought or hurricane) and what to do to enhance the resiliency of their farms in preparation for future events. The derived resiliency principles and practices that underlie the success of resistant farms can then be disseminated to thousands of farmers, thus contributing to the scaling up of the adoption of agroecological adaptation practices.

Abstract: Long-standing and chronic soil pollution in the Polar Regions is the most persistent. Simultaneous contamination with petroleum products and heavy metals puts additional load on the soil microbial community. The purpose of this work was to determine the composition of microorganisms in the soils of Mount Kaskama with long-standing contamination with petroleum products and heavy metals (Murmansk region, Russia) and outside this zone and the potential ability of microorganisms to participate in the self-purification of these soils. Using high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene V3–V4 fragments an increase in the proportion of bacteria of the phyla Pseudomonadota, Verrucomicrobiota, Cyanobacteriota, and Bacillota was shown with an increase in soil contamination. Bacteria of the genera Bacillus, Caballeronia, Cytobacillus, Paenibacillus, Paraburkholderia, Pseudomonas, and Rhodanobacter were isolated from soil samples. Вacteria of the genus Paenibacillus capable of hydrocarbon oxidation and iron reduction were isolated from the subsurface contaminated layers. Under aerobic conditions, Fe(II) oxidation by bacteria of the genus Pseudomonas and biodegradation of hydrocarbons by isolated bacteria are possible. The isolated strains grew at low temperatures, used diesel fuel components, and were resistant to Cu(II), Ni(II), and Pb(II). The data obtained indicates the adaptation of microbial communities to environmental conditions and the ability to participate in the process of soil self-healing.

Abstract:

Restoring an ecosystem after a biological invasion is a huge challenge. A key question for ecologists is whether it can truly bring back what was lost. In coastal areas, the invasive cordgrass Spartina alterniflora is a major problem. It takes over tidal flats, changing the very structure of the sediment and devastating the small creatures—the macrobenthos—that live within it. This, in turn, disrupts the food supply for migrating waterbirds that depend on these flats. While digging up the invasive grass is a common solution, we still don't fully understand what drives the recovery. Does the habitat bounce back because the physical environment is fixed, or is it because the food sources (nutrients) return? To figure this out, we ran a field study in Hangzhou Bay, an area known for its large tides. We compared three different zones: patches of the invasive Spartina, mudflats where native Scirpus mariqueter sedge was restored after clearing the invader, and untouched native mudflats. We simultaneously tracked changes in the sediment's physical makeup (like porosity, water content, and grain size), its nutritional content (organic matter), and the community of bottom-dwelling creatures. Using a combination of Gradient Boosting Decision Trees (XGBoost) and SHAP analysis to sort through the data, we found that removing the invasive grass worked. The median number of species jumped from 5 to 9, and the total biomass shot up from a meager 1.36 to 11.75 g/m².Interestingly, this comeback was directly tied to improvements in the sediment's physical condition. After removal, total porosity increased by 19%, water content went up by nearly 11%, and the fraction of coarser particles grew by over 41%. The SHAP analysis confirmed what we saw: total porosity and water content were the most important factors predicting recovery (SHAP importance: 0.106 and 0.082). Their influence was more than double that of organic matter (0.041).What this tells us is that, at least in Hangzhou Bay, fixing the physical structure of the habitat is the first and most critical step. Rebuilding the sediment foundation kickstarts the return of the native benthic community, more so than any immediate change in nutrient levels. Our work shows that successful coastal restoration hinges on getting the physical substrate right first, giving managers a clearer target for assessing and managing invaded wetlands.

Abstract: Plankton community respiration (PCR) plays a central role in aquatic ecosystems, driving the breakdown of organic matter and influencing global carbon cycling through its contribution to the production and consumption of carbon and oxygen. Coastal areas, which serve as critical interfaces between terrestrial and marine ecosystems, are regarded as metabolic hotspots in the oceans, due to their intense biological and biogeochemical activities. Additionally, they are particularly sensitive to the impacts of global climate change. In this regard, this review synthesizes experimental evidence to explore how environmental constraints and climate drivers affect PCR in European coastal waters. In total, 46 studies were found in which PCR was measured during experiments testing the effects of one or multiple global climate change drivers in European coastal waters. Among them, the majority of experiments focused on changes in temperature, nutrient concentrations and stoichiometry, and/or pH, while other stressors were less studied. Many experiments confirmed theoretical predictions, notably regarding the predicted positive effects of increased temperature and nutrient concentrations on metabolism, but more complex responses, often linked to trophic cascade mechanisms and thresholds between positive and negative feedbacks were also often reported. Overall, this review, the first comprehensive synthesis of experimental evidence on PCR in European coastal waters, highlights critical knowledge gaps, notably regarding non- and understudied areas and understudied interactions between stressors that occurs jointly in natural ecosystems. Future research should aim to integrate controlled experiments, long-term monitoring, and modeling approaches to deepen our understanding of PCR dynamics under changing environmental conditions and to predict potential feedbacks to global climate processes.

Abstract: Antarctic cryptogams and soils harbour diverse microbial communities that are fundamental to nutrient cycling and ecosystem resilience. However, the functional roles of these communities are not yet fully understood. This study investigated the bacterial communities associated with the moss Andreaea regularis, the lichen Usnea aurantiacoatra and adjacent soils in Antarctica. Metagenomic analysis revealed clear host-dependent structuring of microbial communities, with moss and soil supporting diverse and metabolically versatile assemblages, while the lichen harbored a smaller and more specialized bacterial community. Community composition exhibited significant variation among substrates, with U. aurantiacoatra dominated by Pseudomonadota and a narrow set of cyanobacteria (particularly Leptolyngbyales), whereas A. regularis and soils contained richer, more even assemblages dominated by Pseudomonadota, Actinomycetota and Cyanobacteriota. Functional profiling revealed that soil bacteria possessed the broadest metabolic potential, including a complete nitrogen cycle and multiple nutrient uptake pathways, whereas the lichen microbiome showed the most reduced representation of important metabolic pathways.

Abstract: This study explores the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms for detecting hazardous substance discharges into water bodies and modeling their distribution. River pollution remains a major environmental concern, while traditional monitoring methods are labor-intensive, costly, and lack operational efficiency. The paper analyzes key water quality parameters and modern Internet of Things (IoT) systems that enable real-time data collection on indicators such as pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and turbidity. Emphasis is placed on Machine Learning (ML) algorithms for anomaly detection and pollution forecasting. Methods including linear regression, decision trees, neural networks, and clustering are compared, with particular attention to ensemble models such as Random Forest (RF) and XGBoost. Using open environmental data on Ukrainian surface waters for 2022, RF and XGBoost were found to effectively predict nitrogen and dissolved oxygen concentrations and identify anomalies linked to anthropogenic pollution sources, including municipal sewage and agricultural runoff. The integration of AI and IoT technologies significantly improves the accuracy, speed, and efficiency of water quality monitoring, supporting early warning systems and sustainable water management while highlighting ongoing challenges related to data quality and implementation costs.

Abstract: This study attempts to analyse the environmental knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of secondary school teachers. Factors affecting environmental knowledge, attitudes and behaviour were also identified. Furthermore, the importance that teachers give to Environmental Education (Ε.Ε.) in their lessons was analyzed. This research involved the use of both quantitative and qualitative modes of inquiry. Two hundred questionnaire respondents took part in the research. Statistical and thematic analysis of the data obtained from the questionnaires was carried out respectively. Tri-angulation of data was also done. The analysis revealed that secondary school teachers have an overall good level of environmental knowledge, although lacking some details and they do have an overall positive attitude and behaviour towards the environment. A significant relationship be-tween the environmental attitudes and behaviour as well as the environmental knowledge and behaviour was identified. The implementation of E.E. by secondary school teachers was charac-terised by a strong influence of the curriculum. In addition, they also incorporate E.E. through pro-environmental behaviour, particularly concerning waste issues. The main restrictions that limit secondary school teachers from including E.E. are time constraints and the negative feedback they receive. With regards to the grounding offered to teachers related to E.E., secondary school teachers described the teacher training courses as being more theoretical rather than focusing on practical applications. In light of these findings, this research puts forward suggestions for a better structure of teacher training courses. This study aims at investigating secondary school students’ knowledge of and attitudes towards environment on different variables. The study was conducted with 300 secondary school teachers through the descriptive survey model. 'Environmental Knowledge Test' and 'Environmental Attitude Scale' were used to collect data for the study. The results showed that secondary school teachers’ knowledge of and attitudes towards environment did not differ on gender. Finally, some suggestions based on results were included in the study.

Abstract: Climate change is expected to have significant yet distinct impacts on arthropods. Studying the species distribution of odonates, which are considered a model taxon for studying climate change and a flagship group for assessing ecosystem health, can reveal potential future patterns of geographic change. My study predicts the impacts of different climate change scenarios on the future habitat and distribution of odonates. I used MaxEnt to construct species distribution models (SDMs) for 30 North American odonate species across seven functional groups, categorized based on functional traits about each genus’s life history, dispersal, morphology, and ecology. Each model was applied to three future years and three different Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs). My results show that odonates will experience increasing overall habitat suitability and increasing range size with shifts northward; however, the total suitable habitat will shrink into smaller, geographically separated pockets. While most functional groups will follow the aforementioned trends, Libellula will experience a decrease in range size, and Aeshna will move the furthest north while experiencing the greatest increase in overall habitat suitability and range size. Overall, SSP5 will result in increased variability among functional groups in their habitat and distribution. This study has implications for understanding invertebrate responses to global change, and may refocus conservation efforts on species with specific functional traits. The functional approach used here may be further applicable to other organisms and regions.

Abstract: Uganda is home to a rich diversity of bats, which carry high ecological and socioeconomic value through the ecosystem services that they provide. However, critical bat habitats including caves are facing increasing anthropogenic pressures, and the types and frequencies of disturbances to cave-roosting bats are not well understood in Uganda. Therefore, we examined the role of anthropogenic disturbances in caves to assess the threats posed to bat populations. We used the Bat Cave Vulnerability Index (BCVI) framework to evaluate the likely effects of anthropogenic disturbance on the cave bats inhabiting 14 caves within the study region. We included qualitative surveys with human communities to better understand various aspects within the BCVI. All bat species recorded are of the IUCN category - “Least Concern”. The BCVI ranked 50% of the caves as “High” and “Moderate” priority for conservation interventions due to high bat diversity and anthropogenic disturbance and determined that most caves studied were highly vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbance. All the caves we studied (except two) are outside the protected area, and due to their imputed vulnerabilities, interventions ought to be implemented to balance cave conservation and human use in the Mt Elgon area. Such interventions should integrate human dimensions.

Abstract: Agroecology offers a transformative pathway toward sustainable food systems by integrating ecological, economic, and social dimensions of farming. While its conceptual and policy foundations are increasingly recognized in European Union (EU) strategies, the practical adoption of agroecological principles at the farm level remains uneven, particularly in socio-economically peripheral Member States. This article investigates the enabling and constraining factors of agroecological uptake in three EU countries - Czech Republic, Hungary, and Portugal. Combining literature review, national policy mapping, and 42 in-depth farmer interviews, the study identifies shared challenges such as limited institutional coordination, subsidy dependency, and structural inequalities in land ownership. Despite these constraints, country-specific dynamics - such as farmer-to-farmer learning in Portugal, family farm identity in Czechia, and high trust in advisors in Hungary - reveal unique pathways for agroecological transition. The findings highlight that systemic barriers, rather than conceptual misunderstandings, impede agroecological adoption, and that context-sensitive strategies are essential for meaningful transformation. The paper contributes to the literature by providing empirical insight into farmer attitudes and practices in Central and Southern Europe and by offering actionable recommendations for designing policies and training aligned with agroecological values.

Abstract: It is clear that scientists' predictions must be rigorous and based on scientific evidence, but, even more, it is crucial to review scientific predictions after a reasonable time. However, predictions of published PVA have rarely been contrasted with real populations’ trends over time. This is worrisome, because this is the only way to keep learning and improve our ability to make more accurate predictions. In addition, conservation efforts can shift the initial predictions for the viability of threatened populations, thus, the evaluation of initial predictions become required over time. This is the case of the Egyptian vulture in Spain where trajectories of real populations over the years differ from large-scale predictions. The Egyptian Vulture in Spain, whose extinction in the Iberian Peninsula, due to mortality in wind farms among other causes, was predicted for nearly 2020, according to published viability analyzes, and yet, 14 years after this publication, not only did it not happen, but its national (and European) population remains stable and even slightly increasing (+2.6%). Those differences between predicted and observed trajectories of populations show the limitations of simulations as a conservation tool and offer the opportunity to evaluate the used PVAs and the shortcomings that affected the assessment of the real trajectory of the species, such amount of initial data, with only four years of data to simulate and generate 100-year predictions, distribution and variance of mortality rates by collision in wind farms, and overestimation of number of pairs in risk areas, assuming a clear relationship between predicted risk according distances and the actual recorded mortality at wind farms, when it is known that are not closely related.

Abstract: The Luilu sector, located in the Katangan Copperbelt (southeastern DR Congo), has expe-rienced intensified extractive activities over several decades. While this dynamic contrib-utes to national economic growth, it generates environmental and social impacts that re-main insufficiently documented, particularly regarding landscape structure and resili-ence. This study examines changes in land cover and spatial organization between 1990 and 2024 under increasing anthropogenic pressures. The methodology combines a mul-ti-temporal cartographic approach with landscape ecology indices (composition, frag-mentation, connectivity, spatial complexity) applied to satellite imagery. The analysis re-veals a significant decline in natural formations, notably Miombo woodlands (from 50.83% to 38.89%), correlated with the rapid expansion of agricultural (from 4.25% to 13.41%) and urban areas (from 0.64% to 5.05%), primarily driven by shifting cultivation and urbanization. Ecological indices indicate growing instability, increased fragmenta-tion, and reduced ecosystem resilience. The largest patch index shows a reduction in for-est dominance (29.62% to 24.34%), while fractal analysis highlights rapid, disorganized, and spatially complex urban expansion. These dynamics reflect a rapid, unplanned landscape reconfiguration, undermining ecological connectivity and reinforcing regional socio-environmental vulnerability. The study underscores the need to integrate landscape dynamics into local land management policies in order to balance mining development, food security, and ecosystem conservation.

Abstract: Urban rivers provide vital ecosystem services, benefiting both nature and people, yet they are heavily impacted worldwide, exhibiting similar symptoms collectively known as the Urban Stream Syndrome (USS). This study assessed the ecological health of the Someșul Mic River, located in Cluj-Napoca, Romania’s second-largest and rapidly developing city, through the lens of benthic invertebrate communities, recognized for their strong bioindicator value. Six sites along the main river course and four adjacent sites on tributaries and an artificial canal were analyzed. Our findings revealed the presence of USS at all sites; however, contrary to expectations, the mainstem sites showed higher water quality and greater taxonomic and functional diversity of zoobenthos. The primary drivers of this pattern were the proportion of coarse sediments and flow velocity, with river width playing a lesser role. Based on these results, eight mitigation strategies were proposed, aligned with the river ecosystem services. Their implementation could improve the ecological condition across the river, floodplain, and catchment levels, involving both scientists and the general public. Overall, the study provides a management-oriented framework for future river restoration initiatives in a growing city and a comparative reference for urban river assessments.

Abstract: Páramos, high-mountain tropical ecosystems, are crucial for carbon storage and water regulation for many Andean cities. However, they are subjected to wildland fires that threaten the ecosystem services they provide. Fire activity varies substantially among páramos, making it essential to understand the drivers of this spatial variability. This study evaluates the relative influence of anthropogenic and biophysical factors on fire occurrence in Colombian páramos, analyzing burned area data from 2000 to 2022 using a Random Forest model. Result indicate that fire occurrence is shaped by the interaction between human pressures and biophysical characteristics. Annual precipitation was the most influential predictor: areas with lower mean annual precipitation (< 1000–1500 mm/year) were linked to greater burned area. Vegetation cover, assessed using the Nor-malized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), showed a hump-shaped relationship, with intermediate greenness levels (0.13–0.25) being most prone to burning. Anthropogenic factors, especially proximity to buildings and agricultural zones, also had a significant impact. Our results show that fire occurrence in páramos cannot be attributed solely to human pressures but results from the combined effect of anthropogenic and biophysical drivers. Understanding of these interactions underscores the need for socio-ecological perspectives to guide integrated and adaptive management of strategic high-mountain ecosystems.

Abstract: The Quinta do Lago area (Algarve), is a key case study due to its high-water demand and tourism dependency. It exemplifies the socio-economic and ecological pressures of water scarcity due to the current climatic context, characterized by severe drought due to pro-longed periods of dry and hot weather conditions. This scenario poses severe challenges to the water resource management and the regional socioeconomic activities, which are heavily dependent on tourism related, recreational and leisure green spaces. Through a three-stage methodology—literature review and study area characterization, population and stakeholder surveys, and experimental trials—this study explores the ecological, aes-thetic, and functional advantages of integrating native xerophytic species in this area’s green spaces, where exotic species currently dominate and contribute to excessive water consumption, thereby highlighting their potential as a sustainable alternative. The find-ings emphasize that, in this study area, such vegetation can reduce irrigation needs by up to 108%, enhance resilience to drought, and provide ecosystem services such as urban cooling, flood mitigation, and biodiversity conservation. By focusing on Quinta do Lago, a tourism-dependent resort, the study establishes how adapting green spaces to xeric strat-egies can significantly reduce water consumption, improve ecological balance, and strengthen resilience against the impacts of prolonged drought.