The Mediterranean region is characterized by a highly variable climate marked by prolonged dry spell interspersed with intense rainfall events mainly in autumn. Understanding the dynamics of water and sediment fluxes in this climatic context is crucial for recommending effective management strategies to mitigate erosion and runoff impacts. However, high-frequency datasets for both hydrology and sediment fluxes are often lacking for small Mediterranean catchments in North Africa, thus rendering these processes poorly understood. In this context, the Kamech Critical Zone Observatory was established in 2004 to document high-frequency rainfall, discharge, and sediment fluxes across the 2.63 km2 Kamech catchment in Cape Bon, Tunisia. The landscape is characterised by hilly terrain, and the soil type is dominated by Vertisols, which crack for approximately half of the year. This catchment's land is mainly used to cultivate annual cereals and leguminous crops. The monitoring system comprises four nested hydrological stations, ranging in scale from a 1.3 ha plot to the outlet of the 263 ha catchment area. The longest time series covers almost 30 years. This article synthesizes the datasets of the observatory related to evaporation, rainfall, discharge and suspended sediment concentration. It describes the methodologies used to collect and process the data, including procedures for assessing data quality. It also suggests additional homogenized time series to facilitate subsequent hydrological analysis. Finally, it presents some preliminary explorations of the datasets and it suggests avenues for further studies. All datasets referenced in this work are openly accessible via the repository: https://doi.org/10.23708/PPPPDL (Raclot and Hamdi, 2025).
The Mediterranean region faces escalating challenges from climate change, land degradation, and water scarcity, threatening agricultural sustainability and food security. Stress-adapted Neglected and Underutilized Species (NUS) offer promising avenues for agrifood diversification and resilience in these environments. Here, we developed a harmonized geospatial framework integrating over 20 abiotic indicators and CMIP6 climate projections to delineate environmental constraints and agroecological opportunity spaces across the Mediterranean Basin. Our analysis identified 1.83 million km² of accessible marginal lands, predominantly in climatically sensitive transition zones, with modest expansion projected under future climate scenarios. These marginal lands, rather than being abandoned, represent potential areas for developing stress-adapted diversification strategies. This reproducible dataset provides a decision-oriented basis for climate adaptation, land-use planning, and the strategic assessment of NUS deployment, contributing to resilient agrifood transitions under increasing climatic constraints.
Climate change accelerates biodiversity loss, threatening ecosystems worldwide. Using predictive models, such as the maximum entropy model (Maxent), allows us to identify changes in species distribution and guide conservation strategies. This study aims to model the current and future distribution of Anthemis pedunculata subsp. Atlantica and Anthemis pedunculata subsp. pedunculata in Mediterranean regions through MaxEnt modeling with bioclimatic predictors. Using the MaxEnt algorithm, we combine bioclimatic variables and 49 occurrence locations of Anthemis pedunculata subsp. pedunculata and 13 occurrence locations of Anthemis pedunculata subsp. atlantica. The future distribution of the species is projected using MIROC6 model simulations under emission scenario SSP5-8.5 for 2030 and 2050. The current model predicted approximately 99,330,066 ha as a suitable habitat for Anthemis pedunculata subsp. pedunculata. Projections for the future range exhibited a gradual increase in the suitable area in 2030 by 144,365,562 ha and 2050 by 147,335,265 ha. The current model predicted approximately 201,179,880 ha as a suitable habitat for Anthemis pedunculata subsp. atlantica. Projections for the future range exhibited a gradual enhancement of the suitable area in 2030 by 213,898,608 ha and 2050 by 229,357,062. Our results provide further evidence of the negative impact of climate change on these endemic species and emphasize the importance of their conservation. This study provides information that could strengthen the protection of these species and identify potential protection areas.
This review assessed two cross-cutting layers integrating the impacts of climate change and water availability, with five dimensions: governance, technical performance, environmental and health aspects, social acceptance, and economic feasibility. The analysis aimed to evaluate their influence on treated wastewater (TWW) reuse in Tunisia and Jordan. Although Tunisia produces 293 Mm 3/year of TWW and operates 127 wastewater treatment plants, only 3.4% (10.0 Mm 3/year) is reused, whereas Jordan achieves a higher reuse rate of 90% (178.2 Mm 3/year), supplying 98.4% of irrigation water in the Jordan Valley. This difference is attributed to variability in treatment technologies, quality compliance with standards, and institutional regimes. Jordan's application of tertiary treatment and its adherence to the JS 893/2022 standard enabled a higher reuse rate. In contrast, Tunisia still relies heavily on secondary treatment (77.2%) with limited tertiary treatment coverage, and it is under NT 106.03/1989 application for agricultural reuse. Tunisian farmers exhibited a greater level of acceptability, but lower institutional trust than their Jordanian counterparts. Financial advantages, regulatory coherence, and awareness campaigns are the major factors influencing farmer acceptance. The framework clarifies why TWW reuse adoption varies between both countries, highlighting the importance of a practical strategy for addressing long-term water security and agricultural development.
This study addresses the potential of combining phosphorus biostimulation and phytoremediation as a sustainable strategy for wastewater treatment. Various physico-chemical analyses and microbiological parameters were assessed in different treatments: biostimulation, phytoremediation, and a combined method. These assessments were conducted for both treated (STWW) and untreated wastewater (SWW) categories. The alfalfa plots were then irrigated with the treated wastewater (TWW), followed by enzymatic activity analyses, microbiology, physico-chemical properties, and plant growth. The results show that the selected strain, identified as Aspergillus flavus OQ269829, increased the assimilable phosphorus content of the SWW, raising it to about 3.25 mg/L in the irrigated soil. The TWW presents a neutral pH of less than 8 and a chemical oxygen demand value below 120 mg O-2.L-1, together with an increased phosphorus transformation. Dehydrogenase activity in soil irrigated with STWW supplemented with fungi and phosphorus rose from 4.5 to 10.5-mu g TPF g(-1)h(-1) by the end of the incubation period. The plant exhibited significant growth and earlier flowering. Concurrent with this, there was an increase in plant nutrient content when irrigated with a combined application of K+ and Na+, ranging from 104.36 to 189.59 mgg(-1) dry weight for K+ and 15.3-29.9 mg.g(-1) dry weight for Na+.
