Fellowship of the Spring: An initiative to document and protect the world's oases

Roderick Fensham (1, 2) , Rouhollah Adinehvand (3) , Sally Babidge (2) , Marco Cantonati (4) , Matthew Currell (5) , Linda Daniele (6) , Alper Elci (7) , Diana M.P. Galassi (8) , África de la Hera Portillo (9) , Salah Hamad (10) , Dongmei Han (11) , Hussain Ali Jawadi (12) , Jaafar Jotheri (13) , Boris Laffineur (2, 1) , Alsharifa Hind Mohammad (14) , Alireza Naqinezhad (15) , Amin Navidtalab (16) , Kathleen Nicoll (17) , Taleb Odeh (18) , Viviana Re (19) , Bernard Sanjuan (20) , Valeria Souza (21) , Lawrence E. Stevens (22) , Memory Tekere (23) , Ernest Tshibalo (23) , Jennifer Silcock (2) , John Webb (24) , Braam van Wyk (25) , Mehrdad Zamanpoore (26) , Karen Villholth (27)

1 Queensland Herbarium
2 UQ [All campuses : Brisbane, Dutton Park Gatton, Herston, St Lucia and other locations] - The University of Queensland
3 IWRM - Iran Water Resources Management
4 UNIBO - Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna = University of Bologna
5 RMIT University - Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University
6 UCHILE - Universidad de Chile = University of Chile [Santiago]
7 DEÜ - Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi = Dokuz Eylül University [Izmir]
8 UNIVAQ - University of L'Aquila [Italy]
9 IGME - Instituto Geológico y Minero de España
10 Faculty of Science, Omar Al- Mukhtar University, Al- Beida, Libya
11 Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences
12 Bamyan University
13 University of Al-Qadisiyah
14 JU - The University of Jordan
15 UMZ - University of Mazandaran
16 Damghan University
17 University of Utah
18 HU - The Hashemite University [Zarqa]
19 University of Pisa - Università di Pisa
20 BRGM - Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières
21 UNAM - Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México = National Autonomous University of Mexico
22 Springs Stewardship Institute
23 UNISA - University of South Africa
24 La Trobe University
25 BVW Groundwater Consulting Services
26 AREEO - Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organisation
27 Water Cycle Innovation

An ‘oasis’ signifies a refugium of safety, recovery, relaxation, fertility, and productivity in an inhospitable desert, a sweet spot in a barren landscape where life-giving water spills forth from the Earth. Remarkable mythological congruencies exist across dryland cultures worldwide where oases or ‘arid-land springs’ occur. In many places they also provide specialised habitats for an extraordinary array of endemic organisms. To inform their management, and maintain their integrity, it is essential to understand the hydrogeology of aquifers and springs. Gravity-fed vs artesian aquifers; actively recharged vs fossil aquifers, and sources of geothermal activity are important concepts presented here. There consequences for oases of sustainable and unsustainable groundwater extraction, and other examples of effective conservation management. Oases are archetypes for human consciousness, habitats that deserve protection and conservation, and a lingua franca for multicultural values and scientific exchange. We represent an international Fellowship of the Spring seeking to encompass and facilitate the stewardship of oases and aquifers through improved knowledge, outreach, and governance.

Mots clés: Aquifers; Arid-lands; Drylands; Endemism; Groundwater management; Oases

Domaines: Sciences de la Terre

Roderick Fensham, Rouhollah Adinehvand, Sally Babidge, Marco Cantonati, Matthew Currell, et al.. Fellowship of the Spring: An initiative to document and protect the world's oases. Science of the Total Environment, 2023, 887, pp.163936. ⟨10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163936⟩. ⟨hal-04112907⟩