Located on the borderline between Portugal and Spain, the Alqueva Multipurpose Project (AMP) is an open system which gets water mostly from Guadiana’s and also Sado’s river basins. It consists of storage infrastructures (bayous and reservoirs) and transport systems (essentially canals and pipelines).
With a very extensive influence area, the whole AMP’s system is the target of various environmental pressures, which have to be monitored in order to guarantee the network’s durability and sustainability.
The monitoring and management plan of invasive species in Alqueva’s influence area appears in this context since the presence of exotic species with invasive potential (particularly aquatic species) constitutes one of the main threats to the water transport and storage. The defined study area is a result of the identification of potential entrance and expansion key-points of the invasive species.