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13This contribution illustrates the advantages of integrating conventional 14 geomorphological methods with InSAR, ground penetrating radar and trenching for 15 sinkhole mapping and characterization in a mantled evaporite karst area, where a 16 significant proportion of the karstic depressions have been obliterated by artificial fills. 17The main practical aim of the investigation was to elucidate whether buried sinkholes 18 overlap the areas planned for the construction of buildings and services, in order to 19 apply a preventive planning strategy. Old aerial photographs and detailed topographic 20 maps were the most useful sources of information for the identification of sinkholes and 21helped to obtain information on their chronology, either a minimum age or bracketing 22

The Monegros Desert contains one of the largest sets of inland saline lakes in Europe constituting a threatened landscape of great scientific and ecological value with large number of reported endemisms. We analyzed bacteria, archaea, and microbial eukaryotes from 11 saline lakes in winter and spring by rRNA gene fingerprinting and sequencing covering large salinity (2.7-22.1%) and temperature ranges (1.5-35.3 °C). The highest ecological diversity (Shannon-Weaver index) was found in protists and the lowest in Archaea. Eukaryotes showed higher ecological diversity at intermediate salinities, whereas Bacteria and Archaea did not. The genetic diversity was broad and with remarkable novelty. The highest novelty was found in Archaea at the lowest saline concentrations, whereas for bacteria and protists, no differences were observed along the gradient. Euryarchaeota of the enigmatic group DHVEG-6 and phylotypes distantly related to well-known haloarchaea were present in several sites. Recurrent presence of bacterial phylotypes distantly related to Psychroflexus and Cryomorphaceae initially isolated from polar marine habitats was observed. Saline lakes contained chlorophyta, among other new groups, substantially different from green algae previously reported in marine or freshwater. The great scientific and ecological value found for macroorganisms can be extended to the idiosyncratic microorganisms inhabiting such unique habitat in Europe.

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Small playa-lakes in Monegros, Spain, are high-value habitats for endemisms, threatened by landscape transformations and development of newly irrigated lands. The purpose of monitoring these fragile habitats is to detect their future disturbance, i.e. the effects of changing their natural hydrological regime, such as increasing their flooding surface area and habitat degradation by fresh and polluted water flow inputs. Landsat imagery is used for this purpose, facing the lack of regular ground data about their hydrological regime and the land covers with ecological meaning. Five meaningful thematic classes have been established grouping spectral classes obtained from unsupervised classification together with the visual interpretation of the original bands, the IHS transformation and the principal component analysis. The scarce ground data were confronted with the images. Compared to field work, remote sensing is advantageous for monitoring these playa-lakes, providing reliable insight to understand these habitats. Examples of how this research advances our knowledge about the nature and response of this ecosystem to adverse environmental changes are presented. r