ORIGIN, HYDROLOGIC FUNCTIONING, AND MORPHOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS OF SMALL, SHALLOW, SEMIARID LAKES (LAGUNAS) IN LA MANCHA, CENTRAL SPAIN

Relationships between morphological, physiographic, and hydrologic fea tures of La Mancha wetlands and their origin and functioning are studi ed. Wetlands size and density are primarily limited by drainage densit y, which is directly related to altitude. Broad genetic types of basin s (deflation, fluvial, differential erosion, tectonic, solution basins ) may be described in terms of depth and size. Wetland morphology cont ributes to the determination of the hydrologic regime, but large water inputs and human activities often modify this influence. Integrated g enetic and functional trends are deduced from these characteristics. D iscriminant analysis reveals that physical descriptors of wetlands can be used to model the spatial expression of those trends in terms of t he already existing broad general knowledge on geology, surface- and g roundwater hydrology, and geomorphology.