How good is good ecological status? A test across river typologies, diatom indices and biological elements

2022 ◽  
pp. 152901
Author(s):  
Lorena González-Paz ◽  
Cristina Delgado ◽  
Isabel Pardo
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Status ◽  
Diatom Indices ◽  
Good Ecological Status

scholarly journals Diatom diversity and ecological status of the Lasovacka and Lenovacka streams near Zajecar: Consideration of WFD implementation in Serbia

2018 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 691-698
Author(s):  
Milos Ciric ◽  
Natasa Nikolic ◽  
Jelena Krizmanic ◽  
Bojan Gavrilovic ◽  
Ana Pantelic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Status ◽  
Benthic Invertebrate ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
High Nitrogen ◽  
Physicochemical Quality ◽  
First Finding ◽  
Diatom Indices ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
One Year ◽  
Good Ecological Status

The development and improvement of the monitoring system of rivers according to the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) is essential for all European states because assigning a wrong ecological status class (misclassification) to a water body can have significant economic consequences. In order to point out some of the key issues of WFD implementation in Serbia, we conducted a one-year study of the composition and abundance of diatoms in the phytobenthos in two streams, the Lasovacka and Lenovacka, in eastern Serbia. The physicochemical quality elements were also used in the assessment of their ecological status. The diatom community exhibited a higher species richness in the Lasovacka (88 taxa) than in the Lenovacka stream (63 taxa). Such a detailed study enabled us to record some of the rare taxa, e.g. Caloneis budensis in the Lasovacka, which was the first finding of this species in Serbia. The Lasovacka and Lenovacka streams were downgraded to moderate and poor ecological status, respectively, because of the high nitrogen load. Since the monitoring results based on the diatom indices resulted in the assignment of two streams to a good ecological status, the possible reason for the mismatch between the biological and physicochemical quality elements could be due to the lack of analysis of benthic invertebrate fauna or the application of diatom indices that are insufficiently sensitive to the specific environmental pressure. The results of this study show that conducting a comprehensive ecological investigation of rivers within the framework of the WFD in Serbia is urgently needed.

scholarly journals Influence of Anthropogenic Loads on Surface Water Status: A Case Study in Lithuania

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4341
Author(s):  
Laima Česonienė ◽  
Daiva Šileikienė ◽  
Vitas Marozas ◽  
Laura Čiteikė
Keyword(s):  
Total Nitrogen ◽  
Water Status ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Agricultural Pollution ◽  
Good Ecological Status ◽  
Water Catchment ◽  
Lake Basins

Twenty-six water bodies and 10 ponds were selected for this research. Anthropogenic loads were assessed according to pollution sources in individual water catchment basins. It was determined that 50% of the tested water bodies had Ntotal values that did not correspond to the good and very good ecological status classes, and 20% of the tested water bodies had Ptotal values that did not correspond to the good and very good ecological status classes. The lake basins and ponds received the largest amounts of pollution from agricultural sources with total nitrogen at 1554.13 t/year and phosphorus at 1.94 t/year, and from meadows and pastures with total nitrogen at 9.50 t/year and phosphorus at 0.20 t/year. The highest annual load of total nitrogen for lake basins on average per year was from agricultural pollution from arable land (98.85%), and the highest total phosphorus load was also from agricultural pollution from arable land (60%).

scholarly journals Macrophyte assessment in European lakes: Diverse approaches but convergent views of ‘good’ ecological status

2018 ◽  
Vol 94 ◽  
pp. 185-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Poikane ◽  
Rob Portielje ◽  
Luc Denys ◽  
Didzis Elferts ◽  
Martyn Kelly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Status ◽  
Good Ecological Status

scholarly journals Its present state overmoistened landscape systems of Lviv Region

2014 ◽  
pp. 347-354
Author(s):  
N. Blazhko
Keyword(s):  
Key Words ◽  
Present State ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Ecological Condition ◽  
Wetland Landscape ◽  
Current State ◽  
Destabilizing Factors ◽  
Good Ecological Status ◽  
Stabilizing Factors

Reviewed the current state of wetland landscape systems (PLC) Lviv region. Highlighted areas PLC of good ecological status, with a satisfactory ecological condition and unsatisfactory environmental conditions. Key words: overmoistened landscape systems (OLS)peat, peat, drainage improvement, environmental stabilizing factors, environmental destabilizing factors.

Hurdles for implementation of constructed wetlands as Nature-based Solutions in Sweden

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julián Andrés García Murcia ◽  
Fernando Jaramillo ◽  
Sofia Wikström
Keyword(s):  
Water Framework Directive ◽  
Constructed Wetlands ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Nutrient Loads ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Status ◽  
Natural Wetlands ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Good Ecological Status ◽  
Background Context

<p>Eutrophication in the Baltic Sea has been one of the major environmental issues during the last century partly due to extensive land-use change, loss of natural retention systems, and insufficient management. European legislation such as the Water Framework Directive (WFD) attempts to guide the recovery of good ecological status from freshwater to the sea, and suggests wetlands as ecosystems that can potentially contribute to achieving this goal. Wetlands are considered remarkable Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for improving water quality by diminishing the nutrient loads. This study aims to set a background context of the WFD implementation in Sweden, determine the status of constructed wetlands, and evaluate the stakeholders’ perspectives to identify the main administrative hurdles of wetland implementation in Sweden. For this purpose, we conducted a narrative review, database analysis, and semi-structured interviews with members of the institutions involved in water management. Our results show that it is essential to find synergies among the WFD and other directives to expand cross-sectoral cooperation, implement adjustments on the funding scheme that includes restoration and maintenance of natural wetlands, and increase compensation periods and cost ceiling. Likewise, it is crucial to perform significant improvements in the monitoring system, including more frequent data collection, as well as exploring new strategies to capture landowners’ interest in the implementation of NbS, such as the Catchment Officers program. Finally, we suggest paludiculture as a promising farming practice to increase proprietors’ attention on novel market alternatives, and in turn, to provide benefits for climate, water, and biodiversity.</p><p><strong>Keywords </strong>Wetlands management · Water Framework Directive · Nature-based Solutions · Eutrophication · Semi-structured interviews · Sweden</p>

scholarly journals Development of a fish-based index for the assessment of the ecological status of Lake Balaton in the absence of present day reference condition

2020 ◽  
pp. 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
András Specziár ◽  
Tibor Erős
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Fish Fauna ◽  
Native Fish ◽  
Lake Balaton ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressures ◽  
Key Species ◽  
Good Ecological Status ◽  
Electric Fishing

A fish-based index is proposed to indicate the ecological status of Lake Balaton, Hungary in accordance with the standard of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). The Balaton fish index (BFI) synthetises information of 13 lake-specific fish metrics including gillnetting and electric fishing data of species richness of native assemblages, relative abundance, biomass and age structure of native key species, representation of non-native species and general health status. The main anthropogenic pressures considered were the degradation of littoral habitats, invasion of non-native fish species, eutrophication and fishing/angling including stocking. Ecological quality ratio (EQR) is assessed by relating actual fish assemblage metrics to the supposed undisturbed reference status of Lake Balaton reconstructed by expert judgement based on recent and historic information on the fish fauna and its changes. Values of BFI were consistent and indicated good ecological status of Lake Balaton in the period of 2005–2018. This study provides an example on how an EQR assessment methodology might be established in unique habitats with no possibilities for statistical evaluation of pressure-respond relationships and exact determination of the reference status.

scholarly journals Impact of potash mining in streams: the Llobregat basin (northeast Spain) as a case study

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruben Ladrera ◽  
Miguel Cañedo-Argüelles ◽  
Narcís Prat
Keyword(s):  
Surface Waters ◽  
Mine Tailings ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Mining Areas ◽  
Potash Mining ◽  
Rivers And Streams ◽  
Fluvial Habitat ◽  
Good Ecological Status

Potash mining is significantly increasing the salt concentration of rivers and streams due to lixiviates coming from the mine tailings. In the present study, we have focused on the middle Llobregat basin (northeast Spain), where an important potash mining activity exists from the beginning of the XX century. Up to 50 million tonnes of saline waste have been disposed in the area, mainly composed of sodium chloride. We assessed the ecological status of streams adjacent to the mines by studying different physicochemical and hydromorphological variables, as well as aquatic macroinvertebrates. We found extraordinary high values of salinity in the studied streams, reaching conductivities up to 132.4 mS/cm. Salt-polluted streams were characterized by a deterioration of the riparian vegetation and the fluvial habitat. Both macroinvertebrate richness and abundance decreased with increasing salinity. In the most polluted stream only two families of macroinvertebrates were found: Ephydridae and Ceratopogonidae. According to the biotic indices IBMWP and IMMi-T, none of the sites met the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD; i.e., good ecological status). Overall, we can conclude that potash-mining activities have the potential to cause severe ecological damage to their surrounding streams. This is mainly related to an inadequate management of the mine tailings, leading to highly saline runoff and percolates entering surface waters. Thus, we urge water managers and policy makers to take action to prevent, detect and remediate salt pollution of rivers and streams in potash mining areas.

Workshop 5 (synthesis): water pollution abatement as related to ecosystem protection

2004 ◽  
Vol 49 (7) ◽  
pp. 165-168
Author(s):  
C. Hagebro ◽  
T. Chiuta ◽  
T. Belgrove
Keyword(s):  
Water Pollution ◽  
Pollution Abatement ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Quality Criteria ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Stakeholder Collaboration ◽  
Ecosystem Indicators ◽  
Multi Stakeholder ◽  
Good Ecological Status ◽  
The Eu

Water pollution exerts major stress on water systems and the challenge is to ensure security in river basins for both water-dependent activities and for the aquatic ecosystems. The workshop focused on protection of good ecological status, quality criteria, priorities for action, and on achievement of sustainable improvements. The three keynote speakers presented the concept applied in the EU Water Framework Directive, the need for a multi-stakeholder collaboration in order to reach a good ecological status of waters and a concrete example of interactive planning of water protection measures in a transboundary lake. The additional paper presentations addressed specific pollution problems in catchments, the effect of environmental user fees and ecosystem indicators.

Reaching a common understanding of good ecological status for monitoring European rivers

2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 734-736
Author(s):  
Angelo G. Solimini ◽  
Vaida Olsauskyte ◽  
Wouter van de Bund
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Status ◽  
Good Ecological Status ◽  
Common Understanding

scholarly journals Chemical pollution imposes limitations to the ecological status of European surface waters

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leo Posthuma ◽  
Michiel C. Zijp ◽  
Dick De Zwart ◽  
Dik Van de Meent ◽  
Lidija Globevnik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Water Quality Management ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Water Quality Assessment ◽  
Current Approach ◽  
Toxicity Tests ◽  
Chemical Pollution ◽  
Applied Ecology ◽  
Good Ecological Status

Abstract Aquatic ecosystems are affected by man-made pressures, often causing combined impacts. The analysis of the impacts of chemical pollution is however commonly separate from that of other pressures and their impacts. This evolved from differences in the data available for applied ecology vis-à-vis applied ecotoxicology, which are field gradients and laboratory toxicity tests, respectively. With this study, we demonstrate that the current approach of chemical impact assessment, consisting of comparing measured concentrations to protective environmental quality standards for individual chemicals, is not optimal. In reply, and preparing for a method that would enable the comprehensive assessment and management of water quality pressures, we evaluate various quantitative chemical pollution pressure metrics for mixtures of chemicals in a case study with 24 priority substances of Europe-wide concern. We demonstrate why current methods are sub-optimal for water quality management prioritization and that chemical pollution currently imposes limitations to the ecological status of European surface waters. We discuss why management efforts may currently fail to restore a good ecological status, given that to date only 0.2% of the compounds in trade are considered in European water quality assessment and management.

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