scholarly journals El estado ecológico de las pequeñas cuencas de cabecera en las serranías béticas húmedas (parque natural Los Alcornocales, sur de España) según la Directiva Marco del Agua: ¿su aplicación garantiza la conservación?

2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-69
Author(s):  
A. Ruiz–García ◽  
◽  
M. Ferreras-Romero ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Reference Conditions ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Quality Criteria ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Mountain Rivers ◽  
Natural Park ◽  
Environmental Status ◽  
Spanish Atlantic ◽  
Good Ecological Status

In compliance with the European Water Framework Directive, member states have had to develop a method to assess the quality of aquatic ecosystems by comparing the current situation regarding near–natural reference conditions for each river type. In 2008, the Spanish Ministry of Environment approved the Order of Water Planning Statement. This statement sets out reference conditions and ecological status class change limits for the different types of rivers in Spain for which sufficient data are available. In the presentstudy, we established reference conditions and quality class thresholds for streams classified as wet Betic mountain rivers from 24 reaches of streams located in the Los Alcornocales natural park, using two qualitative indices based on macroinvertebrates (IBMWP and IMMi–L). The results for the IBMWP index indicate that from the standpoint of management of the ecological state, the watercourses studied show more affinity with the types of the Spanish Atlantic siliceous slope than with those of the Mediterranean siliceous slope when we consider EQR values. Considering the threshold values, the index resembles siliceous low Mediterranean mountain rivers (type 8). However, the EQR values do not match those calculated in this study. These results suggest that it is necessary to use an index adapted to the characteristics of these watercourses. Application of the quality criteria contained in the Guadalete–Barbate and Mediterranean–Andalusian Basin Plans to the management of these waterways is discussed, because it is unlikely that they ensure the maintenance of good ecological status. We thus propose a new calibration of the IBMWP index that ensures the maintenance of good environmental status of watercourses in this natural area, and the use of the IMMi–L index as an effective management tool. However, as our study area represents only a part of the wet headwaters in the southern Iberian peninsula, analysis of other basin types is necessary to complete such information.

scholarly journals Water Quality of Some Lakes in Dolj County

2013 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 370-376
Author(s):  
Elena GAVRILESCU ◽  
Gilda Diana BUZATU
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Natural Waters ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Oxygen Demand ◽  
The Third ◽  
Environmental Status ◽  
Good Environmental Status ◽  
Good Ecological Status

In Dolj County there are a number of lakes that are particularly important, because they have a large quantity of water, some of them originating from hydrotechnical accumulations, and other from natural waters. In the present study, it was performed the monitoring of the water quality of the lakes in Dolj County, in the year of 2012, namely: Victoria - Geormane, Bistreţ and Caraula. The ecological conditions of the natural and artificial lakes was established based on the state of acidification, of the oxygen regime (dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand), the degree of eutrophication (biogenic substances, phytoplankton biomass and chlorophyll “a”) and also based on transparency. The water samples were taken from three points: tail, middle and upstream of the lake and were analyzed using high performance equipment, namely: pH-meter, spectrophotometer DR 2010, Sechi disc, BOD5 system. In terms of the degree of eutrophication, the water from the studied lakes belongs to the third category of water quality. Geormane is a natural lake which has a very good ecological status, except regarding the eutrophication, which is considerably visible. Bistret lake has a good environmental status and is visible eutrophic. Caraula lake’s water belongs to the third category of water quality, being heavily eutrophic.

scholarly journals Improvement in physical river habitat quality in response to river restoration measures

Geografie ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 121 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-78
Author(s):  
Kateřina Kujanová ◽  
Milada Matoušková
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Quality ◽  
River Restoration ◽  
Field Survey ◽  
Reference Conditions ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
River Habitat ◽  
Restoration Measures ◽  
Hydromorphological Quality

The main goal of this paper is to verify the hypothesis that application of appropriate restoration measures can lead to an improvement in river habitat quality and to achieve good hydromorphological conditions within the ecological status under the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/ES. The study includes an analysis of river network modifications founded on comparing historical and present-day maps, a determination of regional hydromorphological reference conditions based on a field survey and measurements, an assessment of hydromorphological quality of the studied water body and a proposal of appropriate restoration measures. The effects on improvement in hydromorphological status were predicted on the basis of a simulation of hydromorphological conditions after the application of proposed restoration measures. Overall, at least a good hydromorphological status would be achieved. The study proved that it is essential to carry out a hydromorphological survey including a determination of reference conditions as it provides some outputs necessary for a proposal and application of efficient restoration.

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.

A machine learning model to link ecological response and anthropogenic stressors: a tool for water management in the Tagus River Basin (Spain)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlotta Valerio ◽  
Alberto Garrido ◽  
Gonzalo Martinez-Muñoz ◽  
Lucia De Stefano
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Riparian Forest ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Machine Learning Model ◽  
Tagus River ◽  
Good Ecological Status

<p>Freshwater ecosystems are threatened by multiple anthropic pressures. Understanding the effect of pressures on the ecological status is essential for the design of effective policy measures but can be challenging from a methodological point of view. In this study we propose to capture these complex relations by means of a machine learning model that predicts the ecological response of surface water bodies to several anthropic stressors. The model was applied to the Spanish stretch of the Tagus River Basin. The performance of two machine learning algorithms -Random Forest (RF) and Boosted Regression Trees (BRT) - was compared. The response variables in the model were the biotic quality indices of macroinvertebrates (Iberian Biomonitoring Working Party) and diatoms (Indice de Polluosensibilité Spécifique). The stressors used as explanatory variables belong to the following categories: physicochemical water quality, land use, alteration of the hydrological regime and hydromorphological degradation. Variables describing the natural environmental variability were also included. According to the coefficient of determination, the root mean square error and the mean absolute error, the RF algorithm has the best explanatory power for both biotic indices. The categories of land cover in the upstream catchment area, the nutrient concentrations and the elevation of the water body are ranked as the main features at play in determining the quality of biological communities. Among the hydromorphological elements, the alteration of the riparian forest (expressed by the Riparian Forest Quality Index) is the most relevant feature, while the hydrological alteration does not seem to influence significantly the value of the biotic indices. Our model was used to identify potential policy measures aimed at improving the biological quality of surface water bodies in the most critical areas of the basin. Specifically, the biotic quality indices were modelled imposing the maximum concentration of nutrients that the Spanish legislation prescribes to ensure a good ecological status. According to our model, the nutrient thresholds set by the Spanish legislation are insufficient to ensure values of biological indicators consistent with the good ecological status in the entire basin. We tested several scenarios of more restrictive nutrient concentrations and values of hydromorphological quality to explore the conditions required to achieve the good ecological status. The predicted percentage of water bodies in good status increases when a high  Riparian Forest Quality Index is set, confirming the importance of combining physico-chemical and hydromorphological improvements in order to ameliorate the status of freshwater ecosystems. </p>

scholarly journals Temporal changes of aquatic macrophytes vegetation in a Iowland groundwater feed eutrophic course (Klátovské rameno, Slovakia)

2011 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Oťahel'ová ◽  
Richard Hrivnák ◽  
Milan Valachovič ◽  
Georg A. Janauer
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Macrophytes ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Aquatic Macrophyte ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Temporal Changes ◽  
European Standard ◽  
Macrophyte Species ◽  
Good Ecological Status

Klátovské rameno is the lowland slow-flowing groundwater feed eutrophic tributary of the Malý Dunaj River (Danube Plain), where our study of temporal changes of aquatic macrophytes vegetation was realised in 1999 and 2005. For survey of aquatic vascular macrophytes the Kohler’s method (Janauer 2003) was used, which is compliant with European standard EN 14184. Altogether 35 aquatic macrophyte species were recorded during the survey. Nuphar lutea persisted as the most dominant species in 1996 and 2005. Species diversity increased slightly after the nine years: ten species immigrated to the watercourse. The changes in species abundance have shown weak differences, however the abundance of Sparganium emersum has increased markedly. Alien species Elodea canadensis and both S. emersum and Hydrocharis morsus-ranae significantly enlarged their distribution in the stream. The ecological quality of the river, based on the aquatic macrophytes assessment criteria, was slightly impaired after nine years, but still 90% of its studied course has a high or good ecological status.

The use of the Biological Diatom Index (BDI) for the assessment of water quality in the Pilica River, Poland

2013 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bogusław Szulc ◽  
Katarzyna Szulc
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Chemical Analysis ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Central Section ◽  
Diatom Index ◽  
Quality Of Water ◽  
Physico Chemical ◽  
Good Ecological Status

AbstractThe main aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of the Biological Diatom Index (BDI) (Lenoir & Coste 1996) for the estimation of water quality in the central section of the Pilica River, located in central Poland in Łódź province. The BDI has never been used before to monitor Polish surface waters. An analysis of the correlations between the values of the BDI and selected physico-chemical parameters was performed, as was an assessment of water quality using the BDI. On the basis of value ranges proposed by Descy and Ector (1996), a good ecological status in the Pilica River was obtained, but this did not correspond with the results achieved from the physico-chemical analysis. This study proposes new value ranges for the BDI. With these new values, the ecological state of the Pilica River changed from good to moderate, which corresponded with the physico-chemical analysis of the water. The new, proposed value ranges for the BDI assess more precisely the quality of water in lowland Polish rivers.

scholarly journals Estimación del valor económico de la calidad del agua de un río mediante una doble aproximación: Una aplicación de los principios económicos de la Directiva Marco del Agua

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salvador Del Saz Salazar ◽  
Francesc Hernández Sancho ◽  
Ramón Sala Garrido
Keyword(s):  
Contingent Valuation ◽  
Stated Preference ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Social Benefits ◽  
Combined Approach ◽  
European Water ◽  
The Social ◽  
Good Ecological Status

The main aim of the European Water Frame Directive is to achieve the good ecological status in all European waters by 2015 with a combined approach of different measures. In this study, two stated preference methods –contingent valuation and contingent ranking– have been applied to obtain the economic value of a hypothetical improvement of the water quality of a river. The comparison of both methods shows that contingent ranking yields higher values than contingent valuation, as found in previous literature. Lastly, the estimated values are aggregated in order to obtain the social benefits that steam from this environmental improvement.

scholarly journals Harmonization of the assessment method for classifying the ecological quality status of very large Greek rivers

2018 ◽  
pp. 50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Lazaridou ◽  
Chrysoula Ntislidou ◽  
Ioannis Karaouzas ◽  
Nikolaos Skoulikidis ◽  
Sebastian Birk
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Status ◽  
Organic Pollution ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Biological Assessment ◽  
Ecological Quality Status ◽  
Status Assessment ◽  
High Good ◽  
Good Ecological Status

The intercalibration exercise is required by the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) to harmonize the national ecological class boundaries across Member States. It is applied to individual types of water bodies, comparing WFD-compliant biological assessment methods using specific quality elements. This study addresses the harmonization of the STAR_ICMi index for the ecological status assessment of very large Greek rivers in compliance with the completed intercalibration exercise for European very large rivers. River sites were sampled biannually for benthic invertebrates (as biological quality element) and environmental data during different surveys. The water quality of the samples ranged from high to bad. STAR_ICMi was significantly correlated to the Combined Abiotic Pressure index (CAPi) and its component pressures channelization, riparian vegetation alteration, and to a lesser extent to organic pollution. During the intercalibration approach benchmark standardization was applied to the component metrics of the intercalibration index prior to boundary comparison to minimize typological differences. The Greek class boundaries of high/good and good/moderate ecological status were compared and harmonized with the “Global Mean View” defined in the completed European intercalibration exercise. Similarity percentage analysis of biological community variation was performed for sites in high, good, and less than good ecological status according to the intercalibrated Greek classification.

An experience of performing spirometry by trained general practitioners

2020 ◽  
pp. 34-36
Author(s):  
M. A. Pokhaznikova ◽  
E. A. Andreeva ◽  
O. Yu. Kuznetsova
Keyword(s):  
General Practitioners ◽  
Quality Criteria ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Male Gender ◽  
Study Research ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Quality Of Research ◽  
Forced Expiratory Maneuver ◽  
Maximal Effort

The article discusses the experience of teaching and conducting spirometry of general practitioners as part of the RESPECT study (RESearch on the PrEvalence and the diagnosis of COPD and its Tobacco-related aetiology). A total of 33 trained in spirometry general practitioners performed a study of 3119 patients. Quality criteria met 84.1% of spirometric studies. The analysis of the most common mistakes made by doctors during the forced expiratory maneuver is included. The most frequent errors were expiration exhalation of less than 6s (54%), non-maximal effort throughout the test and lack of reproducibility (11.3%). Independent predictors of poor spirogram quality were male gender, obstruction (FEV1 /FVC<0.7), and the center where the study was performed. The number of good-quality spirograms ranged from 96.1% (95% CI 83.2–110.4) to 59.8% (95% CI 49.6–71.4) depending on the center. Subsequently, an analysis of the reasons behind the poor quality of research in individual centers was conducted and the identified shortcomings were eliminated. The poor quality of the spirograms was associated either with the errors of the doctors who undertook the study or with the technical malfunctions of the spirometer.

THE QUALITY OF PUBLIC HOSPITALS IN CAN THO CITY, 2016

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 76-81
Author(s):  
Chu Cao Minh ◽  
Thang Vo Van ◽  
Dat Nguyen Tan ◽  
Hung Vo Thanh
Keyword(s):  
Hospital Medicine ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Quality Criterion ◽  
Quality Criteria ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Ministry Of Health ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Can Tho City

Background: The criteria set of assessing hospital quality in Vietnam in 2016 was revied from the criteria set in 2013 by the Ministry of Health in order to help hospitals to self-assess towards improvinge quality of hospitals in the international integration context. The study aimed to assess the quality of public hospitals in Can Tho City according to the revised criteria set of the Ministry of Health in 2016 and compare the quality among three hospital ranks (including grade I, grade II, and grade III) via to 5 groups of quality criteria. Methods: A cross-sectional study, using secondary data analysis was applied to assess the service quality of 7 general public hospitals in Can Tho City. Results: The average total score of 7 hospitals is 245 and the average for the criteria of 7 hospitals is 2.99, which is just satisfactory. In the criterion of quality, criterion D and E had the lowest scores compared to the other three groups. There was no statistically significant difference (p = 0.076) among the mean scores for the three hospital categories. Conclusion: The quality of public hospitals in Can Tho city in 2016 only reached moderately good level (2.99). Interventions should be developed to improve the quality of hospitals, with particular emphasis on improving the quality of criteria groups D and E. Key words: Quality, hospital, medicine, health, public, Can Tho

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