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Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy
... However, despite the effort invested to develop appropriate tools for risk and quality assessments, the protection of our environment remains a major challenge. To date, the goal to achieve a good ecological and chemical status of all surface waters in Europe (European Community, 2000) has been reached only for about 40% of European surface water bodies, with rivers generally having a lower status than lakes and coastal waters (European Environment Agency, 2018). ...
... In retrospective risk assessments, the ecological status or quality of an ecosystem is determined by evaluating the in situ fauna or flora (EU-WFD) (European Community, 2000). In those studies, the application of indicator systems can help to identify habitats with poor ecological status and to link this status either to the presence of chemical pollution or to other types of stress, including hydro-morphological modifications and climate change (e.g., Von der Ohe et al., 2007;Höss et al., 2011c;Von der Ohe and Goedkoop, 2013). ...
... Together with single-and multi-species toxicity tests, in situ bioindication is an essential component of environmental risk assessments, including those aimed at determining the ecological status of aquatic ecosystems (e.g., European Community, 2000). Weight-of-evidence concepts such as the triad approach have been developed for sediments (Chapman, 1986;Chapman and Anderson, 2005) and soils and are based on a designation of the in situ fauna or flora as ecological quality elements. ...
... The regulations governing the TST have changed throughout its four-decade existence; the most recent change, implemented in 2023, will reduce the transferred volume by 10-20%. Subsequently, the incorporation of the principles outlined in the Water Framework Directive (WFD) [6] into Spanish legislation has led to the consideration of an Integrated Water Management approach. This approach incorporates both environmental criteria (restoration of the favourable ecological status of water bodies) and economic criteria (recovery of costs associated with water supply). ...
... Thus, prices do not cover the total cost of desalinated water, including environmental and resource costs. To comply with the WFD regulations [6], there is a need for gradual adjustment in the irrigation tariff to incorporate these additional costs. ...
The water sustainability of the Segura River Basin (SRB), located in southeastern Spain, is being challenged as conventional available water sources fall short of meeting the authorised demands of the basin. In recent years, non-conventional water (NCW), such as desalinated and reclaimed water, has become part of the resource pool. However, it has not yet become crucial for irrigation water supply due to its relatively high cost and lower quality compared to conventional water. The new political framework in Spain, developed in the context of ecological transition, marks a notable shift for non-conventional water as a strategic resource for agriculture. This study examines the drivers and barriers influencing its acceptance through an analysis of farmers’ perceptions, conducted through interviews with twelve irrigation communities’ (ICs) representatives of the basin. Discriminant analyses of the data show that the farmers’ experience, along with factors pertaining to production, storage, and transportation costs, determines the acceptance and use of NCW.
... The first comprehensive typologies for the Hungarian waters appeared in the sixties (Sebestyén, 1963) and in the seventies (Dévai, 1976). After the introduction of the Water Framework Directive (EC, 2000) in Hungary, a more complex typology (based on five variables: altitude, size, depth, bed material and the type of water transport) had to be defined. Using this typology, stagnant surface waters were categorized into 17 water types, while the flowing waters were grouped into 25 types (GD, 2004;GD, 2010) in Hungary. ...
... As this approach is associated with very detailed environmental templates, it is generally acknowledged, that it is the most optimal classification approach for the aquatic ecology research and aquatic environment evaluation (Salmaso et al., 2015). The FG-based approach is very relevant, as it plays a significant role in studies aimed at assessing ecological status of waters required by the Water Framework Directive (EC Parliament & Council, 2000). Moreover, this approach has also been used to describe the seasonal dynamics of phytoplankton (Padisák et al., 2003;Salmaso and Padisák, 2007;Wang et al, 2018), to explore the biomass (productivity)-diversity relationship in algae (Borics et al., , 2014aSkácelová and Lepš, 2014;Török et al., 2016), and to better understand the response of algal assemblages to climate change (Domis et al., 2007). ...
In this study, we aim to investigate how the functional properties of microalgae help to delineate the major groups of aquatic habitats. Using functional trait-based and Reynolds’ functional group-based approaches similarities of the microalgal flora of all aquatic habitats occurring in Hungary were compared. The habitats covered the whole size spectrum of standing waters (10⁻²–108 m²) and water currents (watershed: 10²–1011 m²), , limnological and chemical properties. Both functional trait-based and functional group-based habitat classifications overrode the hydromorphology-based typology, however, functional group-based clusters showed closer resemblance to limnological-hydromorphological types than clusters created by trait-based approaches both for qualitative and quantitative data. Most of the aquatic habitats that have similar limnological characteristics showed resemblance in the functional properties of their microflora. Rivers and river-related habitats were the most diverse functionally. These were followed by standing waters with extended macrophyte coverage. The small, unique habitats displayed the lowest functional richness. The occurrence of several functional groups in some extreme habitats implies two alternative explanations: first, the habitat template of the groups is wider than defined in the original description; second, detailed information on the autecology of species assigned to a functional group necessitates the creation of new groups specific for the unique habitats.
... Playing a crucial role in assessing the condition of river ecosystems and physical river properties and processes, hydromorphology is particularly vital in the contexts of sustainable resource management, environmental management, and climate change (Hajdukiewicz et al. 2017;O'Briain 2019). Its importance has grown with the adoption of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) by the European Commission (2000), as highlighted by Rinaldi, Belletti, et al. (2013). The WFD also significantly influences the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), mandating the inclusion of hydromorphology in the assessment and monitoring of all European water bodies. ...
Hydromorphology plays a crucial role in the sustainable management of water resources. It relies on numerous measures based on both qualitative and quantitative observations. The density of data complicates the decision‐making and evaluation processes concerning hydromorphological alterations. This study aims to develop a hydromorphological monitoring methodology for the sustainable management of a river basin subjected to industrial and urban density by analytically evaluating decision‐making approaches. Multi‐criteria decision‐making approaches have been designed to gather and consistently evaluate expert opinions, facilitating the examination of various external factors that impact hydromorphology and integrating these into the decision‐making processes. In this study, three important multi‐criteria decision‐making approaches were compared: the analytical hierarchy process, the best–worst method, and the Fuzzy analytical hierarchy process. Minimum violation, total deviation, and nonparametric tests were used to determine statistically significant differences among the three approaches and to identify the most effective method. Their impacts on hydromorphology were tested on a river network experiencing industrial and urban pressures. Although the results were similar in representing hydromorphology, the best–worst method proved to be statistically more consistent than the other two approaches.
... Since the Ecological Footprint was first defined in 1992 (Rees, 1992) and further developed in 1996 (Rees and Wackernagel, 1996), many other environmental indicators have been created, such as the Carbon Footprint (Wiedmann and Minx, 2008), the Water Footprint (Hoekstra, 2003), the Energy Footprint (GFN, 2009), the Land Footprint (Bruckner et al., 2012), and the Nitrogen Footprint (Leach et al., 2012). The use of previous indicators generated knowledge for designing policies that included such information to achieve more sustainable development, including the Kyoto Protocol (United Nations, 1998) related to the Carbon Footprint, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 in the United States (United States of America, 2005) related to the Energy Footprint, or the European Union's Water Framework Directive (European Commission, 2000) related to the Water Footprint, among others summarised byČuček et al., 2015. Furthermore, the joint use of different indicators was defined as the "footprint family" which provides a better understanding of the environment (Fang et al., 2014;Galli et al., 2012;Giljum et al., 2008;Stoeglehner and Narodoslawsky, 2008). ...
Since the development of Water Footprint environmental indicator, significant research on blue and green crop water use and the respective water footprint estimations has been published. Such research is commonly approached using different methodologies that leverage tabulated values for crop development characterisation, while studies based on remote sensing data are less abundant, despite crop monitoring using remote sensing-based vegetation indices having demonstrated great capabilities and operability. To help fill this gap, we present a methodology that uses a remote sensing vegetation index time series from Sentinel-2 satellite near infra-red and red spectral bands data to derive basal crop coefficient time series to subsequently be used under the Remote Sensing-based Soil Water Balance approach that follows the globally operative FAO56 procedure. It provides pixel-based temporal and spatially distributed estimations of net irrigation requirements and adjusted crop evapotranspiration, with the aim being to divide up the latter and estimate the remote sensing-based green and blue crop water use and the subsequent green and blue water footprint. This is all done under the Agricultural Water Footprint Assessment framework for a growing crop or tree. This methodology was applied over a large, crop-diverse Spanish river basin district (Júcar) and across two different climatological years (humid vs. dry). Its feasibility was demonstrated by the acceptable behaviour of the remote sensing-based blue crop water use estimation for different herbaceous and woody crops, against the official dataset for irrigation water accounting at two water management scales (of a relative mean absolute error of 15.4 % in the case of the largest water user association and of 17.1 % in the case of the river basin water authorities’ own estimations). The proposed approach, which we call Remote Sensing-based Agricultural Water Accounting and Footprint, aims to provide reliable and accurate spatially and temporally distributed thematic cartography about the remote sensing-based blue and green crop water use and water footprint. This information is essential for water managers with the goal of generating transparent and complementary information to incorporate into their own working scales.
... European Parliament and European Council, 2000). Despite these legislative efforts, many contaminants continue to reach the natural environment. ...
... First, the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) focuses mainly on marine biodiversity conservation and citizens' well-being (EC, 2008a). Second, the water framework directive aims at pollution abatement (European Parliament, 2000). Third, the directives on birds (European Parliament, 2013) and habitats (European Parliament, 1992) consider the protection of biodiversity (e.g., fauna and flora) in the European continent. ...
The Black Sea region faces pressures on ecosystem services (ES) due to invasive species, waste, eutrophication, and biodiversity loss. We apply a stated preference technique, i.e. a choice experiment (CE), aiming to compare three hypothetical scenarios regarding the welfare impact of ES on citizens’ lives in terms of willingness-to-pay (WTP). Initially, the distributed questionnaires underwentan econometric pre-test regarding the orthogonality of all CE scenarios in R-studio. Questionnaire distribution occurred from 29/05/2023 to 21/11/2023 with a total number of 375 responders from the three pilot sites: Turkey, Romania, and Georgia. The highest WTP occurred in Turkey (56.72€) for all scenarios followed by Georgia (49.04€), and Romania (47.96€). Moreover, the greater WTP value is demonstrated by Scenario C (25.51€) followed by Scenarios B (25.17€) and Scenario A (25.11€). Interesting socioeconomic characteristics derived from Cross-Tabulation Analysis that notably cannot impact the WTP are income, gender, and age. Furthermore, marital status and education might affect the WTP only in Romania, however, this is not demonstrated in Turkeyor Georgia. Interestingly, the higher level of education in Romania is linked to lower WTP, nevertheless, education typically relates to environmental sensitivity. Another aspect is that occupation can change responders’ WTP in Romania and Georgia, but not in Turkey. In essence, the economic valuation of ES through CE methodology can offer policymaking insights into Blue Growth initiatives.
... In these circumstances, it becomes important to assess water quality for a sustainable water management in the Danube River-Danube Delta-Black Sea macro-ecosystem which is a continuously changing environment. Furthermore, the European Water Framework Directive [15] appeals to all Europeans waters (rivers, lakes, transitional and coastal waters) to reach a good ecological status (by 2015, and the latest by 2027). Because these lakes are included within the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve ecoregion, periodic environmental evaluations are necessary to ensure a superior level of environmental protection to maximize the water quality status, sustainability of the aquatic biodiversity and migratory birds, as well as human health. ...
The main aim of the present scientific paper is to assess water quality of the surface water of various lakes located in the Lumina-Rosu interdistributary depression, Danube Delta, Romania. As specific objectives, the paper considered to spot the main potential sources of contamination and their environmental impacts on aquatic ecosystems. Equally, the purpose of the article is to emphasize the importance of monitoring the water quality of the Danube Delta, for preserving these unique natural water resources and their ecosystem services (fresh water, biodiversity, flood control, recreation, nutrient cycling, fishing and other traditional activities, ecotourism). Surface water samples collected from several control sections situated on the main tributaries and canals, as well as from lakes were investigated physically (To - C, EC - μS/cm, TDS - mg/L, turbidity - NTU units, TSS - mg/L) and chemically (pH - units, DO - mg/L, N-NO2- - mg/L, N-NO3- - mg/L, P-PO43-- mg/L, Chla - mg/L, SiO2 - mg/L, TOC - mg/L, SO42- - mg/L, S2- - mg/L, H2S - mg/L and synthetic detergents - mg/L). Generally, the hydro-physical-chemical characteristics and water quality assessment of the surface waters of the lakes manifest the combined effect of both processes occurred in the catchment (weathering, sediment supply and transport), as well as the in situ lake processes (photosynthesis, sediment mixing, biogeochemical cycling, evaporation, eutrophication, productivity changes). Overall, the physical and chemical characteristics of the sampling sites investigated at high waters of the Danube are quite similar to those measured at low waters. The differences that mainly occurred within the lakes are more related to the limnological variables and the local environmental conditions. Anyway, a significant seasonal variation was noticed in the lakes, during the dry period, when different physical and chemical characteristics appeared to be influenced by high air temperature, lack of precipitation, low water level regime, low dissolved oxygen level regime, all related to climate change effects etc. Moreover, the anthropogenic factor that left its mark on some physical-chemical characteristics of water should not be omitted either. However, the results obtained within this study did not show such alarming values as might have dangerous effects on the investigated aquatic environments. The water quality information within this case study may be used for improving the understanding of the water quality issues and to better coordinate and plan for future monitoring activities in and around the Danube Delta environment. The results will contribute to updating the existing database with relevant information for a sustainable future of the Danube Delta and in similar areas that are subjected to such environmental challenges.
... In the last decade, several methods to assess the ecological status of lakes based on littoral macroinvertebrates have been developed in Europe (Miler et al., 2013a;2013b;Poikane et al., 2016). An EU-wide assessment method (LIMCO/LIMHA), compliant with the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) (European Commission, 2000), has been developed and successfully applied (Miler et al., 2013b(Miler et al., , 2015. Furthermore, national macroinvertebrate-based methods assessing hydromorphological shore alterations e.g., AESHNA (Miler et al., 2013a;Böhmer et al., 2014), and methods estimating hydromorphological shore alterations in combination with eutrophication and general degradation of lakes, e.g., the Multimetric Macroinvertebrate Index Flanders (Belgium/Flanders; Gabriels et al., 2010) exist in several EU member states. ...
Riverine lakes are a distinct lake type found in geographic regions of Europe shaped by glacial processes. Knowledge concerning their macroinvertebrate communities is scarce and hampers the development of type-specific assessment methods as demanded by the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD). We compared macroinvertebrate community composition between near-natural riverine lakes and three other types of near-natural lowland lakes to test if communities differ among types. Moreover, we quantified how macro-invertebrate communities from riverine lakes change along a degradation gradient as the basis for developing ecological status classes. Results showed that macroinvertebrate communities significantly differed between riverine and other lowland lake types. The indicator taxa characteristic for near-natural riverine lakes were significantly correlated with environmental characteristics, i.e., comparatively low maximum water depths and high %macrophyte and xylal habitats. Macroinvertebrate communities differed in their taxonomic composition between riverine lake degradation classes, with significant indicator taxa identified for these. We provided empirical evidence that riverine lakes harbour a distinct littoral macroinvertebrate community and recommend establishing riverine lakes as a separate lake type in the Central Plains ecoregion in national typologies for biotic assessments in compliance with the WFD.
... They may therefore be ineffective or even counterproductive (Cook et al., 2010;Bennett et al., 2018). To reduce anthropogenic stressors and to mitigate eutrophication, legislation, such as the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and the European Water Framework Directive (WFD), has been enacted (European Parliament, 2000Parliament, , 2008Desmit et al., 2020). The WFD requires EU member states to obtain and maintain a ''good ecological status'' (GES) by 2027, based on a range of biological quality elements that are used to classify the state of a water body as either high, good, moderate, poor or bad. ...
... To describe and manage the eutrophication-related negative anthropogenic effects on the marine environment, Baltic Sea countries have agreed to assess the status of open sea areas, focusing on nutrients, chlorophyll-a levels, cyanobacterial blooms, water transparency, and nearbottom oxygen conditions and/or bottom fauna, according to the MSFD ( European Parliament and Council, 2008 ). The environmental status of coastal waters is assessed under the WFD ( European Parliament and Council, 2000 ), and the outcome relies mainly on the biological quality elements (phytoplankton, bottom flora and fauna). The physical and chemical parameters, e.g., nutrient concentrations, provide supplementary information. ...
... There are currently policy-driven efforts to build new HPPs at transverse structures that were primarily intended to prevent riverbed deepening or to contribute to flood protection and have not yet been used for energy generation. Proponents of hydropower argue that the construction of new HPPs at existing barriers not only increases the share of renewable energies, but that the simultaneous construction of fish bypasses for upstream (U) and downstream (D) migration at these sites also improves longitudinal connectivity and could thus help fulfil the Water Framework Directive's goals regarding river continuity restoration (European Parliament, 2000). Furthermore, developers of so-called 'innovative' hydropower technologies (e.g. ...
Ecological assessments of the effects of hydropower plants (HPPs) are often limited to aspects of entrainment, mortality, injuries, and passage of fish, whereas the effects on riverine habitats and biological communities in proximity to these structures are hardly documented.
In this study, aquatic communities comprising fish, macroinvertebrates, macrophytes and periphyton as well as physical and hydromorphological parameters were investigated in upstream and downstream river sections at five transverse structures at different seasons before and after the installation of an innovative HPP.
At all study sites, significant differences in the aquatic community composition between the assessed upstream and downstream sections were found after HPP construction, indicating distinct serial discontinuity.
Raising the damming target at the sites Großweil and Au deteriorated the habitat conditions in the upstream area close to the weir and presumably influenced in particular the macroinvertebrate community, where a significant decrease in the density of rheophilic mayfly, stonefly and caddisfly larvae was observed after HPP construction.
Synthesis and applications : The installation of different types of innovative HPPs has not improved the habitat conditions for rheophilic species, contrary to the promises raised by the developers of these concepts. Conversely, retrofitting existing weirs accompanied by further damming even significantly increased the effects of serial discontinuity and deteriorated the habitat conditions for rheophilic species in upstream sections. As evident from the findings of this study, habitat and biological community effects resulting from serial discontinuity should become better integrated into ecological assessments of HPP developments.
... By quantitatively analysing these communities, it becomes possible to accurately assess environmental conditions, detect evidence of changes, and understand processes influenced by human activities (Ballesteros et al. 2007;Borja et al. 2010;Beltrand et al. 2022). European Union member states have implemented various measures over the last few decades, such as the Water Framework Directive (WFD, European Parliament and Council, (2000)) or the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD, European Parliament and Council, (2008)). These directives aim respectively at (1) evaluating the good quality of water bodies and (2) detecting anthropogenic impacts to enhance protection of marine ecosystems. ...
Intertidal macroalgae define complex habitats and play a key role in structuring coastal areas. While, they are primarily studied during field campaigns, remote sensing acquisitions are becoming increasingly prevalent. However, the use of hyperspectral imagery on drones is not developed even though it allows species identification even in heterogeneous environments such as intertidal rocky shores. Based on hyperspectral drone imagery acquired in summer 2021, this study aims to identify and validate an algorithm suitable for easy integration into an operational framework for monitoring macroalgal dominated shore. The study focuses on two sites along the Brittany coast (Western France). Species identification and abundance were determined in the field. Six algorithms were tested: Mahalanobis, Minimum Distance, Maximum Likelihood, Random Forest, Spectral Angle Mapper and Support Vector Machine. Classifications showed overall accuracies ranging from 70% to 90% depending on the algorithm. The Maximum Likelihood is retained as it provides good accuracies and valuable information about the species distributions. Our analyses based on a combination of field and remote sensing data reveals globally consistent results when considering the main Phaeophyceae species but a divergence was highlighted for Rhodophyta. Despite environmental differences, the two studied sites were faithfully characterized in terms of intertidal species and habitat distribution, highlighting the potential of hyperspectral drone imagery to better understand seaweed-dominated ecosystem dynamics.
... It focuses on the actual plants, geology, and their origins. Research is also carried out into water eutrophication, which is one of the greatest threats to the quality of inland waters, as reflected in European Union legislation (European Parliament 2000;Poikane et al. 2015;Wu et al. 2017). This phenomenon is an element affecting the direct reception and assessment of the sight-aesthetic value of an underwater landscape. ...
The aim of the study is to identify factors affecting the sight-aesthetic value of the underwater landscapes of lakes for the purposes of exploration tourism. The reason for undertaking this topic is the lack of such studies for inland water bodies.The results will contribute to expanding and supplementing the knowledge on the assessment of the sight-aesthetic attractiveness of landscapes and fill gaps in knowledge about the underwater landscapes of lakes. The questionnaire survey implemented the direct comparison method described by Kendall (Kendall, M. G. 1970. Rank Correlation Methods. Charles Griffin and Co: Glasgow, Scotland). According to respondents, animals and submerged anthropogenic elements are the most visually attractive in an aquatic environment The results obtained are the reason for conducting further research and developing the methodology for the assessment of the sight-aesthetic value of inland bodies of water based on the experience of terrestrial landscape researchers.
... The constantly increasing anthropogenic pressures on aquatic ecosystems has stimulated a multitude of studies on the effects of environmental gradients on aquatic biota. In Europe, these studies were largely intensified by the Water Framework Directive (EC, 2000), which regulates the assumptions of the European Union's water policy. The directive provides rules that aim to halt deterioration of the EU waters and achieve good status for Europe's rivers, lakes and groundwater. ...
Aquatic vegetation is a reliable indicator of the ecological condition of surface waters. Abundance, composition and spatial structure of aquatic communities are shaped by an array of factors, which include both natural abiotic features of an ecosystem and external influences. We investigated whether the physical features, i.e., wind exposure and slope of the lake basin, have a significant impact on the taxonomic composition and spatial structure of macrophyte communities from non-impacted, highly alkaline, lowland lakes of the European plains (Poland). We further examined whether these features can affect the classification of the ecological status of lakes assessed in accordance with the Water Framework Directive requirements. Morphological, botanical and physicochemical data from 260 transects in 16 non-disturbed lakes of Polish lowlands surveyed in the years 2011–2016 were analysed. For each transect, littoral slope and wind exposure were calculated. Additionally, the total phosphorus concentration was used as a proxy of water trophy. The relationships between environmental variables and macrophyte indices as well as the syntaxonomic composition of aquatic and rush vegetation (dependent variables) were analysed using multidimensional ordination techniques (redundancy analysis, variation partitioning and indicator values), correlation and regression analysis. Among the three analysed environmental factors (littoral slope, wind exposure and water trophy), in almost all cases the latter explained the highest variance in the macrophyte community, while the contribution of the first two was at most moderate, weak or usually statistically insignificant. However, lakes with steeper slopes were more frequently inhabited by stoneworts and had better ecological status than those with a gentle littoral shape. This may be attributed to the links between lake morphometry and rate of eutrophication, with deep lakes supporting more effective dilution of substances. Furthermore, lower light requirements of charophytes than of higher plants and the capacity to growth in unstable sediments facilitate charophyte establishment in deeper and steeper parts of the littoral over higher plants. Our findings suggest that in lowland lakes with relatively small areas, moderate depths and low wind exposure typical of European plains, slopes and weaving do not hamper vegetation development and do not negatively affect the macrophyte assessment of ecological status. In such ecosystems, eutrophication seems to be a more important factor determining aquatic vegetation than physical features.
... In recent years, various EU policies, notably the Green Deal (GD) and its Farm to Fork (F2F) initiative, have set distinct objectives impacting aquaculture production, such as ensuring sustainable food production, promoting sustainable food processing at all levels, stimulating sustainable food consumption, and addressing concerns regarding food loss and waste [59]. Moreover, numerous aspects that require consideration are embedded within a range of EU legislationsincluding the EU Environmental Impact Directives [22], the Water Framework Directive [20], the EU Regulation on Animal Health and Welfare [17], and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive [21] and described in studies aiming at creating a sustainable blue economy that is fair and equitable [14]. ...
In light of the current global scenario, regulatory requirements, and stakeholder expectations for the aquaculture supply chain are more demanding than ever. The latest EU strategies for aquaculture aim to ensure its economic, environmental, and social long-term sustainability through green, technological, and social transformations. This objective is as ambitious as it is complex, involving not only the enhancement of key sustainability aspects but also the assurance of transparency, trust, and security standards across the entire supply chain. In this context, the present paper proposes a novel blockchain framework, along with the strategic implementation of smart contracts, specifically designed to effectively address the prevalent environmental challenges within the aquaculture supply chain.
Multiple stressors are increasingly recognized as major concerns in the sustainability of aquatic ecosystems in Africa and the myriad of ecosystem services deriving to millions of people on the continent. Stressors commonly interact to affect environmental conditions (e.g., habitat and water quality), individual species, communities, and ecological functions. Because of the complex ecological responses (that is, additive, antagonistic, and synergistic effects) they elicit, it is often challenging to develop a biomonitoring program that is effective and accurate at identifying and measuring their effects. However, with economic development in Africa, multiple stressors, such as chemical, nutrient, and organic pollution, as well as hydromorphological alterations, are growing accordingly. Thus, there is a need for evidence-based and effective natural resource management and ecosystem protection to face emerging challenges. However, despite the advancement in knowledge, progressive laws and regulations for the protection of the environment, many African countries and regions lack biomonitoring programs for assessing and monitoring ecological conditions in rivers. This chapter reviews advances made in the biomonitoring of multiple stressors in river ecosystems. Many regions of the world developed regional or national biomonitoring programs, but in Africa, most countries, except South Africa, rely on physicochemical parameters to guide water resources management and conservation. The chapter explores the range of biological communities used in bioassessment programs and the stressors against which they are best suited. The chapter further presents case studies on developing regional indices for use at the national level (e.g., Tanzanian River Scoring System, TARISS). The chapter also discusses the level of adoption of biomonitoring for the management and conservation of aquatic ecosystems in Africa and the challenges (e.g., capacity, legal and institutional frameworks) faced in developing and adopting such indices. We also discuss approaches for promoting biomonitoring and overcoming the challenges that bioindication as a tool for environmental management and conservation face. Additionally, we vouch for advancing biomonitoring in Africa to address challenges and enhance environmental management and conservation efforts. By adopting bioindication and implementing appropriate strategies, we can deepen our understanding of ecosystem health and make informed decisions for the sustainable management of aquatic ecosystems across the continent.
There is an increasing need for legislation worldwide to monitor and assess the ecological status of marine ecosystems, due to increasing pressures from human activities. The costs and time of traditional analyses are high, while methods based on molecular analysis could reduce these costs and shorten evaluation times significantly. Some biotic indices used to assess the status need reference conditions to be applied. Hence, our objective here is to develop reference conditions for a molecular-based benthic index (M− gAMBI), which can be compared with a morphological one (M− AMBI). Using 6 years of data from estuaries and coasts, we have been able to set reference conditions for five water types, including richness, diversity and AMBI. However, one problem is the absence of the whole human pressure gradient in all water types, making difficult to validate the reference conditions. Based on the results of this research, the M− gAMBI index could be considered suitable for ecological status assessment since it meets most of the criteria for considering a genomics-based index suitable. However, it is considered necessary to advance in (i) improving the detection of errors in genomic methods and similarity with morphological methods, and (ii) an intercalibration exercise, allowing adjusting quality class boundaries and determining the ecological status in an equivalent manner using both methods.
Environmental compartments are contaminated by a broad spectrum of plant protection products (PPPs) that are currently widely used in agriculture or, for some of them, whose use was banned many years ago. The aim of this study is to draw up an overview of the levels of contamination of soils, continental aquatic environments, seawaters and atmosphere by organic PPPs in France and the French overseas territories, based on data from the scientific publications and the grey literature. It is difficult to establish an exhaustive picture of the overall contamination of the environment because the various compartments monitored, the monitoring frequencies, the duration of the studies and the lists of substances are not the same. Of the 33 PPPs most often recorded at high concentration levels in at least one compartment, 5 are insecticides, 9 are fungicides, 15 are herbicides and 4 are transformation products. The PPP contamination of the environment shows generally a seasonal variation according to crop cycles. On a pluriannual scale, the contamination trends are linked to the level of use driven by the pest pressure, and especially to the ban of PPP. Overall, the quality of the data acquired has been improved thanks to new, more integrative sampling strategies and broad-spectrum analysis methods that make it possible to incorporate the search for emerging contaminants such as PPP transformation products. Taking into account additional information (such as the quantities applied, agricultural practices, meteorological conditions, the properties of PPPs and environmental conditions) combined with modelling tools will make it possible to better assess and understand the fate and transport of PPPs in the environment, inter-compartment transfers and to identify their potential impacts. Simultaneous monitoring of all environmental compartments as well as biota in selected and limited relevant areas would also help in this assessment.
Population models can be a useful tool for ecological risk assessment to increase ecological realism. In the present study, population models were used to extrapolate toxicity test results of four metals (Ag, Cu, Ni, Zn) to the population level. In total, three primary producers, five invertebrate species, and five fish species were covered. The ecological modeling–based laboratory to population effect extrapolation factor (ECOPEX factor), defined as the ratio of the predicted 10% effect concentration (EC10) at the population level and the observed EC10 for the laboratory toxicity test, ranged from 0.7 to 78.6, with a median of 2.8 ( n = 27). Population modeling indicated clearly higher effect concentrations in most of the cases (ECOPEX factor >2 in 14 out of 27 cases), but in some cases the opposite was observed (in three out of 27 cases). We identified five main contributors to the variability in ECOPEX factors: (1) uncertainty about the toxicity model, (2) uncertainty about the toxicity mechanism of the metal, (3) uncertainty caused by test design, (4) impact of environmental factors, and (5) impact of population endpoint chosen. Part of the uncertainty results from a lack of proper calibration data. Nonetheless, extrapolation with population models typically reduced the variability in EC10 values between tests. To explore the applicability of population models in a regulatory context, we included population extrapolations in a species sensitivity distribution for Cu, which increased the hazardous concentration for 5% of species by a factor 1.5 to 2. Furthermore, we applied a fish population model in a hypothetical Water Framework Directive case using monitored Zn concentrations. This article includes recommendations for further use of population models in (metal) risk assessment. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;00:1–21. © 2024 SETAC
This study aims to describe a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis that assesses the detection and concentration of pharmaceutical products, drugs, and personal care products in European waters. This study protocol was developed following the recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA-P) statement and the Cochrane Handbook of Systematic Reviews of Interventions. We will include studies conducted on European waters of various origins (watersheds, aquifers, rivers, seas, springs, wastewaters, and drinking water). A comprehensive search strategy will be implemented in the following databases: PubMed (Medline), EMBASE, Scopus, and Web of Science. Two independent reviewers will conduct all study selection procedures, data extraction, and methodological evaluation. Any disagreements will be referred to a third reviewer. If the studies are sufficiently homogeneous, we will conduct a meta-analysis to summarize the data. We will use the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) to assess the certainty of the evidence. The systematic review and meta-analysis will provide valuable information about the presence and concentration of these types of contaminants in water, aiding in the development of public policies regarding prevention and decontamination measures to enhancing water quality in Europe.
Reservoirs fulfil several societal needs, including water storage, energy production, flood control and recreation. However, the interruption of the river continuum may cause water quality declines that compromise water use. The surrounding landscape is a key driver of water quality variation in space and time, both across and within catchments. Therefore, understanding how landscape composition, structure and functioning influence reservoir water quality can help address management challenges. Here, we aim to investigate the current use and predictive capacity of landscape functioning indicators for reservoir water quality prediction. First, we carried out a literature review to investigate which landscape factors are most frequently studied as drivers of water quality in lentic systems. Then, we tested the predictive capacity of landscape functioning indicators in four reservoirs in Portugal using linear mixed models and multi‐model inference. The literature review shows that most studies assess the effects of landscape composition while landscape functioning is rarely included. Our test using four reservoirs suggests that landscape functioning indicators, namely greenness and brightness, can complement landscape composition and structure indicators, improving the capacity to predict total suspended solids, chlorophyll‐ a , and total phosphorous. Landscape functioning indicators portrayed temporal variability in ecosystem dynamics that was not encompassed by landscape composition or structure indicators and may be relevant to predict specific water quality parameters. Our results show landscape functioning indicators can improve modelling of landscape contributions to water quality and thus have great potential to contribute to monitoring, modelling and forecast systems for water quality and ecological status.
Herbicides, such as MCPA and clopyralid, may be transported to surface waters via runoff, which can have unintended environmental consequences. A split herbicide application strategy, wherein applications are spread across a season, may improve herbicide effectiveness, although impacts of this strategy on runoff mitigation have not been investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to (1) quantify the impact of split‐dose applications of MCPA and clopyralid on herbicide losses in surface runoff and (2) assess the impact of split‐dose applications of MCPA on the quantity and classification of MCPA‐degrading soil bacteria. Intact grassed soil sods were placed in 1 m‐long × 0.25 m‐wide × 0.1 m‐deep laboratory flumes, onto which either MCPA or clopyralid were applied in one full‐dose (13.5 kg MCPA ha ⁻¹ ; 2 kg clopyralid ha ⁻¹ ) or two split‐doses (each 6.75 kg MCPA ha ⁻¹ ; 1 kg clopyralid ha ⁻¹ ) 42 days apart. On days 2, 7 and 21 following herbicide applications, flumes were subjected to controlled rainfall simulations at an intensity of 11 mm h ⁻¹ , and the herbicides in the runoff were quantified. MCPA and clopyralid concentrations in the runoff were highest immediately after the initial application. Both herbicides were below the limit of detection (0.1 μg l ⁻¹ for MCPA and 0.45 μg l ⁻¹ for clopyralid) by 44 days. No herbicides were detected in the runoff following the second split‐dose application. For MCPA, this was attributed to an adaptation in the microbial community with the emergence of bacteria possessing the tfdA class III gene in the soil. These results support split‐dose herbicide application as a strategy for agricultural management.
The mandate to maintain at least a good ecological status of all surface waters has led to increased river restoration projects across Europe in the past two decades. The aim is to re-establish the hydromorphological situation and reverse the damage to freshwater ecosystems. In this study, we evaluated the restoration measures in a small stream in the State of Saxony, Germany, using the Transient River Habitat Modelling for Macrozoobenthos (TRiMM). The model was established using the Physical habitat template, covering physical habitat variables (flow, substrate, and thermal regime). It also introduces the application of a fuzzy approach to investigate river physical conditions and their effects on biological indicators like macrozoobenthos. Three taxa, namely Ancyls fluviatilis, Ephemera danica, and Gammarus fossarum, with different habitat preferences, were used to investigate the river’s ecological conditions. The model simulated the natural flow conditions from spring to summer, before and after the restoration was implemented. The research indicated that the restoration of the studied river sections succeeded in providing suitable habitats for target taxa at varied discharge conditions.
Considering the adaptability and responsiveness of microorganisms to environmental changes, their indicator potential is still not acknowledged in European directives. This comprehensive study examined the changes of microbial communities in sediments and a range of geochemical parameters from pristine and anthropogenically impacted coastal areas in the eastern Adriatic Sea. Various analytical methods found evidence of sediment contamination (high toxicity level, enrichments of metals, tributyltin) in certain areas, leading to the categorization of sediments based on the level of anthropogenic disturbance. Prokaryotes were identified as the most promising group of microbes for further research, with specific bacterial families (Rhodobacteraceae, Ectothiorhodospiraceae, Cyclobacteriaceae) and genera (Boseongicola, B2M28, Subgroup 23, Sva0485, Thiogranum) proposed as potential indicators of environmental status. Finally, predictive models were developed to identify key indicator variables for assessing anthropogenic impact in sediments. This research represents an essential step toward incorporating microbial communities into assessments of benthic environmental health.
Detecting human impact on freshwater ecosystems is problematic without rigorous assessment of temporal changes. Assessments of mining impacts are further complicated by the strong influence of local catchment geology on surface waters even in unmined environments. Such influence cannot be effectively considered by using broad-scale reference frameworks based on regionalization and stream types. Using the BACI (Before-After Control-Impact) design, we examined the impact of mining discharges on freshwater algae and macroinvertebrate communities resulting from the rerouting of treated wastewaters through a pipeline to larger water bodies in Northern and North-Eastern Finland. Impacted sites and control sites were sampled 1 to 2 years before and 1 to 3 years after the pipelines became operational. Stream diatom communities recovered from past loadings upstream of the pipeline (which was no longer impacted by wastewaters) after rerouting of the wastewaters, while no changes downstream from the pipeline were detected. Upstream from the pipeline, diatom species richness increased and changes in relative abundances of the most common diatom taxa as well as in the overall community composition were observed. The effects of the pipeline were less evident for stream macroinvertebrate communities. There was an indication that regional reference conditions used in national biomonitoring may not represent diatom communities in areas with a strong geochemical background influence. Lake profundal macroinvertebrate communities were impacted by past loadings before the construction of the pipeline, and the influence of the pipeline was observed only as changes in the abundances of a few individual species such as phantom midges (which increased in abundance in response to discharges directed through the pipeline). Our results highlight the variable influence of mining discharges on aquatic communities. Statistically strong monitoring programmes, such as BACI designs, are clearly needed to detect these influences.
Economic water productivity, gross value added per volume of water use, is a widely used metric by international and national organizations to monitor the impacts of economic activity on water use. In fact, this metric is often used synonymously with water efficiency. Considering this, our study analyzes the adequacy of economic water productivity as a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for monitoring if water use has become more efficient. Using 15-year panel data for the 27 European countries and carrying out a sensitivity analysis with seven Asian countries to extrapolate our results, we address our hypothesis that changes in economic water productivity are not driven by increases in physical water efficiency but mostly originate from different sources of economic growth. Our results show that the improvements in economic water productivity are not necessarily associated with improvements in water efficiency but with advances in capital intensity and, hence, in labor productivity. Accordingly, we encourage policy-makers to replace this indicator – which is based solely on an economic vision rather than ecological concerns – with indicators that report the actual pressure on the water resources (e.g., absolute water consumption or physical water-efficiency indicators) or those that at least include their driving factors in the analysis (e.g. capital intensity, labor productivity). This would allow decision makers designing policies that are more effective and genuinely ensure sustainable water management. Otherwise, economically biased political assessments likely will provide erroneous results, leading to policy recommendations causing undesired environmental impacts in the medium and long term.
OPEN ACCESS PAPER - Field observations form the basis of the majority of studies on microphytobenthic algal communities in freshwater ecosystems. Controlled mesocosm experiments data are comparatively uncommon. The few experimental mesocosm studies that have been conducted provide valuable insights into how multiple stressors affect the community structures and photosynthesis-related traits of benthic microalgae. The recovery process after the stressors have subsided, however, has received less attention in mesocosm studies. To close this gap, here we present the results of a riparian mesocosm experiment designed to investigate the effects of reduced flow velocity, increased salinity and increased temperature on microphytobenthic communities. We used a full factorial design with a semi-randomised distribution of treatments consisting of two levels of each stressor (2 × 2 × 2 treatments), with eight replicates making a total of 64 circular mesocosms, allowing a nuanced examination of their individual and combined influences. We aimed to elucidate the responses of microalgae communities seeded from stream water to the applied environmental stressors. Our results showed significant effects of reduced flow velocity and increased temperature on microphytobenthic communities. Recovery after stressor treatment led to a convergence in community composition, with priority effects (hypothesized to reflect competition for substrate between resident and newly arriving immigrant taxa) slowing down community shifts and biomass increase. Our study contributes to the growing body of literature on the ecological dynamics of microphytobenthos and emphasises the importance of rigorous experiments to validate hypotheses. These results encourage further investigation into the nuanced interactions between microphytobenthos and their environment and shed light on the complexity of ecological responses in benthic systems.
Population models are increasingly used to predict population‐level effects of chemicals. For trout, most toxicity data are available on early‐life stages, but this may cause population models to miss true population‐level effects. We predicted population‐level effects of copper (Cu) on a brook trout ( Salvelinus fontinalis ) population based on individual‐level effects observed in either a life‐cycle study or an early‐life stage study. We assessed the effect of Cu on predicted trout densities (both total and different age classes) and the importance of accounting for effects on the full life cycle compared with only early‐life stage effects. Additionally, uncertainty about the death mechanism and growth effects was evaluated by comparing the effect of different implementation methods: individual tolerance (IT) versus stochastic death (SD) and continuous versus temporary growth effects. For the life‐cycle study, the same population‐level no‐observed‐effect concentration (NOEC pop ) was predicted as the lowest reported individual‐level NOEC (NOEC ind ; 9.5 µg/L) using IT. For SD, the NOEC pop was predicted to be lower than the NOEC ind for young‐of‐the‐year and 1‐year‐old trout (3.4 µg/L), but similar for older trout (9.5 µg/L). The implementation method for growth effects did not affect the NOEC pop of the life‐cycle study . Simulations based solely on the early‐life stage effects within the life‐cycle study predicted unbounded NOEC pop values (≥32.5 µg/L), that is, >3.4 times higher than the NOEC pop based on all life‐cycle effects. For the early‐life stage study, the NOEC pop for both IT and SD were predicted to be >2.6 times higher than the lowest reported NOEC ind . Overall, we demonstrate that effects on trout populations can be underestimated if predictions are solely based on toxicity data with early‐life stages. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;00:1–15. © 2024 SETAC
Метою роботи було дослідження гідрологічного режиму річки Стир у зоні впливу водокористування Рівненської атомної електростанції (РАЕС) з виявленням визначальних чинників і їхнього взаємозв’язку. Для оцінки змін гідрологічних показників річки Стир у зоні водозабору та скиду води Рівненської атомної електростанції використано підхід, заснований на аналізі діапазону варіабельності (RVA). Виявлені закономірності та проведений аналіз динаміки водокористування Рівненської атомної електростанції свідчать про збільшення витрат на водоспоживання в теплу пору року, що пов’язано з вищою температурою навколишнього середовища і, відповідно, більшим випаровуванням води із системи охолодження. Виявлено позитивний значущий (p < 0,0001) на рівні сильного (r = 0,7–0,9; R-sq = 0,9869) кореляційний зв’язок режиму забору та скидання води Рівненської атомної електростанції з температурою води в річці. Новизна роботи полягає в порівнянні фактичних витрат води річки Стир у зоні водокористування Рівненської атомної електростанції з даними нормалізованого індексу різниці води (NDWI), отриманого за допомогою зображення ділянки річки Стир супутника Sentinel-2. Практична значущість дослідження полягає в тому, що отримані результати можуть бути використані для планування та впровадження стратегій управління водними ресурсами, що орієнтовані на збереження якості поверхневих вод. Представлений підхід до контролю джерела забруднення передбачає мінімізацію їхнього впливу на водойму та може бути використаний для оцінки нерадіаційного впливу скидів атомних електростанцій. Результати дослідження свідчать про відсутність впливу скидів з Рівненської атомної електростанції, отже, не потребують оптимізаційних заходів, оскільки гідроекологічні показники та зміна їхніх значень не впливають на екологічний стан поверхневих вод річки Стир і не перешкоджають досягненню цілей Водної рамкової директиви.
adolinium (Gd) is among the rare earth elements extensively utilized in both industrial and medical applications. The latter application appears to contribute to the rise in Gd levels in aquatic ecosystems, as it is excreted via urine from patients undergoing MRI scans and often not captured by wastewater treatment systems. The potential environmental and biological hazards posed by gadolinium exposure are still under investigation. This
study aimed to assess the teratogenic risk posed by a gadolinium chelate on the freshwater cnidarian Hydra vulgaris. The experimental design evaluated the impact of pure Gadodiamide (25 μg/l, 50 μg/l, 100 μg/l, 500 μg/ l) and its commercial counterpart compound (Omniscan®; 100 μg/l, 500 μg/l, 782.7 mg/l) at varying concentrations using the Teratogenic Risk Index (TRI). Here we showed a moderate risk (Class III of TRI) following
exposure to both tested formulations at concentrations ≥ 100 μg/l. Given the potential for similar concentrations in aquatic environments, particularly near wastewater discharge points, a teratogenic risk assessment using the Hydra regeneration assay was conducted on environmental samples collected from three rivers (Tiber, Almone, and Sacco) in Central Italy. Additionally, chemical analysis of field samples was performed using ICP-MS.
Analysis of freshwater samples revealed low Gd concentrations (≤ 0.1 μg/l), despite localized increases near domestic and/or industrial wastewater discharge sites. Although teratogenic risk in environmental samples ranged from high (Class IV of TRI) to negligible (Class I of TRI), the low Gd concentrations, particularly when compared to higher levels of other contaminants like arsenic and heavy metals, preclude establishing a direct cause-effect relationship between Gd and observed teratogenic risks in environmental samples. Nevertheless, the teratogenic risks observed in laboratory tests warrant further investigation.
In this study, two Mediterranean coastal lagoons (Lesina and Varano) of Southern Italy, located in the north of the Apulia region, were investigated for the presence of Shiga toxin Escherichia coli (STEC) and potentially enteropathogenic Vibrio species in parallel with norovirus (NoV), hepatitis A virus (HAV), hepatitis E virus (HEV), and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This study aimed to evaluate the presence of potentially pathogenic bacteria and viruses in the water and sediments of these ecosystems. From March 2022 to February 2023, a total of 98 samples were collected: 49 water samples and 49 sediment samples. STEC strains were isolated in three samples (3.1%), of which one (2%) was water (stx1 and stx2 positive) and two (4.1%) were sediment (both stx2 positive) samples. Vibrio spp. were detected in twenty samples (20.4%), of which nine were water (18.4%) and eleven were sediment (22.4%) samples. The species detected included V. parahaemolyticus, V. cholerae, and V. vulnificus. NoV was detected in 25 (25.5%) samples, while none of the water or sediment samples were positive for HAV, HEV, and SARS-CoV-2. The results of this study provide an overview of the presence of potentially pathogenic microorganisms in areas influenced by anthropogenic pressure. Monitoring the circulation of these pathogens could be useful to evaluate the water flowing into the lagoons, in particular discharge waters (i.e., urban, agricultural, and livestock runoff), considering the presence of fish and shellfish farms in these sites.
Transit time‐based water quality models using StorAge Selection (SAS) functions are crucial for nitrate (NO 3 ⁻ ) management. However, relying solely on instream NO 3 ⁻ concentration for model calibration can result in poor parameter identifiability. This is due to the interaction, or correlation, between transport parameters, such as SAS function parameters, and denitrification rate, which challenges accurate parameters identification and description of catchment‐scale hydrological processes. To tackle this issue, we conducted three Monte‐Carlo experiments for a German mesoscale catchment by calibrating a SAS‐based model with daily instream NO 3 ⁻ concentrations (Experiment 1), monthly instream stable water isotopes (e.g. δ ¹⁸ O) (Experiment 2) and both datasets (Experiment 3). Our findings revealed comparable ranges of SAS transport parameters and median water transit times (TT 50 ) across the experiments. This suggests that, despite their distinct reactive or conservative nature, and sampling strategies, the NO 3 ⁻ and δ ¹⁸ O time series offer similar information for calibration. However, the absolute values of transport parameters and TT 50 time series, as well as the degree of parameter interaction differed. Experiment 1 showed greater interaction between certain transport parameters and denitrification rate, leading to greater equifinality. Conversely, Experiment 3 yielded reduced parameters interaction, which enhanced transport parameters identifiability and decreased uncertainty in TT 50 time series. Hence, even a modest effort to incorporate only monthly δ ¹⁸ O values in model calibration for highly frequent NO 3 ⁻ , improved the description of hydrological transport. This study showcased the value of combining NO 3 ⁻ and δ ¹⁸ O model results to improve transport parameter identifiability and model robustness, which ultimately enhances NO 3 ⁻ management strategies.
This study assessed the functional effectiveness in terms of passage proportion of three fishways, one nature‐like bypass, one partly nature‐like bypass and partly technical pool‐type and one completely technical, on the Pinka Stream and Rába River in Western Hungary. Radio frequency identification with passive integrated transponder tagging was used to collect data on the upstream passage. A total of 2976 tagged individuals were included in the study; 2863 individuals were either barbel ( Barbus barbus ), nase ( Chondrostoma nasus ) or chub ( Squalius cephalus ), which were chosen as model species, and 113 individuals belonged to four other species. There were 540 individuals of the model species and 18 individuals of the other species detected while successfully ascending one of the fishways. The time‐to‐event (survival) analysis of the data of the model species revealed significant species‐specific differences in passage probability between the fishways. The passage probabilities of the barbel were the highest, and those of the nase were the lowest at all three fishways. The findings demonstrate that single‐species evaluations can lead to incorrect conclusions on fishway effectiveness. Technical fishways can be as effective as nature‐like ones, and hybrid solutions (technical fishways combined with nature‐like bypasses) can function as well. The limitations of the study and recommendations for further evaluations are also discussed.
Biodiversity and the health of freshwater ecosystems is strongly impaired by human activities,
compromising the stability of these ecosystems and the ecosystem services they provide. Global
and European efforts to halt the biodiversity decline and protect ecosystem health were not very
successful, especially for rivers, so that for less than ten percent of the German rivers good
ecological status was reached in 2021. Present-day agriculture has been identified as the main
driver for this deterioration, as evident from a multitude of studies. However, the agricultural
effects differ between the organism groups and depending on environmental conditions like soil
and climatic conditions. Moreover, and most importantly, agriculture is not uniform. The
specific agricultural types and practices differ between regions, which in turn leads to
differences in the intensity of agrochemical usage as suggested by many small-scale studies.
Consequently, the magnitude of agricultural effects on biodiversity and health of river
ecosystems most probably depends on agricultural types and practices and differs between
regions. For the effective mitigation of these negative effects, several knowledge gaps need to
be closed, which were addressed in six chapters, shortly described in the following.
First, the current knowledge on the effect of agriculture on river biota was summarized and
analysed in a meta-analysis (Schürings et al., 2022). According to this meta-analysis described
in the first chapter, agriculture has an overall medium to high negative effect on river biota, and
results indicate that the effects of agriculture differ between agricultural types, practices, the
organism groups, and biological metrics considered. Second, a pan-European dataset was used
to establish an agricultural typology, based on agricultural production and agriculture-related
freshwater pressure by nutrients, pesticides, water abstraction and hydromorphological
alterations (Schürings et al., 2023). This chapter identified how agricultural types differ in their
pressures exerted on freshwaters and shows that accounting for agricultural pressure intensity
nearly doubles the correlation with the ecological status. Third, the effects of different
agricultural types on the ecological status according to the EU Water Framework Directive
(WFD) were investigated, using high resolution German-wide land use data, distinguishing
between different crop types (Schürings et al., 2024a). The effects on the ecological status
clearly differed between crop types, which typically are associated with different agrochemical
application rates. Macroinvertebrates and macrophytes were most strongly affected by pesticide
application intensive crops and diatoms were most affected by nutrient intensive crops. Fourth,
the results presented in Markert et al. (2023) provided evidence that urban areas and different
5
agricultural crop types with typical agrochemical application rates are indeed related to the
micropollutant concentrations monitored in rivers, which often exceeded Environmental
Quality Standards. Fifth, crop type-specific differences in agrochemical application rates
reported in literature were used to generate an agricultural intensity index (Schürings et al.,
2024b). This index improved the correlative strength between present-day agriculture and the
ecological status with most pronounced relations for macroinvertebrates in small mountain
streams. Sixth, experiences from implementing environmental legislations like the WFD were
used to advice for a successful implementation of the EU Nature Restoration Law (Hering et
al., 2023). This final chapter highlights that joining restoration efforts with a shift to more
sustainable agriculture, whose importance is reasoned in the previous chapters, would offer
unprecedented opportunities for successful protection of ecosystem health.
In conclusion, this thesis provides overwhelming evidence for the negative effects of present-
day agriculture on river biota, portraying influencing factors and highlighting strong
relationships between agricultural effects on river biota and agrochemical application,
particularly of pesticides. Therefore, to mitigate these effects, a transition of present-day
agriculture to more sustainable practices, such as organic farming or agroecology is of vital
importance. Such a transition would be beneficial both for the future viability of agriculture
itself but also for the protection and restoration of healthy ecosystems, including the successful
implementation of the European environmental legislation such as the Nature Restoration Law.
The EU Water Framework Directive requires monitoring of the ecological status of lakes, with fish as a relevant class of biotic quality indicator, but monitoring fish populations in large lakes is demanding. This study evaluated use in Lake Constance of a novel multi-mesh gillnet modified to reduce catch numbers. In direct comparison with conventional European Committee for Standardization (CEN) nets we achieved 48% reduction in fish mortality with 38% less labour for tasks directly influenced by fish catch numbers, while maintaining comparable species composition and catch per unit effort. Comparison of mesh sizes indicated no significant reduction in species detection in area-reduced panels of the small mesh sizes, while total observed species richness was greater when using the modified nets. Differences in benthic species communities among depth strata were common, while those of pelagic zones were more homogeneous and did not differ significantly with depth. Catches of different net types from the same depth stratum did not exhibit significant differences. The dominance structure of the most common species, relevant to lake assessment, was similar in catches of both net types, suggesting overall superiority of the modified nets in Lake Constance. Sampling conducted according to standard European CEN protocol, while deploying 60% fewer nets, yielded sufficiently precise abundance estimates for monitoring shallow areas of the benthic zone. A 50% difference in the abundance of dominant species was detected among sampling events with a certainty of 95%. The sample did not provide comparable accuracy in deep benthic strata or the pelagic zone, but was adequate to record complete inventories of species present. Based on this trial data, a new stratified sampling design is proposed for monitoring large lake fish communities for ecological assessment. Depth-dependent fish communities were used to calculate the required number of nets, which resulted in a 69% reduction for the entire lake compared to the CEN calculation method. Using the modified nets increases the feasibility of performing WFD surveys, by reducing effort and cost, while the simultaneous halving of fish mortality minimises the negative impact of fish surveys.
Rivers in Europe have been heavily modified over the last 200 years, with a significant impact on their ecology and environment. This also applies to rivers like the Wien River, Austria, which are designed as overwide concrete channels for the benefit of flood protection. To achieve a good ecological potential in such heavily modified water bodies, one key element is fish passability. This requires an increase in the water level at low flow conditions and a reduction of the flow velocity. The aim of this study is to assess whether groynes are suitable for this application. A design study was conducted to examine the effect of individual groyne parameters on water depths and velocities. Physical experiments were carried out in a laboratory flume at a scale of 1:8. In addition, a 2D numerical model was used. It was found that the groynes had to be submerged and the alignment had to be repelling to achieve both requirements. The configuration of the groyne height, distance and degree of obstruction parameters were crucial. The groyne angle and shape had a minor effect and can be used for fine‐tuning. The best groyne design created a passable section for fish. Thereby, and through sedimentation, the best design contributed to an ecological improvement. However, it did not create habitats and did not constitute a fullfledged restoration. In general, submerged groynes can fulfil the hydraulic requirements for fish passage in heavily modified water bodies with a fixed bed.
The significant environmental issue of water pollution caused by emerging contaminants underscores the imperative for developing novel cleanup methods that are efficient, economically viable, and that are intended to operate at high capacity and under continuous flows at the industrial scale. This study shows the results of the operational design to build a prototype for the retention at lab scale of pollutant residues in water by using as adsorbent material, insoluble polymers prepared by β-cyclodextrin and epichlorohydrin as a cross-linking agent. Laboratory in-batch tests were run to find out the adsorbent performances against furosemide and hydrochlorothiazide as pollutant models. The initial evaluation concerning the dosage of adsorbent, pH levels, agitation, and concentration of pharmaceutical pollutants enabled us to identify the optimal conditions for conducting the subsequent experiments. The adsorption kinetic and the mechanisms involved were evaluated revealing that the experimental data perfectly fit the pseudo second-order model, with the adsorption process being mainly governed by chemisorption. With KF constant values of 0.044 (L/g) and 0.029 (L/g) for furosemide and hydrochlorothiazide, respectively, and the determination coefficient (R2) being higher than 0.9 for both compounds, Freundlich yielded the most favorable outcomes, suggesting that the adsorption process occurs on heterogeneous surfaces involving both chemisorption and physisorption processes. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacity (qmax) obtained by the Langmuir isotherm revealed a saturation of the β-CDs-EPI polymer surface 1.45 times higher for furosemide (qmax = 1.282 mg/g) than hydrochlorothiazide (qmax = 0.844 mg/g). Based on these results, the sizing design and building of a lab-scale model were carried out, which in turn will be used later to evaluate its performance working in continuous flow in a real scenario.
Day and nighttime autumn fish abundance and biomass were studied in the pelagic and littoral zones of Lake Sauka in Latvia. Both pelagic methods (hydroacoustics and trawling) revealed significantly higher fish abundance and biomass during the day than at night, especially in deeper zones (below 3 m). Roach (Rutilus rutilus) and Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis) dominated the trawl catches during the day, while roach and ruffe dominated at night. Fish smaller than 14 cm strongly dominated in both the trawl catches and hydroacoustic observations. Our hydroacoustic sampling found inhomogeneous pelagic distributions of fish aggregated in big shoals during the day. In the littoral zone, which was sampled by beach seining, both the abundance and biomass were significantly higher at night than during the day. Roach, bleak, and European perch usually dominated in beach seine catches during the day and at night. The daytime pelagic biomass found by hydroacoustics was 62 kg/ha and it decreased to approximately 11 kg/ha at night. The littoral biomass found by beach seining was diurnally opposite, 4 kg/ha during the day and 37 kg/ha at night. It is obvious that diurnal horizontal migrations between pelagic and littoral zones, and shoaling behavior during the daytime are common patterns in the shallow Lake Sauka during the autumn. The study of the spatial distribution of fish is extremely important for the establishment of an appropriate monitoring plan for the purposes of the Water Framework Directive with regard to the morphometry of the lake, the geographical location, and the sampling period of the year. This study also shows that the combination of completely non‐invasive hydroacoustic and other methods that are invasive (trawls, beach seines) but not as destructive as gillnets, which are normally used for scientific fish monitoring in Europe, could be a future way forward for fish monitoring.
One of the main sources of metal accumulation in the marine environment is transport by rivers. Using data from 2014- 2017 for various stations, this study analysed the distribution of potential toxic element (PTE) concentrations in surface waters, the pollution loads and the water quality index of the large rivers flowing into the Mediterranean Sea (Manavgat, Göksu, Seyhan and Ceyhan). 13 different elements (As, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe,Pb, Li, Mn, Ni, Se, Zn, Al) were determined within the scope of the study. While the estimation of risk assessments for both adults and children via dermal and ingestion pathways using the United States Environmental Agency (USEPA) formulas. Pollution indexes such as Chronic daily intake (CDI), hazard quotient (HQ), hazard index (HI) and carcinogenic risk (CR) were calculated. Additionally, water quality index (WQI), pollution load ındex (PLI) and contamination factors (CF) were also determined. Since it is a detailed monitoring study of three years, all findings are evaluated using average values for each river. The highest mean PTE concentrations across all rivers were found at stations S4 (Seyhan), S1 and M1 (Manavgat) with Ni (0.1895) > Se (0.0618) > Al (0.0598), respectively. The values of PLI were found to be generally high (3-6) and very high (>6) in all studied rivers. Additionally, these rivers are subject to significant contamination with Pb, as CF>5, indicating very high levels of contamination, was found as a minimum of 166 for Pb in all rivers. Considering all risk assessments, it is concluded that children are more sensitive to ingestion and dermal exposure pathways than adults, and their carcinogenic risk is 4.5 times greater than adults. Besides, according to the statistical analysis, the strong and weak correlation of Al with other elements indicates that the source of the pollution is natural and anthropogenic processes, respectively.
The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) aims to achieve good status of aquatic habitats. Classification of ecological status and identifying the stressors impacting aquatic habitats is essential for achieving this aim. Here, we evaluate different methods and indices for assessing ecological status in a hydropower-regulated river in central Norway using kick-sampling and macroinvertebrate identification through morphology and DNA as well as using environmental DNA. In Norway, the ASPT index (Average Score Per Taxon) is commonly used to evaluate ecological condition in general, although the index only provides evidence for organic pollution. We observed lower than expected diversity in the regulated river, but this was not reflected in the ASPT index, which showed “Good” to “High” status for all samples and methods. An alternative index, the IBIBI (Intercalibrated Benthic Invertebrate Biodiversity Index), returned “Bad” to “Moderate” status using the same data. The DNA-based identification methods returned in general higher species richness and somewhat higher index values than morphological species identification did. Our study exemplifies the importance of including relevant biological quality indices in WFD compliant assessments, and we advocate inclusion of a pressure-independent index like IBIBI in Norwegian river management and DNA-based identification methods for future river management in general.
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