A hitchhiker's guide to European lake ecological assessment and intercalibration

The Water Framework Directive is the first international legislation to require European countries to establish comparable ecological assessment schemes for their freshwaters. A key element in harmonising quality classification within and between Europe's river basins is an “Intercalibration” exercise, stipulated by the WFD, to ensure that the good status boundaries in all of the biological assessment methods correspond to similar levels of anthropogenic pressure. In this article, we provide a comprehensive overview of this international comparison, focusing on the assessment schemes developed for freshwater lakes. Out of 82 lake ecological assessment methods reported for the comparison, 62 were successfully intercalibrated and included in the EC Decision on intercalibration, with a high proportion of phytoplankton (18), macrophyte (17) and benthic fauna (13) assessment methods. All the lake assessment methods are reviewed in this article, including the results of intercalibration. Furthermore, the current gaps and way forward to reach consistent management objectives for European lakes are discussed.     

Using aquatic macrophyte community indices to define the ecological status of European lakes

Defining the overall ecological status of lakes according to the Water Framework Directive (WFD) is to be partially based on the species composition of the aquatic macrophyte community. We tested three assessment methods to define the ecological status of the macrophyte community in response to a eutrophication pressure as reflected by total phosphorus concentrations in lake water. An absolute species richness, a trophic index (TI) and a lake trophic ranking (LTR) method were tested at Europe-wide, regional and national scales as well as by alkalinity category, using data from 1,147 lakes from 12 European states. Total phosphorus data were used to represent the trophic status of individual samples and were plotted against the calculated TI and LTR values. Additionally, the LTR method was tested in some individual lakes with a relatively long time series of monitoring data. The TI correlated well with total P in the Northern European lake types, whereas the relationship in the Central European lake types was less clear. The relationship between total P and light extinction is often very good in the Northern European lake types compared to the Central European lake types. This can be one of the reasons for a better agreement between the indices and eutrophication pressure in the Northern European lake types. The response of individual lakes to changes in the abiotic environment was sometimes represented incorrectly by the indices used, which is a cause of concern for the use of single indices in status assessments in practice.     

Classifying aquatic macrophytes as indicators of eutrophication in European lakes

Aquatic macrophytes are one of the biological quality elements in the Water Framework Directive (WFD) for which status assessments must be defined. We tested two methods to classify macrophyte species and their response to eutrophication pressure: one based on percentiles of occurrence along a phosphorous gradient and another based on trophic ranking of species using Canonical Correspondence Analyses in the ranking procedure. The methods were tested at Europe-wide, regional and national scale as well as by alkalinity category, using 1,147 lakes from 12 European states. The grouping of species as sensitive, tolerant or indifferent to eutrophication was evaluated for some taxa, such as the sensitive Chara spp. and the large isoetids, by analysing the (non-linear) response curve along a phosphorous gradient. These thresholds revealed in these response curves can be used to set boundaries among different ecological status classes. In total 48 taxa out of 114 taxa were classified identically regardless of dataset or classification method. These taxa can be considered the most consistent and reliable indicators of sensitivity or tolerance to eutrophication at European scale. Although the general response of well known indicator species seems to hold, there are many species that were evaluated differently according to the database selection and classification methods. This hampers a Europe-wide comparison of classified species lists as used for the status assessment within the WFD implementation process.     

A water level drawdown index for aquatic macrophytes in Nordic lakes

Many northern lakes are regulated to enhance hydropower production and flood protection. This bears hydromorphological pressures which are important factors causing lowered ecological status. Water level fluctuation triggers erosion on the shoreline and, depending on fluctuation range, also affects species composition or disappearance of sensitive aquatic macrophytes. We developed a water level-drawdown index (WI_c) for Nordic lakes using macrophyte data from 73 lakes with varying water level fluctuation in Finland, Norway and Sweden. The index is based on the ratio between sensitive and tolerant macrophyte species. The sensitive and tolerant species are identified based on a percentile approach, analysing the presence or absence of species along the winter drawdown range. The index correlates well with winter drawdown in Finnish and Norwegian lakes with strongest correlations with winter drawdown in storage lakes (lakes regulated for hydroelectric power and with a considerable winter drawdown). The WI_c-index is applicable in low alkalinity, oligotrophic and ice-covered lakes, and is suggested to be a useful tool to identify and designate heavily modified water bodies in Nordic lakes according to the European Water Framework Directive.     

A phytoplankton trophic index to assess the status of lakes for the Water Framework Directive

Despite improvements in wastewater treatment systems, the impact of anthropogenic nutrient sources remains a key issue for the management of European lakes. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) provides a mechanism through which progress can be made on this issue. The Directive requires a classification of the ecological status of phytoplankton, which includes an assessment of taxonomic composition. In this paper, we present a composition metric, the plankton trophic index, that was developed in the WISER EU FP7 project and demonstrate how it has been used to compare national phytoplankton classification systems in Northern and Central Europe. The metric was derived from summer phytoplankton data summarised by genus from 1,795 lakes, covering 20 European countries. We show that it is significantly related to total phosphorus concentrations, but that it is also sensitive to alkalinity, lake size and climatic variables. Through the use of country-specific reference values for the index, we demonstrate that it is significantly related to other national phytoplankton assessment systems and illustrate for a single European (intercalibration) lake type how it was used to intercalibrate WFD boundaries from different countries.     

Biological indicators track differential responses of pelagic and littoral areas to nutrient load reductions in German lakes

External nutrient loading was reduced over the past decades as a measure for improving the water quality of eutrophic lakes in western Europe, and has since been accelerated by the adoption of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) in 2000 (EC, 2000). A variety of eutrophication-related metrics have indicated that the response of biological communities to this decreased nutrient loading has been diverse. Phytoplankton, a major component of the pelagic community, often responded rapidly, whereas a significant delay was observed for submerged macrophytes colonizing littoral areas. In this study we tested whether assessment methods developed for phytoplankton and macrophytes in lakes during Germany's implementation of the WFD reflect this differential response. An assessment of 263 German lakes confirmed that a lower ecological state was recorded when based on the biological quality element (BQE) for macrophytes than the BQE for phytoplankton during the investigated period (2003–2012). On average, lakes had a moderate ecological status for both phytoplankton and macrophyte BQEs, but differences of up to three classes were observed in single cases. Long-term data were available for five lowland lakes subject to strong reductions in phosphorus loading. Their phytoplankton-based assessments indicated a constant improvement of the ecological status in parallel to decreasing water phosphorus concentrations. In contrast, macrophyte-based assessments indicated a 10–20 year delay in their ecological recovery following nutrient load reduction. This delay was confirmed by detailed data on the temporal development of macrophyte species diversity and maximum colonization depths of two lakes after nutrient load reduction. We conclude that the available WFD assessment methods for phytoplankton and macrophyte BQEs are suitable to track the differential response of pelagic and littoral areas to nutrient load reductions in German lakes.     

Macrophyte‐based assessment of lakes – a contribution to the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive in Germany

The European Water Framework Directive requires ecological status classification and monitoring of surface and ground water bodies using biological indicators. To fulfill the demands of the Directive, a macrophyte‐based assessment system was developed for application on four lake site types in Germany. Biological lake site types were established using differences in characteristic macrophyte communities, reflecting ecoregion, Ca²⁺ content, mixis and morphology. Ecological status classification of lake sites is based on macrophyte abundance along 275 transects in 95 natural German lakes and the calculation of a reference index value, in some cases supplemented by submerged vegetation data. The reference index quantifies the deviation of species composition and abundance from reference conditions and classifies sites to one of the five ecological quality classes specified in the Directive. Based on an example of Lake Chiemsee, Germany, the possibilities for a wholelake assessment are discussed. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Exploring the robustness of macrophyte-based classification methods to assess the ecological status of coastal and transitional ecosystems under the Water Framework Directive

Identifying and quantifying the factors that contribute to the potential misclassification of the ecological status of water bodies is a major challenge of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). The present study compiles extensive biomonitoring data from a range of macrophyte-based classification methods developed by several European countries. The data reflect spatial and temporal variation as well as inter-observer variation. Uncertainty analysis identified that factors related to the spatial scale of sampling generally contributed most to the uncertainty in classifying water bodies to their ecological status, reflecting the high horizontal and depth-related heterogeneity displayed by macrophyte communities. In contrast, the uncertainty associated with temporal variation was low. In addition, inter-observer variation, where assessed, did not contribute much to overall uncertainty, indicating that these methods are easily transferable and insensitive to observer error. The study, therefore, suggests that macrophyte-based sampling schemes should prioritize large spatial replication over temporal replication to maximize the effectiveness and reliability of water body classification within the WFD. We encourage conducting similar uncertainty analyses for new/additional ecological indicators to optimize sampling schemes and improve the reliability of classification of ecological status.     

Ecological status assessment of European lakes: a comparison of metrics for phytoplankton, macrophytes, benthic invertebrates and fish

Data on phytoplankton, macrophytes, benthic invertebrates and fish from more than 2000 lakes in 22 European countries were used to develop and test metrics for assessing the ecological status of European lakes as required by the Water Framework Directive. The strongest and most sensitive of the 11 metrics responding to eutrophication pressure were phytoplankton chlorophyll a, a taxonomic composition trophic index and a functional traits index, the macrophyte intercalibration taxonomic composition metric and a Nordic lake fish index. Intermediate response was found for a cyanobacterial bloom intensity index (Cyano), the Ellenberg macrophyte index and a multimetric index for benthic invertebrates. The latter also responded to hydromorphological pressure. The metrics provide information on primary and secondary impacts of eutrophication in the pelagic and the littoral zone of lakes. Several of these metrics were used as common metrics in the intercalibration of national assessment systems or have been incorporated directly into the national systems. New biological metrics have been developed to assess hydromorphological pressures, based on aquatic macrophyte responses to water level fluctuations, and on macroinvertebrate responses to morphological modifications of lake shorelines. These metrics thus enable the quantification of biological impacts of hydromorphological pressures in lakes.     

First steps in the Central-Baltic intercalibration exercise on lake macrophytes: where do we start?

The Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000) defines macrophytes as one of the biological groups required for the ecological assessment of European surface waters. Several indices for macrophyte assessment have been proposed or are currently in use by different European states. As a first step towards performing an intercalibration of these indices a common dataset was developed. This dataset contains abundance data on 789 macrophyte species from 316 different lake sites in ten European countries. Various common species and genera were identified as indicators of reference and impacted conditions within the dataset. Cluster analysis of macrophyte data, supported by non-metric multidimensional scaling, indicated that clusters formed were more reflective of their source country rather than lake type. This might be caused by differences in regional climate, biogeography, monitoring techniques, or a combination of these factors. A total of six national indices were applied to assign quality classes to the lakes. However, this produced results that often differed by one or two quality classes for the same site. We foresee that a more precise intercalibration exercise is necessary, and it should be based on more detailed data considering both seasonality and the latitudinal differences within the area covered.     

Measurements of uncertainty in macrophyte metrics used to assess European lake water quality

Uncertainty is an important factor in ecological assessment, and has important implications for the ecological classification and management of lakes. However, our knowledge of the effects of uncertainty in the assessment of different ecological indicators is limited. Here, we used data from a standardized campaign of aquatic plant surveys, in 28 lakes from 10 European countries, to assess variation in macrophyte metrics across a set of nested spatial scales: countries, lakes, sampling stations, replicate transects, and replicate samples at two depth-zones. Metrics investigated in each transect included taxa richness, maximum depth of colonisation and two indicators of trophic status: Ellenberg’s N and a metric based on phosphorus trophic status. Metrics were found to have a slightly stronger relationship to pressures when they were calculated on abundance data compared to presence/absence data. Eutrophication metrics based on helophytes were found not to be useful in assessing the effects of nutrient pressure. These metrics were also found to vary with the depth of sampling, with shallower taxa representing higher trophic status. This study demonstrates the complex spatial variability in macrophyte communities, the effect of this variability on the metrics, and the implications to water managers, especially in relation to survey design.     

A synthesis of the biological quality elements for the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive in the Mediterranean ecoregion: The case of Saronikos Gulf

Benthic macroinvertebrates, macroalgae and phytoplankton constitute the biological quality elements proposed in the Water Framework Directive (WFD, 2000/60/EC) to be used for the classification of the ecological status of a water body. In the context of the preparation for the implementation of WFD, classification schemes for all three elements have been developed and tested for all the European ecoregions. In the present work, the classification schemes, with the corresponding metric tools and the interpretations of the class boundaries according to the normative definitions of WFD, are presented for each biological element in Saronikos Gulf, as case study in the Mediterranean ecoregion. The combination of the three biological elements into an integrated classification for coastal water bodies has been one of the major issues addressed in the context of WFD guidelines. Results are interpreted and validated, through an ecological viewpoint, on the basis of relevant environmental data. Moreover, this work presents a way to combine the EUNIS system to the typology of water bodies in the Mediterranean ecoregion.     

Quantifying uncertainties in biologically-based water quality assessment: A pan-European analysis of lake phytoplankton community metrics

Lake phytoplankton are adopted world-wide as a sensitive indicator of water quality. European environmental legislation, the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), formalises this, requiring the use of phytoplankton to assess the ecological status of lakes and coastal waters. Here we provide a rigorous assessment of a number of proposed phytoplankton metrics for assessing the ecological quality of European lakes, specifically in response to nutrient enrichment, or eutrophication, the most widespread pressure affecting lakes. To be useful indicators, metrics must have a small measurement error relative to the eutrophication signal we want them to represent among lakes of different nutrient status. An understanding of variability in metric scores among different locations around a lake, or due to sampling and analytical variability can also identify how best this measurement error is minimised.To quantify metric variability, we analyse data from a multi-scale field campaign of 32 European lakes, resolving the extent to which seven phytoplankton metrics (including chlorophyll a, the most widely used metric of lake quality) vary among lakes, among sampling locations within a lake and through sample replication and processing. We also relate these metrics to environmental variables, including total phosphorus concentration as an indicator of eutrophication.For all seven metrics, 65–96% of the variance in metric scores was among lakes, much higher than variability occurring due to sampling/sample processing. Using multi-model inference, there was strong support for relationships between among-lake variation in three metrics and differences in total phosphorus concentrations. Three of the metrics were also related to mean lake depth. Variability among locations within a lake was minimal (<4%), with sub-samples and analysts accounting for much of the within-lake metric variance. This indicates that a single sampling location is representative and suggests that sub-sample replication and standardisation of analyst procedures should result in increased precision of ecological assessments based upon these metrics.For three phytoplankton metrics being used in the WFD: chlorophyll a concentration, the Phytoplankton Trophic Index (PTI) and cyanobacterial biovolume, >85% of the variance in metric scores was among-lakes and total phosphorus concentration was well supported as a predictor of this variation. Based upon this study, we can recommend that these three proposed metrics can be considered sufficiently robust for the ecological status assessment of European lakes in WFD monitoring schemes.     

Integration of the saprobic system into the European Union Water Framework Directive – Case studies in Austria,Germany and Czech Republic

The use of saprobic systems has long traditions in the water management in Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany. Within the context of water quality assessment they are applied to indicate the effects of anthropogenic caused organic impact leading to a decrease in the dissolved oxygen content of running waters. In December 2000 the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD) came into force. It demands homogeneous procedures and methods for assessing inland surface waters as well as groundwater, coastal and transitional waters. The WFD focuses on the assessment of biotic elements and the ecological status has to be defined based on type specific approaches and reference conditions. To incorporate the saprobic approach into the new integrative methodology of the European assessment of the ecological status of water bodies, the national saprobic systems need to be adjusted. This paper describes the according methodological developments and adaptations of Austria, the Czech Republic, and Germany required to harmonise the traditional procedure with the guidelines of the WFD. In the three countries national databases were established to provide species lists from largely undisturbed stream sites. Such reference sites build the basis for calculating stream type specific reference values. The calculation has been done in slightly different ways dependent on the country. In addition to that boundaries were defined to characterise the 5 saprobic quality classes.     

The Reference Index Method for the Macrophyte‐BasedAssessment of Rivers – a Contribution to the Implementationof the European Water Framework Directive in Germany

The European Water Framework Directive requires ecological status classification and monitoring of surface and ground waters using biological indicators. To act as a component of the “Macrophytes and Phytobenthos” biological quality element, as demanded by the Directive, a macrophyte‐based assessment system was developed for application in river site types in Germany. Macrophyte abundance data were collected from 262 sites in 202 rivers. Seven biocoenotic river site types were established using differences in characteristic macrophyte communities reflecting ecoregion, channel width, water depth, current velocity, water hardness, and ground water influence. For four of these river site types, a macrophyte assessment system was developed, for the remaining three river site types data were insufficient for developing an assessment system. Ecological status classification of river sites is based on the calculation of a Reference Index value, in some cases supplemented by additional vegetation criteria. The Reference Index quantifies the deviation of species composition and abundance from reference conditions and classifies sites as one of the five possible ecological quality classes specified in the Directive. The assessment of long river stretches with changing river site types along its course is discussed based on an example from the Forstinninger Sempt River, southeast Germany. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Assessing ecological quality of shallow lakes: Does knowledge of transparency suffice?

The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires that all aquatic ecosystems in their member states should reach ‘good’ ecological quality by 2015. To assess ecological quality, the WFD requires the definition of reference conditions using biological, physical and chemical indicators and the assignment of each water body to one of five quality classes using these indicators. Elaborate assessment schemes using large sets of variables are now being developed. Here we address the question whether all this is really needed and what the simplest assessment approach would be for the case of shallow lakes. We explore the relationships between the quality class assigned to a lake by experts in shallow lake ecology and a rich set of biological, physical, and chemical data. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were carried out based on data from 86 shallow lakes throughout Europe that were sampled in 2000 and/or 2001. Ecological quality of shallow lakes judged by experts was strongly correlated to physical and chemical variables associated with light regime and nutrients and much less to biological variables.Our regression model showed that ecological quality of this set of shallow lakes judged by experts could be predicted quite well from water transparency expressed as Secchi depth and that other variables did not contribute to it significantly. According to the WFD, lakes should at least have a ‘good’ ecological quality. Quality judged by experts and predicted quality were similar for 78% of the lakes with respect to meeting this standard. As a cautionary note we stress that Secchi depth alone will be a less useful indicator if effects of stressors other than eutrophication (e.g. lake acidification and toxic pollution) are to be considered.     

Austrian Index Macrophytes (AIM-Module 1) for lakes: a Water Framework Directive compliant assessment system for lakes using aquatic macrophytes

We describe a new macrophyte-based assessment tool for Austrian lakes elaborated according to the requirements of the European Water Framework Directive. Data from 38 out of 45, WFD-relevant (≥50 ha) lakes in Austria collected with the help of a new mapping procedure form the basis for a macrophyte-based lake typology and the definition of reference conditions. Module 1 of the Austrian Index Macrophytes (AIM) focuses on the assessment of trophic state and general impairment of lakes. Several metrics were developed and applied in combination with existing indices to classify lakes into five ecological status classes. The metric “vegetation density” focuses on the overall abundance of macrophytes. Since the lower limit of the macrophyte vegetation in lakes is mainly regulated by the water transparency, the metric “vegetation limit” is closely related to the trophic state of the lake. In deep lakes, macrophytes normally form different vegetation zones. As a result of alteration of the shoreline, artificial water level fluctuations or wave action and even eutrophication, specific zones can be missing. The metric “characteristic zonation” helps to check, if all type-specific vegetation zones are present. The metric “trophic indication” uses the Macrophyte Index after Melzer (Hydrobiologia, 395/396: 181–190, 1999). This term indicates the lake trophic state but, in contrast to the metric “vegetation limit”, it tends to show not only the trophic state of the water column but also, in particular, the nutrient conditions in the sediment. With the help of the metric “species composition,” the species spectrum and the species abundances of the current transect are compared with the species composition at reference sites. The similarity of the datasets is measured as Bray–Curtis Distance (Beals, Advances in Ecological Research, 14: 1–55, 1984). The established metrics cover different aspects of macrophyte vegetation and allow analysing the prevailing pressure. Since the different metrics have a different temporal response to eutrophication and reoligotrophication, additional information on the current state of the lake in relation to these processes can be derived. The successful application of AIM-Module 1 is presented for two Austrian lakes and discussed in relation to other assessment tools. Guest editors: P. N?ges, W. van de Bund, A.C. Cardoso, A. Solimini & A.-S. Heiskanen Assessment of the Ecological Status of European Surface Waters     

Zooplankton as indicators in lakes: a scientific-based plea for including zooplankton in the ecological quality assessment of lakes according to the European Water Framework Directive (WFD)

With the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), the member states have to classify the ecological status of surface waters following standardised procedures. It was a matter of some surprise to lake ecologists that zooplankton were not included as a biological quality element (BQE) despite their being considered to be an important and integrated component of the pelagic food web. To the best of our knowledge, the decision of omitting zooplankton is not wise, and it has resulted in the withdrawal of zooplankton from many so-far-solid monitoring programmes. Using examples from particularly Danish, Estonian, and the UK lakes, we show that zooplankton (sampled from the water and the sediment) have a strong indicator value, which cannot be covered by sampling fish and phytoplankton without a very comprehensive and costly effort. When selecting the right metrics, zooplankton are cost-efficient indicators of the trophic state and ecological quality of lakes. Moreover, they are important indicators of the success/failure of measures taken to bring the lakes to at least good ecological status. Therefore, we strongly recommend the EU to include zooplankton as a central BQE in the WFD assessments, and undertake similar regional calibration exercises to obtain relevant and robust metrics also for zooplankton as is being done at present in the cases of fish, phytoplankton, macrophytes and benthic invertebrates.     

A fish-based index for the assessment of the ecological quality of temperate lakes

A fish – based index for the assessment of the ecological quality of natural temperate lakes was developed, in accordance to the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60/EC. As a case study, 11 natural lakes located at northern and western Greece were selected. Fish surveys were conducted during mid summer to mid autumn in 2010, 2011 and 2012 using Nordic gillnets and electrofishing. Environmental parameters and anthropogenic pressures were assessed for each lake. Fish species richness, abundance, trophic, reproductive and habitat functional guilds were used for extracting a set of 107 metrics, meeting the requirements of the WFD. All metrics were initially tested as candidates for the index development. A stepwise linear regression of each metric against environmental parameters (lake area, altitude, maximum depth, alkalinity) and anthropogenic pressures (drainage area covered by non-natural land uses – NNLC, water total phosphorus concentrations – TP, Lake Habitat Modification Score – LHMS) was initially conducted for ensuring pressure-response relationships. Reference conditions for each lake were estimated by the hindcasting procedure and the ecological quality for each lake was expressed as the ecological quality ratio (EQR) by a value ranging from 0 (poor quality) to 1 (excellent quality). Two fish fauna metrics, the relative numerical abundance of introduced species (Introduced_a) and the relative biomass of omnivorous species (OMNI_b) were finally extracted as the most significant, responding to LHMS and TP, respectively. The final index was expressed as the mean values of the EQRs of these two metrics. The multimetric fish index presented herein could serve as a tool for assessing the ecological quality of natural lakes at broad geographical scale and generally, in the Mediterranean temperate lakes with similar hydromorphological characteristics.