The Performance of Plants,Molluscs, and Carabid Beetles as Indicators of Hydrological Conditions in Floodplain Grasslands

Floodplain systems are among the most complex ecosystems. To assess their ecological condition, several indicator systems have been developed. However, none of them quantifies environmental factors related to the dynamics of water levels, which is a major driver for the occurrence and distribution of species in floodplains. We present a new bioindicator system for the duration of inundation per year and mean depth of groundwater during the vegetation period. The new indicator system is based on carabid beetles, molluscs, and plants. The indicator system generally proved to be precise as well as temporally and spatially transferable within the same river system, the Elbe River in Germany. The indication based on plants was clearly most precise and transferable. The results are discussed in terms of application of the indicator system. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)