16 research outputs found
Coastal and transitional waters North East Atlantic geographic intercalibration group: Seagrasses ecological assessment methods
The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires the national classifications of good ecological status to be harmonised through an intercalibration exercise. In this exercise, significant differences in status classification among Member States are harmonized by comparing and, if necessary, adjusting the good status boundaries of the national assessment methods.
Intercalibration is performed for rivers, lakes, coastal and transitional waters, focusing on selected types of water bodies (intercalibration types), anthropogenic pressures and Biological Quality Elements. Intercalibration exercises are carried out in Geographical Intercalibration Groups - larger geographical units including Member States with similar water body types - and followed the procedure described in the WFD Common Implementation Strategy Guidance document on the intercalibration process (European Commission, 2011).
The Technical report on the Water Framework Directive intercalibration describes in detail how the intercalibration exercise has been carried out for the water categories and biological quality elements. The Technical report is organized in volumes according to the water category (rivers, lakes, coastal and transitional waters), Biological Quality Element and Geographical Intercalibration group. This volume addresses the intercalibration of the Coastal and Transitional Waters-North East Atlantic GIG seagrasses ecological assessment methods.JRC.D.2-Water and Marine Resource
Coastal and transitional waters North East Atlantic geographic intercalibration group: Saltmarshes ecological assessment methods
The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires the national classifications of good ecological status to be harmonised through an intercalibration exercise. In this exercise, significant differences in status classification among Member States are harmonized by comparing and, if necessary, adjusting the good status boundaries of the national assessment methods.
Intercalibration is performed for rivers, lakes, coastal and transitional waters, focusing on selected types of water bodies (intercalibration types), anthropogenic pressures and Biological Quality Elements. Intercalibration exercises are carried out in Geographical Intercalibration Groups - larger geographical units including Member States with similar water body types - and followed the procedure described in the WFD Common Implementation Strategy Guidance document on the intercalibration process (European Commission, 2011).
The Technical report on the Water Framework Directive intercalibration describes in detail how the intercalibration exercise has been carried out for the water categories and biological quality elements. The Technical report is organized in volumes according to the water category (rivers, lakes, coastal and transitional waters), Biological Quality Element and Geographical Intercalibration group. This volume addresses the intercalibration of the Coastal and Transitional Waters-North East Atlantic GIG saltmarshes ecological assessment methodsJRC.D.2-Water and Marine Resource
Coastal waters North East Atlantic geographic intercalibration group: Benthic invertebrate fauna ecological assessment methods
The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires the national classifications of good ecological status to be harmonised through an intercalibration exercise. In this exercise, significant differences in status classification among Member States are harmonized by comparing and, if necessary, adjusting the good status boundaries of the national assessment methods.
Intercalibration is performed for rivers, lakes, coastal and transitional waters, focusing on selected types of water bodies (intercalibration types), anthropogenic pressures and Biological Quality Elements. Intercalibration exercises are carried out in Geographical Intercalibration Groups - larger geographical units including Member States with similar water body types - and followed the procedure described in the WFD Common Implementation Strategy Guidance document on the intercalibration process (European Commission, 2011).
The Technical report on the Water Framework Directive intercalibration describes in detail how the intercalibration exercise has been carried out for the water categories and biological quality elements. The Technical report is organized in volumes according to the water category (rivers, lakes, coastal and transitional waters), Biological Quality Element and Geographical Intercalibration group.
This report gives a description of the intercalibration of the different benthic assessment approaches for in coastal waters in the North East Atlantic Geographical Intercalibration Group (NEA-GIG) for types NEA 1/26 (Exposed or sheltered, euhaline, shallow waters), NEA 3/4 (Wadden sea type) and NEA 7 (Deep fjordic and sea loach systems). The benthic assessment approaches of nine European Member States (Belgium, Germany, Denmark, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom) and Norway are intercalibrated. In Spain, the competent authorities for the WFD application are the regions (âautonomous communitiesâ); therefore for the benthic assessment methods three regions have been considered: Basque Country, Andalusia and Cantabria (no information on Galicia or Asturias). Part D of the report describes the Germany assessment approach for the type NEA 5. This type is not shared with the rest of the Members Stares, and therefore, the Intercalibration is not possibleJRC.D.2-Water and Marine Resource
Directive Cadre sur lâEau - Masses dâEau Fortement ModifiĂ©es (MEFM) - Prise en compte de lâimpact des activitĂ©s conchylicoles sur lâĂ©lĂ©ment de qualitĂ© biologique « faune benthique invertĂ©brĂ©e » dans lâĂ©valuation du potentiel Ă©cologique. Cas des masses dâeau cĂŽtiĂšre FRFC02 (Pertuis Charentais) et FRGC01 (baie du Mont Saint Michel) - Convention 2010 - Action 7
Shellfish farming is a major economic activity developed in the French coastal areas and causes more or less extended changes ontohydromorphological characteristics of water bodies. These changes may induce their designation as heavily modified water bodies (HMWB) under the Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000/60/EC). This is, for example, the case of the coastal water body FRFC02 "Pertuis Charentais", which houses a major part of the Marennes-Oléron shellfish production area.
Scientific literature describing the effects of shellfish aquaculture on benthic communities, as well as downgrading assessments obtained in 2007 regarding the parameter "benthic invertebrate fauna", raise the question about the opportunity of considering the water body FRGC01 âMont Saint Michel Bayâ as a HMWB at the next 2013 deadline.
In the case of the heavily modified water body FRFC02, the WFD monitoring network as currently defined, does not allow any impact on the biological quality element "benthic invertebrate faunaâ to be consistently detected during the period 2007 to 2009, as a consequence of the intense oyster and mussel farming in the Bay of Marennes-OlĂ©ron. Consequently, and given the current state of knowledge, it seems inappropriate to propose different biological conditions from the reference conditions involved in the assessment of ânaturalâ water bodies.
In contrast, in the water body FRGC01, it seems that the intense shellfish farming activity partly affects the results of evaluation given by the indicator âbenthic invertebrate faunaâ used in the context of the WFD. The hydro-sedimentary environment of monitoring points incriminated consists in intertidal muddy-sands and, assuming that it would be decided to classify water body FRGC01 as a HMWB for the 2013âs WFD inventory, biological conditions corresponding to the maximum ecological potential (MEP) could be proposed for this type of habitat.
Following a methodological approach inspired by the suitable European guidance document, an AMBI index value of 2 (instead of 1 in "natural" condition) could be proposed to characterize the biological conditions of this water body at the maximum ecological potential. Other conditions of reference for the calculation of the M-AMBI (35 for species richness and 4 for H') in the water body would remain unchanged.
In any case, the designation as a HMWB does not absolve from the implementation of measures to mitigate the impact of shellfish farming. Moreover, the impact on benthic field generated by other pressures, also identified in water bodies covered by this study, should also be evaluated (invasive species introduced by the shellfish farming practices, professional and recreational shellfish fishing).La conchyliculture, activitĂ© Ă©conomique majeure dĂ©veloppĂ©e sur les espaces littoraux français, engendre des modifications plus ou moins localisĂ©es des caractĂ©ristiques hydromorphologiques des masses dâeau. Ces modifications peuvent ĂȘtre Ă lâorigine de leur dĂ©signation en masses dâeau fortement modifiĂ©es (MEFM) dans le cadre de la Directive Cadre europĂ©enne sur lâEau (DCE 2000/60/CE). Câest par exemple le cas de la masse dâeau cĂŽtiĂšre FRFC02 « Pertuis Charentais », qui abrite les activitĂ©s conchylicoles hors marais littoraux du bassin de Marennes-OlĂ©ron.
Les Ă©valuations dĂ©classantes obtenues sur le paramĂštre « faune invertĂ©brĂ©e benthique » en 2007 avec en appui la littĂ©rature scientifique dĂ©crivant les effets de la conchyliculture sur le compartiment benthique suscitent une interrogation quant Ă la dĂ©signation en 2013 de la masse dâeau cĂŽtiĂšre FRGC01 (Baie du Mont Saint Michel) comme MEFM.
Dans le cas de la masse dâeau fortement modifiĂ©e FRFC02, le rĂ©seau de contrĂŽle de surveillance DCE tel quâil est dĂ©fini ne permet pas de mettre en Ă©vidence dâimpact des activitĂ©s ostrĂ©icoles et mytilicoles existantes dans la baie de Marennes-OlĂ©ron sur lâĂ©lĂ©ment de qualitĂ© DCE « faune invertĂ©brĂ©e benthique », compte tenu de la variabilitĂ© des rĂ©sultats observĂ©s de 2007 Ă 2009. En consĂ©quence et dans lâĂ©tat actuel des connaissances et du rĂ©seau de suivi, il ne semble pas pertinent dây proposer des conditions biologiques diffĂ©rentes des conditions de rĂ©fĂ©rence utilisĂ©es pour lâĂ©valuation des masses dâeau dites « naturelles ».
En revanche, dans la masse dâeau cĂŽtiĂšre FRGC01, il semble que les activitĂ©s conchylicoles influent, pour partie, sur le rĂ©sultat dâĂ©valuation donnĂ© par lâindicateur « faune invertĂ©brĂ©e benthique » utilisĂ© dans le cadre de la DCE. Lâenvironnement hydro-sĂ©dimentaire des points de surveillance concernĂ©s est caractĂ©ristique des sables plus ou moins envasĂ©s intertidaux, et dans lâĂ©ventualitĂ© oĂč un classement en masse dâeau fortement modifiĂ©e serait dĂ©cidĂ© pour la masse dâeau cĂŽtiĂšre FRGC01 au moment de la rĂ©vision de lâĂ©tat des lieux en 2013, des conditions biologiques correspondantes au potentiel Ă©cologique maximum (PEM) pourraient ĂȘtre proposĂ©es pour ce type dâhabitat.
A lâissue dâune approche inspirĂ©e du guide mĂ©thodologique europĂ©en idoine, une valeur de lâindice AMBI de 2 (au lieu de 1 en conditions « naturelles ») pourrait ĂȘtre proposĂ©e pour caractĂ©riser les conditions biologiques au potentiel Ă©cologique maximal de cette masse dâeau. Les autres conditions de rĂ©fĂ©rence pour le calcul du M-AMBI (Richesse SpĂ©cifique Ă 35 et Hâ Ă 4) dans cette masse dâeau resteraient pour leurs parts inchangĂ©es.
En tout Ă©tat de cause, la dĂ©signation en MEFM dâune masse dâeau ne dispense aucunement de mettre en Ćuvre des mesures dâattĂ©nuation de lâimpact des activitĂ©s conchylicoles. Par ailleurs, les impacts sur les peuplements benthiques gĂ©nĂ©rĂ©s par dâautres pressions, Ă©galement identifiĂ©es dans les masses dâeau concernĂ©es par cette Ă©tude, mĂ©riteraient Ă©galement dâĂȘtre Ă©valuĂ©s (espĂšces invasives introduites par les pratiques conchylicoles et leurs modes de gestion, pĂȘche Ă pied professionnelle et de loisirs)
Directive Cadre sur lâEau : Consolidation des conditions de rĂ©fĂ©rence pour les Ă©lĂ©ments de qualitĂ© biologiques impliquĂ©s dans lâĂ©valuation des masses dâeau littorales - Convention 2009 - Action 2
LâĂ©valuation de lâĂ©tat Ă©cologique des masses dâeau dans le contexte de la DCE sâĂ©tablit Ă partir de lâĂ©tat de chaque Ă©lĂ©ment de qualitĂ© dĂ©finit comme pertinent pour ce type de masse dâeau. Cet Ă©tat est mesurĂ© par un indice de valeur comprise entre 0 (Ă©tat trĂšs mauvais) et 1 (Ă©tat trĂšs bon) appelĂ© EQR. Cet indice traduit lâĂ©cart entre lâĂ©tat observĂ© et lâĂ©tat de rĂ©fĂ©rence. Pour le cas des eaux littorales françaises, un rĂ©seau de sites de rĂ©fĂ©rence a Ă©tĂ© dĂ©fini en 2006 de maniĂšre Ă collecter les donnĂ©es nĂ©cessaires Ă lâĂ©tablissement des conditions de rĂ©fĂ©rence biologiques. Dans le contexte actuel du second round dâintercalibration, la consolidation de la mĂ©thodologie et des critĂšres pour lâĂ©tablissement des conditions de rĂ©fĂ©rence est une prioritĂ© du groupe de travail (cross-GIG) sur les conditions de rĂ©fĂ©rence (RC WG) entre 2009 et 2011. Dans un premier temps, il est important de prĂ©ciser les mĂ©thodes ayant conduit Ă lâĂ©tablissement des conditions de rĂ©fĂ©rence pour les diffĂ©rents Ă©lĂ©ments de qualitĂ© lors de la premiĂšre phase dâintercalibration. Le prĂ©sent rapport est rĂ©alisĂ© dans le cadre de lâaction n°2 de la convention Ifremer/Onema 2009, intitulĂ©e « consolidation des conditions de rĂ©fĂ©rence ». Il rĂ©alise notamment une premiĂšre Ă©valuation de la pertinence du choix des sites du rĂ©seau de rĂ©fĂ©rence dĂ©signĂ©s en 2006, et prĂ©cise, pour chaque Ă©lĂ©ment de qualitĂ© biologique, les mĂ©thodes ayant conduit Ă la dĂ©finition des conditions de rĂ©fĂ©rence
Directive Cadre sur lâEau : Evaluation du potentiel Ă©cologique des masses dâeau littorales fortement modifiĂ©es - Convention 2009 - Action 3
La Directive Cadre sur lâEau (DCE 2000/60/CE) introduit la notion de « masse dâeau fortement modifiĂ©e » (MEFM) : les MEFM sont des masses dâeau de surface ayant subi certaines altĂ©rations physiques dues Ă lâactivitĂ© humaine, et qui sont de ce fait fondamentalement modifiĂ©es quant Ă leur caractĂ©ristiques hydromorphologiques. Pour ces masses dâeau, les objectifs environnementaux Ă atteindre sont ajustĂ©s : on cible le « bon potentiel Ă©cologique » et non plus le « bon Ă©tat Ă©cologique ». Ce rapport sâattache Ă inventorier, pour chaque masse dâeau littorale mĂ©tropolitaine dĂ©signĂ©e comme MEFM, les activitĂ©s Ă©conomiques et pressions physiques induites qui sont Ă lâorigine du classement en MEFM. Dans un second temps, les donnĂ©es relatives aux Ă©lĂ©ments de qualitĂ© biologiques impliquĂ©s dans lâĂ©valuation de ces masses dâeau au sens de la DCE ont Ă©tĂ© rassemblĂ©es, afin dâobserver un Ă©ventuel impact des pressions hydromorphologiques sur le compartiment biologique. Ainsi, ce rapport rĂ©alise un panorama de la connaissance relative Ă la dĂ©finition du potentiel Ă©cologique maximal des masses dâeau littorales dĂ©signĂ©es comme MEFM, et permet dâidentifier les axes de travail Ă poursuivre pour satisfaire aux exigences de la DCE dans ce domaine