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. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe

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

The Water Framework Directive (EC 2000; WFD) is the first piece of international legislation to require European countries to establish comparable ecological assessment schemes of 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 boundary in all of the biological assessment methods are comparable. In this article we provide a comprehensive overview of this international comparison, focusing on the assessment schemes developed for freshwater lakes. 82 lake ecological assessment methods were submitted for the intercalibration exercise, and 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. In this article we (1) review all the assessment methods developed for lakes focusing on the metrics included and the pressures addressed; (2) summarize the process and the results of intercalibration of lake assessment methods, and (3) discuss the current gaps and the way forward to common management objectives for European lakes.JRC.H.1-Water Resource