The Ecological Status of European Rivers: Evaluation and Intercalibration of Assessment Methods Developments in Hydrobiology 188 Series editor K. Martens The Ecological Status of European Rivers: Evaluation and Intercalibration of Assessment Methods Edited by Mike T. Furse1, Daniel Hering2, Karel Brabec3, Andrea Buffagni4, Leonard Sandin5 & Piet F.M. Verdonschot6 1Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, CEH Dorset, Winfrith Technology Centre, Winfrith Newburgh, Dorchester, Dorset DT2 8ZD, United Kingdom 2University of Duisburg-Essen, Institute of Hydrobiology, Universita¨ tsstr.5, 45117 Essen, Germany 3Masaryk University, Department of Zoology and Ecology, Kotla´ rska´ 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic 4CNR-Water Research Institute, Via della Mornera, 25 I-20047 Brugherio (Milano), Italy 5Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Environmental Assessment, P.O. Box 7050, S-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden 6Alterra, Department of Ecology and Environment, Droevendaalsesteeg 3, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands Reprinted from Hydrobiologia, Volume 566 (2006) 123 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN 1-4020-5160-3 Published by Springer, P.O. Box 17, 3300 AA Dordrecht, The Netherlands Cite this publication as Hydrobiologia vol. 566 (2006) Cover illustration: Astrid Schmidt-Kloiber (Vienna) Photos: W. Graf, A. Schmidt-Kloiber, K. Pall, G. Zauner Printed on acid-free paper All Rights reserved Ó 2006 Springer No part of this material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner. Printed in the Netherlands TABLE OF CONTENTS The ecological status of European rivers: evaluation and intercalibration of assessment methods M.T. Furse, D. Hering, K. Brabec, A. Buffagni, L. Sandin, P.F.M. Verdonschot 1–2 The STAR project: context, objectives and approaches M. Furse, D. Hering, O. Moog, P. Verdonschot, R.K. Johnson, K. Brabec, K. Gritzalis, A. Buffagni, P. Pinto, N. Friberg, J. Murray-Bligh, J. Kokes, R. Alber, P. Usseglio- Polatera, P. Haase, R. Sweeting, B. Bis, K. Szoszkiewicz, H. Soszka, G. Springe, F. Sporka, I. Krno 3–29 STREAM AND RIVER TYPOLOGIES Stream and river typologies – major results and conclusions from the STAR project L. Sandin, P.F.M. Verdonschot 33–37 Evaluation of the use of Water Framework Directive typology descriptors, reference sites and spatial scale in macroinvertebrate stream typology P.F.M. Verdonschot 39–58 Data composition and taxonomic resolution in macroinvertebrate stream typology P.F.M. Verdonschot 59–74 Relationships among biological elements (macrophytes, macroinvertebrates and ichthyofauna) for different core river types across Europe at two different spatial scales P. Pinto, M. Morais, M. Ilhe´u, L. Sandin 75–90 A comparison of the European Water Framework Directive physical typology and RIVPACS-type models as alternative methods of establishing reference conditions for benthic macroinvertebrates J. Davy-Bowker, R.T. Clarke, R.K. Johnson, J. Kokes, J.F. Murphy, S. Zahra´dkova´ 91–105 LINKING ORGANISM GROUPS Linking organism groups – major results and conclusions from the STAR project D. Hering, R.K. Johnson, A. Buffagni 109–113 Detection of ecological change using multiple organism groups: metrics and uncertainty R.K. Johnson, D. Hering, M.T. Furse, R.T. Clarke 115–137 Indicators of ecological change: comparison of the early response of four organism groups to stress gradients R.K. Johnson, D. Hering, M.T. Furse, P.F.M. Verdonschot 139–152 vi Biological quality metrics: their variability and appropriate scale for assessing streams G. Springe, L. Sandin, A. Briede, A. Skuja 153–172 MACROPHYTES AND DIATOMS Macrophytes and diatoms – major results and conclusions from the STAR project K. Brabec, K. Szoszkiewicz 175–178 Macrophyte communities in unimpacted European streams: variability in assemblage patterns, abundance and diversity A. Baattrup-Pedersen, K. Szoszkiewicz, R. Nijboer, M. O’Hare, T. Ferreira 179–196 Macrophyte communities of European streams with altered physical habitat M.T. O’Hare, A. Baattrup-Pedersen, R. Nijboer, K. Szoszkiewicz, T. Ferreira 197–210 European river plant communities: the importance of organic pollution and the usefulness of existing macrophyte metrics K. Szoszkiewicz, T. Ferreira, T. Korte, A. Baattrup-Pedersen, J. Davy-Bowker, M. O’Hare 211–234 Assessment of sources of uncertainty in macrophyte surveys and the consequences for river classification R. Staniszewski, K. Szoszkiewicz, J. Zbierska, J. Lesny, S. Jusik, R.T. Clarke 235–246 Uncertainty in diatom assessment: Sampling, identification and counting variation A. Besse-Lototskaya, P.F.M. Verdonschot, J.A. Sinkeldam 247–260 HYDROMORPHOLOGY Hydromorphology – major results and conclusions from the STAR project J. Davy-Bowker, M.T. Furse 263–265 Occurrence and variability of River Habitat Survey features across Europe and the consequences for data collection and evaluation K. Szoszkiewicz, A. Buffagni, J. Davy-Bowker, J. Lesny, B.H. Chojnicki, J. Zbierska, R. Staniszewski, T. Zgola 267–280 Preliminary testing of River Habitat Survey features for the aims of the WFD hydro- morphological assessment: an overview from the STAR Project S. Erba, A. Buffagni, N. Holmes, M. O’Hare, P. Scarlett, A. Stenico 281–296 TOOLS FOR ASSESSING EUROPEAN STREAMS WITH MACROINVERTEBRATES Tools for assessing European streams with macroinvertebrates: major results and conclusions from the STAR project P.F.M. Verdonschot, O. Moog 299–309 Cook book for the development of a Multimetric Index for biological condition of aquatic ecosystems: experiences from the European AQEM and STAR projects and related initiatives D. Hering, C.K. Feld, O. Moog, T. Ofenbo¨ck 311–324 vii The AQEM/STAR taxalist – a pan-European macro-invertebrate ecological database and taxa inventory A. Schmidt-Kloiber, W. Graf, A. Lorenz, O. Moog 325–342 The PERLA system in the Czech Republic: a multivariate approach for assessing the ecological status of running waters J. Kokesˇ, S. Zahra´dkova´,D.Neˇmejcova´, J. Hodovsky´, J. Jarkovsky´, T. Solda´n 343–354 INTERCALIBRATION AND COMPARISON Intercalibration and comparison – major results and conclusions from the STAR project A. Buffagni, M. Furse 357–364 Comparison of macroinvertebrate sampling methods in Europe N. Friberg, L. Sandin, M.T. Furse, S.E. Larsen, R.T. Clarke, P. Haase 365–378 The STAR common metrics approach to the WFD intercalibration process: Full application for small, lowland rivers in three European countries A. Buffagni, S. Erba, M. Cazzola, J. Murray-Bligh, H. Soszka, P. Genoni 379–399 Direct comparison of assessment methods using benthic macroinvertebrates: a contribution to the EU Water Framework Directive intercalibration exercise S. Birk, D. Hering 401–415 Intercalibration of assessment methods for macrophytes in lowland streams: direct comparison and analysis of common metrics S. Birk, T. Korte, D. Hering 417–430 ERRORS AND UNCERTAINTY IN BIOASSESSMENT METHODS Errors and uncertainty in bioassessment methods – major results and conclusions from the STAR project and their application using STARBUGS R.T. Clarke, D. Hering 433–439 Effects of sampling and sub-sampling variation using the STAR-AQEM sampling protocol on the precision of macroinvertebrate metrics R.T. Clarke, A. Lorenz, L. Sandin, A. Schmidt-Kloiber, J. Strackbein, N.T. Kneebone, P. Haase 441–459 Sample coherence – a field study approach to assess similarity of macroinvertebrate samples A. Lorenz, R.T. Clarke 461–476 Estimates and comparisons of the effects of sampling variation using ‘national’ macroinvertebrate sampling protocols on the precision of metrics used to assess ecological status R.T. Clarke, J. Davy-Bowker, L. Sandin, N. Friberg, R.K. Johnson, B. Bis 477–503 viii Assessing the impact of errors in sorting and identifying macroinvertebrate samples P. Haase, J. Murray-Bligh, S. Lohse, S. Pauls, A. Sundermann, R. Gunn, R. Clarke 505–521 Influence of macroinvertebrate sample size on bioassessment of streams H.E. Vlek, F. Sˇ porka, I. Krno 523–542 Influence of seasonal variation on bioassessment of streams using macroinver- tebrates F. Sˇ porka, H.E. Vlek, E. Bula´nkova´, I. Krno 543–555 Hydrobiologia (2006) 566:1–2 Ó Springer 2006 M.T. Furse, D. Hering, K. Brabec, A. Buffagni, L. Sandin & P.F.M. Verdonschot (eds), The Ecological Status of European Rivers: Evaluation and Intercalibration of Assessment Methods DOI 10.1007/s10750-006-0113-4 The ecological status of European rivers: evaluation and intercalibration of assessment methods Mike T. Furse1,*, Daniel Hering2, Karel Brabec3, Andrea Buffagni4, Leonard Sandin5 & Piet F. M. Verdonschot6 1Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, CEH Dorset, Winfrith Technology Centre, Winfrith Newburgh, Dorchester, Dorset DT2 8ZD, UK 2Institute of Hydrobiology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universita¨tsstr. 5, 45117 Essen, Germany 3Department of Zoology and Ecology, Masaryk University, Kotla´rska´, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic 4CNR-Water Research Institute, Via della Mornera, 25 I-20047 Brugherio (Milan), Italy 5Department of Environmental Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7050, S-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden 6Department of Ecology and Environment, Alterra, Droevendaalsesteeg 3, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands (*Author for correspondence: E-mail: [email protected]) In this special issue we