Report on Harmonisation of freshwater biological methods

ased on increasing temporal (sampling and determination) effort and the level ofprecision.Lithuania63. No informationLuxembourg64. The official method used by the Environment Administration to assess biologicalwater quality in Luxembourg is the French I.B.G.N. Few sites per year are studied andno general and recent maps of biological water quality for the whole country areavailable at the moment.65. At the 'Public Research Centre - Gabriel Lippmann' a biocoenotic study on aquaticbenthic invertebrates has been conducted since 1994, which primarily aims to studybiodiversity. In this context the dataset is used to test several indices (among themBMWP, ASPT and DIN 38 410). Within the next three years it is intended to generatea predictive system (similar to RIVPACS or PERLA) out of which a system forecological water quality assessment will be developed.Netherlands66. In the Netherlands a new method to assess the ecological quality of runningwaters has recently been developed to fulfill the requirements of WFD-compliantmonitoring. The scheme enables stream type-specific evaluation based on referenceconditions and comprises composition and abundance metrics.67. General methods for ecosystem description and assessment that are alreadyapplied in the Netherlands are called AMOEBA. In principle an AMOEBA can bedeveloped for all water types. An important part of the approach is the description ofthe reference situation. The reference system is quantified by means of targetvariables, i.e. organisms, which are representative of the different parts of the aquaticecosystem. By expressing the present-day values of the target variables as apercentage of reference values ecological assessment is possible.Norway68. Macroinvertebrates from rivers are used in the assessment of organic pollution,acidification, heavy metal pollution and effects of hydropower regulations. An81