A multimetric index for assessment of aquatic ecosystem health based on macroinvertebrates for the Zio river basin in Togo

The use of multimetric indices as tools for assessing aquatic ecosystem health in most of the developing countries such as Togo is still lacking. To fill this gap, we developed a macroinvertebrates-based multimetric index for the Zio river basin of Togo. Forty-two sites were assessed for the development and the validation of the Multimetric Index of Zio River Basin (MMIZB). Thirty-nine candidate metrics belonging to four categories (composition metrics, functional feeding metrics, diversity metrics and tolerance measure metrics) were evaluated. After comprehensive multiple selection procedure, six core metrics were retained to provide the final MMIZB. The results showed that the MMIZB responded to a set of organic pollution (chemical oxygen demand, ammonium, total suspended solid) and hydromorphological alterations, which corresponded to a set of gradients of human pressures affecting the ecological integrity of Zio river basin water bodies (r = 0.78, p < 0.001). The final macroinvertebrate index well distinguished the reference sites and impaired sites of a validation data set (p < 0.001) and showed a significant relationship between water and habitat quality based on Prati’s index (r = 0.73, p < 0.001) and Multimetric Macroinvertebrates Index of Vietnam (MMI_Vietnam) (r = 0.88, p < 0.001). This work underlines the relevance of the MMIZB as an effective tool for biological monitoring and decision making in water management of Zio river basin.     

Salt pollution of the middle and lower sections of the river Werra (Germany) and its impact on benthic macroinvertebrates

In two survey phases (2003 and 2008) organic, nutrient and salt contamination parameters have been investigated in the lower Werra in order to estimate the importance of these different kinds of pollution for the quality component of macroinvertebrates according to the European Water Framework Directive. The chemical and biological investigations have been carried out comparing a “reference” section without salt contamination with the salt contaminated section due to the potash mining industry from Vacha to Hannoversch Münden close to the mouth of the Werra. The results show that the drastic differences between the macroinvertebrate assemblages of the Werra upstream and downstream the salt contaminated sections are clearly caused by the salt load. The other kinds of chemical impacts are not responsible for the observed fundamental change within the composition of the benthic invertebrate assemblage. General degradation of stream morphology, indicated by macroinvertebrates, shows a good ecological status for the non-salt-contaminated part of the river and a bad status for the salt contaminated sites of the lower Werra.     

On the history of chloride concentrations in the River Lippe (Germany) and the impact on the macroinvertebrates

The River Lippe is situated at the northern part of the rhenish-westphalian coal mining area, Germany and has a long history of being affected by mining water discharge. There has, however, been a massive decrease in the discharge of mining water over the past few decades. While early in the last century concentrations of up to 3500 mg l⁻¹ of chloride were observed, the mean concentration is now below 400 mg l⁻¹. At the same time the water quality has improved greatly so factors other than chloride concentration may be influencing the macroinvertebrate community.Macroinvertebrate data collected from three sites along the River Lippe was analyzed for a change in the occurrence of salt tolerant species in an area where mining water discharge ended in 2000. It was found that also during the period of discharges the macroinvertebrate community was dominated by freshwater species and therefore the impact of mining water discharges in the upper River Lippe is considered to be minor.It was also found that for some species (Nais elinguis, Bithynia tentaculata and Gammarus tigrinus) their proposed salinity preference did not correlate with their occurrence in the field. This may be an area that requires further research.     

An intercalibration of classification metrics of benthic macroinvertebrates in coastal and transitional ecosystems of the Eastern Mediterranean ecoregion (Greece)

Three coastal and three lagoonal sites located in Greece (Eastern Mediterranean) were selected to test and intercalibrate classification methods developed for benthic invertebrates ecological quality assessments. These methods were developed for the purposes of the European Water Framework Directive which is a European legislation adopted for the protection and improvement of the coastal and transitional waters. However, through testing these methods, this work addresses in general the issue of determining and comparing the ecological status of the coastal and transitional macrobenthic communities in Eastern Mediterranean ecosystems. Among methods tested were the biotic indices AMBI and BENTIX, the multivariate method M-AMBI and the biomass size structure index ISD in lagoonal sites only. ISD index is a rather new method developed especially for transitional ecosystems and in this contribution its performance is intercalibrated with the other benthic classification metrics. Comparison and intercalibration of the indices results in assessing the ecological quality status (EQS) are presented graphically and statistically performing the Kappa analysis. Results of the comparison and the indices' performance are evaluated based on the knowledge of the sites' environmental condition and baseline studies. Based on an extended dataset of coastal and transitional ecosystems benthic invertebrates, an evaluation of each index performance and effectiveness is attempted through an insight and comparative analysis of each methods' structure and design. Results showed that in these Eastern Mediterranean coastal sites the BENTIX index seems to give a more biologically relevant classification and gives a higher confidence level regarding the classification compared to the other indices. In the coastal areas AMBI showed a tendency for the "good" class classification, while the factorial M-AMBI gave more consistent results with the BENTIX. In the lagoonal sites the biotic indices tested were not proved efficient enough and the biomass based ISD index proved more appropriate for these ecosystems. AMBI showed the highest agreement with the ISD which is due to the better performance of this index in the slightly and moderately polluted lagoons, compared to the other indices. However, AMBI failed to classify the polluted lagoon, in which case the BENTIX gave a more relevant classification.     

太湖流域上游平原河网区水质空间差异与季节变化特征

在太湖流域上游的宜溧—洮滆水系主要河道设置67个监测点,分别于2014年1月(冬季)、4月(春季)、8月(夏季)、11月(秋季)进行水质监测,采用多元统计方法分析了水质的空间差异性和季节性变化,并利用水质标识指数法对水环境质量进行评价.结果表明,宜溧—洮滆水系污染程度较严重,总氮(TN)、总磷(TP)和高锰酸盐指数(CODMn)浓度年均值分别为4.93、0.26和7.63 mg/L;单因素多元方差分析和聚类分析显示污染物浓度具有显著时空差异性,时间上冬、春季污染程度较高而夏、秋季较低,空间上无锡和常州氮、磷污染较为严重,宜兴和溧阳市有机污染程度较高;水质标识评价结果显示流域内水质基本为IV类或V类,其中TN、TP及CODMn是关键污染指标.     

Water balance of the Salado–Juramento river basin (Argentina)

A lumped water balance model was used to derive a monthly water storage series in the Salado–Juramento southern basin, for the period 1954–1986. The evapotranspiration term was estimated using the Bouchet's complementary relationship. Different evapotranspiration formulas following the concepts of potential evapotranspiration and wet environmental evapotranspiration were used. The regional average groundwater levels and the specific yield were used to tune Bouchet's equation. The extrapolation of the water storage series to a secular period (1901–2002) was achieved using a synthetic annual discharge series. The water storage was deficient for most of the century, i.e. more than 60 years; nevertheless in the last 30 years, the system recovers half of the water previously lost. The singular spectral analysis showed that a significant low‐frequency signal is present in the water storage and precipitation series. The main cause of water storage variability would be given by precipitation, in spite of the vast anthropogenic changes on the basin. Anthropogenic effects would be reflected in the river discharges, where no significant signal is detected before 1970; however, an annual signal is insinuated after that year. The conclusions of this work could be different if we only looked at the 1954–1986 period. The results of that period suggest that the basin is primarily accumulating water instead of being mainly in deficit. Thus, here we demonstrated the importance of the secular analysis to illustrate the complete basin behaviour. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Functions and ecological status of eight Italian lagoons examined using biological traits analysis (BTA)

The soft-bottom communities of eight Italian lagoons were analyzed for eight biological traits (feeding, mobility, adult life habitat, body size, life span, reproductive technique, type of larva and reproductive frequency) in order to identify the dominant traits in different transitional environments. We considered the ecological quality status (EcoQS) of the stations, assessed by two biotic indices, AMBI and Bentix. Stations were categorized into EcoQS classes to investigate the relationship between biological functions and ecological quality. The results indicate that the variability of the data was governed by traits linked to resource utilization rather than to life cycle. Lagoons affected by chronic disturbance displayed a poor functional composition, which usually corresponded to poor EcoQS in some cases, correlations between ecological groups and traits modalities were ecologically relevant; however, classes of EcoQS were found to be relatively independent from the functional structure of the considered stations.     

Ecological quality assessment of small estuaries from the Portuguese coast based on fish assemblages indices

The importance of establishing the ecological quality of estuarine systems has been widely acknowledged and led to the development of several fish community-based multimetric indices. Nevertheless, a question rose about the accuracy of these tools when natural disturbance is acting upon the organization of the systems’ communities. Four multimetric indices were used to examine their ability to differentiate the ecological status of five small estuarine systems (southern Portugal), and also to test if they reflected the level of anthropogenic pressures. Fish assemblages from Mira, Odeceixe and Aljezur (in the Southwest coast), Gilão and Bensafrim (in the South coast) estuaries were sampled seasonally for one year, and anthropogenic sources of pressure were identified and quantified. We found that although the applied indices provided information on ecological condition differentiation among systems, they are unable to explain different classes of ecological status in systems with equivalent pressure levels.     

太湖流域(江苏省)水质污染空间特征

基于SPSS 20.0统计软件,对太湖流域(江苏省)9个三级生态功能分区和湖体28项水质指标数据分别进行处理,从原始监测数据中提取出5个主成分,计算其贡献率和主成分得分值,研究主要污染因子的组合,并对相应污染源进行分析.结果表明第一主成分主要体现了水体中氮、磷等导致富营养化的关键因子,而第二个主成分主要反映水体重金属水平,整个江苏省太湖流域污染情况空间分布略有不同,水环境质量也大体表现为北高南低、西高东低的趋势,湖体也存在对应的空间特征,反映了流域外源输入是导致湖体水质污染的主要原因之一,为太湖流域的环境监测及污染治理提供重要的信息和依据.     

辽宁省大伙房水库及入库河流水质空间特征与河库水质关系

入库河流与水库存在空间上的连续性,河流污染物输入是水库水质恶化的主要原因,对大伙房水库及其入库支流61个采样点的水质状况进行调查,并运用聚类分析和主成分分析对大伙房水库及入库支流的水质空间特性和主要污染物进行分析.聚类分析显示,按照水质相似性将大伙房水库及入库支流水质可分为上游区、下游区和库区3个典型空间区域.分别对3个区域进行主成分分析,结果显示:入库支流上游区和下游区水质主要影响因素为氨氮、总氮和化学需氧量,库区影响水质的主要因素为温度、p H值、浊度、溶解氧、电导率、氨氮和总氮.对上游、下游和库区水质均有显著影响的因子为氨氮和总氮,上游区、下游区和库区氨氮浓度均值分别为0.06、0.10和0.19 mg/L,总氮浓度均值分别为0.13、0.16和0.26 mg/L.入库河流下游区对水库水质影响较大,受社河和浑河污染物输入的影响,大伙房水库水质在空间上呈现社河入库区水质优于浑河入库区水质.并且库区氨氮和总氮浓度均与距岸边距离呈负相关,溶解氧和p H值均与距入库口距离呈负相关,表明入库河流污染物输入和环库区面源污染均对大伙房水库水质产生一定影响.     

Basin structure and water quality of the Oligocene aquifer in the Sebkhet El Behira basin (central Tunisia)

ABSTRACT

The Sebkhet El Behira–Garaat El Majdoul multilayer aquifer system is composed of Mio-Plio-Quaternary and Oligocene groundwater exploited in Sidi Bouzid and Kairouan governorates. Annual withdrawal volumes from El Behira Oligocene groundwater were about 0.37 hm³ in 2005 and 0.36 hm³ in 2008. The present study of the Oligocene reservoir in the Sebkhet El Behira–Garaat El Majdoul basin is based on various data including 2D seismic sections, petroleum wells, field geological cross-sections and geochemical analysis. The gathered data allowed us to establish the tectonic framework and to define its influence on the structure of the aquifers seated in the deep Oligocene sandstone reservoirs. Three Oligocene sub-basin aquifers are defined showing different depth, thickness and petrophysical characteristics: lower salinity (<1.5 g/L) and higher porosity (30%). Two field sections in the northern and in the southern parts of Cherahil anticline exhibit the presence of four to five sandstone levels. The anticlines limit the Sebkhet El Behira–Garaat El Majdoul basin. In addition, the morphostructural configuration controls the piezometry of underground flows in the Oligocene and Mio-Plio-Quaternary unconfined aquifers.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor M. Besbes     

山东南四湖上级湖水质变化评价(2008-2014年)及成因分析

基于南四湖上级湖6个监测点2008-2014年42个奇数月份的水质资料,选取溶解氧、化学需氧量(COD)、高锰酸盐指数(COD_Mn)、五日生化需氧量(BOD₅)、氨氮、总磷和氟化物作为水质评价的指标.对水质指标的归一化方法进行了改进,采用主成分分析法对6个监测点的水质综合状况进行评价,根据得出的各月综合得分序列分析水质变化趋势.与2000-2007年南四湖上级湖的水质综合状况进行比较,2008-2014年水质明显变好.评价结果表明,同一监测点的水质在不同时间点上有明显变化,同一时间序列不同监测点的水质状况也有不同变化.此外,分析得出南四湖上级湖的主要水质影响指标为COD、COD_Mn和BOD₅.结合评价结果,分析水质变化原因,入湖河流水质状况和湖区底泥是其重要影响因素.     

Application of the new multimetric MMI_PL index for biological water quality assessment in reference and human-impacted streams (Poland,the Slovak Republic)

A new multimetric MMI_PL index, which is based on the macroinvertebrate composition and combines six single key metrics, has already been implemented in Poland according to the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive. The objectives of our survey were to assess the biological water quality using the new multimetric MMI_PL index in both reference and human-impacted streams, to analyze whether the values of the new multimetric index properly reflect the ecological status of the water in upland and mountain streams as well as to determine which environmental factors influence the distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates and the values of the metrics. The study was carried out from 2007 to 2010 in three Ecoregions that were established by the EU WFD. A total of 60 sampling sites: 36 reference sites that were situated in the headwaters of mountain streams at mid- and high-altitudes and 24, human-impacted sampling sites were selected. The benthic macroinvertebrate surveys were supported by both a hydromorphological and macrophyte assessment according to the River Habitat Survey (RHS) and to the Macrophyte Methods for Rivers. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed that the values of the Habitat Quality Assessment (HQA) index, conductivity, pH and altitude were the parameters most associated (statistically significant) with the distribution of benthic macroinvertebrate taxa and the values of the metrics in both the reference and human-impacted (impaired) sections of the streams in Ecoregions 9, 10 and 14. The new MMI_PL index was useful for biological water quality assessment and was also important for separating both the reference and impaired sections of streams. The MMI_PL index and some key metrics performed contrary to what was expected in relation to the reference high-altitude siliceous streams (the High Tatra Mts., Ecoregion 10). Low values of multimetric index and key metrics did not properly reflect their high ecological status and pristine character as reflected by the hydromorphological (RHS) and macrophyte surveys or the physical and chemical parameters of the water.     

基于水质-水位二元响应关系推求过水型湖泊适宜生态水位研究

适宜的生态水位能够反映湖区生态系统的多种需求,是湖泊长期稳定健康运转的基本保障.目前湖泊适宜生态水位的推求大多侧重恢复天然水位情势.然而过水型湖泊承担着防洪、供水、航运等多种功能,频繁的人类活动导致湖泊水位情势异常复杂.同时随着社会经济的快速发展,水质恶化对过水型湖泊生态系统造成了较大的负面影响,仅恢复天然水位情势难以反映过水型湖泊的生态需求.因此,在IHA-RVA法的基础上,本文针对过水型湖泊吞吐性强的特点,利用水质-水位二元响应关系系统地提出了一套逐月修正过水型湖泊适宜生态水位阈值,并确定适宜水位变动率的方法.以洪泽湖为应用实例,结果表明:1)根据湖泊水文情势和入湖污染物变化情况,湖泊调度周期可以划分为平水期(1-4月)、泄水期(5-6月)、蓄水前期(7-9月)和蓄水后期(10-12月);2)各时期内,洪泽湖水位和水质呈现较强的相关性,其中平水期、泄水期和蓄水后期水质均随着水位上升而下降,平均Pearson系数达-0.77,仅在蓄水前期水质随水位上升而改善;3)现阶段洪泽湖的自净能力和污染物滞留比例竞争关系激烈,逐月适宜生态水位阈值为:12.92～12.99、12.79～12.99...     

Hydrological effects of water reservoirs on hydrological processes in the East River (China) basin: complexity evaluations based on the multi‐scale entropy analysis

Using the multi‐scale entropy analysis (MSE), we study the effects of water reservoirs on the river flow records based on long streamflow series covering January 1, 1954 and December 31, 2009 at four representative hydrological stations, i.e. the Longchuan, the Heyuan, the Lingxia and the Boluo stations. Hydrological effects of two major water reservoirs, the Xinfengjiang and the Fengshuba water reservoirs, are evaluated. The results indicate that: (1) before the construction of the water reservoirs, the complexity of the streamflow series comes to be decreasing from the upper to the lower East River and which should be attributed to the topographical properties and buffering effects of the river channel; (2) construction of water reservoirs greatly increases the complexity degree of the hydrological processes, and this influence is subjected to a damping process with the increase of distance between the water reservoirs and the hydrological stations; (3) power generation is the major function of the water reservoirs in the East River basin. The results of this study should be of theoretical and scientific merits in terms of conservation of the ecological environment and also water resources management under the influences of climate changes and intensifying human activities. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterization of the ecological quality of the coastal Gulf of Lions (NW Mediterranean). A comparative approach based on three biotic indices

The ecological quality of the Gulf of Lions coast was assessed using three biotic indices (H', AMBI and BQI). The three indices correlated positively. The positive correlation between AMBI and BQI was surprising and was mostly due to the fact that the dominant species Ditrupa arietina featured a low ES50(0.05) but was classified in GI by AMBI. Both H' and BQI were efficient in distinguishing impacted from un-impacted sites but AMBI was not. Differences between H' and BQI were mainly due to the scale used to translate indices in terms of EcoQ. The three indices were able to detect the major changes in macrofauna composition, which occurred in the Bay of Banyuls-sur-Mer during the last 40years. However, the interpretations of such changes in terms of EcoQ differed between indices. These results are discussed relative to the characteristics of the tested indices.     

Invisible face of COVID-19 pandemic on the freshwater environment: An impact assessment on the sediment quality of a cross boundary river basin in Turkey

In the current research,the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown period on sediment quality of the MericErgene River Basin was evaluated by determining the potentially toxic elements（PTEs） in sediment samples collected from 25 sampling points in the basin.Also some important ecological indicators including potential ecological risk index（PERI）,contamination factor（CF）,pollution load index（PLI）,biological risk index（BRI）,and geo-accumulation index(I_geo) and some important statistical indica...     

The impact of well drawdowns on the mixing process of river water and groundwater and water quality in a riverside well field,Northeast China

Riverbank filtration (RBF) has been widely used throughout the world as an effective means to regulate surface water and groundwater resources and pretreat raw water for municipal water supply. The quality of the water from a riverside well field and the mixing ratios of surface water and groundwater is primarily impacted by the hydrodynamic processes in the RBF system. The RBF system is largely controlled by the water exploiting system in addition to the natural hydrologic condition of the river–aquifer system. As one of the most important design parameters of the riverside well field, the drawdown of groundwater level greatly determines the water head differences between the river water and groundwater as well as the field flow net, which subsequently impacts the mixing of river water and groundwater and water quality significantly. This study aimed to improve the understanding of the mixing process between the surface water and groundwater and estimate the impact of the RBF on the mixing ratio of surface water–groundwater and water quality quantitatively. A set of field pumping tests with various groundwater level drawdowns were carried out independently and successively at a riverside field with a single pumping well near the Songhua River in Northeast China in August 2017. During these tests, the water levels and hydrochemical parameters of the Songhua River, the adjacent aquifer, and the pumping well were monitored. The dynamic mixing process of the river water and groundwater and water quality under various drawdown conditions were analysed systematically using analytical methods. The results obtained from Dupuit method and the Mirror Image method in conjunction with the Hydrochemical Tracing method showed that the pumping water directly from the river water reached 60% ± 10% after a steady flow net was established. The larger the proportion of the pumping water captured from the river, the better quality of the pumping water was, because the quality of the river water (only limited to some water quality parameters monitored which were minority) was better than that of the groundwater. The results also showed that total Fe, TDS, total hardness, COD_Mn, and K⁺ were relatively sensitive to the changes of groundwater drawdown, and their concentrations decreased with an increase in the groundwater drawdown. It can be concluded that both the mixing ratio of the surface water and the groundwater and the water quality of the riverside well field can be regulated through adjusting the designed drawdown of the groundwater level, which is helpful for the design and the optimization of the riverside well water intake engineering.     

Ecological status of seagrass ecosystems: An uncertainty analysis of the meadow classification based on the Posidonia oceanica multivariate index (POMI)

Quantifying the uncertainty associated with monitoring protocols is essential to prevent the misclassification of ecological status and to improve sampling design. We assessed the Posidonia oceanica multivariate index (POMI) bio-monitoring program for its robustness in classifying the ecological status of coastal waters within the Water Framework Directive. We used a 7-year data set covering 30 sites along 500 km of the Catalonian coastline to examine which version of POMI (14 or 9 metrics) maximises precision in classifying the ecological status of meadows. Five factors (zones within a site, sites within a water body, depth, years and surveyors) that potentially generate classification uncertainty were examined in detail. Of these, depth was a major source of uncertainty, while all the remaining spatial and temporal factors displayed low variability. POMI 9 matched POMI 14 in all factors, and could effectively replace it in future monitoring programs.     

太湖水体交换周期变化(1986-2018年)及对水质空间格局的影响

针对太湖水体交换周期近十余年发生的变化,本文收集整理了1986-2018年太湖水文巡测、汛期水文巡测数据以及太湖流域沿江城市引水量、流域降雨量变化数据,基于太湖出入湖水量的变化研究了太湖水体交换周期的变化及原因,并对交换周期变化对水质空间格局的影响进行分析.结果 表明:太湖入湖水量有显著上升,2007年以来平均每年入湖...