Multimetric Macroinvertebrate Index Flanders (MMIF) for biological assessment of rivers and lakes in Flanders (Belgium)

The European Water Framework Directive requires that member states assess all their surface waters based on a number of biological elements, including macroinvertebrates. Since 1989, the Flemish Environment Agency has been using the Belgian Biotic Index for assessing river water quality based on macroinvertebrates. Throughout the years, the Belgian Biotic Index has proven to be a reliable and robust method providing a good indication of general degradation of river water and habitat quality. Since the Belgian Biotic Index does not meet all the requirements of the Water Framework Directive, a new index, the Multimetric Macroinvertebrate Index Flanders (MMIF) for evaluating rivers and lakes was developed and tested. This index was developed in order to provide a general assessment of ecological deterioration caused by any kind of stressor, such as water pollution and habitat quality degradation. The MMIF is based on macroinvertebrate samples that are taken using the same sampling and identification procedure as the Belgian Biotic Index. The index calculation is a type-specific multimetric system based on five equally weighted metrics, which are taxa richness, number of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera taxa, number of other sensitive taxa, the Shannon-Wiener diversity index and the mean tolerance score. The final index value is expressed as an Ecological Quality Ratio ranging from zero for very bad ecological quality to one for very good ecological quality. The MMIF correlates positively with dissolved oxygen and negatively with Kjeldahl nitrogen, total nitrogen, ammonium, nitrite, total phosphorous, orthophosphate and biochemical and chemical oxygen demand. This new index is now being used by the Flemish Environment Agency as a standard method to report about the status of macroinvertebrates in rivers and lakes in Flanders within the context of the European Water Framework Directive.     

An improved index of environmental quality for Swiss rivers based on benthic invertebrates

A total of 1424 samples of benthic invertebrates, collected in 56 rivers of western Switzerland (canton of Vaud), was used to improve the RIVAUD (Rivers of Vaud) index of environmental quality. This index, described for the first time in 1989, was based on total number of taxa and on number of taxa intolerant of pollution (Plecoptera, Heptageniidae, and Trichoptera with a case). The 1995 version of RIVAUD, called RIVAUD 95, presented a larger range of values (0–20) than the previous one (0–10), to describe more precisely the variations of environmental quality. According to RIVAUD 95, the environmental quality of Swiss rivers increased with the altitude of sampling sites because anthropogenic impacts decreased along the same gradient. This altitudinal pattern was used to define classes of environmental quality which can be adapted to the rivers of other regions.     

Empirical relationships between diversity of invertebrate communities and altitude in rivers: Application to biomonitoring

The relationships between the diversity of invertebrate communities and the altitude of sampling sites were analysed in 438 benthic samples, collected between 1982 and 1991, in 56 rivers of western Switzerland. Diversity, estimated from total number of taxa (genus or family) and from number of taxa intolerant of pollution, was positively correlated with increasing altitude. In contrast, density of human population and the level of organic pollution were negatively correlated with increasing altitude. Therefore, the upstream increase of invertebrate diversity was attributed to the decrease of human population which is the main source of organic pollution. In this study, altitude was used, instead of organic pollution, to predict diversity. Empirical relationships between diversity and altitude were applied to surveys of water quality to describe the general altitudinal pattern characteristic for each region and to single out anomalous sites and rivers. In addition, changes in the altitudinal patterns of diversity can be used to monitor the recovery of rivers from pollution.     

应用底栖动物完整性指数评价上海市河流健康

据2011-2013年对上海市31条河流底栖动物的调查结果,对31个生物参数进行分布范围、判别能力以及相关性等进行分析,确定构建上海市河流底栖动物完整性指数(B-IBI)的4个参数:(寡毛类动物+蛭纲)数量百分比、耐污类群分类单元数、双翅目数量百分比和集食者分类单元数百分比.采用比值法统一量纲,将各个生物参数分值加和得到上海市河流B-IBI值.利用构建的B-IBI对上海市31条河流健康状况进行评价,结果表明:31条河流中,有4条河流处于健康状态,8条河流处于亚健康状态,9条河流处于一般状态,8条河流处于较差状态,2条河流处于极差状态;远郊河流健康状态最好,近郊次之,市区最差.     

The O and H isotope characteristics of water from major rivers in China

Isotopic compositions of the water sources and evapotranspiration in large rivers of China are not well explored. In this investigation, d18 O and dD values of water from major large rivers of China are integrated to understand the spatial and temporal variations in the isotopes of water and d-excess. River water samples were collected from the channels and tributaries of the Changjiang, Yellow, Songhua and Liao Rivers in China. Water from upstream was generally enriched with light isotopes relative to that from downstream areas. Water from the Songhua River and upper reach of the Changjiang River has relatively negative isotopic values impacted by latitude and altitude effects, respectively. The spatial pattern showed that d18O-H2 O values in rivers mainly ranged from-9 to-7 % in most of China based on roughly mapped contours, and rivers enriched in light isotopes were primarily located in the Tibetan Plateau and northeast China The slopes of linear regression from the Yellow and Liao Rivers suggested that the loss of water by direct evaporation shifted the isotopes of water, especially in some small tributaries. Additionally, there was a narrow range of low d18OH2 O values from the main channel of rivers during the lowflow season relative to the high-flow season due to influence of the monsoon climate. No distinct spatial variation of d-excess values was found in the rivers of China. However, water samples in some rivers with low d-excess values had high d18 O values, indicating that evaporation in the tributaries has led to significant water loss, especially in tributaries of the Yellow and Liao Rivers.     

Structure and seasonal dynamics of bacterial communities in three urban rivers in China

Although a large number of recent ecological studies have focused on freshwater bacterioplankton populations, knowledge of the primary factors influencing bacterial communities in urban rivers is limited. Bacterial community structure in three rivers located in Shanghai city was studied over a 1-year period using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Subsurface samples were collected every 2 months from two study sites in each river. Water was characterized when biological samples were collected by measuring temperature, pH, chloride ion, total dissolved solids (TDS), total N and total P. complex DGGE band patterns indicated high bacterial diversity in the rivers. Analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) showed that variation of the bacterial communities was higher between rivers than it was between samples from the same river. When evaluated using principal component analysis, samples collected during warmer months from any particular river tended to group together while cold-season samples generally clustered, suggesting significant seasonal impacts. Redundancy analysis was used to identify relationships between environmental factors and bacterial community composition in each individual river. Temperature, TDS, pH, TP and salt concentration were all identified as being related to bacterial community structure, with temperature being the most influential parameter in all three rivers. Our results indicated that bacterial community composition was different in the three different rivers. Even though the rivers were located in heavily disturbed urban ecosystems, temperature was the major driver of bacterial community composition, just as it is in natural systems.     

西藏纳木错及其入湖河流溶解有机碳和总氮浓度的季节变化

为深入理解纳木错湖水及入湖河流中溶解有机碳（DOC）和总氮（TN）浓度的季节变化特征及其影响因素,于2012-2013年不同季节对纳木错2个站点及流域内21条主要入湖河流进行采样及分析,采用统计学方法初步探讨纳木错水体和21条河流DOC和TN浓度季节变化特征.结果表明,河流DOC平均浓度范围为0.763~1.537 mg/L,TN平均浓度范围为0.179~0.387 mg/L.21条入湖河流DOC浓度在春末夏初和夏季达到高值,冬季为低值,TN浓度季节变化趋势大体上与DOC浓度相反.湖泊水体DOC和TN浓度范围分别为2.42~8.08和0.237~0.517 mg/L,明显分别高于河水中的浓度.湖泊DOC浓度季节变化趋势与河流一致,而TN浓度无明显的季节性变化.河水DOC浓度的季节变化和空间差异受控于河流的补给方式,湖水DOC浓度受湖泊内部藻类等水生植物活动和河流外源输入的影响.DOC等有机质的分解是影响纳木错流域湖水和河水TN浓度的重要原因.     

River pollution in ladoga basin: Estimation based on diatom index

A modification of water stream pollution index was developed based on the use of periphyton diatomic algae, taking into account the regional features of the Ladoga basin. Original values of indicator valences and weights are given for 60 mass taxa of diatoms. River water quality was found to deteriorate from the north to the south because of the higher economic development of the southern part of Ladoga basin. The zonal changes in water quality in large rivers is much less pronounced than in medium and small rivers, which have closer relationships with the local situation on the watershed. Studying the correlation of the modified index with total phosphorus concentration showed it to be more efficient in estimating the anthropogenic pollution of streams in Ladoga basin as compared with trophic datomic indices developed in Europe.     

南水北调东线工程运行3年后东平湖浮游植物群落特征及环境驱动因子

为掌握东平湖浮游植物在南水北调东线工程运行后的群落结构变化特征及探究其环境驱动因子,于通水运行3周年后的2017年分4个季节对东平湖的18个样点进行采样调查,同步开展水环境调查.结果 显示:共检出浮游植物191种属(包括变种),其中硅藻门、绿藻门、裸藻门、蓝藻门、金藻门、黄藻门、甲藻门和隐藻门分别为64、57、28、2...     

Development of benthic macroinvertebrates sediment index(BSI) for bioassessment of freshwater sediment

Sediment quality has been evaluated in a variety of ways since the early 1990s in studies from Europe. In South Korea, most studies have used an indicator value for benthic macroinvertebrates based on water quality, not sediment quality. To date, few studies have examined the biological integrity of benthic macroinvertebrate communities in South Korea. In the current study, the tolerance valency and value in samples and the indicator weight values were measured for 43 benthic macroinvertebrate taxa from 73 sampling units in South Korea from 2014 to 2016. Total organic carbon, the amount of heavy metals, and total ammonia nitrogen were analyzed. The average grade for each pollutant was used as the sediment quality index. A benthic macroinvertebrates sediment index was developed for bioassessment of freshwater sediment. The benthic macroinvertebrates sediment index, which is based on the relative frequency of occurrence of macroinvertebrates, was highly correlated with pollution levels in the sediment. This index can be used in the field to assess the contamination of freshwater sediment. As the sample size was small in the current study and there were taxonomic limitations of Chironomidae larvae, further research is needed to improve the reliability of the benthic macroinvertebrates sediment index.     

An index to assess hydromorphological quality of Estonian surface waters based on macroinvertebrate taxonomic composition

We developed an index (MESH – Macroinvertebrates in Estonia: Score of Hydromorphology) to assess hydromorphological quality of Estonian surface waters based on macroinvertebrate taxonomic composition. The MESH is an average score based on the affinities of selected indicator taxa to flow velocity and bottom type. As both parameters were highly correlated (r = 0.65) indicator response to both parameters were combined. The list of MESH indicators includes 394 freshwater macroinvertebrate taxa derived from 3282 samples collected from rivers and lakes during 1985–2009. The indicators were selected out of 690 taxa, by applying the information-theoretical Kullback–Leibler divergence. The individual scores of macroinvertebrates range from 0 to 3, the higher scores indicating faster flow and/or solid bottom substrate. For standing waters, flow velocity was always considered zero. Among the reference waterbodies, mean MESH was the highest for small streams followed by middle streams, large streams, and lakes. In lakes with medium water hardness (the prevailing type in Estonia), the MESH decreased gradually from stony to muddy bottom. The highest MESH values for standing waters were observed in the stony surf zone of very large lakes (area > 100 km²). The lowest values occurred for small lakes with exceptional hydrochemical characteristics (soft- and darkwater, and calcareous types). Similarly, MESH indicated stream degradation by damming. Mean MESH in reservoirs with a muddy bottom was significantly lower than in reservoirs with a hard bottom, or in unregulated stream sections.     

Statistical Analysis of Water Quality Parameters in Seven Major Serbian Rivers during 2004‒2013 Period

Rivers on territory of the Republic of Serbia can be separated to three sea drainage basins: Black, Adriatic and Aegean. Majority of rivers belong to the Black Sea drainage basin. The Danube is the most important river in Serbia and one of the most important rivers of Europe. All rivers investigated in this paper represent direct or indirect tributaries of the Danube River and as that, they are belonging to the Black Sea drainage basin. In this study, the water quality status and the spatial and temporal trends of seven major rivers in Serbia were assessed through the application of ten parameters of Water Quality Index. Ten year (2004–2013) public database of environmental data was used. Into considerations were taken differences between every river individually and difference between sample positions on every single river. Based on the chemical parameters of water quality, it can be seen that the biggest rivers in Serbia show different values of WQ parameters. The highest WQ value is measured on the Drina River, while the lowest value is measured on the Ju?na Morava and the Tisza River. Analyses of parameters per period of year show that there is a statistically significant difference between values during warm and cold periods.     

南水北调中线干渠浮游植物群落时空格局及其决定因子

为了解南水北调中线干渠浮游植物群落的时空格局,自2018年8月开始分4个季度对干渠沿程的11个样点进行采样调查,同步开展水环境调查;共检出浮游植物7门83属145种,物种丰富度上,硅藻种类数最多,绿藻和蓝藻分别占第2和第3位,且春季>秋季>冬季>夏季;优势种包括极小曲丝藻(Achnanthidum minutissimum)、桥弯藻(Cymbella sp.)、空星藻(Coelastrum sphaericum)、衣藻(Chlamydomonas sp.)等(优势度Y>0.02);全年叶绿素a浓度为(4.09±2.89)μg/L,细胞密度为(6.79±7.15)×10⁶cells/L,夏季细胞密度显著高于其他季节,以绿藻、蓝藻为主,其他季节以硅藻、绿藻为主;空间上,细胞密度从南到北呈递增趋势,穿黄工程后显著高于穿黄工程前;RDA与多元线性回归分析显示:水温和营养盐是影响群落结构的关键因素,其次是流量和流速,这些因子成为群落时空格局的决定因子;NMDS与聚类分析显示:时间变化对于群落结构产生的影响比空间变化更为显著.本研究确认了跨流域长距离输水的中线干渠中浮游植物群落的显著时空异质性;鉴于流速、流量对群落的决定作用,建议在输水管理中加强生态调度技术研究,以调控浮游植物群落,保障水质稳定.     

Benthic macroinvertebrates as indicators of the water quality in Bulgaria: A case-study in the Iskar river basin

Macroinvertebrates were sampled at 15 locations in the Iskar river basin in Bulgaria for the purpose of water quality assessment. Based on the chemical as well as the biological parameters, it was concluded that the water quality was still good upstream of Sofia, however, despite a huge waste water treatment plant, a strong decrease was observed when the river passed Sofia. Due to self-purification and dilution, a gradual amelioration of the water quality was observed 40 and 80 km downstream of Sofia, however, water quality was still insufficient. The Irish Biotic Index (IBI), which is currently used in Bulgaria for the national monitoring of macroinvertebrates for water quality assessment, does not fulfil the requirements of the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD). The Multimetric Macroinvertebrate Index Flanders (MMIF), on the contrary, is a WFD compliant method developed for the northern part of Belgium, which is based on (1) the total number of taxa, (2) the number of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera taxa, (3) the number of other sensitive taxa, (4) the Shannon–Wiener index and (5) the mean tolerance score. The outcome of this MMIF was strongly correlated with the outcome of the Irish Biotic Index. Therefore, it should be possible to develop a similar multimetric index for macroinvertebrates to evaluate the biological water quality in Bulgaria without much effort.     

浙江金华江支流白沙溪水质硅藻生物监测方法

以白沙溪为示范区,比较了硅藻生物指数评价与我国现阶段河流水质理化评价结果的异同性,同时对白沙溪进行水生态评估.水质理化评价显示白沙溪水质从Ⅰ类到劣Ⅴ类均有出现,而硅藻特定污染敏感指数和硅藻生物指数评价白沙溪水质为"优"到"差"均有出现.二者评价结果总体上相吻合,同时亦存在一定差异.硅藻生态类群组成显示前三个断面以耐低污染硅藻、自养硅藻和喜好很高氧饱和度硅藻为主,4#断面(除2010年11月)以耐中污染和强污染硅藻、异养硅藻、喜好低氧硅藻类群占优势.全年水体各断面均以喜中性和碱性的硅藻类群为主.特定污染敏感指数和硅藻生物指数均与电导率、总磷、氨氮、氯化物之间呈显著负相关,此外硅藻生物指数还与高锰酸盐指数、总氮、亚硝酸盐氮和可溶性磷酸盐之间呈显著负相关.本研究结果对开展我国河流水质生物监测具有一定的借鉴意义,但其在我国的适用性还需要开展进一步的研究.     

Development of an inexact two-stage stochastic model with downside risk control for water quality management and decision analysis under uncertainty

Water quality management along rivers involves making water-allocation plans, establishing water quality goals, and controlling pollutant discharges, which is complicated itself but further challenged by existence of uncertainties. In this study, an inexact two-stage stochastic downside risk-aversion programming (ITSDP) model is developed for supporting regional water resources allocation and water quality management problems under uncertainties. The ITSDP method is a hybrid of interval-parameter programming, two-stage stochastic programming, and downside risk measure to tackle uncertainties described in terms of interval values and probability distributions. A water quality simulation model was provided for reflecting the relationship between the water resources allocation, wastewater discharge, and environmental responses. The proposed approach was applied to a hypothetical case for a shared stream water quality management with one municipal, three industrial and two agricultural sectors. A number of scenarios corresponding to different river inflows and risk levels were examined. The results demonstrated that the model could effectively communicate the interval-format and random uncertainties, and risk-aversion into optimization process, and generate a trade-off between the system economy and stability. They could be helpful for seeking cost-effective management strategies under uncertainties, and gaining an in-depth insight into the water quality management system characteristics, and make cost-effective decisions.     

Polychaete/amphipod ratio revisited

In this paper, we reexamine the opportunistic polychaete/amphipod ratio, modifying it to allow estuarine and coastal communities to be divided into the five classes suggested by the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). The resulting biological index, called the BOPA index, considers the total number of individuals collected in the samples, the frequency of opportunistic polychaetes, and the frequency of amphipods (except the genus Jassa). After comparing this new index to AMBI and BENTIX, two other indices that have been proposed in the literature, we tested it in two situations involving soft-bottom communities in the English Channel (Bay of Morlaix and Bay of Seine). Our results show that the BOPA index is simple to use. Amphipods and opportunistic polychaetes (21 species, nine genus and two families from the AZTI list for a total of 3459 taxa) are easy to identify, providing that both the number of these organisms in a sample and the total number of individuals collected (independent of the sampling surface) is known. The BOPA is appropriate for use in the poorest communities whose total number of individuals exceeds 20 individuals.     

Utilization of Shallow Geophysical Sensing at Two Abandoned Municipal/Industrial Waste Landfills on the Missouri River Floodplain

In the past 30 to 40 years, floodplain areas of large rivers, such as the Missouri River, have been extensively used for large industrial and municipal landfills. Many of these sites are now causing varying degrees of ground water contamination. Rapid geophysical characterization techniques have proven useful for delineation of anomalous areas indicative of potential contaminant plumes. These methods have also resulted in a cost effective approach to the location and number of monitoring wells.
An effective technique to initially characterize ground water contamination at such landfills along the Missouri River in northwestern Missouri involved a combination of electrical resistivity and electromagnetic conductivity methods. Resistivity was used to obtain soundings of the alluvium by using a modified Wenner array and to corroborate shallow electromagnetic conductivity measurements by using short Wenner array electrode spacings.
Upon confirmation of similar measurements of the upper soils for the two methods, numerous electromagnetic conductivity traverses were made at each landfill site. The data generated from these surveys were graphed and contoured to delineate anomalous areas. Based on the geophysical study, a ground water monitoring well network was then designed for each landfill.
As a result, a minimal number of wells were required to initially characterize the ground water quality at these two sites. In general, analysis of water samples from these wells displayed good correlation with the geophysical results.     

Patterns in the linkage of water quantity and quality during low‐flows

This study investigates 72 catchments across the federal state of Baden‐Wuerttemberg, Germany, for changes in water quality during low‐flow events. Data from the state's water quality monitoring network provided seven water quality parameters (water temperature, electrical conductivity, concentrations of chloride, sodium, sulfate, nitrate, and phosphate), which were statistically related to streamflow variability. Water temperature changes during low‐flow showed seasonal dependence. Nitrate concentrations revealed high spatial heterogeneity with about one third of the stations showing decreasing values during low discharge. For most other parameters, concentrations increased during low‐flow. Despite consistent trend directions, the magnitudes of changes with streamflow differed markedly across the state. Both multiple linear regression and a multiple analysis of variances were applied to explain these differences with the help of catchment characteristics. Results indicated that for sulfate and conductivity, geology of the catchments was the most important control, whereas for chloride, sodium, and nitrate, sewage treatment plants had the largest influence. For phosphate, no clear control could be identified. Independent from the applied method, land use was a less important control on river water quality during low‐flow than geology or inflow from sewage treatment plants. These results show that the effects of diffuse and point sources, as well as those of natural and anthropogenic sources differ for different water quality parameters. Overall, a high diversity of potential water quality deterioration signals needs to be considered when the ecological status of rivers is to be protected during low‐flow events.