Effect-based monitoring methods
To better assess the impact of pollutants on aquatic ecology
Image: Robert Marc Lehmann/ www.robertmarclehmann.com
Despite the target defined in the EU Water Framework Directive (EU WFD) , the majority of surface waters in Germany will not achieve good ecological status by 2027. This is due to widespread diffuse water pollution and morphological degradation caused by intensive land use. Identifying the main causes for the failure of freshwater ecosystems to achieve good ecological status is a challenge and the main objective of our projects.
Effect-based monitoring
The biological quality elements play a central role in assessing the status of surface waters in the EU WFD. However, if good ecological status is not achieved, these only provide limited information on the cause(s) of the deficits. In order to derive suitable measures for improving the ecological status, more in-depth analyses are therefore required.
In order to assess the significance of pollutants and their mixtures for the non-achievement of good ecological status, a promising approach is the application of effect-based methods(EB M ), which can be used to record and quantify the effects of pollutants on aquatic organisms. EBM refers to in vitro and in vivo studies at the suborganismic and organismic level.
Project 1: DECIDE
In the DECIDE project, we are working on the development of an assessment system for watercourses that complies with the Water Framework Directive. The use of effect-based methods (EBM) is intended to identify the contributions of material pollution to deficient water conditions and thus support effective water management.
Our investigations focus on the model region Hessisches Ried, south of Frankfurt am Main. Although this area is of great importance for the drinking water supply in Hesse, the local waters are exposed to high levels of pollution.
This project is funded by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU).
Project 2: EffectMon
In the EffektMon project, which is funded by the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA), EBM is being extended to watercourses in other federal states. For example, extensive chemical-analytical data is available for the Alb in Baden-Württemberg, so that the comparison of the ecotoxicological effects with the measured pollutant concentrations enables a plausibility check. In addition to the EBM, the ecological status according to the WFD is also recorded via the benthic invertebrates. Potential interacting stressors (e.g. hydromorphological degradation or land use) are recorded in advance and also taken into account. In other watercourses in Rhineland-Palatinate and Bavaria, the investigations focus on renaturalized and nearby, non-renaturalized watercourse sections. The background to this is evidence that, even years later, restoration does not automatically lead to an improvement in species communities or ecological status.
Publications
Heß, S., Hof, D.L., Oetken, M., Sundermann, A.,2023. Effects of multiple stressors on benthic invertebrates using Water Framework Directive monitoring data. Science of The Total Environment 878(3):162952. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162952
The DECIDE project is funded by
The EffektMon project is supported by
Contact us
DECIDE
Dr. Matthias Oetken
Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt
Phone: +49 (0) 69 798 42148
CONTACT
EffectMon
PD Dr. Andrea Sundermann
Senckenberg Society for Nature Research
Phone: +49 (0) 6051 61954 3124