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Application of Two Quality Indices as Monitoring and Management Tools of Rivers. Case Study: The Imera Meridionale River, Italy

Environmental Management volume 45, pages 856–867 (2010)Cite this article

Abstract

On the basis of the European Water Framework Directive (2000/60), the water resources of the member states of the European Community should reach good quality standards by 2015. Although such regulations illustrate the basic points for a comprehensive and effective policy of water monitoring and management, no practical tools are provided to face and solve the issues concerning freshwater ecosystems such as rivers. The Italian government has developed a set of regulations as adoption of the European Directive but failed to indicate feasible procedures for river monitoring and management. On a local scale, Sicilian authorities have implemented monitoring networks of watersheds, aiming at describing the general conditions of rivers. However, such monitoring programs have provided a relatively fragmentary picture of the ecological conditions of the rivers. In this study, the integrated use of environmental quality indices is proposed as a methodology able to provide a practical approach to river monitoring and management. As a case study, the Imera Meridionale River, Sicily’s largest river, was chosen. The water quality index developed by the U.S. National Sanitation Foundation and the floristic quality index based on the Wilhelm method were applied. The former enabled us to describe the water quality according to a spatial–temporal gradient, whereas the latter focused on the ecological quality of riparian vegetation. This study proposes a holistic view of river ecosystems by considering biotic and abiotic factors in agreement with the current European regulations. How the combined use of such indices can guide sustainable management efforts is also discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This study was partially funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Scientific and Technological Research and is part of a research program into aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in Sicily (PRA No. 21040101). The authors also wish to thank the Editorial Board, Dr. Dale Robertson, and the two anonymous reviewers for their critically constructive comments.

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  1. Department DACPA, Division of Plant Biology and Ecology, University of Catania, Via Valdisavoia 5, 95123, Catania, Italy

    Giuseppe Bonanno & Rosa Lo Giudice

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  1. Giuseppe Bonanno
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  2. Rosa Lo Giudice
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Correspondence to Rosa Lo Giudice.

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Bonanno, G., Giudice, R.L. Application of Two Quality Indices as Monitoring and Management Tools of Rivers. Case Study: The Imera Meridionale River, Italy. Environmental Management 45, 856–867 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-010-9450-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-010-9450-1

Keywords

  • Environmental assessment
  • River management
  • Water quality index
  • Floristic quality index
  • Imera Meridionale River
  • Italy