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Impact of climatic variability on parameters used in typology and ecological quality assessment of surface waters—implications on the Water Framework Directive

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Abstract

In most cases the negative impacts of climate change to aquatic ecosystems cannot be mitigated by measures in the river basin management. Ignoring climate change by the Water Framework Directive may have strong implications for the typology and quality assessment systems used for water bodies. As a result of climate change, water bodies, especially those located near the type boundaries may change their type. Compared to typology characteristics, water quality parameters are even more labile and may be easily affected by climate change. The paper exemplifies that the anticipated deterioration of water quality within the time frame relevant for WFD implementation may be large enough to endanger the fulfillment of the set water quality objectives. The review of the river basin characterization every six years, as required by the WFD, might also include re-evaluation of reference conditions according to the changes observed at pristine reference sites. As a consequence, the restoration targets (i.e., the good ecological status) would also need to be evaluated periodically.

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Acknowledgement

Funding for this research was partly provided by the European Union project CLIME (contract EVK1-CT-2002-00121).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. DG Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Rural, Water and Ecosystem Resources Unit, TP 290, European Commission, 21020, Ispra, VA, Italy

    Peeter Nõges, Wouter Van de Bund, Ana Cristina Cardoso & Anna-Stiina Heiskanen

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  1. Peeter Nõges
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  2. Wouter Van de Bund
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  3. Ana Cristina Cardoso
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  4. Anna-Stiina Heiskanen
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Correspondence to Peeter Nõges.

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Nõges, P., Van de Bund, W., Cardoso, A.C. et al. Impact of climatic variability on parameters used in typology and ecological quality assessment of surface waters—implications on the Water Framework Directive. Hydrobiologia 584, 373–379 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-007-0604-y

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