Department DACPA, Division of Plant Biology and Ecology, University of Catania, Via Valdisavoia 5, 95123, Catania, Italy.
Environ Manage. 2010 Apr;45(4):856-67. doi: 10.1007/s00267-010-9450-1. Epub 2010 Mar 4.
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.
根据欧洲水框架指令（2000/60），到 2015 年，欧洲共同体成员国的水资源应达到良好的质量标准。尽管这些法规阐明了全面有效水监测和管理政策的基本要点，但没有提供实用工具来解决河流等淡水生态系统的问题。意大利政府制定了一系列法规作为对欧洲指令的采纳，但未能指出河流监测和管理的可行程序。在地方层面上，西西里当局已经实施了流域监测网络，旨在描述河流的一般状况。然而，这种监测计划只是对河流的生态状况提供了相对零碎的画面。在这项研究中，提出了综合使用环境质量指数的方法，作为一种能够为河流监测和管理提供实用方法的方法。作为一个案例研究，选择了西西里岛最大的河流 Imera Meridionale 河。应用了美国国家环境卫生基金会开发的水质指数和基于 Wilhelm 方法的植物区系质量指数。前者使我们能够根据时空梯度描述水质，而后者则侧重于河岸植被的生态质量。本研究通过考虑与当前欧洲法规一致的生物和非生物因素，提出了河流生态系统的整体观点。还讨论了如何结合使用这些指数来指导可持续管理工作。
