Cemagref, UR REBX, 50 avenue de Verdun, 33612, Cestas Cedex, France.
Environ Monit Assess. 2012 Aug;184(8):4685-708. doi: 10.1007/s10661-011-2295-0. Epub 2011 Sep 1.
Biological elements, including phytoplankton, phytobenthos, macrophytes, benthic invertebrates and fish, are employed by the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60/EC as ecological indicators for the assessment of surface waters. The use of primary producers (phytoplankton, phytobenthos and macrophytes) for water quality assessment has a long history, and several methods have been developed worldwide. In this study, we used these three communities to assess the ecological status of five natural lakes located in the Aquitaine region (southwest France). Several biological indices used in lakes from other European countries or in French rivers were employed and compared among the three communities. Each primary producer provided complementary information about the ecological status of the lakes, including the invasiveness of exotic taxa. Regardless of the producer community used, the response to the environment, as reflected by the indices (adequate for each community), was similar: Lakes Cazaux, Lacanau and Hourtin showed the best ecological status and Parentis and Soustons the worst. Phytoplankton diagnosis reflected and integrated unambiguously the water quality of the lakes, as demonstrated by the strong relationships between the phytoplankton index and the trophic status criteria. This community appeared as the best indicator, especially when macrophytes were absent. The methods applied here represent a potential tool for the assessment of the ecological status in the context of WFD, but they need to be refined. We propose modifications for phytobenthos index initially tailored for running waters for adequate use in lentic ecosystems. Indices for the three primary producers should be modified to incorporate exotic species which may provide information on potential biodiversity losses.
生物要素，包括浮游植物、底栖植物、大型植物、底栖无脊椎动物和鱼类，被欧盟水框架指令（WFD）2000/60/EC 用作评估地表水的生态指标。利用初级生产者（浮游植物、底栖植物和大型植物）进行水质评估已有很长的历史，并且在全球范围内已经开发了多种方法。在这项研究中，我们使用这三个群落来评估位于阿基坦地区（法国西南部）的五个天然湖泊的生态状况。我们使用了来自其他欧洲国家的湖泊或法国河流中使用的几种生物指标，并在这三个群落之间进行了比较。每个初级生产者都提供了有关湖泊生态状况的补充信息，包括外来类群的入侵性。无论使用哪种生产者群落，反映在指数中的对环境的响应（适合每个群落）都是相似的：卡佐克斯湖、拉卡诺湖和奥廷坦湖表现出最好的生态状况，而帕伦特斯湖和苏斯顿斯湖则表现最差。浮游植物诊断明确地反映和综合了湖泊的水质，这一点可以从浮游植物指数与营养状况标准之间的强烈关系中得到证明。该群落表现出最佳的指示作用，尤其是在大型植物不存在的情况下。这里应用的方法代表了在 WFD 背景下评估生态状况的潜在工具，但需要进一步改进。我们提出了适用于流水的底栖植物指数的修改建议，以便在静水生态系统中进行适当的使用。还应该修改三个初级生产者的指数，以纳入可能提供潜在生物多样性损失信息的外来物种。
