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The Water Framework Directive 2000/60 EU Implementation in Greece
The WFD, or Water Framework Directive (EU Directive 2000/60/EC) is the actual legal framework for the EU's water policy. Its overall objective is that all EU member states should achieve good ecological and chemical status for all water bodies by December 2015.
Ecological status/quality is to be evaluated in EU waters by using biological communities as Quality Elements. This is a refreshingly innovative approach, and includes the establishment of Reference Conditions and Ecological Status Class boundaries by using indicative parameters or metrics (preferably in numbers) of the different Quality Elements. Ecological Status is to be graded into five categories: high (indicative of Reference Conditions), good, moderate, low, bad.
The Hellenic Center for Marine Research is involved in the WFD implementation process in the European level participating actively in various (EU working groups IC WG 2.4, 2.5) and in the regional level implementing the Directive in all Greek surface water bodies. Original biotic indices in phytobenthos and zoobenthos for Coastal & Transitional waters have been developed and included in the guideline documents through the WG 2.4. COAST (EC, 2003) and have been intercalibrated successfully through the phase I CIS Working Group 2.5. Intercalibration activities.

A typological characterization of coastal and transitional waters with respective maps has been finalized according to the typologies developed through the Common Implementation Strategy WG 2.4. COAST. A baseline classification into five classes and mapping of all surface water bodies including coastal and transitional water bodies, rivers and lakes of Greece has been undertaken through 2008 (HCMR/EKBY, 2008) based on existing data and pressure information (implementation of article 5) and the application of classification tools included in the WFD guideline documents for typology, reference conditions and classification (EC, 2003). A total of 233 coastal and 27 transitional water bodies were defined based on the typological characterization (five coastal and two transitional types) and the EQS classification. Based on this baseline assessment a monitoring plan (operational and surveillance types) for coastal and transitional waters, rivers and lakes has been designed and submitted in the WISE system.

Classification metrics for Coastal and Transitional Water Bodies

Biological Quality Element: Phytoplankton

Method developed for the assessment of the ecological and trophic status of water bodies according to EU Water Framework Directive (WFD, 2000/60/EC; EC, 2005; EC, 2008) and national legislation, which defines methodology to be used by Greek authorities (Ministry of Environment) to assess eutrophication in marine coastal areas (UWWT) and assign sensitive areas (Presidential acts, as ΚΥΑ 5673/400/97, ΚΥΑ 48392/939). Related papers to national eutrophication assessment are: Ignatiades et al., 1992; Karydis, 1999 (modified by: Pagou, 2000; Siokou & Pagou 2000)., Simboura et al., 2005.


Classification scheme for Chlorophyll a biomass in µg/l

Biological Quality Element: Macroalgae

The EEI is an original biotic index (Orfanidis et al., 2001; 2003; Panayotidis et al., 2004) developed for macroalgae and it is based on the concept of morphological and functional groups. The species presented are divided in two Ecological State Groups (ESG). In the ESG I are grouped the thick leathery, the articulate upright calcareous and the crustose calcareous species. Most of them are k-selected species. In the ESG II are grouped the foliose, the filamentous and the coarsely branched upright species. Most of them are r-selected species.
Each sampling is classified in one of the five ESC after a cross-comparison of the coverage value of the ESG I and II on a matrix. A numerical scoring system is used to express the category of ESG to a number (Bad=2, Low=4, Moderate=6, Good=8 and High=10). In order to evaluate the spatial scale-dependent ESG of the studied coastline, the length-pondered value is calculated. For this purpose, the score of each site is multiplied by the percentage of the coastline for which is considered to be representative and the products summed (>8=high, 8->6=good, 6->4=moderate, 4->2=low, 2=bad). According to the REFCOND, 2003 document, the biological parameters should be expressed as a numerical value between 0 (bad ES) and 1 (high ES). For each ecological quality metric in a given sampling site, this range results from the ratio of the observed value versus the value of the same metric under reference conditions (Ecological Quality Ratio- EQR). The principal of EQR for the case of the EEI could be applied following the formula: EEIEQR=1,25 x (EEIvalue/RCvalue)-0.25, where RCvalue = 10.

The EEI classification scheme for macroalgae

 
Biological Quality Element: Macroinvertebrates

For the evaluation of the ecological quality status of the coastal benthic communities the biotic index BENTIX (Simboura & Zenetos, 2002) was developed and intercalibrated. This index was developed for the purposes of the European Water Framework Directive for water policy (ΕΕC, 2000) and has been successfully intercalibrated with other measures (EC, 2007, 2008; GIG, 2008). It has been tested using various anthropogenic pressures such as eutrophication and organic pollution (Simboura et al., 2005, Simboura & Reizopoulou, 2007), mining residues (Simboura et al., 2007) and aquaculture (Simboura & Argyrou, 2006) in Greece, Cyprus and western Mediterranean. The BENTIX index (Simboura and Zenetos, 2002) was designed to fit the Mediterranean benthic ecosystem and to render a five step numerical scheme for the classification of benthic communities. It is a biotic index based on the concept of indicator groups and uses the relative contribution of tolerant and sensitive taxa in general, weighting them accordingly to the ratio of their occurrence in the benthic fauna by definition.

BENTIX index formula:

[(6 X %GS + 2 X %GT)]/100

where: GS is all sensitive and indifferent taxa and GT all tolerant and opportunistic taxa together

The re-grouping of the ecological groups is based on the concept of Hily (1984), Glémarec (1986) and Grall and Glemarec (1997) that have recognized five taxa groups according to their sensitivity to an increasing stress gradient: the sensitive group (GI), the indifferent group (GII), the tolerant group (GIII), the second-order opportunists (GIV), and the first-order opportunists (GV). Among them the first two are regarded as non tolerant and as such are grouped under a single ‘sensitive’ group represented as GS in the formula. The other three groups are considered as ‘tolerant’ and are represented in the formula as GT. Thus the groups GS and GT in the Bentix formula are corresponding to:

GS =GI+GII
GT=GIII+GIV+GV

The selection of the weight coefficients in the Bentix formula is not random and it is based on the realization that the probability of a benthic species picked up randomly, to be tolerant to stress is 3:1. This ratio is multiplied by 2 to create a scale ranging from 2 to 6. The ‘sensitive’ group GS (summing up groups GI, GII) is weighted by 6 to correspond highest status with highest value of the index and all tolerant taxa group GT (summing up groups GIII, GIV and GV) are equally weighted by 2.



The Bentix index classification scheme for macroinvertebrates. 

 

It is important to stress here that for purely muddy habitats with fine (silt and clay) particles over 80%) where the benthic fauna is normally dominated by some tolerant species, a refinement of the H/G (4.5) and G/M (3.5) boundaries is recommended as H/G: 4 and G/M: 3.

A freeware programme for calculating the Bentix index is currently under construction and will be soon launched in the HCMR website.


For macroinvertebrates in transitional waters (TW) the biomass size structure ISD index (Reizopoulou & Nicolaidou, 2007) has been developed and is intercalibrated through the MED-GIG IC phase II exercise. Biotic indices based on the sensitivity of species have been proved to be ineffective for EQS assessment in TW due to a) the natural occurrence of opportunistic and tolerant species in TW environments b) the fact that community diversity (for those indices combining diversity measures) is usually naturally reduced in relation to coastal waters and related to salinity gradient and generally to degree of the marine influence. Thus other functional or biomass size structure indices are suggested for TW macroinvertebrate communities EQS assessment (Reizopoulou & Nicolaidou, 2007; Simboura & Reizopoulou, 2008).

The ISD classification system for macroinvertebrates

References

EC, 2000. Directive of the European parliament and of the Council 2000/60/EC establishing a framework for community action in the field of Water Policy. PE-CONS 3639/1/00.

EC, 2003. Guidance on typology, reference conditions and classification systems for transitional and coastal waters. Guidance document no5. Produced by: CIS Working Group 2.4. (Coast), Common Implementation Strategy of the Water Framework Directive, European Commisssion, p. 116. http://forum.europa.eu.int/Public/irc/env/wfd/library.

EC, 2005. Towards a guidance document on eutrophication assessment in the context of European water policies. Interim report in the frame of the “Common implementation strategy for the Water Framework Directive, 133pp.

EC, 2007. WFD intercalibration technical report. Coastal and Transitional Waters. Final Report – Coastal GIGs. MED-GIG (Mediterranean coastal). Gianna Casazza, Italy, coordinator. 143p.

EC, 2008. Comparability of the results of the intercalibration exercise - summary of responses and way forward. ECOSTAT.

HCMR/EKBY 2008. Network development and monitoring of the inner, transitional and coastal waters of Greece-assessment/classification of their ecological status. MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT/OPERATIONAL PROJECT “ENVIRONMENT”. Project Coordinator: Dr. P. Pamayotidis.

Ignatiades l., Vounatsou P. & Karydis M., 1992. A possible method for evaluating oligotrophy and eutrophication based on nutrient concentration scales. Mar. Poll. Bull., 24: 238-243.

Karydis Μ,. 1999. Evaluation report on the eutrophication level in coastal greek areas. Univ. of Aegean, Mytilini, February 1999 (in greek).

Orfanidis S, Panayotidis P, Stamatis N (2001) Ecological evaluation of transitional and coastal waters: a marine benthic macrophytes model. Marine Mediterranean Science 2 (2): 46-65

Οrfanidis S, Panayotidis P, Stamatis N (2003) An insight to the ecological evaluation index (EEI). Ecological Indicators 3: 27-33.

Pagou K., 2000. Assessment of the trophic conditions in the Inner Thermaikos Gulf. Technical Report for the Ministry of Environment, Planning and Public Works, NCMR, Athens, December 2000, 11p

Panayotidis, P., Montesanto, B., Orfanidis, S., 2004. Use of low-budget monitoring of macroalgae to implement the European Water Framework Directive. Journal of Applied Phycology 16: 49-59)

REFCOND (2003) Guidance on establishing reference conditions and ecological status class boundaries for inland surface waters. Final draft, version 7.0, 5 March 2003.

Reizopoulou S., Nicolaidou A., 2007. Index of Size Distribution (ISD): a method of quality assessment for coastal lagoons. Hydrobiologia 577: 141- 149.

Simboura, N. & A. Zenetos, 2002. Benthic indicators to use in ecological quality classification of Mediterranean soft bottom marine ecosystems, including a new Biotic index. Mediterranean Marine Science, 3/2:77-111.

Simboura N, Panayotidis P, Papathanassiou E., 2005. A synthesis of the Biological Quality Elements for the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive in the Mediterranean Ecoregion: the case of Saronikos Gulf. Ecological Indicators, 5: 253-266.

Simboura, N. & M. Argyrou, 2006. Implementation of the Water Framework Directive in Cyprus: application of the Bentix index in Limassol Bay. Proceed. 8th Hell. Symp. Oceanogr. & Fisheries Thessaloniki p. 77.

Simboura, N. & S. Reizopoulou, 2008. An intercalibration of classification metrics of benthic macroinvertebrates in coastal and transitional ecosystems of the Eastern Mediterranean ecoregion (Greece). Marine Pollution Bulletin, 56:116-126.

Siokou-Frangou I. & Pagou K., 2000. Assessment of the trophic conditions and ecological status in the Inner Saronikos Gulf. Technical Report for the Ministry of Environment, Planning and Public Works, NCMR, Athens, March 2000,43pp. (in greek and english edition)