Panel 1
Serena Bernabei, Marilena Insolvibile
The indicator derives from the application of the reference legislation for the determination of the ecological status of surface water within the meaning of Directive 2000/60/EC. From the data transmitted in the SoE WISE2 flow referring to 2023, it is noted that the EQB Fitoplankton was monitored at 151 stations and in 72% of them reached the "good or higher" ecological status. In the remaining 28% of the stations there is a state of lower quality than good.
The indicator represented derives from the application of the reference legislation for the determination of water quality, which provides for the classification of water bodies through the integration of different indicators, with the timing of validity of the Sensennial Management Plans. The same data is also transmitted annually through the WISE-SoE data stream to the European Environment Agency. The monitoring data transmitted for the WISE-SoE are due pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 401/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the European Environment Agency and the European Environment Information and Observation Network on the Environment. Annually, therefore, the monitoring data of the stations that the individual agencies have identified in their annual monitoring plans are transmitted by ARPA/APPA, coming to complete the spatial coverage at the end of the six-year cycle. With reference to lakes and reservoirs, the classification of the ecological quality status based on phytoplankton is obtained by evaluation of the overall index for phytoplankton, ICF. This descriptor is derived from the normalised EQR average of two indices, the average biomass index and the composition index. Based on the value of the ICF index, expressed as an EQR value from 0 to 1, it is possible to classify the lakes in one of the 5 quality classes, from bad to high. The quality classes are represented graphically with standard colors: High (blue), Good (green), Sufficient (yellow), Poor (orange), Bad (red).
It allows to derive the quality class for phytoplanctonic organisms for the definition of ecological status for lake water bodies.
Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC);
D.Lgs. 152/06 ss.mm.ii;
DM 260/2010
According to Legislative Decree 152/06 and ss.mm.ii., all lake water bodies must achieve the environmental quality objective corresponding to the "good" state by 2015.
Article 77 also defines the conditions for the use of extensions or derogations from this obligation. The environmental status of a surface water body is given by the worst between the chemical status and the ecological state, defined as established in Annex 1 to Legislative Decree 152/06 and ss.mm.ii.
The classification of ecological status is based on the evaluation of biological quality elements (EQB) and physico-chemicals, chemical (specific pollutants) and hydromorphological elements, as reported in DM 260/2010.
Panel 2
APAT, 2007, Metodi Biologici per le acque. Parte I
The distribution of some taxa can depend on natural factors, regardless of those closely related to the quality of the site. Microscopic recognition may have difficulty.
Data quality assessment
ARPA/APPA (Agenzie Regionali e delle Province Autonome per la Protezione dell'Ambiente)
http://www.sintai.isprambiente.it/faces/public/SOE/index.xhtml (con credenziali)
14 regioni e 2 province autonome
2023
Indicator assessment
For lakes and reservoirs, the classification of the ecological quality status based on phytoplankton is obtained by evaluation of the overall index for phytoplankton, ICF. This descriptor is derived from the normalised EQR average of two indices, the average biomass index and the composition index. The average biomass index is obtained from the average of normalized EQRs of the concentration of chlorophyll “a” and total biovolume, both calculated on the average value, while the composition index depends on the species-specific characteristics of goodness as indicators, physiological characteristics (fraphic index) and the biomass values of the individual species within the phytoplanktonic associations. The composition index changes according to the different associated macrotypes. Based on the value of the ICF index, expressed as an EQR value from 0 to 1, it is possible to classify the lakes in one of the 5 quality classes, from bad to high.
Compliance with regulatory objectives can only be assessed with the classification data of water bodies at the end of each six-year monitoring cycle.
In 2023, the EQB Phtoplankton of the 151 monitoring stations on the monitoring base was achieved in the "good or higher" environmental quality target in 72% (5% in high state and 67% in good condition).
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Data
Table 1: Number of monitoring stations for single EQB-Lakes (2023)
ISPRA processing on data transmitted by ARPA/APPA for WISE 2 data stream
Table 2: Number of autonomous region/province and quality classes transmitted stations - EQB Fitoplankton Lakes (2023)
ISPRA processing on data transmitted by ARPA/APPA for Wise 2 data stream
Quality Classes: 1 High, 2 Good, 3 Sufficient, 4 Poor, 5 Bad
Figure 1: Percentage distribution by quality classes - EQB Fitoplankton lakes (2023)
ISPRA processing on data transmitted by ARPA/APPA for Wise 2 data stream
ARPAs monitor the internal surface water bodies (rivers and lakes) for the determination of the ecological status under Directive 2000/60/EC; monitoring is distinguished in surveillance, operational and investigation according to specific purposes and objectives. With reference to biological quality elements (EQB), the monitoring programs differ in duration, the choice of EQBs to be monitored and frequency of the measurements; therefore, in the reference period for the classification of water bodies, within the period of validity of the management plan, the water bodies to be monitored with an annual programming are identified. It follows that the comparability of the quality status data of EQBs is guaranteed at the end of each six-year cycle.
The data transmitted by ARPA/APPA in the WISE 2 data stream for lakes concern EQB Fitoplankton, Macrofite and Pisces, based on the layered monitoring carried out in 2023, pursuant to Legislative Decree 152/06 and ss.mm.ii. Table 1 also shows the other EQBs monitored in the lakes under the Water Directive, even if not transmitted within the SOE Wise2 flow. This data has been requested from 2021 monitoring and will increase in subsequent data flows. From the transmitted data it emerges that the most monitored and transmitted EQB is the phytoplankton (Table 1), while the data transmitted for the other EQBs are still unrepresentative at national level.
With reference to the EQB phytoplankton (Table 2, Figure 1) it is found that the “good or higher” state is reached by 72% of the monitored water bodies, for a total of 151 monitoring stations. The rest of the monitored stations has a state of lower quality than good.