Sampling techniques and inter-surveyor variability as sources of uncertainty in Polish macrophyte metric for lake ecological status assessment

Kolada, Agnieszka; Ciecierska, Hanna; Ruszczyńska, Joanna; Dynowski, Piotr

doi:10.1007/s10750-013-1591-9

Cited by 26 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…A wide range of metrics derived from ecological surveys are used and, while most are robust, a proportion have been shown to be susceptible to error caused by inter-operator variation (e.g. Kelly 1997; Clarke and Hering 2006;Hasse et al 2010;Staniszewski et al 2006;Kahlert et al 2012;Thackeray et al 2013;Kolada et al 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inter-observer variation in habitat survey data: investigating the consequences for professional practice

Cherrill

2015

Journal of Environmental Planning and Management

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Environmental assessments and land use planning require reliable information on the botanical composition and distribution of habitats. There have been numerous academic studies of inter-observer variation in species-inventory and habitat mapping, but studies addressing the prevalence of inter-observer variation and consequences of poor quality data in professional practice are lacking. This paper addresses these questions via a questionnaire survey of environmental professionals using the standard Phase 1 and National Vegetation Classification (NVC) survey methods in the United Kingdom. The survey revealed that misidentification of habitat types within survey reports was relatively common (approximating to 20% of all reports seen by respondents over the previous five years).Approximately 40% of respondents who had encountered erroneous reports stated that these had led to inaccurate initial site ecological assessments. Additional field surveys and discussions with surveyors were commonly used to resolve these issues, but for Phase 1 and NVC 26% and 34% of respondents respectively had encountered one or more cases where errors resulted in negative consequences for clients commissioning surveys (in terms of extra costs and project delays). Net loss of biodiversity arising from inaccurate reports was reported in at least one instance by 32% and 38% of respondents for Phase 1 and NVC surveys respectively -results that may contribute to the attrition of natural capital within the UK. The study highlights the need to extend studies of inter-observer variation to consider impacts on environmental assessments and decision-making in professional practice. The potential benefits of introducing an accreditation scheme (favoured by the majority of respondents to the questionnaire) are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inter-observer variation in habitat survey data: investigating the consequences for professional practice

Cherrill

2015

Journal of Environmental Planning and Management

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“…Under the influence of the prevailing environmental conditions changes occur in the structure, quality and number of macrophyte communities (Sender, 2012;Kolada et al, 2014). The vegetation can reduce its range of occurrence as well as change its composition and spatial distribution as a result of water quality deterioration , which was constantly observed in Raczyń skie Lake over the years.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The obtained results were used to calculate the Ecological State Macrophyte Index (ESMI) according to the formula given by Kolada et al (2014). The surface of the lake was calculated on the basis of the shoreline appointed by the range of occurrence of macrophyte vegetation (94.9 ha).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response of vegetation to growing recreational pressure in the shallow Raczyńskie Lake

Rosińska

Gołdyn

2018

Knowl. Manag. Aquat. Ecosyst.

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-Strong human impact accelerates eutrophication which deteriorates water quality and consequently prevents recreational use. Increasing trophy and low transparency induce macrophyte rebuilding. A gradual transformation of the land use of the direct catchment area of Raczyń skie Lake from agricultural to recreational has been observed over the last 45 years. In built-up areas sewage facilities were inadequate and septic tanks did not work properly and as a consequence most wastewater was able to infiltrate through the ground into the lake. The lake ecosystem became unstable and water blooms intensified. The aim of the study was to assess the changes in the composition of the lake vegetation over the last 45 years, during which the use of the direct catchment has changed and recreational pressure increased. A reduction of the number of plant communities from 24 to 15 and the disappearance of almost all the submerged vegetation was observed. The dominant reed beds (Phragmitetum communis, Typhetum angustifoliae) were unable to provide a sufficient barrier to the flow of pollution from the catchment because of the numerous gaps made for angling piers, bathing sites, jetties, etc. The macrophyte index indicated a bad ecological status. To improve the ecological status of Raczyń skie Lake it is necessary to introduce intensive protection and restoration treatments.Keywords: macrophyte community / submerged macrophyte / human impact / recreation / WFD Résumé -Réponse de la végétation à la pression récréative croissante dans le lac peu profond Raczyń ski. Un fort impact humain accélère l'eutrophisation, ce qui détériore la qualité de l'eau et, par conséquent, empêche l'utilisation récréative. L'augmentation de trophie et la faible transparence induisent la dégradation des macrophytes. Au cours des 45 dernières années, on a observé une transformation graduelle de l'utilisation des terres du bassin versant proche du lac Raczynskie, qui est passé de l'agriculture aux loisirs. Dans les zones bâties, les installations d'égouts étaient inadéquates et les fosses septiques ne fonctionnaient pas correctement, de sorte que la plupart des eaux usées pouvaient s'infiltrer dans le lac par le sol. L'écosystème du lac est devenu instable et la prolifération d'algues s'est intensifiée. L'objectif de l'étude était d'évaluer les changements dans la composition de la végétation lacustre pendant les 45 dernières années, au cours desquelles l'utilisation du bassin versant a changé et la pression récréative a augmenté. On a observé une réduction du nombre de communautés végétales de 24 à 15 et la disparition de presque toute la végétation submergée. Les roselières dominantes (Phragmitetum communis, Typhetum angustifoliae) n'ont pas été en mesure de fournir une barrière suffisante à l'écoulement de la pollution du bassin versant en raison des nombreuses brèches faites pour les pontons de pêche, les sites de baignade, les jetées, etc. L'indice des macrophytes indique un mauvais état écologique. Pour améliorer l'état écologique du lac R...

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“…As follows from the above review, the number of macrophyte communities is not related to water trophy but rather to different abiotic conditions in the littoral zone. The area occupied by particular phytolittoral communities (especially belonging to charophytes and elodeids) is much more important than the number of communities (Kolada et al, ). As it was reported from several restored lakes, the return of large amounts of macrophytes does not coincide with highest macrophyte richness (Bakker et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Macrophyte response to the protection and restoration measures of four water bodies

Kozák

Gołdyn

2016

Internat. Rev. Hydrobiol.

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Macrophytes are a good long‐term indicator of quality of aquatic ecosystems and are essential for the proper functioning of the entire lake ecosystem. Submerged vegetation is considered to be indicative of an improvement of the ecological status of these lakes. Here, we analyzed the distribution, structure, and diversity of vegetation communities in four eutrophic water bodies (postglacial lakes: Sławskie and Uzarzewskie and man‐made lakes: Maltański Reservoir and Turawa Średnia Reservoir) after the application of restauration and protections measures. The restoration measures included biomanipulation, phosphorus inactivation, hypolimnion aeration, or injection of nitrate‐rich waters to the hypolimnion. All of them were sustainable and did not cause drastic changes in the ecosystem. Between 9 and 17 macrophyte communities were found in the examined water bodies. The largest effects were observed after the simultaneous use of three lake restoration techniques which led to the appearance of 17% charophytes. Pronounced effects leading to the higher contribution of elodeids to the macrophyte community were achieved in the lake in which two methods were applied. Least effective was the method focused on hypolimnion restoration in a small lake, which did not cause the reappearance of submerged vegetation. Spontaneous recovery achieving good status is also possible in a large lake in case of applying the thorough conservation measures. An intensive growth and diversity of macrophytes was a result of the improvement in the water quality as a consequence of undertaken protective activities and/or restoration measures. However, the re‐colonization of submerged macrophytes during restoration process is not obvious and the feed‐back mechanisms may delay a response of the ecosystem. The vegetation of the studied lakes was unstable, showing high variability in individual years of research, which indicates that these ecosystems are still under reconstruction and not reach equilibrium state yet.

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Sampling techniques and inter-surveyor variability as sources of uncertainty in Polish macrophyte metric for lake ecological status assessment

Cited by 26 publications

References 28 publications

Inter-observer variation in habitat survey data: investigating the consequences for professional practice

Inter-observer variation in habitat survey data: investigating the consequences for professional practice

Response of vegetation to growing recreational pressure in the shallow Raczyńskie Lake

Macrophyte response to the protection and restoration measures of four water bodies

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