The weighted Groundwater Health Index (wGHI) by Korbel and Hose (2017) in European groundwater bodies in nitrate vulnerable zones

Lorenzo, Tiziana Di; Fiasca, Barbara; Tabilio, Agostina Di Camillo; Murolo, Alessandro; Cicco, Mattia Di; Galassi, Diana M. P.

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106525

Cited by 13 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…However, almost all the studies we examined primarily concerned biomass and did so on many organisms belonging to 16 taxa afferent to the lake meiofauna. In lotic environments, studies on the size-spectrum of the meiofauna, i.e., displaying of biomass in logarithmical intervals of body size, are common (e.g., [43]), while in groundwater [14,44] and in lentic habitats they are much less considered. A further critical aspect is that, as regards lake meiofauna, only a few studies incorporated the species-specific biomass distribution at assemblage-and community-level and their variation within and among ecosystems (e.g., [23]).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Overview of Studies on Meiofaunal Traits of the Littoral Zone of Lakes

Cifoni

Boggero

Galassi

et al. 2021

Water

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We carried out an overview of the studies on the traits of the meiofauna of the littoral zone of lakes to investigate the question relating to the Raunkiaeran shortfall (lack of knowledge on biological traits). For this purpose, we selected a series of keywords associated with response and effect traits (feeding habits, locomotion and substrate relation, body size, shape and mass, life history, reproductive strategy, respiration and thermal tolerance) and we counted the relative frequency of occurrence in a set of scientific papers retrieved from Web of Science. The results showed that, except for the traits related to diet and feeding habits, the Raunkiaeran shortfall is very pronounced for all meiofaunal taxa of the littoral zone of lakes, especially for those related to soft-bodied organisms. The reason behind this deficiency concerns many aspects ranging from the high taxonomic expertise required to the intrinsic difficulties of observing organisms of such a small size. The relationship with temperature has not been sufficiently explored and formalized in any of the examined traits; this research aspect needs to be rapidly addressed since the prospects of climate change impacts on lake littorals are expected to be particularly severe.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Overview of Studies on Meiofaunal Traits of the Littoral Zone of Lakes

Cifoni

Boggero

Galassi

et al. 2021

Water

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“…The development of this ‘Groundwater Health Index’ (GHI) framework was triggered by Australian water management policies and the heavy reliance on groundwater from irrigation‐based industries. Methods to measure groundwater health and monitor groundwater ecosystems continue to be refined and developed (di Lorenzo, Fiasca, di Camillo, et al, 2020; Fillinger et al, 2019; Griebler, Stein, et al, 2014; Koch et al, 2021; Korbel & Hose, 2017), with these management tools being used by governments to monitor groundwater health (e.g. report Korbel, Greenfield, & Hose, 2022).…”

Section: Historical Evolution Of Groundwater Fauna Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The GHI was improved in 2017 (Korbel & Hose, 2017) where its use was expanded into the Namoi and Macquarie catchment (Korbel & Hose, 2017) and is currently being utilised by the NSW government to monitor groundwater health in several of the Murray Darling sub‐catchments (NSW Department of Planning and Environment, 2022) and has been adapted for Europe (e.g. di Lorenzo, Fiasca, di Camillo, et al, 2020) and the Philippines (Magbanua, 2022).…”

Section: Global Groundwater Fauna Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global overview on groundwater fauna

Koch,

Blum,

Korbel

et al. 2023

Ecohydrology

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Groundwater is an important global resource, providing water for irrigation, industry, geothermal uses and potable water. Moreover, groundwater contains the world's largest terrestrial freshwater biome with ecosystems, inhabited mainly by invertebrates (stygofauna) and microbes, undertaking important services including water purification, as well as nutrient and carbon cycling. Despite investigations on the spatial and temporal variations of groundwater fauna and the influence of environmental parameters on these organisms, in parts of the world, even the most basic knowledge of these ecosystems is still lacking. The aims of this study are to provide an overview on groundwater fauna (stygofauna) research, including the historical evolution of research topics and the development of sampling methods and secondly to identify the global distribution of groundwater fauna research and resulting data gaps. To achieve this, an extensive review of accessible groundwater fauna data was conducted by analysing 859 studies. It was evident that over time, there has been an exponential increase in the number of groundwater fauna studies together with changing paradigms in the research focus, particularly as sampling methods have developed from using simple nets, substrate samples and hand‐pumps in the beginning to recent molecular analyses (e.g. eDNA). As application of molecular methods becomes more common, knowledge on groundwater diversity and functional ecology is expected to increase. Studies on groundwater fauna are spatially uneven and are dominated by research in Europe and Australia, with few studies in Africa, Asia and the Americas. This presently biased view on groundwater biota hinders the identification of biodiversity patterns and ecosystem functions on a wider geographic and climatic scale. In the future, a more evenly distributed stygofauna sampling effort in currently underrepresented areas of the globe is necessary to ensure a more comprehensive perspective on stygofauna biodiversity, roles and functional significances. This is increasingly important with the accumulating knowledge of the sensitivities of these ecosystems to anthropogenic activities, including climate change, and is fundamental to effective management of these ecosystems.

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“…Any disturbances that do not affect microbes in terms of biomass standing stock, growth and physiological activity cannot be detected. Such disturbances may include the presence of pollutants in trace concentrations (Meckenstock et al 2015) or moderate temperature alterations (Griebler et al 2016). Certain limitations in this regard may indeed be overcome by including fluorescence spectroscopy data of DOM in the analysis, which may detect traces of organic pollutants under certain conditions (Wasswa et al 2019).…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of the D-A-(C) index as a simple tool for microbial-ecological characterization and assessment of groundwater ecosystems—a case study of the Mur River Valley, Austria

Retter

Griebler

Haas

et al. 2021

Österr Wasser- und Abfallw

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The assessment and monitoring of the ecological quality and status of groundwater is a timely issue. At present, various assessment tools have been developed that now await application and validation. One of these, the D‑A‑C index, evaluates the microbiological-ecological quality of groundwater based on of prokaryotic cell counts, microbial activity measurements, and the qualitative characterization of dissolved organic carbon (DOM). The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the different ways of application of the D‑A-(C) index making use of a recently collected data set (n = 61) from the river Mur valley, Austria. First, we present an extension of the D‑A-(C) index by including measurements of dissolved organic matter quality (DOM) derived from fluorescence spectroscopy as additional variables to supplement the analysis of microbial cell density and activity levels. Second, we illustrate how the definition of a reference status for a ‘good’ microbiological-ecological state can improve the analysis and allow for a more sensitive and accurate detection of impacts on groundwater ecosystems. Based on our results, we advocate that the analysis be performed by making use of expert knowledge for the definition of reference sites to which target sites are to be compared.

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The weighted Groundwater Health Index (wGHI) by Korbel and Hose (2017) in European groundwater bodies in nitrate vulnerable zones

Cited by 13 publications

References 34 publications

An Overview of Studies on Meiofaunal Traits of the Littoral Zone of Lakes

An Overview of Studies on Meiofaunal Traits of the Littoral Zone of Lakes

Global overview on groundwater fauna

Application of the D-A-(C) index as a simple tool for microbial-ecological characterization and assessment of groundwater ecosystems—a case study of the Mur River Valley, Austria

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