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The Austrian way of assessing the ecological integrity of running waters: a contribution to the EU Water Framework Directive

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Book cover Assessing the Ecological Integrity of Running Waters

Part of the book series: Developments in Hydrobiology ((DIHY,volume 149))

Abstract

The term ‘Oekologische Funktionsfaehigkeit’, synonymously used as ecological integrity, has become a pivotal word within both Austrian water management and limnological research. Incorporated in the most important laws concerning water management issues, the term ecological integrity reflects the necessity of considering water bodies as ecological systems. Although ecological integrity of running waters is and must remain a holistic concept, the current Austrian methodology aims at assessing it by investigating a number of key components: hydromorphological aspects (particularly habitat structures, flow regime, connectivity), physico-chemical parameters, macroinvertebrate and fish assemblages, biological water quality assessment and ecotoxicological evaluations. The classification is based on the assessment of these individual criteria by means of a comparison between a river-type-specific reference state and the current conditions. This approach, which has been laid down in the Austrian Standard M 6232 ‘Guidelines for the ecological study and assessment of rivers’, also meets the general requirements of the classification of the ecological status of running waters discussed in the EU Water Framework Directive. Besides describing the Austrian way of assessing the ecological integrity of running waters, some nation-wide programmes concerning water quality, habitat assessment, and river typology are briefly presented.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Federal Environment Agency, Spittelauer Laende 5, A-1090, Vienna, Austria

    A. Chovanec

  2. Office of the Government of Salzburg, Ulrich Schreier-Strasse 18, PO Box 527, A-5010, Salzburg, Austria

    P. Jäger

  3. Department of Hydrobiology, Fisheries and Aquaculture, University of Agricultural Sciences, Max Emanuel-Straße 17, A-1180, Vienna, Austria

    M. Jungwirth, O. Moog, S. Muhar &  St. Schmutz

  4. Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Marxergasse 2, A-1030, Vienna, Austria

    V. Koller-Kreimel

Authors
  1. A. Chovanec
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  2. P. Jäger
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  3. M. Jungwirth
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  4. V. Koller-Kreimel
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  5. O. Moog
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  6. S. Muhar
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  7. St. Schmutz
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M. Jungwirth S. Muhar S. Schmutz

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© 2000 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Chovanec, A. et al. (2000). The Austrian way of assessing the ecological integrity of running waters: a contribution to the EU Water Framework Directive. In: Jungwirth, M., Muhar, S., Schmutz, S. (eds) Assessing the Ecological Integrity of Running Waters. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 149. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4164-2_34

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4164-2_34

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-5814-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-4164-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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