2024-03-29T11:58:58+01:00
https://library.wur.nl/oai
oai:library.wur.nl:wurpubs/417396
2024-03-07
urn:nbn:nl:ui:32-417396
2024-03-07
urn:nbn:nl:ui:32-417396/mods
Development of a multimetric index based on macroinvertebrates for drainage ditch networks in agricultural areas.
Verdonschot
R.C.M.
332776883
0000-0002-0977-5975
0000000396310961
aut
Keizer-Vlek
H.E.
251884449
0000000395016760
aut
Verdonschot
P.F.M.
073342424
0000-0002-4126-7452
0000000034176021
aut
text
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
2012
10.1016/j.ecolind.2011.06.007
80053267910
000296042500026
en
Drainage ditches are a prominent feature of many intensively managed agricultural areas. These small, shallow, line-shaped waterbodies could harbor a rich macroinvertebrate community, resembling that of natural small lentic ecosystems. Despite their high biodiversity potential, many ditch ecosystems are degraded due to nutrient enrichment, resulting in a shift from a mesotrophic system characterized by a diverse vegetation of emergent-, submerged-, and floating macrophytes to a hypertrophic state dominated by Lemnaceae or phytoplankton. Tools to assess the ecological quality of drainage ditches are currently lacking. Therefore, a multimetric index based on macroinvertebrates was developed to assess the ecological quality of drainage ditch systems in The Netherlands. Based on a large dataset from regional water district managers, who conduct routine sampling of macroinvertebrates in drainage ditches, a degradation gradient composed of 223 samples was derived, which represented the combined stressors eutrophication, organic pollution and salinity. We used a stepwise process to evaluate the discriminatory efficiency of a variety of diversity, abundance/composition, tolerance/sensitivity, and functional metrics for assessing ecological degradation in drainage ditches. After evaluating metric range, strength of correlation to the stressor gradient, degree of redundancy, and sample- and seasonal repeatability, five metrics were selected for the drainage ditch multimetric index: number of Trichoptera families, percentage of Gastropoda families, percentage of taxa preferring fresh water (Cl- <300 mg L-1), Dutch Saprobic index, and the percentage of predator taxa. The relationship of these single metrics with the stressor gradient is discussed.
Wageningen Environmental Research
CE - Freshwater Ecosystems
benthic macroinvertebrates
biodiversity
community
conservation
diversity
eutrophication
integrity
macrophytes
ponds
streams
Wageningen Environmental Research
CE - Freshwater Ecosystemen
Ecological Indicators
13
1
232
242
1470160X
urn:nbn:nl:ui:32-417396/obj
2024-03-07
http://purl.org/eprint/accessRights/RestrictedAccess