Trophic State Classification of Lakes with Aquatic Macrophytes.
The most widely accepted macrophyte classification differentiates between freely floating macrophytes and those attached to the substrate, with the attached, or rooted macrophytes further divided.For developing a classification system the quality element macrophytes and phytobenthos was divided into three components: macrophytes, benthic diatoms and remaining phytobenthos. For macrophytes.Macrophytes are water plants that are visible to the naked eye and this classification tool will be used alongside other techniques by Environment Agency staff to determine the ecological quality of our lakes. The full report provides details of the scientific work underpinning the tool (it is not a user manual). It will be of interest to academics working in similar fields and practitioners.
The key goal of the Water Framework Directive is to achieve a good ecological status in water bodies. The ecological status is mainly determined by the biological elements, which are a very good indicator of the changes taking place in water environments. Thus, this article focuses on the analysis of different methods of assessment of the ecological status of water bodies based on macrophytes.Macrophytes are aquatic plants growing in or near water. They may be either emergent (i.e., with upright portions above the water surface), submerged, or floating. Examples of macrophytes include cattails, hydrilla, water hyacinth, and duckweed.
Submerged macrophytes are crucial for the stabilization of the clear water state in shallow, mesotrophic and eutrophic lakes. Especially, charophytes often play an important role because they are typically rapid colonizers and because charophyte meadows are believed to have a particularly strong positive effect on water transparency compared to other macrophytes.
