CNR-IRSA activities related to INHABIT

"Euro-limpacs: impact of climate change on European freshwater ecosystems" was an EU funded Framework 6 project dealing with the effects of climate change on freshwater systems (rivers, streams, lakes and wetlands). In particular the Project sought to understand the effects on these vulnerable ecosystems of the interactions between changing climate and other potentially damaging processes caused by changes in the physical characteristics of rivers, nutrient pollution, acidification and the deposition of toxic metals and organic pollutants.
Multiple effects derived from such interactions have been considered for the implication for meeting the requirements of legislation such as the Water Framework Directive and Habitats Directive.
Euro-limpacs involved a consortium of 37 leading scientific research institutes from 19 countries. The project lasted five years and finished in January 2009; it was organized in several workpackages, each dedicated to a different objective. CNR-IRSA activity has been carried out in the context of some of the workpackages, among these workpackage 2 ‘Climate - hydromorphology interactions’ and workpackage 7 ‘Indicators of ecosystem health’.
Some of the results of wp2 are included in the Fundamental and Applied Limnology special issue  ‘Effects of land-use on hydromorphology and biota in streams across Europe’.
Part of the WP2 activity has considered the comparison between single and braided river channels; some relavant results results has been published in: Jähnig et al., 2010. A comparative analysis of restoration measures and their effects on hydromorphology and benthic invertebrates in 26 central and southern European rivers. Journal of Applied Ecology 47: 671-680.
With reference to wp7 a book series describing current knowledge on distribution and ecological preferences of European freshwater organisms has been published (see here for Ephemeroptera issue) and an improvement of the freshwaterecology.info database containing taxonomic and ecological information on aquatic invertebrates can be mentioned.
General information about the project is available at the PEER webpage and at the refresh/eurolimpacs webpage.

Images show a general view of two of the investigates water bodies in Piedmont (Italy).