INHABIT project

Moving from the results of classification of investigated water bodies, D1 group of actions tried to identify the key aspects that must be taken into account in River Basin Management Plans in order to set measures to restore ecological quality. The path followed in INHABIT in this regard is presented in Deliverable D1d5 (available in English version), divided into 7 papers. Identified key factors are related to two categories: habitat features and biological metrics. Biological metrics that would allow a more effective characterization of pressure gradients were identified, subsequently the relationships between anthropogenic pressure / habitat gradients and biological individual metrics were analyzed in detail, in order to determine which metrics should be used to identify specific pressures and plan specific measures.
Also, in the final activities of D1 group of actions further issues related to the definition of ecological status and, more generally, to water resources management have been addressed and included in dedicated papers within Deliverable D1d5. Among these, the definition of the hydrological state in a temporary river is presented. Hydrological state (HS) in a river does represent the deviation of the observed, potentially altered, hydrological regime from a natural unaltered condition. Definition of HS is of great relevance for the evaluation of the ecological status in a water body, due to the fact that hydrological regime have an influence – and control – the development of biological communities. A further paper presents the results obtained in the activities of analysis of the present management plan for water resources in a Sardinian river basin. such activity has highlighted possible conflicts in the use of the water resource, following the implementation of policies for river habitat protection. Such aspects are of particular relevance for the correct management of river ecosystems.
Deliverable D1d5 is a final summary of the main actions undertaken by INHABIT for the implementation of River Basin Management Plans for rivers; main results obtained in this action, an in general by the whole project, can be summarized in four tables, each dedicated to a group of themes. Each table mentions, in the different columns, the project objectives. For each objective the type of results obtained is briefly reported, together with the innovative aspects related to the results and the type of descriptor selected, plus the general utility of the results and their applicability. The content of the different tables are addressed more in detail in the single project Deliverables (explicitly mentioned in the tables).

Tab. 1 –INHABIT results explicitly related to habitat theme.

Tab. 2 – INHABIT results related to MacrOper system fine-tuning.

Tab. 3 – INHABIT results related to fluvial functioning and up-scaling.

Tab. 4 – INHABIT results related to biological data interpretation and possible measures for restoring ecological quality.