INHABIT project

Lakes - Analysis of management plans

An analysis of the river basin management plans (RBMPs) was carried out, to evaluate approaches, methods and programs of measures contained therein, with particular reference to River Po BMP and the Region Sardinia RBMP, that included the two study areas of the INHABIT project.
This analysis allowed to identify the level of current knowledge on the pressures and impacts on human activities on lake ecological quality. For each of the two regions we verified the ecological and chemical quality of the lakes, the quality objectives identified and any special exceptions or problems for the achievement of quality required.
In general, it can be concluded that:

• within the Piedmont Region several measures of improvement and / or protection were suggested, mainly as rules and regulations and it was suggested to activate sharing actions and management action of the resource and the territory, intended and as a "place" of activity and a "vehicle " of pollution. However, the envisaged measures do not explicitly consider hydromorphological traits and the relationship between the biotic communities, the characteristics of local habitats and the hydromorphological alterations at both local and water body scale.
• In the Sardinia Region, the Management Plan provides specific measures for reservoirs, especially as regards the problem of their hydromorphological management, in particular related to siltation, and water quality, especially for reservoirs used for drinking water. It is not clear, however, if there are specific measures regarding relationships and interactions between the biotic communities hydromorphological characteristics of the reservoirs. Also with regard to habitats, there is no evidence of special insights or actions related to their improvement. A more complete discussion of the topic can be found in deliverable Pd1.

Lakes - Study sites

The selection criteria for the planning of the INHABIT actions were the following (described in detail in deliverable Pd2 Part B: LAKES):

1. at least one reference site;
2. at least two lakes that are part of the same catchment area of the river sites covered by the project;
3. lakes belonging to different types and with different pressures (e.g., hydropower , drinking water, agriculture);
4. presence of previous data;
5. lakes of particular regional interest.

Following the above criteria, the sites chosen were 13, 12 for all the parameters of quality and hydro-morphological investigations Candia , Viverone , Sirio , Avigliana Piccolo, Mergozzo, Morasco and Serrù in Piedmont, and Bidighinzu, Liscia , Sos Canales, Torrei and Posada, in Sardinia and one lake for phytoplankton and macrophytes, only:  Lake Baratz in Sardinia.

Lakes - choice of method for data acquisition of hydromorphological and habitat characteristics

Another activity developed within the actions of the group P was the choice of the method of investigation regarding hydromorphological parameters and habitat, specifically addressed in deliverable Pd3 - Part B : LAKES, covering the following points:

1. Hydromorphological assessment of methods in use in Europe and applicability in Italy.
2. List of hydromorphological characteristics and habitats and their biological communities and relations with nutrient levels.
3. Agreement with CEN standards.
4. Guidelines and protocols for field assessment of hydromorphological parameters and habitats (Lake Habitat Survey).
5. Sites heavily modified.
6. The importance of habitat.
   

Method selection was mainly based on the compliance with the requirements of the WFD and the possibility of the evaluation of habitats and relationships between hydromorphological characteristics detected and biological quality elements; the applicability in Italy of the Lake Habitat Survey was then verified.