Assessment and Classification of the Ecological Status of Rivers in Poland According to the Requirements of the Water Framework Directive

Methods of assessment and classification of surface waters based on biological parameters have been developed to meet the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in Poland. The paper presents the methods which are currently used in monitoring of rivers in Poland. Results of the river monitoring carried in the Wielkopolska Region in 2010-2012 were presented. It is a central part of Poland that is part of the Central Lowland plains. All the rivers represent the lowland type. In total 188 research positions are located throughout the Wielkopolska Region. The river monitoring is based on four biological elements as macrophytes, phytobenthos, macroinvertebrates and phytoplankton. The monitoring revealed the full gradient of the river degradation - from very good (class I) to bad (class V). The classification showed that most severe was the assessment based on nnacroinvertebrates - only the 26 % of rivers reached good or very good ecological status/potential referred to the WFD. Most relaxed classification based on nnacrophytes, where 49% river sites met the requirements of the WFD.