Assessment of the ecological status of Mediterranean French coastal waters as required by the Water Framework Directive using the Posidonia oceanica Rapid Easy Index: PREI
[en] This paper describes the PREI (Posidonia oceanica Rapid Easy Index), a method used to assess the ecological status of seawater along Mediterranean French coasts. The PREI was drawn up according to the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000/60/EC) and was tested on 24 and 18 stations in PACA (Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur) and Corsica respectively. The PREI is based on five metrics: shoot density, shoot leaf surface area, E/L ratio (Epiphytic biomass/leaf biomass), depth of lower limit, and type of this lower limit. The 42 studied stations were classified in the first four levels of status: high, good, moderate and poor. The PREI values ranged between 0.280 and 0.847; this classification is in accordance with our field knowledge and with our knowledge of the literature. The PREI was validated regarding human pressure levels (r²= 0.74). (http://eurex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2000:327:0001:0072:EN:PDF)
Gobert, Sylvie ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences et gestion de l'environnement > Océanologie
Sartoretto, Stéphane; IFREMER
Rico-Raimondino, Valérie; Région PACA
Andral, Bruno; IFREMER
Chery, Aurélia; STARESO
Lejeune, Pierre; STARESO
Boissery, Pierre; Agence de l'eau Rhone-Méditerranée
Language :
English
Title :
Assessment of the ecological status of Mediterranean French coastal waters as required by the Water Framework Directive using the Posidonia oceanica Rapid Easy Index: PREI
Publication date :
2009
Journal title :
Marine Pollution Bulletin
ISSN :
0025-326X
eISSN :
1879-3363
Publisher :
Pergamon, Oxford, United Kingdom
Volume :
58
Pages :
1727-1733
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Funders :
Communauté française de Belgique - CfB ARC F.R.S.-FNRS - Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique Agence de l'eau Rhône Méditerranée Corse IFREMER - Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer
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