Phytoplankton-based recovery requirement for urban lakes in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive’s ecological targets

What is it about?

This study focused on the determination of the phytoplankton-based recovery requirement, including bloom intensity thresholds in human-affected lakes, helpful in the restoration.

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Why is it important?

The lowest phytoplankton bloom threshold of 2.6 mm3 l-1 (seasonal maximum) and the following thresholds of 5 mm3 l-1 for classes I/II; 8 mm3 l-1 for classes II/III; 21 mm3 l-1 for classes III/IV; 100 mm3 l-1 for classes IV/V were proposed for urban lakes. This could directly refer to the bloom intensity for high, good, moderate, poor and bad ecological status. This all indicates a huge recovery requirement in the majority of urban lakes, and the proposed bloom intensity classification may be helpful in fulfilling the WFD targets for the ecologically relevant lake status.