These are the papers and presentations generated by the STREAMES project so far. The list is in chronological order.   Legend: : POSTER presentation. : Go to abstract : Download paper or presentation       Martí, E. et. al (2001), Nutrient dynamics in human-altered streams, a multidisciplinary approach. North American Benthological Society 49th Meeting.   Sabater, F. et. al.(2001), STREAMES: A multidisciplinary project to develop an Expert System for stream management in human-altered streams. In: 4th ELOISE  Conference, Rende, Italy, Book of Abstracts, pp.25-26. Morais, M, P.Guilhermo, A.Matoso, M.J. Santana (2002), utilização de um sistema pericial na gestão da qualidade da água, 6º Congresso da Água", held by the Portuguese Water Resources Association (APRH-Associação Portuguesa dos Recursos Hídricos) in Oporto city, March 2002.   Papakonstantinou, A., J. Nikoloudakis, V. Archos, and C. Voreadou. Preliminary study on the effect of nutrient inputs on the macroinvertebrate assemblage in a Mediterranean temporary stream. 9th International Congress on the Zoogeography and Ecology of Greece and Adjacent Regions, Thessaloniki, Greece, 22-25 May 2002. G. Canals, E. Marti, F. Sabater, J. Ortiz, and M.A. Puig. Effects of waste water treatment plant inputs on the metabolism of a mediterranean stream. NABS Annual meeting, Pittsburgh (USA), 26th May- 1st June 2002.   Solimini, A. G., A. Ruggiero, A. Romano, M. De Cicco, M. Anello, G. Carchini, A. Terenzi, L. Vannicelli, D. Signoretti, J. L. Riera, E. Marti, T. Battin, J. Comas, L. Godè, P. Vervier & F. Sabater. Effetti indotti dall'attività antropica sul ciclo dei nutrienti negli ecosistemi fluviali: lo sviluppo di un sistema esperto per la gestione dei corsi d'acqua. Seminario Studi Nuovi orizzonti dell'ecologia, Trento 18 - 19 April 2002. J. Comas, E. Llorens, M. Poch, G. Markakis, T. Battin, S. Gafny, E.Maneux, E. Martí, M. Morais, M.A. Puig, M. Pusch, J.L. Riera, F. Sabater, A.G. Solimini and P. Vervier The STREAMES Project: Linking Heuristic And Empirical Knowledge Into An Expert System To Assess Stream Managers. BESAI special session of the Integrated Assessment and Decision Support iEMSs 2002 (June 24-27, Lugano, Switzerland), organised by the International Environmental Modelling and Software Society. June 24-27th 2002. J. Comas, E. Llorens, E. Martí, M.A. Puig, J.L. Riera, F. Sabater and M. Poch. Knowledge Acquisition in the STREAMES Project: The Key Process in the Expert System Development. 3rd ECAI Workshop on Binding Environmental Sciences and Artificial Intelligence (BESAI),  July 23rd in Lyon, France. Riera J.L., H. Behrendt, J. Comas, M. Poch, F. Sabater, and M. Venohr. Linking a catchment nutrient emission model (MONERIS) to a GIS and an Expert System for the management of Mediterranean streams: the European project STREAMES. BioGeoMon, University of Reading, 18-21 August 2002. Book of Conference abstracts, p.199. Eugènia Martí, Jordi Aumatell, Lluís Godé, Manel Poch, Francesc Sabater.  Effects of wastewater treatment plant inputs on stream nutrient retention efficiency. In: Water Resources Research (submitted). F. Sabater, E. Martí and G. Canals. Net changes in stream nitrogen loads below a waste water treatment plant: evidence of the stream capacity to transform and retain this element. BioGeomon Conference, Reading, UK, 18-21 August 2002. P. Dumas, M. Gérino, F. Julien, E. Maneux, J.-M. Sanchez-Perez, S. Sauvage, P. Vervier, T. Battin, A.Solimini,  E. Marti & F. Sabater. Influence of nutrient enrichment on aquatic ecosystems : overview of the STREAMES project with first results. 5e Congrès international de Limnologie - Océanographie, Paris, 9-12 septembre 2002. Solimini, A. G., A. Ruggiero, A. Romano, M. De Cicco, M. Anello & G. Carchini. Ritenzione dei nutrienti in corsi d'acqua Mediterranei, il progetto europeo Streames. XV congresso dell'Associazione Italiana di Oceanologia e Limnologia, Roma 23-25 September 2002. Solimini, A. G., A. Ruggiero, A. Romano, M. De Cicco, M. Anello & G. Carchini. Un nuovo approccio per la valutazione della funzionalità degli ecosistemi lotici: il progetto europeo Streames. 63th Convegno dell'Unione Zoologica Italiana, Arcavacata di Rende  22-26 September 2002. Battin, T. J.  E. Marti, F. Sabater, P. Vervier, S. Sauvage and A. Solimni. STREAMES: Stream Reach Management – an Expert System: bridging basic and applied research in stream science. ForumAlpinum, Alpbach, Austria, 23-27 september 2002. SIL Austria, Lunz am See, Austria, 23-25 october 2002.   Ortiz, J. (2002), Response of the benthic macroinvertebrate community of the Tordera stream to the effluent input of the WWTP of Sta. Maria de Palautordera. Facultat de Ciències, University of Girona, Spain. Singer, G. G. Weigelhofer, M. Panzenboeck, C. Marchesani and TJ Battin, Streames Austria - work in progress. SIL Austria 2002 Lunz am See, Austria, 23-25 october 2002. Sabater, F.,  E. Marti, C.Voreadou, P. Vervier, A. G. Solimini, I. R-Roda, J.L. Riera,  M. Pusch, M.A. Puig, M. Morais, S. Gafny, Q. Comas, T. Battin. STREAMES, a multidisciplinary project to develop an Expert System for stream management in human-altered streams: current status of research activities.  Science in support of European Water Policies, sustainability of aquatic ecosystem (Aquaeco), International Conference, Stresa 26-28 November 2002.   Gafny, S. Human Effects on Nutrient Cycling in Streames: Development of an Expert System for Water Quality Assessment in the Yarqon Stream, Israel. The Annual Scientific Symposium of the Israel Ministry of the Environment, Tel-Aviv, 6 February 2003. J.Comas, E. Llorens, F. Sabater, E. Martí, Joan Ll. Riera, M. Poch, M.A. Puig, Ll. Godé, T. Battin, C. Voreadou, G. Markakis, T. Manganas, G. Carchini, A. Solimini, D. Signoretti, A. Terenzi, L. Vannicelli Casoni, P. Vervier, A. Duchein, M. Pusch, V. Mohaupt, M. Morais, A. Matoso, S. Gafny, D. Pargament, M. Zanen. The development of the Environmental Decision Support System in the STREAMES project: the logic of decision trees in the management of Mediterranean streams. ELOISE conference, Gdansk, Poland, 23-27 March 2003.   Pingray A. Etude du fonctionnement biogéochimique d'un cours d'eau de piedmont: La Lèze (France). Master Thesis. Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France. 2003.   Vervier, P., S. Sauvage, J.M. Sánchez-Pérez, P. Dumas, M. Gérino, E. Marti and F. Sabater. 2003. Biophysical diversity and nutrient retention within an human impacted stream: hydrobiogeochemical modelling versus nutrient injection. EGS-AGU-EUG Joint Assembly. Nice, 6-11 April,France. G.A. Singer, G. Weigelhofer, M. Panzenboeck, C. Marchesani, and T.J. Battin. 2003. Effects of a waste water treatment plant on the energy flow through the macroinvertebrate community in an urban stream. NABS meeting Athens/Georgia, USA, 27th May- 1st June 2003. Canals, G., E. Martí, and F. Sabater. 2003. Denitrification potential rates in an agricultural and an urban mediterranean stream. 51st Meeting of the North American Benthological Society. Athens, Georgia, USA. Riera, J.L., H. Behrendt, G. Canals, E. Marti, and F. Sabater. 2003. Landscape composition, catchment nutrient emission pathways, and in-stream nitrogen speciation in a set of small mediterranean catchments. 51st Meeting of the North American Benthological Society. Athens, Georgia, USA. Marti, E., F. Sabater, P. Vervier, T. Battin, S. Gafny, M. Morais, M. Pusch, A. Solimini, C. Voreadou, and J. L. Riera. 2003. Effects of point sources on nutrient dynamics across european streams with different degrees of human alteration. 51st Meeting of the North American Benthological Society. Athens, Georgia, USA.   Venohr, M., Soukup, M., Vassolo, S., Döll, P., Behrendt, H. (2003): Änderung von Nährstoffeinträgen und frachten im Einzugsgebiet der Elbe infolge des Globalen Wandels. Tag der Hydrologie, Freiburg, 20./21.03.2002.   Behrendt, H., Dannowski, R., Deumlich, D., Dolezal, F., Kajewski, I., Kornmilch, M., Korol, R., Mioduszewski, W., Opitz, D., Steidl, J., Stronska, M. (2003): Nutrient emissions into the river system of Odra  present state and results of scenario calculations. European Conference on Coastal Zone Research: an ELOISE Approach. Gdañsk, Poland, 24-27 March, 2003.   Guecker, B. (2003): Results on nutrient retention in the Demnitzer Muehlenfliess. Statusseminar DBU-Projekt, Berlin, 25.3.2003.   Battin, T.J., E. Marti, and F. Sabater. 2003. A headwater perspective of downstream biogeochemistry: from microbial biofilms to oceans. ELOISE workshop: Demands at the European and Global Level. Yerseke, The Netherlands. Ruggiero, A (2003), Poster presentation at the XVI congress of Gruppo per l´Ecologia di Base “G. Gadio”, 10-12 May 2003, Pavia, Italy. Ortiz, J., M.A. Puig, and N. Ubero. 2003, Elemental content and abundance changes on biological compartments in two Mediterranean human impacted streams. NABS meeting Athens/Georgia, USA, 27th May- 1st June 2003.   Sabater, F., E. Marti, J.M. Sánchez, T. Battin, S. Gafny, M. Morais, M. Pusch, A. Solimini, P. Vervier, C. Voreadou, and J.Ll. Riera. 2003. Nutrient dynamics in human altered streams as influenced by point source inputs. Results from a pan-European study. 3rd Symposium for European Freshwater Sciences (SEFS3). Edinburgh, Scotland.   Solimini, A.G., E. Martì, T. Battin, S. Gafny, M. Gerino, M. Morais, M.A. Puig, M. Push, A. Ruggiero, G. Singer, C. Voreadou, and F. Sabater. 2003. Are invertebrate communities transient storage site of C, N and P in urban streams impacted by waste water treatment plants? 3rd Symposium for European Freshwater Sciences (SEFS3). Edinburgh, Scotland.   Venohr, M., Donohue, I., Fogelberg, S., Arheimer, B., Irvine, K., Behrendt, H. (2003): Nitrogen Retention in river systems driven under consideration of the river morphology and occurrence of lakes. 7th International Conference on Diffuse Pollution and Basin Management, Dublin, Ireland, 17th-22nd, August, 2003.

ABSTRACTS

G. Canals1, E. Marti2, F. Sabater1, J. Ortiz2, and M.A. Puig2. Effects of waste water treatment plant inputs on the metabolism of a mediterranean stream. NABS Annual meeting, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2002 in Urban Ecology I  1Departament d'Ecologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain, 2Centre d'Estudis Avancats de Blanes (CSIC), Blanes, Spain Inputs from waste water treatment plants (WWTP) increase stream nutrients and organic matter loads especially in semiarid regions where water is scarce. This study aimed to examine how stream function, in particular its metabolism, is affected by these inputs. Research was conducted in La Tordera, a 3rd order stream (NE of Barcelona, Spain). We selected two reaches with similar geomorphology and riparian vegetation coverage located upstream and downstream of a WWTP. On June and November 2001 we measured whole-stream metabolism at the two reaches using the upstream-downstream dissolved oxygen (DO) change technique. Concentrations of DIN, SRP and DOC were one order of magnitude larger in the downstream than in the upstream reach. Metabolism patterns were similar for the two dates. The diurnal profile of instantaneous DO change rates at the upstream reach had positive rates of net ecosystem production (NEP) around noon; whereas, NEP rates remained negative throughout the day at the downstream reach. Daily metabolism was dominated by respiration in both reaches. However, rates of respiration and gross primary production were higher and the P:R ratio was lower in the downstream than in the upstream reach. Therefore, inputs from WWTP affect this stream by mostly enhancing the heterotrophic metabolism. Solimini, A. G., A. Ruggiero, A. Romano, M. De Cicco, M. Anello, G. Carchini, A. Terenzi, L. Vannicelli, D. Signoretti, J. L. Riera, E. Marti, T. Battin, J. Comas, L. Godè, P. Vervier & F. Sabater. Effetti indotti dall'attività antropica sul ciclo dei nutrienti negli ecosistemi fluviali: lo sviluppo di un sistema esperto per la gestione dei corsi d'acqua. Seminario Studi Nuovi orizzonti dell'ecologia, Trento 18 - 19 April 2002. Riassunto Il progetto STREAMES, finanziato dalla UE nell'ambito del 5° programma quadro (azione chiave: gestione sostenibile e qualità delle acque, programma numero EVK1-CT-2000–00081), ha come obiettivo lo sviluppo di un Sistema Esperto (S.E.) per la valutazione degli effetti provocati da elevati carichi di nutrienti sulla capacità di autodepurazione dei corsi d’acqua. Il S.E. è un software applicativo destinato ai soggetti titolari della gestione delle risorse idriche (water managers), costruito sulle indicazioni che derivano da un'intensa raccolta di dati sperimentali di natura fisica, chimica e biologica legati alla capacità di ritenzione dei nutrienti in corsi d'acqua inquinati. In questo lavoro è descritto brevemente il progetto nei suoi diversi aspetti.   Abstract: Human effects on nutrient cycling in fluvial ecosystems, the development of an expert system to assess water quality management  Streames is an UE funded project (5th framework program EVK1-CT-2000–00081) that aims to develop a special software (Expert System) to assist water manager to evaluate the effect of large stream nutrient loads on stream nutrient retention. This will be accomplished through the analysis of the relationships among stream nutrient retention and several physical, chemical and biological structural or functional parameters that may constrain or control nutrient retention in human altered streams. Main points of the project are briefly describe here.

J. Comas, E. Llorens, M. Poch, G. Markakis, T. Battin, S. Gafny, E.Maneux, E. Martí, M. Morais, M.A. Puig, M. Pusch, J.L. Riera, F. Sabater, A.G. Solimini and P. Vervier The STREAMES Project: Linking Heuristic And Empirical Knowledge Into An Expert System To Assess Stream Managers. BESAI special session of the Integrated Assessment and Decision Support iEMSs 2002 (June 24-27, Lugano, Switzerland), organised by the International Environmental Modelling and Software Society. June 24-27th 2002.  This paper presents the objectives of the STREAMES project with special emphasis in the knowledge acquisition and development of the Expert System (enclosed in the appendix as a pdf file and labelled Comas_iEMSs.pdf). It was presented by an oral communication (J. Comas, University of Girona). Main questions raised in the meeting concerned the knowledge acquisition step of the STREAMES project. The listeners found very important to involve the final users (in this case, water managers) within the development and implementation phases of the ES, in order to get a final product really useful. BESAI[1] – Binding Environmental Sciences and Artificial Intelligence Special Session. (Organiser: MIQUEL SÀNCHEZ I MARRÈ) The BESAI session created a discussion platform for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Environmental researchers involved in the development of applications in the current and sensitive area as Environmental Decision Support Systems are. Contributions came from all Environmental fields, showing how AI approaches could be useful to the environmental systems. New and improved AI tools and techniques or methods, as well as innovative environmental applications were presented. Nowadays, the recent innovations of AI enable the construction of real applications. Papers emphasising integration of various technologies or paradigms were specially interesting, i.e. the case of STREAMES, including machine learning, data mining, knowledge-based systems, case-based reasoning, soft computing, spatial and temporal reasoning, modelling, planning and prediction, decision processes, decision support systems, multiagent systems, etc. More information and online Proceedings can be find out in the next page: http://www.iemss.org/iemss2002/

J. Comas, E. Llorens, E. Martí, M.A. Puig, J.L. Riera, F. Sabater and M. Poch. Knowledge Acquisition in the STREAMES Project: The Key Process in the Expert System Development. 3rd ECAI Workshop on Binding Environmental Sciences and Artificial Intelligence (BESAI),  July 23rd in Lyon, France. This paper shows the first results of the Knowledge Acquisition step in the Streames project (enclosed in the appendix as a word document and labelled Comas_ECAI.doc). This paper was presented by an oral communication (Esther Llorens, University of Girona). The audience was interested in the project and possibly we will collaborate with others members of this workshop in brief. Specifically, we contacted with a research group involved in another European project focused to control anaerobic wastewater treatment plants with artificial intelligence techniques. The BESAI was a workshop held in conjunction with the 15th Biennial European Conference on Artificial Intelligence (ECAI 2002). This workshop recognized the critical importance of environment and resource issues and their relationships with artificial intelligence (AI) research. The workshop's central focus was the linkage between patterns of AI activity and the environment with a major emphasis on translating the scientific basis for environmental concern into techniques and strategies that address both the needs of human societies and the requirements of natural systems.  More information can be find out in the next page: http://www.lsi.upc.es/~webia/besai/besai2002.html

RIERA J.L., H. Behrendt, J. Comas, M. Poch, F. Sabater, and M. Venohr. Linking a catchment nutrient emission model (MONERIS) to a GIS and an Expert System for the management of Mediterranean streams: the European project STREAMES. BioGeoMon, University of Reading, 18-21 August 2002. The European-funded project STREAMES (http://www.streames.org) aims at building an Expert System to serve as a tool for managing small (50-500 km2) Mediterranean catchments. Initiated in 2001, the project involves partners from 17 institutions in 8 countries, including both research teams from universities as well as water managers from regional water agencies (the so-called end users). The expert system will be based on a knowledge base gathered from expert knowledge provided by the participating water managers, published literature, and original research. The latter focuses on the estimation of nutrient emissions in Mediterranean catchments as well as on the capacity for nutrient (N and P) retention in stream reaches affected by point sources (wastewater treatment plant effluents) and, to varying degrees, agricultural diffuse sources. Eleven sites are studied, covering a variety of conditions in hydrology (including dominant direction of surface-subsurface flow), nutrient load (magnitude of point vs non-point sources, magnitude of point sources relative to stream baseflow), and type of nutrient removal treatment implemented in the contributing wastewater treatment plant. Estimating nutrient emissions from the catchment is a key component of STREAMES. To this end, we plan to implement the model MONERIS (Behrendt et al. 1999). This implementation demands modifications to the algorithms used in MONERIS in order to adapt them to Mediterranean streams, and hence the re-calibration of MONERIS with our study catchments plus its validation on independent catchments. Yet, our aim is not to provide yet another data-demanding and rigid model for catchment nutrient emissions that challenges the user to adapt to the model requirements. Rather, we aim at integrating MONERIS into an expert system to provide a flexible catchment assessment tool that, to the extent that this is possible, is adaptive to the users' demands and data availability, guides and assists the user in the estimation process, and puts emphasis on model sensitivity and the uncertainty of the estimates. We present preliminary results of our work and discuss roadblocks encountered in our progress and potential workarounds. References Behrendt, H., Huber, P., Ley,M., Opitz, D., Schmoll, O., Scholz, G., Uebe, R. Nutrient emissions into river basins of Germany. UBA-Text and CD-ROM, 75/99, 288 S. (1999)  Eugènia Martí1,4, Jordi Aumatell1, Lluís Godé2, Manel Poch1, Francesc Sabater3.  Effects of wastewater treatment plant inputs on stream nutrient retention efficiency. BioGeoMon, University of Reading, 18-21 August 2002.  1 Laboratori d’Enginyeria Química i Ambiental, Facultat de Ciències, Universitat de Girona, Campus Montilivi, s/n, 17071 Girona, Spain. 2 Agència Catalana de l’Aigua, Departament de Medi Ambient, Generalitat de Catalunya, Procença 204-208, 08036 Barcelona, Spain. 3 Departament d’Ecologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona, Spain. 4 Present address: Centre d’Estudis Avançats de Blanes (CSIC), Camí de Sta. Bàrbara s/n, 17300 Blanes, Girona, Spain.  Abstract We tested the effect of nutrient inputs from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) on stream nutrient retention efficiency by examining the longitudinal patterns of ammonium, nitrate, and phosphate concentrations downstream of WWTP effluents in 15 streams located throughout Catalonia (Spain). We hypothesized that large nutrient loadings would saturate stream communities, lowering nutrient retention efficiency relative to less polluted streams. No decline was found in dilution-corrected concentrations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and phosphate in 40% and 45% of the streams, respectively. In the remaining streams, uptake length ranged from 0.14 to 29 km (DIN), and from 0.14 to 14 km (phosphate). Overall, these values are longer (lower retention efficiency) than those from non-polluted streams of similar size, supporting our hypothesis, and suggest that high nutrient loads affect fluvial ecosystem function. Stream managers need to consider the effect of large nutrient loadings on stream nutrient retention efficiency when applying management strategies to improve water quality in human-altered streams.  Key words: ammonium, nutrient retention, phosphorus, nitrate, nitrogen, uptake length, stream, wastewater treatment plants, water quality

F. Sabater1 E. Martí2and G. Canals1. Net changes in stream nitrogen loads below a waste water treatment plant: evidence of the stream capacity to transform and retain this element. BioGeomon Conference, Reading, UK, 18-21 August 2002.   Department of Ecology , University of Barcelona. Spain. CEAB- CSIC (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Blanes . Spain The natural biogeochemical cycle of nitrogen in terrestrial ecosystems is being worldwide altered by anthropogenic activities. Recent studies about nitrogen dynamics in headwater streams have demonstrated that these aquatic ecosystems exert a conspicuous control on nitrogen export. The large capacity in nitrogen processing of these ecosystems is evidenced by the fact that more than 50% of the inputs from terrestrial ecosystems can be efficiently removed or transformed in tens to hundreds of meters of stream. Nevertheless, this capacity may decrease when N inputs increase due to human activities and consequently N compounds are transported much further downstream before being processed, causing local problems of eutrophication. Human-derived nitrogen inputs may reach aquatic ecosystems through diffuse or localized pathways depending on the dominant activity that causes the inputs. In addition, besides of the nitrogen content water chemistry varies according to the nature of the water pathway and the type of activity that has generated it. For instance, inputs from agricultural activities often reach the stream through diffuse pathways and the dominant nitrogen form is mostly nitrate, whereas inputs from urban activities usually reach the stream through point sources and are characterized by relatively high nitrogen (mostly in ammonium form), phosphorus and dissolved organic carbon content. This is particularly true when the sources are not connected to a waste water treatment plant (WWTP) or when the plant does not have mechanisms to actively remove nitrogen and phosphorus. This difference between the chemical characteristics between the two types of sources may affect the stream in distinct ways. The ongoing STREAMES European project (ref: EVK1-CT-2000-00081) was developed to assess the effects of large nutrient loads from either diffuse and point nutrient sources on the stream structure and function, with a major emphasis on the nutrient retention efficiency of the streams. This assessment is done using two different approaches: a) measuring gross rates of nutrient retention by conducting short-term nutrient additions in stream reaches located upstream and downstream of WWTPs, and b) measuring net rates of nutrient retention based on longitudinal changes in nutrient concentration downstream of the WWTP input. In this talk we will present the results from the longitudinal changes in nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) concentrations measured monthly over a year in a Mediterranean stream located 40 km north of Barcelona (Spain) which are part of the STREAMES project. The study was done in a 600 m reach located downstream of the input from a WWTP which does not have any mechanism to actively remove neither nitrogen nor phosphorus. On each sampling date we collected water samples at 10 sites along this reach. With these results we aimed to address the following questions a) What is the longitudinal pattern of stream nutrient concentrations downstream of a WWTP?, b) is it possible to measure net change rates based on these patterns?, c) what is the temporal variation of the net change rates on an annual scale?, and d) how do results compare between nitrogen and phosphorus?. Results from this study showed a consistent longitudinal pattern for nitrogen concentrations, but no clear pattern for phosphorus concentrations suggesting that this stream was more reactive for N than for P. On most sampling dates the longitudinal pattern for nitrogen concentration can be described as follows: ammonium concentration gradually decreased, nitrate concentration gradually increased and total dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) concentration also decreased. Despite this general trend, net change rates varied among dates. These results evidenced that this stream did contribute to modify the nitrogen load in transport by transforming part of the ammonium concentration into nitrate via nitrification as well as by denitrifying part of the nitrate. The fact that the longitudinal decrease rate of DIN concentration was shallower than the increase rate of nitrate suggests that the net rate of denitrification is lower than the net rate of nitrification on an annual basis. Overall, these results indicate that even under altered conditions streams can be able to retain part of the nutrient loads and thus, decrease the impact form the WWTP input and contribute to ameliorate the stream water quality.

Solimini, A. G., A. Ruggiero, A. Romano, M. De Cicco, M. Anello & G. Carchini. Ritenzione dei nutrienti in corsi d'acqua Mediterranei, il progetto europeo Streames. XV congresso dell'Associazione Italiana di Oceanologia e Limnologia, Roma 23-25 September 2002. Dipartimento di Biologia, Università Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133 Roma.  Il progetto STREAMES, finanziato dalla UE nell'ambito del 5 programma quadro (azione chiave: gestione sostenibile e qualità delle acque, programma numero EVK1-CT-2000–00081), ha come scopo lo sviluppo di un Sistema Esperto (S.E.) per la valutazione degli effetti provocati da elevati carichi di nutrienti sulla capacità di autodepurazione dei corsi d’acqua. Il S.E. è un software applicativo destinato ai soggetti titolari della gestione delle risorse idriche (water managers) e viene  costruito sulle indicazioni che derivano da un'intensa raccolta di dati sperimentali. Questa raccolta dati mira ad identificare la relazione tra l'apporto dei nutrienti ed una serie di parametri strutturali e funzionali, di natura  fisica, chimica e biologica legati alla capacità di ritenzione dei nutrienti. Un’attenzione particolare viene riservata ai corsi d’acqua di 2-4 ordine della regione Mediterranea che sono sottoposti ad inquinamento di origine antropica.  La ricerca prevede lo studio degli ecosistemi lotici a 3 diverse scale ed è organizzato in 5 differenti moduli di ricerca, ognuno con i suoi obiettivi specifici che sono di seguito brevemente elencati. Modulo di ricerca 1 (processi alla scala di bacino): esame delle relazioni tra uso del suolo e carico di nutrienti del corso d’acqua e valutazione dell’importanza relativa di sorgenti puntuali - sorgenti non puntuali sul carico complessivo di nutrienti. Modulo di ricerca 2 (processi alla scala di reach): esame dell’impatto di elevati carichi di nutrienti sul trasporto, la trasformazione e la ritenzione di quest'ultimi nel corso d’acqua, nonché valutazione del ruolo degli aspetti geomorfologici e idrogeologici sul controllo della ritenzione dei nutrienti. Modulo di ricerca 3 (processi alla scala di sub-reach): esame del ruolo dei processi biologici del corso d’acqua sul controllo della ritenzione dei nutrienti. Modulo di ricerca 4. Sviluppo del Sistema Esperto ed esame della sua consistenza con i dati sperimentali. Modulo di ricerca 5. Diffusione dei risultati del progetto e del suo prodotto finale. L’aspetto innovativo del Sistema Esperto consiste nella sua capacità di stimare il livello di incertezza relativo alla valutazione della qualità delle acque superficiali, supportando le decisioni e le azioni da intraprendere in materia di gestione delle acque. Per garantire che il Sistema Esperto risponda alle esigenze, espresse dai water managers, di individuare la capacità dei corsi d’acqua di ridurre le fonti di inquinamento puntuali e non, vari organismi pubblici di gestione delle acque, provenienti da diversi stati, prendono parte al progetto. Tali organismi assumono un ruolo attivo, in qualità di full-partners, contribuendo a selezionare siti di riferimento ove dimostreranno le utilità del progetto ad altri potenziali utenti finali. Il progetto STREAMES persegue gli obiettivi proposti dalle direttive chiave emanate dall’ UE sulla Politica Ambientale nella gestione dei nutrienti, in conformità ai principi di cui alla Direttiva Quadro sulle acque (91/271/CEE), (91/676/CEE), IPPC (96/61/CEE).

Solimini, A. G., A. Ruggiero, A. Romano, M. De Cicco, M. Anello & G. Carchini. Un nuovo approccio per la valutazione della funzionalità degli ecosistemi lotici: il progetto europeo Streames. 63th Convegno dell'Unione Zoologica Italiana, Arcavacata di Rende  22-26 September 2002. Dipartimento di Biologia, Università Tor Vergata, Roma. Il progetto STREAMES, finanziato dalla UE nell'ambito del 5 programma quadro (azione chiave: gestione sostenibile e qualità delle acque, programma numero EVK1-CT-2000–00081), ha come scopo lo sviluppo di un Sistema Esperto (S.E.) per la valutazione degli effetti provocati da elevati carichi di nutrienti sulla capacità di autodepurazione dei corsi d’acqua. Il S.E. è un software applicativo destinato ai soggetti titolari della gestione delle risorse idriche (water managers) e viene  costruito sulle indicazioni che derivano da un'intensa raccolta di dati sperimentali. Questa raccolta dati ha come scopo lo studio delle relazioni tra l'apporto dei nutrienti ed una serie di parametri strutturali e funzionali, di natura  fisica, chimica e biologica legati alla capacità di ritenzione dei nutrienti. Un’attenzione particolare viene riservata ai corsi d’acqua di 2-4 ordine della regione Mediterranea che sono sottoposti ad inquinamento di origine antropica.  La ricerca prevede lo studio degli ecosistemi lotici a 3 diverse scale ed è organizzato in 5 differenti moduli di ricerca, ognuno con i suoi obiettivi specifici che sono di seguito brevemente elencati. Modulo di ricerca 1 (processi alla scala di bacino): esame delle relazioni tra uso del suolo e carico di nutrienti del corso d’acqua e valutazione dell’importanza relativa di sorgenti puntuali - sorgenti non puntuali sul carico complessivo di nutrienti. Modulo di ricerca 2 (processi alla scala di reach): esame dell’impatto di elevati carichi di nutrienti sul trasporto, la trasformazione e la ritenzione di quest'ultimi nel corso d’acqua, nonché valutazione del ruolo degli aspetti geomorfologici e idrogeologici sul controllo della ritenzione dei nutrienti. Modulo di ricerca 3 (processi alla scala di sub-reach): esame del ruolo dei processi biologici del corso d’acqua sul controllo della ritenzione dei nutrienti. Modulo di ricerca 4. Sviluppo del Sistema Esperto ed esame della sua consistenza con i dati sperimentali. Modulo di ricerca 5. Diffusione dei risultati del progetto e del suo prodotto finale. L’aspetto innovativo del Sistema Esperto consiste nella sua capacità di stimare il livello di incertezza relativo alla valutazione della qualità delle acque superficiali, supportando le decisioni e le azioni da intraprendere in materia di gestione delle acque. Per garantire che il Sistema Esperto risponda alle esigenze, espresse dai water managers, di individuare la capacità dei corsi d’acqua di ridurre le fonti di inquinamento puntuali e non, vari organismi pubblici di gestione delle acque, provenienti da diversi stati, prendono parte al progetto. Tali organismi assumono un ruolo attivo, in qualità di full-partners, contribuendo a selezionare siti di riferimento ove dimostreranno le utilità del progetto ad altri potenziali utenti finali. Il progetto STREAMES persegue gli obiettivi proposti dalle direttive chiave emanate dall’ UE sulla Politica Ambientale nella gestione dei nutrienti, in conformità ai principi di cui alla Direttiva Quadro sulle acque (91/271/CEE), (91/676/CEE), IPPC (96/61/CEE). Battin, T. J. 1 E. Marti2, F. Sabater3, P. Vervier4, S. Sauvage4 and A. Solimni5. STREAMES: Stream Reach Management – an Expert System: bridging basic and applied research in stream science. ForumAlpinum, Alpbach, Austria, 23-27 september 2002. 1Department of Limnology, IECB, University of Vienna, Austria; 2CSIC-CEAB, Blanes, Spain; 3University of Barcelona, Spain; 4CNRS-CESAC, France; 5University Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy. Increasing domination of ecosystems by humans is steadily transforming them into depauperate systems. Streams have arguably experienced some of the most dramatic forms of habitat alterations and loss. Therefore, restoration is becoming a focal issue in stream ecology. STREAMES is a first European effort to understand the mechanisms that drive self-purification in headwater streams. Notably headwater streams in mountainous terrain are tightly connected with the terrestrial milieu and the adjacent groundwater and therefore particularly prone to diffuse and point sources of pollution. The aim of STREAMES is to develop an Expert System (ES) that integrates knowledge on the relationships between processes operating at the catchment, reach and sub-reach scales and those processes driving in-stream selfpurification. This ES is a computer application designed to support stream managers in decision-taking processes that should lead to stream restoration and improvement of the water quality.

Sabater, F.,  E. Marti, C.Voreadou, P. Vervier, A. G. Solimini, I. R-Roda, J.L. Riera,  M. Pusch, M.A. Puig, M. Morais, S. Gafny, Q. Comas, T. Battin. STREAMES, a multidisciplinary project to develop an Expert System for stream management in human-altered streams: current status of research activities.  Science in support of European Water Policies, sustainability of aquatic ecosystem (Aquaeco), International Conference, Stresa 26-28 November 2002.  (1)* Departament d’Ecologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, Barcelona 08028, Spain. sabater@porthos.bio.ub.es.(2) Centre d’Estudis Avançats de Blanes (CSIC), Camí de Sta. Bàrbara s/n, 17300 Blanes, Spain.(3) Natural History Museum of Crete, University of Crete, Knossou Avenue, 714 09 Heraklion, Greece. (4) Centre d'Ecologie des Systèmes Aquatiques Continentaux – UMR C5576 – Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Université Paul Sabatier, Rue Jeanne Marvig 29, 31055 Toulouse, France. (5) Dipartamento di Biologia, Universitá di Roma "Tor Vergata", Via della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133 Roma, Italy. (6) Laboratori d'Enginyeria Química i Ambiental, Universitat de Girona, Campus Montilivi s/n, 17071 Girona, Spain. (7) Institut fuer Gewaesseroekologie und Binnenfisherei, Mueggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany. (8) Centro de Ecologia Aplicada, Universidade de Evora, Largo dos Colegiais 2, 7002-554 Evora, Portugal. (9) Institute for Nature Conservation Research, Ramat Aviv, 699778 Tel Aviv, Israel. (10) Department of Limnology, Institute of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Viena, Austria.  Streams in developed regions are under significant stress due to anthropogenic nutrient enrichment. Humans affect streams (1) by changing land-uses in the catchment in ways that increase the transport of nutrients to surface waters, (2) by directly dumping urban or industrial sewage into the stream, or (3) by modifying the streams themselves in ways that may reduce their ability to respond to increased nutrient loads. The goal of the STREAMES project (EVK1-2000-0081) is to evaluate the effect of these human alterations on stream nutrient dynamics, and to examine those factors that may constrain (i.e., nutrient sources from the catchment) or control (i.e., in-stream processes) nutrient retention capacity in these  streams, with particular emphasis on streams from the Mediterranean region where alterations are compounded by the scarcity of water. To answer these questions we have selected 11streams that encompass a diversity of human-altered situations encountered in the Mediterranean region, from Portugal to Israel, plus some central European sites that serve to enlarge the range of water availability and quality conditions. Research is conducted from a multidisciplinary approach at 3 scales: catchment, reach and sub-reach. The emerging patterns from this study will be used to build the Knowledge Base of an Expert System for stream managers which is the final applied goal of this project. In this presentation, some preliminary results and the current status of research activities will be presented along with the conceptual framework and perspectives of the project.

J.Comas, E. Llorens, F. Sabater, E. Martí, Joan Ll. Riera, M. Poch, M.A. Puig, Ll. Godé, T. Battin, C. Voreadou, G. Markakis, T. Manganas, G. Carchini, A. Solimini, D. Signoretti, A. Terenzi, L. Vannicelli Casoni, Ph. Vervier, A. Duchein, M. Pusch, V. Mohaupt, M. Morais, A. Matoso, S. Gafny, D. Pargament, M. Zanen. The development of the Environmental Decision Support System in the STREAMES project: the logic of decision trees in the management of Mediterranean streams. ELOISE conference, Gdansk, Poland, 23-27 March 2003.

A contribution from the ELOISE project: STREAMES

The European-funded project STREAMES aims at building an Environmental Decision Support System to serve as a tool for managing small (50-500 km2) Mediterranean catchments. Initiated in 2001, the project involves partners from 17 institutions and 8 countries, including both research teams from universities as well as water managers from regional water agencies (the so-called end users). The Environmental Decision Support System prototype, composed by the Expert System, model and GIS capabilities, will support and advice water agencies in the management of human-altered streams. The Expert System will be based on a knowledge base gathered from expert knowledge provided by the participating water managers, published literature, and original research.

This communication describes the knowledge acquisition process and representation step of the Expert System. The complex management of environmental systems requests this kind of tools to be applied in order to integrate diverse sources of knowledge. This project presents an integrated perspective since the Expert System combines knowledge acquired from water managers experiences, general knowledge from literature and specific and basic research from stream ecology scientists. The solutions provided by the Expert System consider land use practices within the catchment, sources of nutrient loads and their control and measures to increase the stream functionality. As far as we know, this will be the first time that an Environmental Decision Support System is proposed to estimate and evaluate uncertainties in the prediction of stream water quality and to support the decision of management actions.

For more information on the STREAMES project: www.streames.org

G.A. Singer, G. Weigelhofer, M. Panzenboeck, C. Marchesani, and T.J. Battin. Effects of a waste water treatment plant on the energy flow through the macroinvertebrate community in an urban stream.

Institute of Ecology and Conservation Biology, University of Vienna, Austria
gsinger@pflaphy.pph.univie.ac.at

Streams figure among the ecosystems that have experienced the most dramatic loss of habitat heterogeneity during the last decades. Furthermore streams are increasingly impacted by various point and diffuse sources. The EU project STREAMES investigates processes driving selpurification in an urban stream, Austria, which is impacted by diffuse agricultural pollution and a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP).

We hypothesized the macroinvertebrate community (>250 μm) to influence retention and transformation of nutrients through top-down control on epiphytic biofilms and transient storage of C and N. To address this question we monitored abundance and biomass of higher taxa and functional feeding groups (FFGs) in a control reach and an impacted reach upstream and downstream, respectively, of the WWTP from June 2001 to June 2002. Secondary production of major taxa and FFGs was estimated with empirical models which include abundance, mean body size, total biomass and temperature. To trace WWTP-derived C and N through the foodweb we analyzed the isotopic signatures (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) of major invertebrate taxa (covering all FFGs) and potential food sources including suspended particles in the WWTP effluent. We will discuss our results within the context of ecosystem functions (e.g. selfpurification) of human-impacted streams.

E. Marti¹, F. Sabater², P. Vervier³, T. Battin⁴, S. Gafny⁵, M. Morais⁶, M. Pusch⁷, A. Solimini⁸, C. Voreadou⁹, and J. L. Riera².  Effects of point sources on nutrient dynamics across european streams with different degrees of human alteration. 51^st Meeting of the North American Benthological Society. Athens, Georgia, USA. 2003.

¹Centre d’Estudis Avancats de Blanes (CSIC), Acces a la Cala St. Francesc, 14, 17300 Blanes, Spain, ²Departament d’Ecologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, Barcelona 08028, Spain, ³Centre d'Ecologie des Systèmes Aquatiques Continentaux – UMR C5576 – Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Université Paul Sabatier, Rue Jeanne Marvig 29, 31055 Toulouse, France, ⁴Department of Limnology, Institute of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Viena, Austria, ⁵Institute for Nature Conservation Research, Ramat Aviv, 699778 Tel Aviv, Israel, ⁶Centro de Ecologia Aplicada, Universidade de Evora, Largo dos Colegiais 2, 7002-554 Evora, Portugal, ⁷Institut fuer Gewaesseroekologie und Binnenfisherei, Mueggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany, ⁸Dipartamento di Biologia, Universitá di Roma "Tor Vergata", Via della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133 Roma, Italy, ⁹Natural History Museum of Crete, University of Crete, Knossou Avenue, 714 09 Heraklion, Greece.   

Point sources from urban or industrial areas entering streams disrupt the longitudinal linkage that characterizes these ecosystems, having ecological implications for downstream reaches. Point sources alter stream flow and nutrient content, which may affect stream function. However, the magnitude and direction of the effect are not well known and probably depend on stream conditions above the source input. We aim to examine these effects on nutrient dynamics in streams draining catchments with different land-use compositions. This study is part of STREAMES, a European project focused on understanding how human-altered streams function. We selected 11 streams throughout Europe in catchments ranging from agricultural- to forest-dominated. In each stream we defined two reaches, upstream and downstream of an urban point source, where we measured uptake rates of N-nitrate, N-ammonium and P-phosphate on 6 dates over 2002 following nutrient slug additions. To assess the effect of point sources on uptake rates of each nutrient we compare results from the two reaches within each stream and across streams. We hypothesize that rates will tend to increase below point sources, and that this effect a) will decrease from forest- to agricultural-dominated catchments, and b) will be greater for N-ammonium than for N-nitrate.

Several studies have evidenced relationships between catchment land-use composition and stream nitrogen and phosphorus loads. We posit that the sources and pathways of nutrient emissions from the catchment will not only affect nutrient loads but also the relative concentrations of N-nitrate and N-ammonium, and the N:P ratio in the stream. These changes in nutrient ratios can greatly influence in-stream communities and biogeochemical processes. We hypothesize that agricultural diffuse sources will favour a high N-nitrate:N-ammonium ratio, whereas urban point sources will have the opposite effect. We also hypothesize that N:P ratios will tend to be higher in catchments where agricultural sources dominate over urban sources. We explore these hypotheses in a set of small (third-order) Mediterranean catchments using stream monitoring data. Wastewater treatment plant effluent data, catchment land-use, slope, and other GIS and statistical data were used with the model MONERIS to partition nutrient emissions into point sources and diffuse pathways. In our analyses, we followed a two-tier approach by, (a) statistically testing our hypothesis on the selected catchments, and (b) developing empirical regression models of nutrient ratios in in-stream load vs. catchment characteristics. Regression models are developed on a random subset of catchments and tested on a validation set.

¹Departament d'Ecologia, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain, ²Centre d'Estudis Avancats de Blanes (CSIC), Blanes, Spain

Denitrification in pristine stream ecosystems is often limited by N-nitrate or DOC availability. Diffuse and point sources from human activity increase stream nitrogen and DOC content, which may result in enhanced stream denitrification rates. However, these two sources can have different effects on denitrification because they differ in both their dominant form of DIN and their DOC content. We examined denitrification rates in human-altered streams by comparing rates a) between an agricultural and an urban stream; and b) within each stream, between two reaches located upstream and downstream of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent. For each stream, we collected sediments upstream and downstream of the WWTP effluent on 6 dates throughout 2002, and measured potential denitrification rates in the laboratory using the acetylene block technique. Overall, N-nitrate and DOC were higher in the agricultural stream than in the urban stream. Inputs from the WWTP increased DOC in the two streams, but produced significant N-nitrate increases only in the urban stream. Denitrification potential rates were higher in the agricultural stream than in the urban stream, but the effect of the point source on denitrification was only observed in the urban stream, with greater rates downstream of the WWTP input.