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REBECCA databases: experiences from compilation and analyses of monitoring data from 5,000 lakes in 20 European countries

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Abstract

Chemical and biological data from more than 5,000 lakes in 20 European countries have been compiled into databases within the EU project REBECCA. The project’s purpose was to provide scientific support for implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). The databases contain the biological elements phytoplankton, macrophytes, macroinvertebrates and fish, together with relevant chemistry data and station information. The common database strategy has enabled project partners to perform analyses of chemical–biological relationships and to describe reference conditions for large geographic regions in Europe. This strategy has obvious benefits compared with single-country analyses: results will be more representative for larger European regions, and the statistical power and precision will be larger. The high number of samples within some regions has also enabled analysis of type-specific relationships for several lake types. These results are essential for the intercalibration of ecological assessment systems for lakes, as required by the WFD. However, the common database approach has also involved costs and limitations. The data process has been resource-demanding, and the requirements for a flexible database structure have made it less user-friendly for project partners. Moreover, there are considerable heterogeneities among datasets from different countries regarding sampling methods and taxonomic precision; this may reduce comparability of the data and increase the uncertainty of the results. This article gives an overview of the contents and functions of the REBECCA Lakes databases, and of our experiences from constructing and using the databases. We conclude with recommendations for compilation of environmental data for future international projects.

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Abbreviations

BQE:

Biological quality element

GIG:

Geographical Intercalibration Group

IC:

Intercalibration

REBECCA:

RElationships Between Ecological and Chemical stAtus in surface waters

TOC:

Total organic carbon

WFD:

Water Framework Directive

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Acknowledgements

We thank the all data providers and contact persons for their contributions, and especially those from institutes external to the REBECCA project. REBECCA partners: DDNI: Orhan Ibram, Jenica Hanganu; IRSA: Gianni Tartari, Elena Legani; NINA: Ann Kristin Schartau; CEH: Laurence Carvalho; SLU: Leonard Sandin, Mats Wallin, Eva Willén; SYKE: Arjen Raateland, Olli-Pekka Pietiläinen, Seppo Hellsten; TCD: Constanze O’Toole, Ian Donohue; WL|Delft: Ellis Penning; NIVA: Anne Lyche Solheim, Pål Brettum, Marit Mjelde. External data providers: JRC (CB-GIG): Sandra Poikane; Finland: Jukka Aroviita, Heikki Hämäläinen; Germany: Ute Mische, Rita Adrian, Stella Berger, Peter Krause, Ursula Gaedke, Tom Kunz; Ireland: Deirdre Thierny, Ruth Little, Alice Wermer, John White; Norway: Gunnar Raddum; Poland: Malgorzata Golub, Agnieska Kolada; Portugal: Joao Padua; Spain: Mª Luisa Serrano; Sweden: Mikaela Gonczi, Eva Willén; UK: Geoff Phillips. Finally, we thank Gunnar Severinsen for enormous help with constructing the databases at NIVA and for training and assistance, Thrond O. Haugen for providing information on the fish data and Birger Bjerkeng for providing the Microsoft Excel™ macro for reorganising data. REBECCA is jointly funded by the EC 6th Framework Programme (Contract number SSPI-CT-2003-502158), various national research organisations and the project partners.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Gaustadalléen 21, 0349, Oslo, Norway

    S. Jannicke Moe & Robert Ptacnik

  2. Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, EH26 0QB, UK

    Bernard Dudley

Authors
  1. S. Jannicke Moe
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  2. Bernard Dudley
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  3. Robert Ptacnik
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Correspondence to S. Jannicke Moe.

Appendix 1

Appendix 1

Table A1 Overview of major chemical determinands in the REBECCA databases: (A) Phytoplankton, (B) Macrophytes, (C) Macroinvertebrates
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Moe, S.J., Dudley, B. & Ptacnik, R. REBECCA databases: experiences from compilation and analyses of monitoring data from 5,000 lakes in 20 European countries. Aquat Ecol 42, 183–201 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-008-9190-y

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