WISER - Water bodies in Europe: Integrative Systems to assess Ecological status and Recovery

WISER supports the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) by developing tools for the integrated assessment of the ecological status of European surface waters. The project analyses existing data from more than 90 databases compiled in previous and ongoing projects, covering all water categories, organism groups and environmental stressor types. Field-sampling campaigns supplement the data on lakes and coastal systems. The data are used to test and complement existing assessment schemes with a focus on uncertainty affects on classification strength. Biological recovery processes after release from hydromorphological and eutrophication pressures are analysed. Therefore, large-scale data helps to identify linkages between pressure variables and organism’s responses. Selected case studies, using a variety of modelling techniques, address pressure-response relationships and evaluate the efficacy of restoration. WISER provides guidance also for the next steps of the intercalibration exercise by comparing different intercalibration approaches. The applicability and swift implementation of results are facilitated by cooperation of project partners and stakeholders from the very beginning of this Collaborative Project.