Biological monitoring and assessment of rivers as a basis for identifying and prioritising river management options

The output of monitoring programmes such as the National Aquatic Ecosystem Biomonitoring Programme must be used in the management of aquatic ecosystem s. To achieve this, collected data must, through a systematic framework, be linked to measurable management objectives. This paper demonstrates how th e results obtained with biological indices and system-specific knowledge, a re combined to derive semiquantitative assessments of ecosystem condition. These assessments provide the basis for responding to the results of a rive r monitoring programme. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behal f of the IAWQ. All rights reserved.