1. Intercalibration of very large rivers in Europe
Continuation of the XGIG Large River Exercise
ECOSTAT meeting, April 2013

2. Organisation Lead: Dr. Franz Schöll Support: Sebastian Birk
Federal Institute of Hydrology
Executive Agency of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development, Germany
Support:
Sebastian Birk
Jürgen Böhmer

3. Participants
Meuse
Country AT
BE(FL)
BE(WL) BG CZ DE EE ES FI FR GR HR HU
ComDec
not listed
XGIG LR
no contact
no meth. IT LT LU LV NL NO PL PT RO SE SI SK ç
Moselle ç
Nemunas
ComDec – country listed in IC Decision under “very large rivers”
XGIG LR – participation in IC exercise

4. Participants
Country AT
BE(FL)
BE(WL) BG CZ DE EE ES FI FR GR HR HU
ComDec
not listed
XGIG LR
no contact
no meth. IT LT LU LV NL NO PL PT RO SE SI SK
ComDec – country listed in IC Decision under “very large rivers”
XGIG LR – participation in IC exercise

5. the ecological status of very large rivers?
Bioassessment of very large rivers
How to properly assess
the ecological status of very large rivers?
Is mere main-channel assessment WFD-compliant?
WANTED:
Discussion and consensus among EU Member States
Leading decision by EU Commission
 Influence on the fate of IC exercise:
Efforts concentrate only on (parts of) methods
assessing main channel habitats.

6. Work schedule Method overview (May 2013)
WFD-compliance of national methods* (Autumn 2013)
Working typology of very large rivers (Autumn 2013)
Invertebrate intercalibration revisited (Autumn 2013)
Group meeting to discuss next steps (November 2013)
Further intercalibration of phytoplankton, macrophytes, fishes, if applicable and feasible (up to 2016)
* involving EU COM

7. Urgent requests Secure the funding for national IC experts
Actively participate in data delivery, group meetings and discussions
Wanted: Experts on phytoplankton and fish IC
Start discussion on what constitutes the ecological status of very large rivers