Waterbirds are visible and good indicators of the ecological quality of their habitats, showing the general status and trends in the habitats they use. On average, during the winters 2015/16 to 2017/18, the Rhine Valley was home to over 1.1 million native waterbirds of 70…
The species diversity and dominant species proportions of the macrozoobenthos (invertebrates living on the river bottom) is an indicator of water quality, and of the quantity and quality of habitat structures in a water body. The increasing establishment of thermophilic invasive…
Diatoms are microscopic small single-celled algae. Due to their great species diversity, their widespread occurrence and their sensitivity concerning the physical-chemical characteristics of their habitat they are excellent bio-indicators. During 2018/2019, 340 species of benthic…
Aquatic macrophytes (aquatic plants) may be used to assess the substance pollution of rivers, but they also reflect interferences with the discharge regime and structural conditions in water bodies. Within the measurement programme 2018/2019, 49 sampling stations were analysed,…
Plankton are mostly microscopic small organisms floating in the water. The major share of aquatic vegetation here consists of single-celled algae, the so-called phytoplankton. In 2018, within the Rhine monitoring programme ‘Biology’, the phytoplankton of the Rhine was analysed…
This report summarises the eel stock situation and the status of implementation of national measures to stabilise eel stocks in the Rhine catchment area for the 2014-2016 eel management cycle. The data basis is the national implementation reports for the period 2014-2016, which…
In the Rhine basin, the year 2018 was marked by a pronounced precipitation deficit in the months from February to November. Initially, this resulted in a marked low water level in the smaller bodies of water and increasingly in the course of the year also in the entire Rhine,…
In 2017, the ICPR conducted a special monitoring programme that included both target analysis and non-target analysis. Here, at each of 21 measuring points located in the main stream of the Rhine, as well as in the tributaries, 4 samples were collected. Based on the…
The International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine (ICPR) has published recommendations on how states in the Rhine catchment can further reduce micropollutant inputs into waters. They particularly concern the areas of wastewater collection and wastewater treatment…
