Biodiversity of small waterbodies Organism diversity

Stefan Lorenz

Holly Lyon Blevins

Fee Nanett Trau

Jörn Strassemeyer

Former Contributors:

Karin Meinikmann

Lena Charlotte Ruf

Further development of the sub-indicator "Biodiversity and Plant Protection"

To date, holistic assessments of the effects of pesticides on invertebrate communities in lentic small water bodies have not been possible. Therefore, an indicator for evaluating the effects of pesticides on benthic invertebrate communities through indirect toxic effects on aquatic plants was developed for the MonViA sub-indicator “Biodiversity and Plant Protection” (INPOND; INdirect Pesticide impacts ON Diversity in standing small water bodies). The newly developed indicator INPOND was compared with common functional and structural biodiversity indices for assessing ecological status in terms of its applicability. INPOND now enables a holistic assessment of the direct and indirect effects of pesticides on invertebrate communities in lentic small water bodies in Germany. The indicator development process included structural and functional biodiversity indices tested for correlations with toxic entities for invertebrates, algae and aquatic plants.

Ecological status of small standing water bodies in Germany

The ecological status of 81 agriculturally influenced small bodies of water of the type 'kettle holes of the Northeast German Plain' was reported by the JKI using the indicator set developed. The indicators used describe (I) the species diversity of invertebrate aquatic organisms living on the water bottom benthic invertebrates) using their species number, the number of particularly sensitive species (EPT taxa; mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies) and the Shannon index, (II) the pollution of the waters by pesticides and their bank vegetation and (III) evaluate the effect of pesticides and habitat diversity on the aquatic fauna. The results show that a low habitat diversity within the water bodies and a lack of protection from pollutant inputs due to low vegetation on the banks contribute significantly to the impairment of their biodiversity. The indicators created were further developed in the course of this first application. The results of the report provide an initial insight into the condition and pollution of small water bodies in Germany's agricultural landscape and will provide a basis for future trend developments.die Belastungen von Kleingewässern in der Agrarlandschaft Deutschlands und werden eine Grundlage für künftige Trendentwicklungen darstellen.

https://www.openagrar.de/receive/openagrar_mods_00101713

Concept development for monitoring small water bodies in the agricultural landscape

As part of MonViA, the JKI developed a concept for biodiversity monitoring of small water bodies in the agricultural landscape of Germany. The focus is on the biodiversity of benthic invertebrates, i.e. invertebrate organisms living on the water bottom, and their stress factors from agriculture such as pesticides, nutrients as well as effects of riparian vegetation and the habitat diversity within the waters. Benthic invertebrates react sensitively to changes in habitat quality and is therefore particularly suitable as a bioindicator for human-caused effects and other ecological influences. The aim is to set up continuous monitoring of small water bodies in cooperation with the plant protection services of the federal states of Germany (Bundesländer).
https://www.openagrar.de/receive/openagrar_mods_00076567