All ecosystems need to be monitored for biodiversity change! However, our interest is on freshwater biodiversity and thus our focus is on these, in particular rivers. But there are obvious reasons why monitoring of freshwater ecosystems is of special concern. The Living Planet Index identified freshwater biodiversity to be particularly threatened. And still, in Europe, about 60% of the surface water bodies are not in a good ecological status and measures are needed to improve quality and thus fulfil also the goals of the European Water Framework Directive. Through biodiversity monitoring with a much broader organismal focus than the one required by the Water Framework Directive Monitoring (biomonitoring) it is possible to identify trends of degradation and also recovery, pinpoint at measures that are particularly effective.
