Complex Method for Evaluating and Biomonitoring the Quality of the Someș Hydrographic Basin - MONISOM Project

1. COMPLEX ECOLOGICAL METHOD FOR THE EVALUATION AND BIOMONITORING OF THE QUALITY OF THE SOMES HYDROGRAPHIC BASIN, MONISOM

2. Project information Contract no:610/2006 Partners: • Institutul de Cercetari pentru Instrumentatie Analitica, ICIA, Cluj-Napoca • Institutul de Geografie al Academiei Romane, IGAR, Bucuresti • Universitatea Babes-Bolyai, UBB, Cluj-Napoca • Centrul Regional pentru Prevenirea Accidentelor Industriale Majore Cluj-Napoca • Asociatia “Apathy Istvan” Cluj-Napoca Project duration:2006-2008

3. Objectives

4. General objective • realization of an ecological, complex and complementary methodology for evaluation and monitoring of the quality of the hydrographical basin of Somes River, under the human factors influences, methodology which will help to amend the environmental quality for the sustainable development of the region. • evaluation of the quality of the hydrographical basin Somes will be made by study of the living organisms from the river (their structural and functional dynamic) from the polluted sectors (with cyanides and heavy metals), which will help the restoration and conservation of the aquatic ecosystems affected.

5. Measurable objectives • studies, analyses and documentation for elaboration the strategies and methodologies for biodiversity monitoring of the damaged sectors of the river; • evaluation of the present quality of the hydrographical basin Somes: preparing and analyze the samples, interpretation of the results; • elaboration of a database in GIS format: (ecological and chemical database and map processing of characteristic habitats from the investigated river and identification of the disturbed surfaces; • elaboration and execution of the asses and biomonitoring of the quality of the hydrographical basin; • spreading the information: scientific articles, presentations, web-site, workshops.

6. Estimated results

7. Results • a modern, complex and original biomonitoring method and evaluation of the quality of Somes catchment’s area under the influence of human impacts in order to develop a rehabilitation and conservation of the affected aquatic ecosystems, applicable also at other regions; • database containing information about the quality of Somes catchment’s area; • identification of the threatened river sectors, where eventual accidents could cause transboundary pollutions; • ecological maps of this region; • presentation manual; • scientific papers; • improving the current knowledge of the Romanian scientific, technological and technical situation • regional research network.

8. Benefits • proposed methodology could be a starting point to elaborate other methodologies in environment protection and quality of life, and also a new way to handle ecological problems in high-school and undergraduate education; • accurate determination of the quality of hydrological basins could be an useful tool to modify the environmental legislation – which is one of the conditions of the EU integration; • knowledge of the environment quality will make possible decisions in due time for ecological reconstructions; • raising of professional values by publishing scientific papers; • interdisciplinary scientific cooperation; • development of possibilities toward young researchers and limiting the migration to developed countries; • raising the number of international cooperation; • valorification of scientific abilities of research team members; • diversifications of applied research domains; • implication of researchers in actual research topics; • avoiding the legal and economic consequences of eventual transboundary pollutions; the possibility to enrol in the European Technological Platform PT25.

9. The novelty

10. proposed method for a complex, integrated biomonitoring of a catchment area through the correlation of the chemical (in situ and ex situ) and biological data (aquatic organism and birds); • research on the keystone aquatic communities. Will be identified in the Somes basin; • use of unicellular algae, macrophyton, benthic fauna as bioindicators of certain types of substances from water, chemical analysis of heavy metal concentrations from the feathers of white stork and sand martin chicks and the correlation of these result with the chemical analysis of water and sediment; • in situ analysis of heavy metals through the method of gradient diffusion in thin layers (DGT). • GIS ecological maps, containing both chemical and biological information; • analysis of heavy metals from sand martin and white stork plumage: a new, modern method, first applied in Romania.

11. Complexity

12. biological sampling strategy • sediment sampling • evaluation of pollution sources: • evaluation of threat-level and of the threatened areas (localisation and dimensions) • GIS database • identification of taxonimical groups • research activities described in this project have a multidisciplinary nature, combining fields like aquatic ecology, analytic chemistry and geology

13. Conclusions

14. Ecological factors • the factors that affect dynamic change in a population or community; • rapport between the quantitative and qualitative changes at populations and microorganism communities level and the changes of environmental factors, therefore they can be called ecological factors.

15. Ecological indication • it is based on the modification changes that can be detected at the populations and microorganism communities ; • establishing relationship between the effect (quantitative and qualitative modifications) and the modification reason represent the goal of ecological research; • organisms are used like some high precision instruments to measure the amplitude and the modification directions of environmental factors.

16. The biomonitoring method used for the ecological appreciation of water quality • is used to establish the changes over time of the ecological factors through the indications of populations and microorganism communities; • after the first sampling, the quantitative and qualitative communities structure can be established; on the basis of periodic samples, the tendencies and modification directions can be established.