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    • GLOSSARY
  • ARTICLES

How can a river clean itself?

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  • How can a river clean itself?

How Can a River Clean Itself?

Understanding the importance of biodiversity in supporting self-purification ability of a river is a focus of the research question that this guidebook for teachers tries to answer.

1.

RIVER AND RIVER BASIN

This chapter introduces basic concepts connected to river systems. It explains the concept of a water cycle in connection to a river system. At the end, it explains the upstream-downstream concepts in river systems.

2.

THE SHAPE OF A RIVER

Our goal is to introduce the hydro-morphological context of river quality (good hydro-morphological status) and connect it to the habitats of aquatic biota. It is necessary to preserve or restore the natural shape of a river with its natural water-flow, self-purification, as well as the riparian area for the quality of water and life in it.

3.

LIFE IN A RIVER

This chapter introduces the biological context of river quality or good biological status, mainly through microorganisms (bacteria), zoobenthos, phytobenthos, and periphyton. This aquatic community is responsible for the self-purification of a river system. Fish, at the top of the aquatic food chain, are not considered in detail here.

4.

POLLUTION IN RIVERS

The goal is to explain what pollution is, what kind of pollution a river can clean itself or not and to what degree, what the main polluters are, and what happens if there is too much pollution.

5.

WATER QUALITY IN RIVERS

This section aims to explain how water quality is assessed in rivers in the European Union. The ecological status (in natural and semi-natural rivers) or ecological potential (in heavily modified water bodies) is evaluated based on biological, hydro-morphological, and chemical quality.

6.

SELF-PURIFICATION PROCESSES IN RIVERS

This chapter explains what self-purification ability of a water system is, what happens when we add pollution to the biological cycle in a river, what physical, chemical, and biological processes are important, and what kind of pollution a water system can clean by itself.

7.

RIVERS WITH HIGH SELF-PURIFICATION CAPABILITY

The focus of this chapter is to present the physical characteristics of rivers with a high level of self-purification ability, and to explain what good and bad practices in river management are.

TOPICS

  • 1. RIVER AND RIVER BASIN
    • Lesson 1/1
    • Lesson 1/2
  • 2. THE SHAPE OF A RIVER
    • Lesson 2/1
    • Lesson 2/2
  • 3. LIFE IN A RIVER
    • Lesson 3/1
    • Lesson 3/2
    • Lesson 3/3
  • 4. POLLUTION IN RIVERS
    • Lesson 4/1
    • Lesson 4/2
  • 5. WATER QUALITY IN RIVERS
    • Lesson 5/1
  • 6. SELF-PURIFICATION PROCESSES IN RIVERS
    • LESSON 6/1
  • 7. RIVERS WITH HIGH SELF-PURIFICATION CAPABILITY
    • Lesson 7/1

Donors

 

This project is partly financed by the European Union and City of Vienna

Partners

Associated partners

logo-eledan

info@water-detective.org

General contact:
info@water-detective.org

Lead partner and initiator:
ICRO – Institute for Integral Development and Environment, Sl

SI contact: marta.vahtar@icro.si

Partners:

Institute of Biology Bucharest,
Romanian Academy, Bucharest , RO
RO contact: biodiversitateibb@gmail.com

Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, Belgrade, RS
SR contact: lenhardt@ibiss.bg.ac.rs

Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, BG
BU contact: luchezarpehlivanov@gmail.com

Links:

www.eledan.eu
www.water-detective.net
www.facebook.com/water.detectives

Last change: 29.04.2019

© ICRO Domžale, 2019 All rights reserved