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About FLOW

The FLOW project: Analysing streams - creating knowledge together

 

FLOW is a citizen science project for the ecological monitoring of small streams. The project’s aim is to analyse and evaluate the ecological status of small streams together with interested citizens. We want to answer the following questions:

  • To which extent does the hydromorphology (i.e., habitat quality) of the sample sites correspond to near-natural status? To analyse this, we assess all parameters required under the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) including the watercourse, bank structure, stream bed, flow regime, surrounding land use).
  • Are the threshold values for nutrient concentrations (e.g. nitrite, nitrate, phosphate) and oxygen content exceeded in the streams analysed?
  • Which benthic invertebrates (e.g., larvae of caddisflies, mayflies, stoneflies, dragonflies, gammarids and water snails) are present in the stream and in what abundance? How should the pesticide contamination of the stream be assessed against this background?

The stream data collected with the participants are incorporated into ecological studies. Based on this evidence, we plan to identify and prioritize measures for freshwater protection and implement them at the local scale with citizen scientists and relevant stakeholders.

The FLOW project flyer (in English) can be downloaded here.
You can also find us here on the German citizen science platform mit:forschen!

Project management and coordination

  • Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ, Leipzig), German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Friedrich Schiller University Jena

Other project partners

  • Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND e.V.): responsible for community management as project partner from February 2021 to January 2024
  • Saxony State Foundation for Nature and the Environment (LaNU): continuous support, especially in 2021 through cooperation with the "Planaria" environmental mobile

Project funding

  • 02/2021 - 12/2024: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
  • 07/2019 - 10/2022: Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU) - PhD scholarship for Julia von Gönner

 

Motivation

Over 90 % of officially monitored rivers in Germany are in a poor ecological status (Federal Environment Agency, 2022). At the same time, there is a lack of reliable data on the status and pollution exposure of small streams, i.e. streams with catchment areas of less than 10km2, as these are not included in the monitoring of the European Water Framework Directive (EC-WFD, 2000).

Many people enjoy spending time near rivers and streams, but often know little about freshwater ecosystems and the human activities that negatively affect them. Others are very interested in the ecological status of watercourses and already regularly observe the streams in their neighbourhood.

The FLOW citizen science project aims to co-create new knowledge about stream health! We provide training and opportunities for exchange between interested community members and different stakeholders on the topic of freshwater monitoring and protection.

 

Project goals

 

Methods

 

Cooperation with MERLIN

The MERLIN project is an EU-funded joint project for the ecological restoration of freshwater ecosystems led by the University of Duisburg-Essen.
The aim of MERLIN is to identify and implement innovative and effective solutions for restoring the ecosystem functions of aquatic ecosystems, to promote biodiversity protection, flood retention and carbon sequestration by aquatic ecosystems.

Citizen science projects such as FLOW have great potential to support the monitoring of freshwater health and can also help to plan and implement evidence-based restoration measures.
In our current feasibility study, we are therefore investigating how existing citizen science approaches can be used and adapted to monitor freshwater restoration measures. We are developing a practical guide for planning and implementing low-threshold stream restoration measures that can be initiated by citizen science and community groups. Depending on the stream type, the ecological condition of the watercourse, the surrounding land use and the identified stressors, the following measures may be appropriate to improve stream status: planting site-specific trees and shrubs in riparian areas to provide shade and improve habitat structure, or introducing gravel or driftwood collectors to improve substrate and flow diversity.
Successful cooperation between local citizen science groups, associations, authorities and landowners is essential for the professional planning and implementation of such measures. The implementation process also requires time and expertise to select suitable sites and measures that are accepted by all stakeholders. The implemented measures can then be further optimised and adapted to the local conditions based on the local monitoring results.

Kiesdepots02
HolzchenStockchen02
 

The introduction of gravel (photos on the left) increases substrate diversity, reduces erosion of the stream bed and leads to a dynamic restructuring of the transverse and longitudinal profile of the stream. Driftwood collectors (photos on the right) promote the retention of organic material and support the restoration of natural bank and bed structures. Photos: Roland Bischof.

Action campaign #ourRivers 2024

From May to the end of September 2024, we are running the nationwide action campaign #unsereFlüsse (#our rivers) as a team from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research UFZ Leipzig and media professional from the German public television (ARD).
The aim of the campaign is to motivate as many people as possible to observe and report the habitat quality of their streams with a low-threshold participatory offer. We have developed a short online questionnaire for this purpose. This is a greatly simplified version of the FLOW protocol for water structure assessment.
Various environmental associations, the Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt), the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Bundesamt für Naturschutz), the German Angling Association (DAFV), the Scouts, Omas for Future and many other organisations are supporting our call for participation. Currently (mid-August 2024), we have already received over 2,300 stream records from all over Germany.

Link of FLOW project and action campaign

This year's action campaign is an introductory programme for environmental education in the field of freshwater ecology for anyone who wants to take part spontaneously. The aim of the campaign is to increase public awareness of our streams and hopefully gain political support for further funding of the FLOW project. In this way, we can draw attention to the FLOW project, with which we collect scientifically standardised data. We also hope to attract more volunteers who may wish to take part in the FLOW project next year.
The FLOW project is our long-term citizen science project, which analyses the ecological status of streams in a comprehensive and standardised way. The results of your FLOW monitoring events will be incorporated into scientific studies. We are currently actively seeking to promote and consolidate the FLOW network in the long term, including through the action campaign, to create new knowledge on freshwater health together!
The results of the action campaign will be presented in various press reports in autumn 2024 and in an ARD documentary in October 2024.

 ARD Unsere Fluesse

 

Background

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