Assessment of the Pressure Level over Lentic Waterbodies through the Estimation of Land Uses in the Catchment and Hydro-Morphological Alterations: The LUPLES Method

The features of lentic waterbodies largely depend on the surrounding environment. Mediterranean coastal lagoons have been historically altered, with their catchment being highly modified for agricultural, livestock, or urban uses. Changes in land uses induce pressures that impact the waterbodies and alter their ecological status. The objectives of this paper were: to develop a methodological approach (LUPLES: Land Uses for estimating Pressure Levels to approach the Ecological Status), to quantify the main pressures on the waterbodies and to forecast the possible impacts of these pressures on their ecological status. Corine-Land Cover maps and Geographic Information System technics were used to delineate and identify land uses in the catchments. Specific algorithms were created to quantify the main pressures from land uses in the catchment and hydro-morphological alterations in the immediate basin. The values of the estimated pressure levels were correlated with ecological status indicators using metrics developed for the European Water Framework Directive. Data were obtained from European and River Basin Authorities databases. Results showed statistically significant correlations between the pressure levels quantified by the LUPLES method and the impact level detected by biological, physical and chemical metrics. This method provides a useful approach to estimate the pressure levels affecting lentic waterbodies and could be applied to approach how they could affect their ecological status.