Second Deliverable - STAR Stream Types and Sampling Sites
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second deliverable
Aims & scope Methods Stream types

Aims & scope

Aim of this report is to document the process of sampling site selection (Workpackage 5), which is the preposition for the “core Workpackages” 7 (core stream types) and 8 (additional stream types) of STAR. Furthermore, first tables of the sites to be sampled in STAR are presented. All partners, who will participate in the fieldwork of STAR, contributed to this report by selecting the sampling sites (in many cases in close collaboration with national authorities) and by providing the relevant information to the Workpackage leader. The tables presented in this report are still somewhat incomplete, since those partners, who start sampling in autumn 2002, have not completed sampling site selection. However, the tables presented will continuously be updated.

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Methods to select stream types and sampling sites

The process of sampling site selection was composed of the following steps:

Simultaneously, an intense discussion concerning the sampling protocols for the individual taxonomic groups was performed. This was mainly done through the discussion forum and was supplemented by the first sampling workshop, which was held in May 2002 in La Bresse (France). A second workshop with a limited number of participants was held in Denmark in June 2002; aim of this workshop was mainly to discuss and to train the specific problems occurring when sampling lowland streams.

The above mentioned discussion led to a number of minor alterations of both the sampling protocols for the individual taxonomic groups and of the overall sampling design. The consolidated sampling protocols are documented under the protocol-page.

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The STAR stream types

In STAR, two different kinds of stream types are investigated:

The concept of the “core” and “additional stream types” resulted from the different objectives of STAR. In general, the “core stream types” are defined in a very broad way. They are “stream types on a higher level”, which are characterized by size class, altitude class and flow type, but are not necessarily located in the same Ecoregion or even in geologically homogeneous areas. Nevertheless, we are considering them to be sufficiently homogeneous so that variation in faunal composition caused by natural differences is not increasing variation caused by anthropogenic disturbance. The core stream type sampling sites will mainly serve the intercalibration of sampling methods and the “linking of organism groups”. Additionally, they will be used to extend and validate existing assessment systems such as AQEM. Two core stream types have been selected and already specified (see pdf-version).

The "additional stream types" mainly serve the development of assessment methods for stream types, on which little is known (e.g. extension of the AQEM system). These assessment methods should preferably be stressor-specific (a single stressor is investigated per country). In addition, the data serve the same purposes as the "core stream types". The "additional stream types" have been designated by the partners sampling additional stream types in the first phase of the project.

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