ECOFRAME Ecological quality and functioning of shallow lake ecosystems with respect to the needs of the European Water Framework Directive

The Water Framework Directive requires member states to distinguish ecological status of their waters compared with high quality sites . Guidelines are given 
but the details of how to  distinguish these statuses are not. This proposal concerns shallow lakes among the many potential lake  ecotypes covered by the WFD. 
Over sixty European lakes will be monitored,  strictly according to the Directive. The details of what is measured among the biological variables will be refined 
and tested for reproducibility, relevance and comparability among  ecoregions .The proposal will develop criteria for recognising different ecological 
statuses, from bad to high and will check that the proposed high status sites are justified by using  diatom and chemical palaeo-ecological methods .Using existing 
large data bases, it will seek common features among ecotypes that may allow some ecotypes to be combined, thus  simplifying the system, where appropriate for 
users. It will further improve our knowledge of how these systems , function and propose a monitoring and classification system, in  consultation with user 
groups, that should be usable states in implementing the Directive .