PASCALIS Protocols for the assessment and conservation of aquatic life in the subsurface
Country: EU Projects
Start Date:           Duration: 36 months         Project Type: RTD
Contract Number: EVK2-CT-2001-00121
Organisation Type:  EC Project
Topics: 
Contaminated land-->Soil and groundwater processes-->Ecotoxicology
Groundwater protection-->Groundwater protection overview
Groundwater protection-->Planning-->Planning overview
Project objectives: 
Groundwater is the main drinking water reservoir on earth, but also a major ecosystem in terms of biological diversity. Maintaining groundwater quality and 
conserving its biodiversity are converging goals because the healthy functioning of these systems is attested by their level of biodiversity. The PASCALIS 
project aims at exploring groundwater biodiversity in this perspective. Today knowledge of groundwater biota distributions will be organized in a large 
database and visualized on maps. Biodiversity will be surveyed at selected sites following stratified sampling and standardised protocols.     
    
Main groundwater habitats and most taxonomic groups will be considered. Indicators of biodiversity will be identified, validated and combined into an 
operational tool. Integrating these results in a larger socio-economic context, a dedicated website will be created and an Action Plan for Groundwater Biodiversity 
Conservation will be proposed.
Project Summary: 
Although the research history on biological diversity in subsurface water typically lags behind that of surface freshwater, considerable efforts amongst 
scientists for the second half of the 20th century have revealed the unexpectedly high diversity of living forms in groundwater. The nineties’ literature 
comprises not less than 10 books dealing with the biology and ecology of groundwater, a publication rate probably unequalled in many other research fields 
(6-15). However, none of these books have attempted to provide standard protocols and guidelines for estimating and maintaining groundwater biodiversity, 
despite the persuasive alteration of groundwater resources and expectedly high extinction rates of species. Therefore, the transfer and practical implications 
of basic knowledge in groundwater ecology is still severely limited by the lack of appropriate tools for assessing and conserving biodiversity. The present 
project is resolved to fill this gap and will provide new data and innovative methods that are of critical importance in advancing the assessment and conservation 
of groundwater biodiversity. Major creative products will concern both the way to look at, to assess, to predict and to conserve biodiversity in European groundwater.
Achieved Objectives: 
The main goal of this project was to establish a rigorous and detailed protocol for assessing groundwater biodiversity and to develop operational tools for 
its conservation.   
In the course of the project a sampling manual for the investigation of groundwater biodiversity has been developed.   
Groundwater biodiversity has being surveyed at 6 selected regions in Europe following a standardized sampling procedure. Most taxonomic groups inhabiting 
a wide range of groundwater habitats were considered. The  manual provides a detailed description of the standard protocol that is used to assess groundwater 
biodiversity in the selected regions.
Product Descriptions: 
Groundwater is the main drinking water reservoir on earth, but also a major ecosystem in terms of biological diversity. Maintaining groundwater quality and 
conserving its biodiversity are converging goals because the healthy functioning of these systems is attested by their level of biodiversity. The PASCALIS 
project aimed at exploring groundwater biodiversity in this perspective. Today knowledge of groundwater biota distributions will be organized in a large 
database and visualized on maps. Biodiversity has been surveyed at selected sites following stratified sampling and standardised protocols.    
   
Available products:   
   
Sampling Manual
Additional Information:
Project Resources:

Sampling Manual for the Assessment of Regional Groundwater Biodiversity
Weblink:
http://www.pascalis-project.com/
Funding Programme(s): 
EC Framework Programme 5
Link to Organisations:
Submitted by: EUGRIS Team Dr Stefan Gödeke  Who does what?  18/03/2005 13:42:00
Updated by: EUGRIS Team Professor Paul Bardos  Who does what?  03/10/2006 14:12:00