Workpackage 1

Deliverable (D1.1)

Work Package 1 has its first deliverable (D1.1) as a technical note where they investigate the currently applied reference concentrations of total nitrogen and total phosphorus in the common types of lowland rivers and lake types in the NORDBALT-ECOSAFE project partner countries. The current reference total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations are compared with a modelled reference concentration utilizing a Swedish developed model based on input data from rivers and lakes in all partner countries. The technical note includes modeling results for rivers having both low and high clay content in their catchments as it have been shown to especially have an impact on total phosphorus concentrations in rivers.

Deliverable (D1.2)

Work Package 1 in the NORDBALT-ECOSAFE EU project has in a Fact Sheet (Deliverable D1.2) published the developed Good/Moderate (GM) boundaries for total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) for diﬀerent lowland water body types of rivers and lakes in Nordic and Baltic countries based on data from the six countries taking part in the project (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Poland and Denmark).

Safe ecological boundaries in water bodies

Objectives

WP1 aims to identify safe ecological boundary values for N and P concentrations in different types of Nordic-Baltic rivers, lakes, and coastal ecosystems. There will be a special focus on water bodies in agricultural areas, for which reference/benchmark values will be set based on the best available sites using land-use criteria defined in consultation with stakeholders, e.g., percentage agriculture and forestry in catchment, the intensity of agriculture (extensive grassland, fallow farmland) and forestry, proximity to waterbodies, and the condition of riparian areas.

Tasks

1.1: Develop a common method to set harmonised reference/benchmark values for nutrients for different types of waterbodies in the Nordic-Baltic region.
1.2: Estimate safe ecological boundaries for nutrients that safeguard good status for sensitive biological quality elements
1.3: Evaluate the need to tighten the nutrient boundaries to counteract negative impacts of climate change on algal blooms and benthic flora and fauna
1.4: Test the proposed safe ecological boundaries using regional datasets covering the entire Nordic-Baltic region

Revised 24.10.2024

Else Vihlborg Staalsen