title: Assessment of the ecological status of Mediterranean French coastal waters as required by the Water Framework Directive using the Posidonia oceanica Rapid Easy Index: PREI.
abstract: This paper describes the PREI (Posidonia oceanica Rapid Easy Index), a method used to assess the ecological status of seawater along Mediterranean French coasts. The PREI was drawn up according to the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000/60/EC) and was tested on 24 and 18 stations in PACA (Provence-Alpes-Côtes d'Azur) and Corsica, respectively. The PREI is based on five metrics: shoot density, shoot leaf surface area, E/L ratio (epiphytic biomass/leaf biomass), depth of lower limit, and type of this lower limit. The 42 studied stations were classified in the first four levels of status: high, good, moderate and poor. The PREI values ranged between 0.280 and 0.847; this classification is in accordance with our field knowledge and with our knowledge of the literature. The PREI was validated regarding human pressure levels (r(2)=0.74). (http://eurex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2000:327:0001:0072:EN:PDF).
authors.affiliation: MARE Centre, Laboratoire d'Océanologie, Université de Liège, Sart-Tilman, B6, 4000 Liège, Belgium. Sylvie.Gobert@ulg.ac.be
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gobert
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sartoretto
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rico-Raimondino
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Andral
authors.forename: Aurelia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chery
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lejeune
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boissery
mesh_terms: D035961:Alismatales / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D018533:Biomass; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000379:methods*; D005602:France; D005843:Geography; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000378:metabolism; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes / Q000378:metabolism; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000254:growth & development; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D018520:Plant Shoots / Q000254:growth & development; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*; D013460:Sulfur Isotopes / Q000378:metabolism; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes; D013460:Sulfur Isotopes; D014873:Water Pollutants