Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2014
The Swedish monitoring of surface waters: 50 years of adaptive monitoring
Fölster, Jens; Johnson, Richard; Futter, Martyn; Wilander, AndersAbstract
For more than 50 years, scientific insights from surface water monitoring have supported Swedish evidence-based environmental management. Efforts to understand and control eutrophication in the 1960s led to construction of wastewater treatment plants with phosphorus retention, while acid rain research in the 1970s contributed to international legislation curbing emissions. By the 1990s, long-time series were being used to infer climate effects on surface water chemistry and biology. Monitoring data play a key role in implementing the EU Water Framework Directive and other legislation and have been used to show beneficial effects of agricultural management on Baltic Sea eutrophication. The Swedish experience demonstrates that well-designed and financially supported surface water monitoring can be used to understand and manage a range of stressors and societal concerns. Using scientifically sound adaptive monitoring principles to balance continuity and change has ensured long-time series and the capability to address new questions over time.Keywords
Acidification; Aquatic biology; Eutrophication; Freshwater; Time series; Water chemistryPublished in
AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment2014, volume: 43, number: Suppl. 1, pages: 3-18
Publisher: SPRINGER
Authors' information
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG6 Clean water and sanitation
SDG12 Responsible consumption and production
UKÄ Subject classification
Oceanography, Hydrology, Water Resources
Publication Identifiers
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-014-0558-z
URI (permanent link to this page)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/64218