VERBI VEnice Research BIbliography

The question if and how phytoplankton communities can be considered appropriate indicators of water quality in the transitional environments has been the core of the activity of the Research line 3.12 during 2007.
The definition of recurrent patterns and trends of phytoplankton communities represents a challenging task in the transitional environments. Indeed, some unique habitat attributes of these ecosystems markedly influence the phytoplankton seasonal pattern that, therefore, generally appears to be driven by more than a few climatic factors. The intrinsically high variability of these communities cannot be neglected and it must be taken into account, also for environmental management purpose. In this viewpoint, any effective use of the plankton communities as biological quality elements pose several constraints and it implies a strong necessity of individuation and definition of adequate baselines against which evaluate local vs. broad scale changes as well as trends. To this respect, the existence of ecological pluriannual series, gathered with appropriate methods and at the appropriate scales of investigation, will prove invaluable.
For the above reasons, the activity of the Research Line 3.12 has been focused on the analysis of a ten-year series of data, concerning the plankton community and the main related abiotic factors, gathered at five stations in the northern and central area of this lagoon from 1997 to 2006. The main results of this analysis - i.e.: the identification of the recurrent plankton seasonal dynamics, the recognition of blooming species and of biomass thresholds and the evaluation of the existence of appropriate indicator species - are reported and discussed evidencing the role of the pluriannual series in bridging the gap between science and policy, by delivering scientifically sound information useful also to evaluate water quality, within the current environmental policy and management context.