People and Projects Solving Freshwater Restoration Challenges

EcoAdvance European Project

Showcase category ➤ Star Scientists

HUNGARY

Gábor Várbíró

senior research fellow - HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research

Scientists & Researchers
My Projects

UNEP - Nature Based Solutions

  • Key project facts

    Biodiversity in freshwater recovers if we apply measures, we can observe it with long-term monitoring, so keep working!

    What lessons learned are transferable to other places/projects?

    Long-term biological monitoring datasets and their scientific analysis play a crucial role in supporting ecological restoration projects by:

    Defining reference conditions: They help establish realistic restoration targets based on historical or near-natural ecosystem states.

    Detecting ecological trends: Long-term data reveal degradation patterns and natural variability, informing the timing and nature of interventions.

    Improving adaptive management: Continuous monitoring supports evidence-based adjustments during project implementation.

My Focus and Approach
  • Lessons Learnt - Some recommendations for others?
    1. What’s most important:

      Demonstrate to the public and decision-makers that water quality protection is successful and has brought improvement.

    2. Do this, not that: 

      Be positive first then ask for more effort, not start with the negative.

    3. Always start by:

      Sampling.

    4. What to do when things get difficult…:

      Ask help from others.

My Journey
  • My journey:

    I work as a biologist, mainly focusing on macroinvertebrates. I begin with the sampling and identification process, then progress to addressing ecological questions about their presence. Subsequently, I delve into understanding what these organisms indicate, leading me to work on ecological indexes. The utilization of these indexes extends to the application of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), intercalibration, and policy considerations. Currently, I am involved in establishing nutrient thresholds to save ecological quality and advocating against biodiversity decline.

  • My Education:
    • University of Debrecen KLTE, TTK (1992-1997)    Biologist-ecologist 
      University of Debrecen 2010     PhD Environmental Sciences
    • The Big Change:

      To transfer ecological knowledge at the policy level

  • Favourite part of the work I do:

    I prefer analyses and statistical thinking.

Interview

Key Topics:

Key Topics

These relate to specific topics (e.g. technical solutions; restoration activities etc.) addressed within the showcase materials.

  • long term dataset
  • data analyses
Prone2Success Factors Demonstrated:

Prone2Success Factors Demonstrated

These are the Prone2Success checklist factors which are highlighted within this showcase. More information on the Prone2Success checklist can be found here.

  • Measurable goals to improve ecological status
  • Supports WFD, NRL and other restoration policy goals
  • Include long term monitoring
  • Take climate change into account
NRL Restoration Categories:

NRL Restoration Categories

These are the restoration categories (listed under Annex VII of the European Nature Restoration Law (NRL) which are relevant to this showcase.

  • [19] Stop or reduce the use of chemical pesticides / fertilisers
  • [22] Improve connectivity across habitats
  • [32] Reduce pollution (chemicals, urban/industrial wastewater, litter, plastics)
Resources
Peer reviewed papers

The recovery of European freshwater biodiversity has come to a halt
The recovery of European freshwater biodiversity has come to a halt
P Haase, DE Bowler, NJ Baker, N Bonada, S Domisch, ...
Nature 620 (7974), 582-588

Setting nutrient boundaries to protect aquatic communities: The importance of comparing observed and predicted classifications using measures derived from a confusion matrix
Setting nutrient boundaries to protect aquatic communities: The importance of comparing observed and predicted classifications using measures derived from a confusion matrix
G Phillips, H Teixeira, M Kelly, FS Herrero, G Várbíró, AL Solheim, ...
Science of the Total Environment, 168872

Tracking long-term shifts in non-native freshwater macroinvertebrates across three European countries
Tracking long-term shifts in non-native freshwater macroinvertebrates across three European countries
M Toutain, I Soto, JJ Rasmussen, Z Csabai, G Várbíró, JF Murphy, ...
Science of The Total Environment 906, 167402

Acknowledgements & Links

This material was provided by: HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research

For more information, see https://www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/2023/se/recovery-of-biodiversity-in-rivers-across-europe-is-slowing-down-study-finds.html?utm_source=miragenews&utm_medium=miragenews&utm_campaign=news 

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