The project “Development of diagnostic tools to identify causal stressors using macrozoobenthos in line with the stream assessment according to the WFD” aims to develop interactive online tools, to identify and hierarchically order putatively active stressors as potential causes of biological degradation.

The tools will be implemented through Bayesian Networks and use the values of assessment core metrics and further diagnostically indicative metrics, which will be made selectable online, and which provide the basis to calculate the probability of putatively relevant stressors.

The results inform the identification of biologically relevant stressors and will help adopt programs of measures to stressor hierarchies. The collaboration project is funded and coordinated by the Landesanstalt für Umwelt Baden-Württemberg (LUBW).