From expert judgement to supervised classification: A new approach to assess ecological status in lowland streams

The EC Water Framework Directive (WFD) clearly states that undisturbed reference states of aquatic ecosystems should be used to set standards for restoration. Across Europe defining biological reference status and setting boundaries for ecological status classes continues to represent a major challenge. In the present study we investigate if a paradigm exists among experts that can guide the development of assessment systems based on the...