Use of Benthic Algae and Bryophytes for Monitoring Rivers

Many countries have adopted a single, well-described approach to the use of phototrophs for monitoring river waterquality, which involves the use of indices related to diatom composition at a site. Increasingly these indices have focussedon assessing ambient phosphate concentration. However, there is a wide range of other methods which can provide additionalinformation to make up for any weaknesses in the standard method. Some of these methods are reviewed brieflyhere. They can be useful, for instance, when considering temporal and spatial variability in phosphate concentration ata particular site and providing much more insight on heavy metal or pesticide pollution than revealed by routine wateranalysis.