T. G. Masaryk Water Research Institute, public research institution (TGM WRI), is the direct successor of the State Hydrological Institute, which was founded in 1919.
The institute carries out research of the status, use and changes of aquatic ecosystems and their relations with landscape and related environmental risks and waste management, and further professional support to water conservation activities, prevention of flood risks and waste management, based on the aforementioned research agenda.
The main scope of activity is focused on research, conceptual, professional and methodological activity, including development and operation of information systems, in the field of protection of quality and quantity of surface and ground waters and their use in technical, economic and other relations and mutual interactions. This constitutes an objective professional service provided preferentially to public administration, in particular pursuant to the Water Act and for development and enforcement of state water policy. The project team is primarily engaged in development, testing and application of methods of evaluation of ecological status of watercourses using communities of aquatic organisms with emphasis on macrozoobenthos, analyses of the structures of macrozoobenthos and phytobenthos community in relation to anthropogenic impact, desiccation and climate change and on integration of monitoring methodologies into national legislation and practice.
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Masaryk University is one of the most significant educational and scientific institutions in the Czech Republic. It is presently comprised of nine faculties with more than 200 departments, institutes and clinics. Science and research are among top priorities at Masaryk University.
The Faculty of Science of Masaryk University is a faculty priding on high scientific effectiveness, engaged in both basic and applied research (http://www.muni.cz/sci/research/projects?lang=cs). The Department of Botany and Zoology, which is the executive body for the project at hand, has a strong record of successful projects (http://www.muni.cz/sci/314020/projects) and numerous publishing outputs (http://www.muni.cz/ sci/31402/publication s). The team of hydrobiology working group participated in cooperation with the TGM WRI in designing and development of a system of evaluation of ecological status of waters as well as study of least affected watercourses. The Department is also involved in long-standing cooperation with the Institute of Entomology of the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences concerning the study of long-term changes in model groups of aquatic insects (e.g. http://www.muni.cz/research/projects/2660). The team of investigators within the project is responsible for tasks concerning the macrophytes and macrozoobenthos component. Materials for assessment of long-term changes in GIS environment will be also prepared. They will also consult in development of an extension module for evaluation of long-term changes in IS ARROW.
Hydrosoft Veleslavín s.r.o. has a long record of developing information systems in the field of water management, both as regards monitoring of the quantity and quality of surface and ground waters and flood protection. It is the author and administrator of a number of information systems and their presentation and administration portals, both in regime and operational hydrology (HEIS ČHMÚ, IS ARROW, POVIS, etc.). Within the project, it takes part in formalization and storage of historical and newly obtained data in a project collection database including linking with the current data sources provided by IS ARROW. In addition, it is also involved in designing of a data evaluation system and visualization of results, and in development of an evaluation and presentation module and its implementation into IS ARROW.
Monitoring of long-term changes in biological diversity of running waters during climate change:
design, realization and implementation in the ARROW public information system
The project is supported by the EEA and Norway Grants