Towards a standardized method to monitor the impact of hydromorphological lake restoration on lakes shorelines

Under the impulse of environmental policies, in particular Water framework directive, much attention has been paid to freshwater ecosystems to improve environmental quality. However, as lakes support numerous human activities they undergo strong anthropogenic pressures especially in their littoral zones which host a high biodiversity and have multiple ecological functions. Today, in France, many restoration projects concerning lakes shorelines are led, especially to mitigate anthropogenic pressures. But there is an important lack in the monitoring and assessment of the efficiency of those projects. French biodiversity agency and Irstea are developing a standardized methodology to monitor lake hydromorphological restoration projects in order to i) evaluate their efficiency and ii) assess physico-chemical and biological responses to different type of restoration. This monitoring based on a "Before-After-Control-Impact" design should begin 1 to 3 years before restoration and last at least 7 years afterwards, upon restored and control sites, focussing on the evolution of hydromorphology, physico-chemical parameters and biota. One of the sticking point of the project is the collaboration between researchers, lake managers and stakeholders which will be involved during all the development of the project, with constant feedbacks. Finally, this methodology is aimed to help researchers to collect standardized data, and lake managers to implement new and better projects.