On April 16, 2026, the section “Aquatic Ecosystems in Latvia: Research and Sustainable Management” of the 84th International Scientific Conference of the University of Latvia was held at the University of Latvia’s Nature House. This year, experts from leading Latvian universities and institutes, as well as practitioners from various fields, presented reports on research in Latvian rivers and lakes, along with insights into the overall ecological quality of water bodies.
The session featured three presentations directly related to the activities and results of the LIFE GoodWater IP project. The first report “Efficiency of practices to improve water quality in the demonstration water bodies of the LIFE GoodWater IP project” was presented by Ainis Lagzdiņš from the Latvian University of Biosciences and Technology. The report’s co-authors are Ieva Siksnāne and Artūrs Veinbergs, who also represent the Latvia University of Life Science and Technology. Various environmentally friendly drainage system components were constructed as part of the LIFE GoodWater IP project. Initial results indicate that the constructed solutions – constructed wetlands, sedimentation basins, and wood chip bioreactors – have a positive impact on water quality! It takes time for the environmentally friendly drainage system components to start functioning fully, and it is expected that the effectiveness of water quality improvement will increase over time!
Next up was Ieva Siksnāne’s report “Seasonal nitrate dynamics and nitrogen form structure in a drained agricultural catchment: the example of the Slocene river” Colleagues Ainis Lagzdiņš and Artūrs Veinbergs also contributed to this report. The report concluded that in the Slocene catchment basin, NO3-N is the dominant form of total nitrogen (accounting for approximately 65%). There is a pronounced seasonal pattern: the critical period is winter, and an effective solution for reducing plant nutrient concentrations lies in the use of environmentally friendly drainage system components.
The third report, “Before–after assessment of the biological quality elements in the LIFE GoodWater IP project demonstration streams following management measures” was presented by Laura Grīnberga. Co-authors of the report: Dāvis Ozoliņš, Agnija Skuja, and Nora Uztica. All authors represent the Institute of Biology at the University of Latvia. The species composition and diversity of macrophytes and benthic invertebrates indicate the ecological quality of a water body. When analyzing these indicators, it is important to consider how much time has passed since the measures were implemented, whether any factors (such as sediment accumulation) are observable, as well as what hydrological conditions prevail in the water body at the time of sampling.
In addition to reports on the achievements of the LIFE GoodWater IP, the conference session also addressed topics such as the use of non-strict mathematics in determining water quality, the assessment of the ecological potential of heavily modified water bodies, using macrophytes and benthic invertebrates, as well as best practices in ecosystem management in Europe, which is the focus of the RIWET project.
A valuable plenary lecture was delivered by Dr. Sandra Mingarelli from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, who presented a report titled “25 years of WG ECOSTAT: achievements, lessons, and future directions”. This was followed by a panel discussion featuring Sandra Mingarelli, Māris Lietuvietis (Director of the Alūksne Municipality agency “ALJA”), and Linda Fībiga (Deputy Project Manager of LIFE GoodWater IP and Project Manager of the LIFE RiverFlow, Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Center). The discussion was moderated by Matīss Žagars, a researcher at the University of Latvia.
Following the discussion, Linda Uzule from the Nature Conservation Agency spoke about plans for the protection of freshwater habitats. At the end of the session, Amanda Vasule from the Scientific Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment “BIOR” spoke about artificial rapids (presentation “Design matters: a decade of lessons from artificial riffles in river restoration”), setting the artificial rapids created in Mazupīte during the LIFE GoodWaterIP project as an example of best practice – and this is also confirmed by fish monitoring data, which show an increase in the number of brown trout fry!
At the end of the event, Jolanta Jēkabsone (Latvian Environmental Geology and Meteorology Center) examined the example of the Jaunupe River, while Kaspars Abersons (Scientific Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment “BIOR”) illustrated the importance of small and medium-sized riffle-type rivers in ensuring lamprey reproduction. Next, Patrīcija Raibarte (Scientific Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment “BIOR”) presented a report on the impact of beaver activity on fish abundance in the Paksīte River. The conference session concluded with a presentation by Linda Puncule titled “Food web interactions, habitat complexity, and human pressure as key determinants of fish community dynamics in temperate lakes.”
Several posters were also presented in parallel with the session. The titles of the reports and their co-authors, as well as the poster presentations, can be viewed in the event program here:
The section “Aquatic Ecosystems in Latvia: Research and Sustainable Management” of the 84th International Scientific Conference of the University was organized by the Institute of Biology at the University of Latvia, with support from the Baltic Environmental Forum. The event was organized as part of the LIFE GoodWater IP project.