Rationale:
The European Union has put forward the European Framework Directive to oblige the different members to obtain a good to very good quality for all the running and standing waterbodies.  To achieve these objectives, all countries should monitor on a regularly base the water quality based on different bio-indicators such as macro-invertebrates and diatoms.  Several countries have already well-performing systems but most of them are still developing their monitoring systems.  To enhance this development, basic and correct knowledge on the present organisms in the waterbodies is more than necessary.   

Overall goal:
Following a diatom course taught in Sweden in 2004, the idea rose to create a detailed, taxonomically up-to-date atlas of the Swedish river diatoms.  Such an important document does not exist at present.   

Objectives:
The main objective of this project is the morphological and taxonomical analysis of the diatom flora of various Swedish rivers and the creation of a comprehensive atlas that can later be used as a basis in water monitoring projects.  This objective will be achieved by detailed LM and SEM analysis and photographing of all present diatom species.  Ecological information, already obtained after the counts of the different samples, will be added to increase the value of the atlas.  We expect to have the atlas ready and published by 2009.