Summer breezes sweep across the riverbanks, where sparkling waters frame a bustling ecological monitoring scene along the Zhangshu section of the Gan River. "Samples must be collected upstream, with careful sieving of benthic organisms, and each sample's unique identifier must be flawless," said an official recently.
The Yichun Zhangshu Ecological Environment Bureau in Jiangxi Province has launched a comprehensive, practical training exercise for water ecosystem monitoring across its key river systems. This initiative covers five major water systems: the Gan River, Yuan River, Xiao River, Longxi River, and Xiangshui River.
The training builds a complete chain of "theoretical study, field practice, and indoor practical training," precisely targeting weak areas in professional skills. It organized 12 technical staff members into groups for full-process, hands-on training, including site reconnaissance, field sampling, indoor sorting, and quality control. This approach aims to comprehensively enhance the team's professional capabilities.
"This is my first time fully participating in a simultaneous survey of periphytic algae and large benthic invertebrates," said young technician Nie Siqi, expressing her appreciation for the experience.
To ensure scientific and accurate monitoring, staff conducted thorough site reconnaissance along all five major river systems beforehand and equipped themselves with specialized monitoring gear. After sample collection, staff promptly removed debris such as sand, gravel, and branches using sieves, affixed exclusive waterproof identification codes, and transported samples in sealed, refrigerated conditions. This effectively prevented contamination and biological loss, achieving a 100% sample integrity rate across the eight monitoring sites.
This operation set up 32 quantitative quadrats and 24 semi-quantitative transects, successfully completing the collection of 16 periphytic algae samples and 26 large benthic invertebrate samples. Following field sampling, indoor sample sorting and identification training immediately commenced.
Monitoring personnel, grouped together, used professional benthic organism identification keys to conduct sample sorting. They strictly adhered to quality control requirements such as sample reduction, separate storage of rare species, and removal of empty shells and debris. Close attention was paid to the core quality control indicator of the Pick Overlook Ratio (POR) to ensure data accuracy.
Currently, sample sorting from all eight monitoring sites has been completed. A 10% re-sorting verification has been conducted, and all sites have met the POR standard, fully complying with national monitoring regulations. Additionally, eight sets of original river habitat records have been archived, and 42 biological specimens have been successfully transferred, providing authentic, complete, and reliable raw data for future river and lake health assessments and aquatic ecosystem research.
The training exercise emphasized real-time operation, immediate error correction, and centralized review. During the day, technical staff conducted field tasks such as site verification, sample collection, and sealed transport along the rivers. At night, they held four special review sessions, collectively studying national standards for water ecosystem monitoring and exchanging practical techniques on specimen fixation, biological sorting, and species identification.
"This comprehensive water ecosystem monitoring training exercise is a milestone, marking a breakthrough from zero in aquatic biological monitoring work," said the head of the Zhangshu Ecological Environment Monitoring Station. "Previously, we lacked practical experience in aquatic ecosystem monitoring. This training has effectively filled that gap and significantly improved the professionalism and standardization of our team's monitoring work."
According to reports, the Zhangshu Ecological Environment Bureau will establish a routine water ecosystem monitoring mechanism and gradually build and improve a local aquatic biological specimen library. Furthermore, leveraging the continuously accumulated accurate monitoring data, it will conduct regular river and lake health assessments to persistently protect the clear waters, green banks, and beautiful landscapes of the Zhangshu region.
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