Fish Regions: Biozootic Zonation of Flowing Waters in Austria

Fish Regions is a dataset from Cooperation OGD Österreich and Wikimedia Österreich describing a longitudinal zonal structure for flowing waters based on typical fish communities. The data delineates biozootic regions like the Epirhithral and Metapotamal, which provide a water type-specific reference status for fish fauna. The data level aligns with the 2015 National Water Management Plan and is slated for an update following the NGP 2021.

Use Cases

• Classifying flowing water bodies into biozootic regions based on the described fish community sequence.
• Establishing reference conditions for fish fauna assessments based on the combination of fish regions and assigned fish guides.
• Supporting national water management planning by providing a structured spatial framework for aquatic ecosystems.

Strengths

• Data is structured according to a defined national assessment scheme for biozootic regions.
• The dataset is explicitly linked to the authoritative National Water Management Plan (NGP) framework.
• A planned update is mentioned, indicating potential for future currency.

Limitations

• Row count and spatial scale are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The exact date of the last update is unknown; freshness is unverified.

Provenance

Source

Cooperation OGD Österreich, Wikimedia Österreich

Collection Method

Likely derived from ecological surveys and national water management planning processes.

Freshness

Last update date is unknown; a future update is planned after the publication of the NGP 2021.

Geography

The description references a national assessment scheme, suggesting coverage is likely Austria.