Performance of the Phytoplankton Index for Lakes (IPLAC): A multimetric phytoplankton index to assess the ecological status of water bodies in France

The index is WFD-compliant and is dedicated to natural lakes and artificial water bodies in metropolitan France, and will be routinely used by the French Ministry of the Environment to assess lake ecological status through the phytoplankton community. However, the results must be carefully interpreted in two cases: reservoirs with large water level fluctuations, and samples that include less than 5 indicator species.