QBR index field data sheet

Riparian habitat quality

Score of each part cannot be negative or exceed 25.

Total riparian cover
Score		Total Score
25	> 80% riparian cover (excluding annual plants)
10	50-80% riparian cover
5
0	<10% riparian cover
+10	+ 10 If connectivity between the riparian forest and the woodland is total
+5	If the connectivity is over 50%
-5	Connectivity between 25 and 50%
-10	Connectivity under 25%

Cover structure
Score		Total Score
25	>75% tree cover
10	50-75% tree cover or 25 50% tree cover but 25% covered by shrubs
5	Tree cover under 50% but shrub cover at least between 10 and 25%
0	Under 10% either tree or shrub cover
+ 10	If at least 50% of the channel has he!ophytes or shrubs
+ 5	If 25-50% ot the channel has helophytes or shrubs
+ 5	If trees and shrubs are in the same patches
- 5	If trees are regularly distributed but shrubland is >50%
-5	If trees and shrubs are distributed in separate patches, without continuity
-10	Trees distributed regularly, and shrubland <50%

Cover quality (the geomorphological type should first be determined^*)
Score		Type1	Type2	Type3	Total Score
25	Number of native tree species	>1	>2	>3
10	Number of native tree species	1	2	3
5	Number of native tree species	-	1	1-2
0	Absence of native trees
+ 10	If the tree community is continuous at least 3 m wide along the river and covers at least 75% of the riparian area
+ 5	The tree community is nearly continuous and covers at least 50% of the riparian area
+ 5	If the riparian community has a gallery-type structure
+ 5	Number of shrub species:	>2	>3	>4
- 5	If there are some man-made buildings in the riparian area
-5	If there are some isolated non-native trees**
- 10	Presence of communities of non-native trees**
- 10	Presence of refuse

* See

** Allochthonous trees in the study area (this should be listed for each study area)

Channel alteration
Score		Total Score
25	Unmodified river channel
10	Fluvial terraces modified constraining the river channel
5	Channel modified by discontinuous rigid structures along the banks
0	Transverse structures within the channel (e g weirs)
- 10	River bed with rigid structures (e g walls)
- 10	If there is a weir or some other transversal infrastructure across the river bed.

Final score (sum of level scores)

Developed by the Department of Ecology, University of Barcelona, with the collaboration of the Department of Environment of the Barcelona Council