Zooplankton is widely recognized as a key component of pelagic ecosystems and forms the basis for major trophic webs. Although zooplankton has often been used as an indicator of trophic state, it has not been included as an obligatory element of the water assessment systems compliant with the Water Framework Directive. This article introduces the Zooplankton Index for Polish Lakes’ Assessment (ZIPLA_S) as a new method to assess the ecological status of stratified lakes based on the zooplankton community. The ZIPLA_S evaluates three aspects of zooplankton communities, namely, taxonomic composition and abundance, diversity of the zooplankton community, and stressor-sensitive species, which are combined into a multimetric index. Following are the metrics used to compose multimetric ZIPLA_S: percentage share of the Rotifer species indicative of high trophy in the indicative group’s number (IHTROT; %), ratio of Calanoida to Cyclopoida individual numbers (CA/CY), percentage of tecta form in the population of Keratella cochlearis (TECTA; %), Margalef’s index (d), and zooplankton abundance (NZOL; ind./L). ZIPLA_S responds clearly to eutrophication indicators—the strongest with Secchi disc visibility (Spearman’s rank correlation R = 0.86) and slightly weaker with the expressed by total phosphorus (R = -0.74), total nitrogen (R = 0.68) and the catchment pressure expressed by the nutrient loads generated by different types of land use (R = -0.58).

浮游动物被广泛认为是远洋生态系统的关键组成部分，是主要营养网的基础。尽管浮游动物经常被用作营养状态的指标，但它并未作为符合水框架指令的水评估系统的强制性元素。本文介绍了波兰湖泊评估浮游动物指数（ZIPLA _S）作为一种基于浮游动物群落评估分层湖泊生态状况的新方法。ZIPLA _S评估浮游动物群落的三个方面，即分类组成和丰度、浮游动物群落的多样性和对压力源敏感的物种，将它们组合成一个多指标指数。以下是用于构成多指标 ZIPLA 的指标_S : 指示组数量中高奖杯的轮虫物种百分比 (IHTROT; %), Calanoida 与 Cyclopoidia 个体数量的比率 (CA/CY), Keratella cochlearis 种群中 tecta 形式的百分比 (TECTA; % )、Margalef 指数 (d) 和浮游动物丰度 (NZOL; ind./L)。ZIPLA _S对富营养化指标的反应明显——Secchi 圆盘能见度最强（Spearman 等级相关R  = 0.86），而以总磷（R  = -0.74）、总氮（R = 0.68）和集水压力表示的表现稍弱由不同类型的土地利用产生的养分负荷（R  = -0.58）。