New Tools to Analyse the Ecological Status of Mediterranean Wetlands and Shallow Lakes

Despite great efforts in point source reductions due to improved wastewater treatment since 1990, more than 70% of the lakes in Germany have not yet achieved the “good ecological status” according to the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). To elicit lake type-specific causes of this failure, we firstly analyzed the ecological status of 183 lakes in NE Germany (Federal State of Brandenburg), as reported to the European Commission in 2015. Secondly, long-term data of two typical lakes (a very shallow polymictic lake with a large and a deep stratified lake with a small catchment area in relation to lake volume) and nutrient load from the common catchment were investigated. About 64%–83% of stratified and even 96% of polymictic shallow lakes in Brandenburg currently fail the WFD aims. Excessive nutrient emissions from agriculture were identified as the main cause of this failure. While stratified deep lakes with small catchments have the best chances of recovery, the deficits in catchment management are amplified downstream in lake chains, so that especially shallow lakes in a large catchment are unlikely to reach good ecological conditions. If the objectives of the WFD are not questioned, agricultural practices and approaches in land use have to be fundamentally improved.

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Nitrogen retention in natural Mediterranean wetlands affected by agricultural runoff

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/hessd-6-5341-2009 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 5341-5375

Author(s):

V. García García ◽

R. Gómez ◽

M. R. Vidal-Abarca ◽

M. L. Suárez

Keyword(s):

Seasonal Pattern ◽

Nitrogen Concentration ◽

Ecological Status ◽

Nitrogen Retention ◽

Agricultural Runoff ◽

Total Organic Nitrogen ◽

Retention Efficiency ◽

Entire Study ◽

N Retention ◽

Mediterranean Wetlands

Abstract. Nitrogen retention efficiency in natural Mediterranean wetlands affected by agricultural runoff was quantified and the effect of season and hydrological/chemical loading was examined from March 2007 to June 2008 in two wetland-streams located in Southeast Spain. Nitrate-N (NO3−-N), ammonium-N (NH4+-N), total organic nitrogen-N (TON-N) and chloride (Cl−) concentrations were analyzed to calculate nitrogen retention efficiencies. These wetlands consistently reduced water nitrogen concentration throughout the year with higher values for NO3−-N (72.3%), even though the mean values of inflow NO3−-N concentrations were above 20 mg l−1. Additionally, they usually acted as sinks for TON-N (45.4%), but as sources for NH4+-N. Over the entire study period, the Taray and Parra wetlands were capable of removing a mean value of 1.6 and 0.8 kg NO3−-N a day−1, respectively. Retention efficiencies were not affected by temperature variation and did not follow a seasonal pattern. The temporal variability for NO3−-N retention efficiency was positively and negatively explained by the net hydrologic retention and the inflow NO3−-N concentration (R2adj=0.832, p<0.001), respectively. TON-N retention efficiency was only positively explained by the net hydrologic retention (R2adj=0.1997, p<0.05). No significant regression model was found for NH4+-N. Finally, the conservation of these Mediterranean wetland-streams may act as a tool to not only improves the surface water quality in agricultural catchments, but to also achieve a good ecological status for surface waters, this being the Water Framework Directive's ultimate purpose.

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Possible effects of climate change on ecological functioning of shallow lakes, Lake Loenderveen as a case study

Annals of Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW Land Reclamation ◽

10.2478/v10060-008-0026-1 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

pp. 95-104 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Sebastiaan Schep ◽

Gerard Ter Heerdt ◽

Jan Janse ◽

Maarten Ouboter

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Shallow Lakes ◽

Ecological Status ◽

Nutrient Load ◽

Nutrient Loads ◽

Clear Water ◽

Turbid State ◽

Good Ecological Status ◽

Ecological Functioning

Possible effects of climate change on ecological functioning of shallow lakes, Lake Loenderveen as a case study The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires all inland and coastal waters to reach "good ecological status" by 2015. The good ecological status of shallow lakes can be characterised by clear water dominated by submerged vegetation. The ecological response of shallow lakes on nutrients largely depends on morphological and hydrological features, such as water depth, retention time, water level fluctuations, bottom type, fetch etc. These features determine the "critical nutrient load" of a lake. When the actual nutrient load of a lake is higher than the critical nutrient load, the ecological quality of this lake will deteriorate, resulting in a turbid state dominated by algae. Climate change might lead to changes in both environmental factors and ecosystem response. This certainly will have an effect on the ecological status. As an illustration the results of a multidiscipline study of a shallow peaty lake (Loenderveen) are presented, including hydrology, geochemistry and ecology. Ground- and surface water flows, nutrient dynamics and ecosystem functioning have been studied culminating in an application of the ecological model of the lake (PCLake). Future scenarios were implemented through changing precipitation, evaporation and temperature. Climate change will lead to higher nutrient loads and lower critical nutrient loads. As a consequence lakes shift easier from clear water to a turbid state.

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Assessment of the Ecological Status of OPA Reservoir, ILE IFE, Nigeria Based on a Comparative Study of its Planktonic Community and Water Quality Parameters

Open Academic Journal of Advanced Science and Technology ◽

10.33094/5.2017.2020.41.1.14 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 1-14

Author(s):

Adebukola A Adedeji ◽

Taiwo A Adesakin ◽

Oluseun P Bolawa

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Comparative Study ◽

Ecological Status ◽

Quality Parameters ◽

Water Quality Parameters ◽

Planktonic Community

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IDENTIFYING THE MOST SUITABLE AREAS FOR SURFACE FLOW WETLAND CONSTRUCTION IN LITHUANIA

Proceedings of the 7th International Scientific Conference Rural Development 2015 ◽

10.15544/rd.2015.060 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Antanas DUMBRAUSKAS ◽

Nijolė BASTIENĖ ◽

Petras PUNYS

Keyword(s):

Constructed Wetlands ◽

Ecological Status ◽

Surface Flow ◽

Gis Analysis ◽

Proximity Analysis ◽

Wetland Construction ◽

The Mean ◽

Two Phases ◽

Terrain Features ◽

Surface Flow Constructed Wetlands

GIS-based approach to find the suitable sites for surface flow constructed wetlands was employed for the Lithuanian river basins with low ecological status. According to the nature of the analysed criteria the flowchart consists of two phases. Criteria used include hydrographical network, soil properties, terrain features, land use, etc. Some of them have strictly defined values (constraints), and other ranges within certain limits (factors). Limited criteria were analysed using rejection principle and influencing factors using proximity analysis and overlay methods. Selecting the potential sites using standard GIS analysis tools there was estimated about 3286 sites for possible wetlands with the mean area of inflow basin about 4 km2 in the basins of water bodies at risk.

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1465 - Cell size distribution of planktonic bacteria in shallow lakes

10.26226/morressier.5b5199c3b1b87b000ecf00ce ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Zsuzsanna Márton ◽

Bianka Csitári ◽

Tamas Felfoldi ◽

Anna J Szekely ◽

Attila Szabo

Keyword(s):

Size Distribution ◽

Cell Size ◽

Shallow Lakes ◽

Cell Size Distribution ◽

Planktonic Bacteria

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Rapid Assessment Of Taal Volcano Protected Landscape (TVPL) Terrestrial Biodiversity

10.26757/pjsb.2017a11007 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Keyword(s):

Animal Species ◽

Rapid Assessment ◽

Ecological Status ◽

Taal Volcano ◽

Ecological Barriers ◽

Floral Diversity ◽

Forested Areas ◽

Baseline Information ◽

Study Sites ◽

Terrestrial Biodiversity

With the exponential rise of human activities in the past decades, majority of studies conducted in Taal Volcano Protected Landscape (TVPL) are geared towards the conservation and preservation of Lake Taal’s remaining biodiversity. However, the current structure and assemblage of its terrestrial biotic communities remain relatively unstudied. In this study, we conducted biodiversity censuses in the four sites in TVPL to provide baseline information regarding the community structure of the selected study sites. Comparison of the plant diversity in Taal Volcano Crater Island and Romandan Falls within the forested areas of Mataas na Kahoy, Batangas reveal that both sites support remarkably different vegetation, with the former supporting a smaller floral diversity. The fairly small number of animal samples present difficulty in providing conclusive findings to the wildlife structure of the two study sites. However, the presence of 11 animal species exhibit valuable results in determining the ecological status of TVPL. It is deduced that several ecological barriers exist between the sites, which is attributed to their unique terrestrial biota.

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