Bennion, H; Goldsmith, B; Kernan, M; Dong, X; Davidson, T; Moe, J; Simpson, G; + view all Bennion, H; Goldsmith, B; Kernan, M; Dong, X; Davidson, T; Moe, J; Simpson, G; Jeppesen, E; Carvalho, L; Sayer, C; Wischnewski, J; Clarke, G; Morley, D; Odgaard, B; Rasmussen, P; Rawcliffe, R; Salgado, J; Amsinck, S; Maberly, S; Battarbee, RW; Saloranta, T; Malve, O; Kotamaki, N; Solheim, A; - view fewer (2012) Deliverable D5.2-5: Report on effects of global change on reference conditions and ecological status of lakes. (WISER Deliverables ). WISER

Preview

Text Deliverable_5.2.5.pdf - Accepted Version Download (3MB) | Preview

Abstract

WISER aims to support the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) by developing tools for the assessment of the ecological status of European surface waters. With many European lakes unlikely to achieve ‘good’ ecological status without restorative measures, the assessment systems used in the WFD are required to consider recovery in order to judge restoration success. Most previous projects dealing with assessment systems have focused on the effects of deterioration. WISER also deals with recovery. The report summarizes the progress made within the WISER project in the following areas:  Reviewing the current understanding of the impacts of climate change on lakes and how this can be utilised to develop and improve our understanding of lake restoration.  Investigating the pathways of degradation in lakes where eutrophication has been the primary stressor and examining how these pathways react during lake recovery following remedial action.  Two further studies are presented which use lake sediment records and long-term monitoring data sets to assess the relative importance of climate versus eutrophication.  The role of cladocerans in tracking long-term changes in shallow lakes is explored; a study which highlights the sensitivity of this biological group and presents it as a strong candidate as the single best indicator for assessing trophic change in lakes.  Finally Baysian network models are presented as an effective tool for unravelling the complex interaction between the impacts of lake restoration and climate change on the ecological status of lakes. In addition to providing an assessment of the various tools available for tracking environmental change in lakes, this report highlights the complexities of ecosystem recovery under changing global conditions. A reduction of environmental stressors (e.g. eutrophication) will undoubtedly result in ecosystem improvement, but it is unlikely to simply be the reversal of deterioration and some examples show that recovery may lead to conditions very different from the original undisturbed stage. These studies contribute towards the scientific basis for underpinning the management of freshwaters in order that it is strengthened and targeted appropriately The main achievement of societal relevance is the increased understand of how strategies for the sustainable management of freshwaters, for example, as required by the WFD, may need to be modified to take account of global, especially climate change.

Download activity - last month

Export as XMLJSONCSV

Download activity - last 12 months

Export as XMLJSONCSV

Downloads by country - last 12 months

Export as CSVJSONXML

Archive Staff Only

View Item