Human impact and ecosystemic health at Lake Baikal

Abstract

Lake Baikal in eastern Siberia is the deepest and (by volume) largest lake on Earth. Among the most ancient lakes, it is home to thousands of endemic species. Lake Baikal is well‐known for its water purity, especially its dominant deep‐water layers, which consist of pristine, drinking‐quality water and is inhabited by unique endemics with enormous biodiversity. But some coastal sites of this giant lake (mainly localized in isolated shallow bays and littoral zones close to settlements and industrial sites) are suffering from an environmental crisis that threatens the water's quality and the ecosystem it supports. As part of the global ecosystem, Lake Baikal is already facing significant impacts from global climate change, which, in turn, increase the risks and consequences of local anthropogenic effects. Although the lake is protected by federal law, human activities are nevertheless having a growing negative impact on its ecosystem. Political, economic, and social factors result in cascading natural consequences in water quality, coastal sustainability, pollution sinks, water level management, forest maintenance, fire control and biodiversity. While Lake Baikal is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, known and valued around the world, it remains vulnerable to worsening threats that must be addressed if humanity is to preserve this unique ecosystem and its endemic species into the future. This article is categorized under: Water and Life > Stresses and Pressures on Ecosystems Water and Life > Conservation, Management, and Awareness Science of Water > Water Quality Engineering Water > Planning Water

Assessing the impact of wildfires on water quality using satellite remote sensing: the Lake Baikal case study

“…It has been evident for more than a decade (e.g., Williamson et al, 2009) that climate change is generating complex responses in aquatic ecosystems that vary according to their geographic distribution, magnitude, and timing across the global landscape. Climate change, in particular global warming and increasing aridity, is leading to an increase of fires and fire severity (Brown et al, 2021). At the same time wildfires are also a cause of the continuing process of global climate change, by reducing forest cover and emitting greenhouse gases (e.g., CO 2 and CO) (Liu et al, 2022).…”

“…According to Safronov (2020), the Baikal basin lost more than 12% of its forests between 2013 and 2018. Severe fires contributed to the degradation of both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems by increasing watershed loading of sediments, nutrients and pollutants as well as by introducing smoke pollutants into the atmosphere (Brown et al, 2021). Consequently, lake Baikal, the deepest and largest lake (by volume) on earth, currently in oligotrophic state, might be receptive to wildfires effects, such as sediments and nutrients runoff to river and lake waters (Brown et al, 2021).…”

“…The Baikal catchment includes mainly mountains, boreal forests, tundra and steppe of high conservation value and extends over 551,000 km 2 (Lake Baikal excluded, 31,500 km 2 ) between Siberia and Mongolia territories. New activities in the catchment, include deforestation, agriculture, and tourism to sustain the local economy, with a reduction of the Russian heavy industrial sector (e.g., mining) (Brown et al, 2021).…”

Molecular Characterization of Water-Soluble Aerosol Particle Extracts by Ultrahigh-Resolution Mass Spectrometry: Observation of Industrial Emissions and an Atmospherically Aged Wildfire Plume at Lake Baikal

“…However, a number of integrity issues have been raised to now because of concerning pollution levels . Particularly, anthropogenic emissions from the more populated southern basin have been shown to affect the water and air quality. − Moreover, it has been observed that the number of wildfires (WF), which naturally occur in that region, and the size of the area burned have increased over the past decades. ,, Hence, anthropogenic emissions pose directly and indirectly a threat to the ecosystem of Lake Baikal.…”

Sensitivity Operator Framework for Analyzing Heterogeneous Air Quality Monitoring Systems

“…For example, it suffers from forest fires of different origins [60][61][62][63]. The industrial activity that develops in the region, mainly near urban settlements, certainly affects the quality of the environment [64][65][66]. This unique natural object, BNT, is observed by various means [44,63,[67][68][69][70][71].…”