Indicator Values of Emergent Vegetation in Overgrowing Lakes in Relation to Water and Sediment Chemistry

Self Cite

Lake disappearance is one of the results of water eutrophication which leads to lake shallowing and overgrowth, and small and shallow lakes are the most threatened with degradation. We studied the effect of lake shallowing on its overgrowth, taking into account the morphometric parameters of water bodies. The study was performed in 20 lakes located in the central west part of Poland. The degree of lake shallowing was evaluated on the basis of bathymetric maps made in the 1960s and studies carried out presently. Additionally, an analysis of littoral coverage and macrophyte growth forms was investigated. Moreover, the composition, intensity of phytoplankton blooming, and physico-chemical parameters of the lake water were analyzed. Redundancy analysis shows that the lake volume, average depth, shallowing rate, and change in volume were the parameters that most strongly correlated with the share of macrophytes in the lakes. According to the regression analysis, the share of emergent macrophytes was significantly correlated with lake shallowing. No relation was found between phytoplankton abundance and lake shallowing. Conversely, the lakes with the highest rate of shallowing were characterized by the greatest share of vegetation, which suggested that vegetation growth had a significant impact on lake shallowing.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Lake Morphology and Shallowing on the Rate of Overgrowth in Hard-Water Eutrophic Lakes

Lawniczak-Malińska¹,

Ptak²,

Celewicz-Gołdyn³

et al. 2018

Self Cite

“…Map analysis of the range of rushes showed that the width of the zone depended on the water level, and the vegetation growth was determined by the water depth. The rush vegetation occurred at depths between 1.5 and 2.0 m [13,44], with the dominant species of reeds (Phragmites australis), narrowleaf cattail (Typha angustifolia), and spotted lakes (Scirpus lacustris). In areas with a rapidly falling slope, the occurrence of reeds was recorded even in zones with depths exceeding 2.5 m. Reed can grow in a relatively large amplitude of lake depth, but its optimal growth is observed in the range of 0 to 1.6 m [39,41], with roots reaching a maximum depth of 1.7 m [44].…”

Section: Factors Shaping the Development Of Vegetation In The Littoramentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The long-term occurrence of high water levels contributes to the transformation of zones towards the development of rush vegetation [10][11][12][13]. Then, the disappearance of vegetation characteristics of terrestrial and ecotone habitats can be observed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Hydrometeorological Conditions on Changes in Littoral and Riparian Vegetation of a Meromictic Lake in the Last Half-Century

Nowak

Lawniczak-Malińska

2019

Changes in water levels in lakes play an important role in the development of their coastal zones and water trophy. The aim of this study was to assess the role of changes in hydrometeorological conditions in the development of littoral and riparian vegetation of a meromictic lake during the last half-century. The study was carried out in Lake Powidzkie, one of the largest water reservoirs located in central Poland. Water level and meteorological conditions were analyzed in the period 1961–2015. Modifications in the range of plant communities were analyzed on the basis of cartographic materials and field studies. Meteorological conditions, especially precipitation and evaporation, were found to strongly affect the lake's water retention, whilst they had less of an effect on water levels. A significant effect of the lowering of the water level in Lake Powidzkie on the development of the littoral zone, whose area more than doubled over the last half-century, from 41.5 to 118.8 ha, was noted. The most dynamic development of the littoral was observed in the last quarter of the century, in which three of several years of low-flow were recorded. The occurrence of periods with an increased amount of precipitation, after dry periods, did not contribute to the reduction of the size of the rush zone and limitation of the development of woody vegetation.

“…The impact of anthropogenic stressors and climate change on water-level and aquatic vegetation has been evident in recent decades [1][2][3] ENREF_1. The interaction between anthropogenic stressors, land-use change, and water-level variability affects aquatic macrophytes to a great extent [4][5][6][7]. Aquatic macrophytes are a diverse group of photosynthetic organisms that grow permanently or periodically in wetlands, the shoreline of lakes and along streams [8][9][10][11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Distribution and composition of macrophyte communities are influenced by nutrient load, and climatic and hydrological conditions such as spatial and temporal variations of water level [7,11,[15][16][17][18]. Lake water level changes provide an opening for seedling recruitment for perennial emergent aquatic plants [19][20][21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Satellite Imageries and Field Data of Macrophytes Reveal a Regime Shift of a Tropical Lake (Lake Ziway, Ethiopia)

Damtew

Verbeiren

Awoke

et al. 2021

Lake Ziway is one of the largest freshwater lakes located in the central Ethiopian rift valley. The lake shoreline is dominated by macrophytes which play an important role in immobilizing run-off pollution, stabilize sediments and support biodiversity. Monitoring the spatio-temporal changes of great lakes requires standardized methods. The aim of this study was to assess the current and long-term trends of macrophyte distribution, surface water area and the water level of Lake Ziway using remote sensing images from 1986 to 2016 with additional hydro-meteorological data. A supervised image classification with classification enhancement using Normalized Difference Aquatic Vegetation Index (NDAVI) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was applied. The classification based on NDAVI revealed eight target classes which were identified with an overall producer’s accuracy of 79.6%. Contemporary open water and macrophyte fringes occupied most of the study area with a total area of 407.4 km2 and 60.1 km2, respectively. The findings also revealed a regime shift in the mean water level of the lake and a decline in macrophyte distribution. The long-term water surface area of Lake Ziway also decreased between 1986 and 2016. The changes in water level could be explained by climate variability in the region and strong anthropogenic disturbance. A decline in water level was also associated with lowered surface water area, lakeward retreated macrophyte fringes and enhanced landward encroachment of mudflats, and resulted in a succession of macrophytes with semi-terrestrial vegetations.