Persistence of protected, vulnerable macrophyte species in a small, shallow eutrophic lake (eastern Poland) over the past two centuries: Implications for lake management and conservation

Kowalewski, Grzegorz; Kornijów, Ryszard; McGowan, Suzanne; Woszczyk, Michał; Suchora, Magdalena; Bałaga, Krystyna; Kaczorowska, Anna; Gąsiorowski, Michał; Szeroczyńska, Krystyna; Wasiłowska, Agnieszka

doi:10.1016/j.aquabot.2012.12.004

Cited by 17 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…The entire period of about 100 years can thus be viewed as unfavourable for the development of nymphaeids. Similar conclusions were drawn by Kowalewski et al (2013), reconstructing the history of the development of vegetation at nearby Lake Głębokie Uścimowskie.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

“…Monitoring data from such periods are usually scarce or non-existent, with some exceptions (Egertson et al, 2004;Hargeby et al, 2007;Sand-Jensen et al, 2008;Hilt et al, 2013;Hobbs et al, 2014). In situation without reliable long-term monitoring data, studies into historical ecosystem state can be supported by paleolimnological analyses (Battarbee et al, 2005;Sayer et al, 2010a;Madgwick et al, 2011;Kowalewski et al, 2013Kowalewski et al, , 2015. This particularly concerns shallow lakes distinguished by abundant development of macrophytes accompanied by a rich invertebrate fauna, and providing conditions favourable for the deposition of macrofossils (Rawcliffe et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Towards a more precisely defined macrophyte-dominated regime: the recent history of a shallow lake in Eastern Poland

et al. 2016

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Archived data and sedimentary macrofossil records of vegetation and invertebrates deposited in a 60-cm long sediment core were analysed to examine if macrophyte dominance was a permanent feature of the recent history of lowland Lake Kleszczów. For the last several centuries, the lake has not been dominated by phytoplankton but by floating-leaved vegetation at strongly reduced water level. Starting from the midnineteenth century, probably as a result of climate fluctuations, vegetation switched at first into submerged angiosperms, and then, in the second half of twentieth century, towards charophytes. Within charophytes there were switches between Chara globularis and C. vulgaris communities, depending on lake productivity or hydrological stress. No symptoms were detected of a switch to a turbid regime as a result of potential internal supply of phosphorus from sediments covered with a dense carpet of charophytes. Our study shows that within a longer period with clear water, the community of macro-vegetation can be highly dynamic. It can be represented by various types of vegetation as a response to different productivity levels and/or hydrological stress, largely determining the composition of other hydrobionts and course of various processes, and as a consequence, the functioning of the ecosystem and its resilience.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards a more precisely defined macrophyte-dominated regime: the recent history of a shallow lake in Eastern Poland

et al. 2016

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“…These include plant macrofossils (Davidson et al 2005;Sayer et al 2010b), diatoms (Anderson et al 1993;Bennion et al 2011), cladocerans (Brodersen et al 1998;Davidson et al 2011), chironomids (Brooks et al 2001;Zhang et al 2012) and non-pollen palynomorphs (NPP) (Drljepan et al 2014;Volik et al 2016). Due to a lack of instrumental monitoring of lake conditions, palaeolimnological approaches are essential for assessing long-term trends, determining pre-disturbance conditions ) and for informing conservation strategies (Kowalewski et al 2013). Multi-proxy approaches are increasingly being used in palaeolimnological studies (Sayer et al 2010b;Wiik et al 2015;Sayer et al 2016) to provide a more comprehensive understanding of communitywide changes resulting from eutrophication and other anthropogenic drivers in lakes, including the sequence and mechanisms of biological change (Sayer et al 2010a;Bennion et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Refining the palaeoecology of lacustrine testate amoebae: insights from a plant macrofossil record from a eutrophic Scottish lake

et al. 2017

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Arcellinida (lobose testate amoebae) preserve well in lake sediments and have shown great potential as palaeolimnological indicators, but a limited understanding of their ecology prevents more indepth interpretations of both contemporary and fossil assemblages. Loch Leven, Scotland, has a well-documented history of nutrient-enrichment and associated lake biological change, creating a temporal gradient along which testate amoeba ecology can be investigated. Plant macrofossil data from a dated sediment core (LEVE14) indicate that a transition from oligomesotrophic to eutrophic conditions occurred over at least the last 200 years, enabling direct comparisons to be drawn with fossil testate amoeba assemblages from the same core. Cluster analysis and principal components analysis show that testate amoebae and macrophytes responded synchronously to an early phase of nutrient-enrichment after ca. AD 1200, and to anthropogenic water-level lowering and further enrichment after ca. AD 1830. The results of indicator species analysis (IndVal) support the suggestion inferred previously that Cucurbitella tricuspis is an indicator of nutrient-enrichment, while the association of some less abundant taxa, specifically Difflugia amphora and Mediolus corona, with eutrophic environments is also corroborated. Overall, the testate amoeba assemblage response appears to reflect a complex interaction of factors which were ultimately driven by eutrophication. These include variations in microhabitat associated with changing plant structure and sedimentary conditions influenced by macrophyte community succession. In particular, a shift from an oligo-mesotrophic macrophyte assemblage composed of isoetid plants to one dominated by Potamogeton spp. and dense stands of Characeae is suggested to influence the relative proportions of sediment dwelling and plant-associated testate amoebae. The results highlight the utility of testate amoebae as benthic indicators of lake nutrient-enrichment and demonstrate the value of using multi-proxy palaeolimnological data to refine the ecology of lesser-studied palaeoecological groups.

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“…Consequently, a better understanding of historic plant communities and any ecological changes that may have occurred is important in setting objectives for a particular lake, especially where anthropogenic impacts may have resulted in changes to the character of a site where its 'natural' condition or reference condition is in question. With a few notable exceptions (Ayres et al 2008;Sayer et al 2012;Kowalewski et al 2013;Wiik et al 2014;Clarke and Lynch 2016), however, there have been few applications of plant macrofossil analysis to directly inform conservation and management. This contrasts with the numerous applied palaeolimnological studies that have defined chemical reference conditions for lakes using transfer functions to assist in management decisions (Dixit et al 1999;Hall and Smol 2010;.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sedimentary macrofossil records reveal ecological change in English lakes: implications for conservation

et al. 2017

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Aquatic macrophytes play a key role in providing habitat, refuge and food for a range of biota in shallow lakes. However, many shallow lakes have experienced declines in macrophyte vegetation in recent decades, principally due to eutrophication. As changes in macrophyte composition and abundance can affect overall ecological structure and function of a lake, an assessment of the timing and nature of such changes is crucial to our understanding of the wider lake ecosystem. In the typical absence of historical plant records, the macro-remains of macrophytes preserved in lake sediments can be used to assess long-term changes in aquatic vegetation. We generated recent (150-200 years) plant macrofossil records for six English lakes subject to conservation protection to define past macrophyte communities, assess trajectories of ecological change and consider the implications of our findings for conservation targets and strategies. The data for all six lakes reveal a diverse submerged macrophyte community, with charophytes Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10933-017-9941-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. as a key component, in the early part of the sedimentary records. The stratigraphies indicate considerable change to the aquatic vegetation over the last two centuries with a general shift towards species more typically associated with eutrophic conditions. A common feature is the decline in abundance of lowgrowing charophytes and an increase in tall canopyforming angiosperms such as fine-leaved Potamogeton species, Zannichellia palustris and Callitriche species. We hypothesise, based on findings from longterm datasets and palaeoecological records from enriched shallow lakes where plants are now absent, that the observed shifts provide a warning to managers that the lakes are on a pathway to complete macrophyte loss such that nutrient load reduction is urgently needed. It is the sound understanding of present-day plant ecology that affords such reliable interpretation of the fossil data which, in turn, provide valuable context for current conservation decisions.

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Persistence of protected, vulnerable macrophyte species in a small, shallow eutrophic lake (eastern Poland) over the past two centuries: Implications for lake management and conservation

Cited by 17 publications

References 38 publications

Towards a more precisely defined macrophyte-dominated regime: the recent history of a shallow lake in Eastern Poland

Towards a more precisely defined macrophyte-dominated regime: the recent history of a shallow lake in Eastern Poland

Refining the palaeoecology of lacustrine testate amoebae: insights from a plant macrofossil record from a eutrophic Scottish lake

Sedimentary macrofossil records reveal ecological change in English lakes: implications for conservation

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