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Water Quality of Freshwater Ecosystems in a Temperate Climate
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Water Quality of Freshwater Ecosystems in a Temperate Climate

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Quality and Contamination".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2020) | Viewed by 51485

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ryszard Gołdyn

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Water Protection, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland
Interests: water quality; freshwater ecology; aquatic ecosystems; lakes eutrophication; limnology; ecological restoration; phytoplankton ecology; phycology; hydrobiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Piotr Klimaszyk

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Water Protection, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, 61-712 Poznan, Poland
Interests: limnology; freshwater ecology; lakes eutrophication; lake–catchment relations; fish ecology; benthic invertebrates; pharmaceutical pollution
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In many regions of the world, water is a factor limiting economic development. Due to global climate changes, further adverse changes in access to water resources are expected. Under these conditions, good water quality becomes an extremely important factor that determines its economic utility, including water supply, recreation, and agriculture. The quality of water depends on many factors, the most important of which are related to human impact on water ecosystems, especially the impact of various pollutants from municipal economy, industry, and agriculture. Hydrotechnical changes, such as river damming, drainage processes, and water transport between catchments, also have a significant impact. Water quality is also dependent on the impact of natural conditions (climatic, catchment, water organisms, and their interactions within the food-webs).

The planned Special Issue will contain the results of research on changes in water quality under the influence of various natural and anthropogenic factors, including the following:

- The impact of dam reservoirs and lakes on river water quality;

- The impact of various restoration methods on water bodies;

- The effect of water blooms, especially caused by cyanobateria;

- The impact of catchment use on the quality of water in small water bodies;

- Specific pollution of freshwater ecosystems;

- Contamination caused by stormwaters, etc.

Prof. Dr. Ryszard Gołdyn
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Piotr Klimaszyk
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • pollution
  • cyanobacteria
  • eutrophication
  • catchment
  • water supply
  • ecosystem restoration
  • phosphorus

Published Papers (15 papers)

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Editorial

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7 pages, 207 KiB  
Editorial
Water Quality of Freshwater Ecosystems in a Temperate Climate
by Piotr Klimaszyk and Ryszard Gołdyn
Water 2020, 12(9), 2643; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12092643 - 22 Sep 2020
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3386
Abstract
Water is the substance that made life on Earth possible. It plays a key role in both the individual and population development of all species. Water is also a critical resource for humans as populations continue to grow and climate change affects global [...] Read more.
Water is the substance that made life on Earth possible. It plays a key role in both the individual and population development of all species. Water is also a critical resource for humans as populations continue to grow and climate change affects global and local water cycles. Water is a factor limiting economic development in many regions of the world. Under these conditions, good water quality becomes an extremely important factor that determines its economic utility, including water supply, recreation, and agriculture. Proper water quality maintenance of freshwater ecosystems is also very important for preserving biodiversity. The quality of water depends on many factors, the most important of which are related to human impact on water ecosystems, especially the impact of various pollutants from municipal economy, industry and agriculture. Hydrotechnical changes, such as river damming, drainage processes and water transport between catchments also have a significant impact. Water quality is also dependent on the impact of natural conditions connected, e.g., with climate, catchment, water organisms and their interactions within the food-webs, etc. This Special Issue consists of fourteen original scientific papers concerning different problems associated with the water quality of freshwater ecosystems in a temperate climate. Most of the articles deal with the relations between water quality and the structure of ecosystem biocenoses. The conclusion of these articles confirms the fact that the deterioration of water quality has a direct impact on the quantitative and qualitative structure of biocenoses. This is accompanied by a decline in biodiversity and the disappearance of rare plant and animal species. They also draw attention to the particular importance of internal physical and chemical differentiation within the aquatic ecosystem, both in horizontal and vertical dimensions. The problem of ensuring proper ecological conditions and good quality of water in freshwater aquatic ecosystems is also raised, and methods for the restoration of water bodies are presented. The majority of the research presented in this Special Issue was carried out in Central Europe, and one of the papers concerns the area of West Africa—the edge of temperate climate zone. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality of Freshwater Ecosystems in a Temperate Climate)

Research

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28 pages, 2989 KiB  
Article
Oxygen Gradients and Structure of the Ciliate Assemblages in Floodplain Lake
by Roman Babko, Tetiana Kuzmina, Yaroslav Danko, Joanna Szulżyk-Cieplak and Grzegorz Łagód
Water 2020, 12(8), 2084; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12082084 - 23 Jul 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2028
Abstract
This paper presents the results of studies on the structure of the ciliate population in a freshwater lake. The classification of the ciliated communities based on the analysis of the distribution of ciliate population density in the lake along the oxygen gradients, taking [...] Read more.
This paper presents the results of studies on the structure of the ciliate population in a freshwater lake. The classification of the ciliated communities based on the analysis of the distribution of ciliate population density in the lake along the oxygen gradients, taking into account their oxygen preferences, was proposed. It was shown that the distribution of ciliated protozoa in the space of a reservoir is determined not by such spatial units as the water column, bottom, and periphytal, but by the oxygen gradients. Four types of habitats with different oxygen regimes were distinguished: With stably high oxygen concentration, stably low oxygen concentration, stably oxygen-free conditions, and conditions with a high amplitude of diurnal oxygen variations. The location of these habitats in the space of the lake and their seasonal changes were determined. On the basis of the quantitative development of ciliate populations, zones of optima and tolerance ranges of some ciliate species in the oxygen gradient were established. The oxygen preferences were established for the species from four distinguished assemblages: Microoxyphilic, oxyphilic, euryoxyphilic, and anoxyphilic (anaerobic). The presence or the absence of a certain type of assemblage in the reservoirs depends solely on the parameters of the oxygen gradients. The diversity of the ciliated protozoa in water bodies also depends on the stability and diversity of the oxygen gradients. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality of Freshwater Ecosystems in a Temperate Climate)
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18 pages, 2649 KiB  
Article
Phytoneuston and Chemical Composition of Surface Microlayer of Urban Water Bodies
by Józef Piotr Antonowicz and Anna Kozak
Water 2020, 12(7), 1904; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12071904 - 03 Jul 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2309
Abstract
The concentration of chemical and biological parameters in the ecotone of the surface microlayer (SML) occurring between the hydrosphere and the atmosphere of urban water bodies was investigated. Parallel, sub-surface water (SUB) analyses were carried out to compare the SML properties with the [...] Read more.
The concentration of chemical and biological parameters in the ecotone of the surface microlayer (SML) occurring between the hydrosphere and the atmosphere of urban water bodies was investigated. Parallel, sub-surface water (SUB) analyses were carried out to compare the SML properties with the water column. The concentrations of trace metals, macronutrients, nutrients, chlorophyll a, pheophytin, abundance and biomass of phytoplankton and the number of heterotrophic bacteria in both studied layers were analyzed. Each of the studied groups of chemical parameters was characterized by specific properties of accumulation. Trace metals occurring in concentrations below 1 ppm, such as Al, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Zn and metalloid As, were accumulated to a higher degree in SML than in SUB. Macroelement concentrations, with the exception of Mg, were lower in the SML compared to the SUB. Nutrients, autotrophic and heterotrophic microorganisms occurred in the SML to a higher degree than in the SUB. Bacillariophyceae dominated the analyzed water bodies, which are typical for the spring period, as well as Chrysophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Dinophyceae and Euglenophyceae. Cyanobacteria dominated in one of the ponds. The abundance of individual phytoplankton groups was significantly correlated with Ca, K, Na, P-org, SO42−, F−, Al and Sr. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality of Freshwater Ecosystems in a Temperate Climate)
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15 pages, 6446 KiB  
Article
Riparian Ground Beetles (Coleoptera) on the Banks of Running and Standing Waters
by Marina Kirichenko-Babko, Yaroslav Danko, Małgorzata Franus, Witold Stępniewski and Roman Babko
Water 2020, 12(6), 1785; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12061785 - 23 Jun 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2016
Abstract
Rivers and their floodplains offer a wide variety of habitats for invertebrates. River ecosystems are subject to high anthropic influence: as a result the channel morphology is changed, swamps are drained, floodplains are built up, and rivers are polluted. All this has radically [...] Read more.
Rivers and their floodplains offer a wide variety of habitats for invertebrates. River ecosystems are subject to high anthropic influence: as a result the channel morphology is changed, swamps are drained, floodplains are built up, and rivers are polluted. All this has radically changed the environment for the inhabitants of the floodplains, including riparian stenotopic species. Although riparian arthropods are oriented primarily to the production of hydro-ecosystems, the type of water body—lentic or lotic—has a determining effect in the structure of communities. Most riparian arthropods have evolutionarily adapted to riverbanks with significant areas of open alluvial banks. This paper considered the structure of assemblages of ground beetles associated with the riverbanks and the shores of floodplain lakes and their differences. The banks of rivers and the shores of floodplain lakes were considered separately due to the differences in the habitats associated with them. Our results showed that riverbanks, which experience significant pollution, were actively colonized by vegetation and were unsuitable for most riparian ground beetles. The shores of floodplain lakes, being an optional habitat for riparian arthropods, cannot serve as refugia. Thus, the transformation of floodplain landscapes and river pollution creates a problem for the biological diversity of floodplain ecosystems, since riparian stenotopic species of the riverbanks become rare and disappear. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality of Freshwater Ecosystems in a Temperate Climate)
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19 pages, 3282 KiB  
Article
Rainfall Variability and Trend Analysis of Rainfall in West Africa (Senegal, Mauritania, Burkina Faso)
by Zeineddine Nouaceur and Ovidiu Murarescu
Water 2020, 12(6), 1754; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12061754 - 19 Jun 2020
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 4408
Abstract
This study concerns the West African Sahel. The Sahelian climate is characterized by a long dry season and a rainy season which starts in June and ends in September–October. This latter season is associated with the process of oceanic moisture transfer to the [...] Read more.
This study concerns the West African Sahel. The Sahelian climate is characterized by a long dry season and a rainy season which starts in June and ends in September–October. This latter season is associated with the process of oceanic moisture transfer to the mainland (the West African Monsoon). This movement is governed by an overall moving of the meteorological equator and its low-pressure corridor (Intertropical Convergence Zone, ITCZ) towards the north, under the effect of the attraction of the Saharan thermal depressions and a greater vigor of the anticyclonic nuclei. This study was conducted on 27 Sahelian climatic stations in three countries (Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Senegal). The method used to determine the modes of this variability and the trends of rainfall is the chronological graphic method of information processing (MGCTI) of the “Bertin Matrix” and continuous wavelets transform (CWT). Results show a rain resumption observed in the recent years over the Sahelian region and a convincing link with the surface temperature of the Atlantic Ocean. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality of Freshwater Ecosystems in a Temperate Climate)
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21 pages, 7797 KiB  
Article
Long-Term Consequences of Water Pumping on the Ecosystem Functioning of Lake Sekšu, Latvia
by Izabela Zawiska, Inta Dimante-Deimantovica, Tomi P. Luoto, Monika Rzodkiewicz, Saija Saarni, Normunds Stivrins, Wojciech Tylmann, Anna Lanka, Martins Robeznieks and Tom Jilbert
Water 2020, 12(5), 1459; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12051459 - 20 May 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4425
Abstract
Cultural eutrophication, the process by which pollution due to human activity speeds up natural eutrophication, is a widespread and consequential issue. Here, we present the 85-year history of a small, initially Lobelia–Isoëtes dominated lake. The lake’s ecological deterioration was intensified by [...] Read more.
Cultural eutrophication, the process by which pollution due to human activity speeds up natural eutrophication, is a widespread and consequential issue. Here, we present the 85-year history of a small, initially Lobelia–Isoëtes dominated lake. The lake’s ecological deterioration was intensified by water pumping station activities when it received replenishment water for more than 10 years from a eutrophic lake through a pipe. In this study, we performed a paleolimnological assessment to determine how the lake’s ecosystem functioning changed over time. A multi-proxy (pollen, Cladocera, diatoms, and Chironomidae) approach was applied alongside a quantitative reconstruction of total phosphorus using diatom and hypolimnetic dissolved oxygen with chironomid-based transfer functions. The results of the biotic proxy were supplemented with a geochemical analysis. The results demonstrated significant changes in the lake community’s structure, its sediment composition, and its redox conditions due to increased eutrophication, water level fluctuations, and erosion. The additional nutrient load, particularly phosphorus, increased the abundance of planktonic eutrophic–hypereutrophic diatoms, the lake water’s transparency decreased, and hypolimnetic anoxia occurred. Cladocera, Chironomidae, and diatoms species indicated a community shift towards eutrophy, while the low trophy species were suppressed or disappeared. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality of Freshwater Ecosystems in a Temperate Climate)
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12 pages, 878 KiB  
Article
The Effects of Sodium Percarbonate Generated Free Oxygen on Daphnia—Implications for the Management of Harmful Algal Blooms
by Robin Thoo, Waldemar Siuda and Iwona Jasser
Water 2020, 12(5), 1304; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12051304 - 05 May 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4225
Abstract
Increasing frequencies and durations of harmful algal blooms are a nuisance in many aquatic ecosystems. This has led to the use of a variety of control methods to prevent their appearance or to disperse them following their establishment. Most of these methods are [...] Read more.
Increasing frequencies and durations of harmful algal blooms are a nuisance in many aquatic ecosystems. This has led to the use of a variety of control methods to prevent their appearance or to disperse them following their establishment. Most of these methods are not selective; consequently, research into alternative selective methods has been ongoing. Reactive oxygen species generated following the addition of hydrogen peroxide have been shown to selectively target the cyanobacterial component of harmful algal blooms in experimental and field settings. This study assesses the effects of increasing concentrations of reactive oxygen species from the addition of sodium percarbonate on zooplankton in a small experimental setting using a natural plankton sample. It was found that the genus Daphnia showed moderate sensitivity to sodium percarbonate. Preliminary evidence suggests that the size of an individual may affect the probability of survival, with larger individuals having a lower likelihood of survival. Lower survival rates of large Daphnia were hypothesized to have been caused by higher relative filtration rates of larger individuals. From the zooplankton data obtained, we suggest that a safe concentration of sodium percarbonate for Daphnia individuals would be below 10.0 mg·L−1 sodium percarbonate (2.8 mg·L−1 hydrogen peroxide). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality of Freshwater Ecosystems in a Temperate Climate)
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20 pages, 3748 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Human Impact on the Water Quality and Biocoenoses of the Soft Water Lake with Isoetids: Lake Jeleń, NW Poland
by Piotr Klimaszyk, Dariusz Borowiak, Ryszard Piotrowicz, Joanna Rosińska, Elżbieta Szeląg-Wasielewska and Marek Kraska
Water 2020, 12(4), 945; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12040945 - 26 Mar 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3116
Abstract
Soft water lakes with isoetids (SLI) are ecosystems prone to degradation due to the low buffer capacity of their waters. One of the main threats resulting from human impact is eutrophication due to agriculture, catchment urbanization and recreational use. In this paper, changes [...] Read more.
Soft water lakes with isoetids (SLI) are ecosystems prone to degradation due to the low buffer capacity of their waters. One of the main threats resulting from human impact is eutrophication due to agriculture, catchment urbanization and recreational use. In this paper, changes in the water chemistry and transformation of biocoenoses of one of the largest Polish SLI, Lake Jeleń, over the past 30 years are presented. The lake is located within the borders of a city, and a significant part of its catchment is under agriculture and recreation use. The physicochemical (concentration of nutrients, organic matter, electrical conductivity, oxygen saturation and water pH) and biological parameters (macrophytes and phytoplankton) were measured in summer 1991, 2004, 2013 and 2018. Since the beginning of the 1990s, a gradual increase in the trophy of the lake has been observed as indicated by increased nutrient availability, deterioration of oxygen conditions and a decrease in water transparency. The alterations of water chemistry induce biological transformations, in particular, an increase in phytoplankton abundance (4-fold increase of biomass in epilimnion) as well as a gradual reduction in the range of the phytolittoral (from 10 to 6 m), a decrease in the frequency of isoetids, Lobelia dortmanna and Isoetes lacustris, and expansion of plant species characteristic for eutrophy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality of Freshwater Ecosystems in a Temperate Climate)
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19 pages, 2190 KiB  
Article
Spatial Changes in Invertebrate Structures as a Factor of Strong Human Activity in the Bed and Catchment Area of a Small Urban Stream
by Robert Czerniawski, Łukasz Sługocki, Tomasz Krepski, Anna Wilczak and Katarzyna Pietrzak
Water 2020, 12(3), 913; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12030913 - 24 Mar 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3004
Abstract
The threats to small urban streams lead to a decrease in their water quality and dysregulate their ecological balance, thereby affecting the biodiversity and causing degradation of indicators that determine the ecological potential. The aim of our study was to determine the impact [...] Read more.
The threats to small urban streams lead to a decrease in their water quality and dysregulate their ecological balance, thereby affecting the biodiversity and causing degradation of indicators that determine the ecological potential. The aim of our study was to determine the impact of abiotic conditions induced by intensive human activity on the community structures of invertebrates (zooplankton and macroinvertebrates) in the small urban stream Bukówka in the Szczecin agglomeration (NW Poland). This stream exhibits the same characteristics as a large river, in which the mass of live organic matter increases with their length. The composition of invertebrates (zooplankton and macroinvertebrates) was strongly influenced by the changes caused by humans in the stream bed. The construction of small reservoirs and bed regulation in this small urban streams had a similar effect on the quality of the water and ecological potential as in large rivers, but at a lower scale. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality of Freshwater Ecosystems in a Temperate Climate)
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14 pages, 1222 KiB  
Article
Response of Zooplankton Indices to Anthropogenic Pressure in the Catchment of Field Ponds
by Natalia Kuczyńska-Kippen
Water 2020, 12(3), 758; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12030758 - 10 Mar 2020
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3012
Abstract
As methods for assessing the environmental conditions in ponds are still not well developed, I studied zooplankton to identify a response of community indices to abiotic, biotic, and habitat type in two types of ponds differing in the level of human stress. Ponds [...] Read more.
As methods for assessing the environmental conditions in ponds are still not well developed, I studied zooplankton to identify a response of community indices to abiotic, biotic, and habitat type in two types of ponds differing in the level of human stress. Ponds of low human alterations (LowHI) harbored generally richer communities and a higher share littoral zooplankton, whose occurrence was associated with higher water transparency and complex macrophyte habitat, particularly the presence of hornworts and charoids. In high human-impact ponds (HighHI) planktonic communities prevailed. Their distribution was mainly related to the open water area and fish presence. Anthropogenic disturbance was also reflected in the frequency of rare species, which were associated with LowHI ponds. Higher diversity of zooplankton increased the chance for rare species to occur. Despite the fact that the majority of rare species are littoral-associated, they had no prevalence towards a certain ecological type of plants, which suggests that any kind of plant cover, even macrophytes typical for eutrophic waters (e.g., Ceratophyllum demersum) will create a valuable habitat for conservation purposes. Thus, it is postulated that a complex and dense cover of submerged macrophytes ought to be maintained in order to improve the ecological value of small water bodies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality of Freshwater Ecosystems in a Temperate Climate)
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14 pages, 2153 KiB  
Article
Functional Groups of Phytoplankton and Their Relationship with Environmental Factors in the Restored Uzarzewskie Lake
by Anna Kozak, Agnieszka Budzyńska, Renata Dondajewska-Pielka, Katarzyna Kowalczewska-Madura and Ryszard Gołdyn
Water 2020, 12(2), 313; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12020313 - 21 Jan 2020
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3520
Abstract
Uzarzewskie Lake is a small, postglacial lake, located in western Poland. The lake is under restoration treatment since 2006. At first, iron treatment was done for 2 years. In the second stage, spring water was directed into the hypolimnion in order to improve [...] Read more.
Uzarzewskie Lake is a small, postglacial lake, located in western Poland. The lake is under restoration treatment since 2006. At first, iron treatment was done for 2 years. In the second stage, spring water was directed into the hypolimnion in order to improve water oxygenation near the bottom sediments. The purpose of our research was to determine changes in the contribution of functional groups to the total number of taxa and total biomass of phytoplankton due to changes in the physical and chemical characteristics of the restored lake. Phytoplankton composition was analyzed in three periods: (1) before restoration; (2) during the first method of restoration; and (3) when the second method was implemented in the lake. Epilimnetic phytoplankton was sampled every year monthly from March to November. The relationship between phytoplankton groups and environmental factors (water temperature, ammonium nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, dissolved phosphorus, conductivity and pH) was examined, using the canonical analyses. The redundancy analysis indicated that the temperature, dissolved phosphates concentration, ammonium nitrogen and pH were the main determining factors of the phytoplankton community dynamics. During the study, 13 coda dominated the phytoplankton biomass. Cyanobacteria of the codon H1 with such species as Aphanizomenon gracile, Dolichospermum planctonicum, D. viguieri dominated the phytoplankton community before restoration. S1 group consisting of Planktolyngbya limnetica, Limnothrix redekei and Planktothrix agardhii mostly dominated during the period in which the first method was used. Improvement of water quality due to restoration efforts in the third period caused dominance of other groups, especially J (Actinastrum hantzschii and other Chlorococcales), C (Asterionella formosa and other diatoms), Y (Cryptomonas marssonii and other cryptophytes), Lo (Peridiniopsis cunningtonii and other dinophytes) and X2 (Rhodomonas lacustris). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality of Freshwater Ecosystems in a Temperate Climate)
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25 pages, 6337 KiB  
Article
North German Lowland Lakes Miss Ecological Water Quality Standards—A Lake Type Specific Analysis
by Jacqueline Rücker, Brigitte Nixdorf, Katrin Quiel and Björn Grüneberg
Water 2019, 11(12), 2547; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11122547 - 02 Dec 2019
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3855
Abstract
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 [...] Read more.
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. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality of Freshwater Ecosystems in a Temperate Climate)
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19 pages, 3718 KiB  
Article
Water Quality Assessment of a Meromictic Lake Based on Physicochemical Parameters and Strontium Isotopes (87Sr/86Sr) Analysis: A Case Study of Lubińskie Lake (Western Poland)
by Mateusz Zieliński, Anna Szczucińska, Mateusz Drożdżyński, Marcin Frankowski and Andrzej Pukacz
Water 2019, 11(11), 2231; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11112231 - 25 Oct 2019
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2712
Abstract
In 2017, hydrochemical surveys of meromictic Lubińskie Lake (W Poland) and its water inflows were carried out. The lake experienced complete mixing in 2008 due to a series of orkan winds, and since 2015, intensifying worsening of water quality in the lake has [...] Read more.
In 2017, hydrochemical surveys of meromictic Lubińskie Lake (W Poland) and its water inflows were carried out. The lake experienced complete mixing in 2008 due to a series of orkan winds, and since 2015, intensifying worsening of water quality in the lake has been observed. Our aim was to determine the degree of transformation of Lubińskie Lake based on water chemistry and to identify the source of pollution of the lake using strontium isotopes (87Sr/86Sr) as a new chemical tracking tool. The physicochemical analysis confirmed the meromictic character of the lake. The comparison with previous studies (2003 and 2008) showed significant year-to-year differentiation, indicating intensifying eutrophication of the lake’s water, both in the epilimnion and the hypolimnion. Nine spring niches, directly supplying the lake, provide water with very high phosphorus and nitrogen concentrations (up to 10 kg of nitrogen and 0.9 kg of phosphorus daily). The strontium isotopes (87Sr/86Sr) analysis indicated that the lake’s water was supplied mostly by the springs, and recharge from deep aquifers is of secondary importance. Moreover, strontium isotope data and the relationship between Sr and Cl content support the finding that the high load of nutrients is of anthropogenic origin and reaches the lake through springs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality of Freshwater Ecosystems in a Temperate Climate)
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16 pages, 4245 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Hydrological Connectivity on the Zooplankton Structure in Floodplain Lakes of a Regulated Large River (the Lower Vistula, Poland)
by Paweł Napiórkowski, Martyna Bąkowska, Natalia Mrozińska, Monika Szymańska, Nikola Kolarova and Krystian Obolewski
Water 2019, 11(9), 1924; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11091924 - 14 Sep 2019
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 3604
Abstract
The zooplankton community structure and diversity were analysed against the gradient of floodplain lakes connectivity and water level under different flood-pulse dynamics in the Vistula River. The lakes differed in terms of hydrology, among others in the degree/type of their connection with the [...] Read more.
The zooplankton community structure and diversity were analysed against the gradient of floodplain lakes connectivity and water level under different flood-pulse dynamics in the Vistula River. The lakes differed in terms of hydrology, among others in the degree/type of their connection with the river (permanent, temporary and no connection). The study was conducted during the growing seasons in the years 2006–2013 and involved the lower Vistula River and three floodplain lakes: isolated, transitional and connected. Water samples were collected biweekly from April to September. Zooplankton was the most diverse and abundant in the transitional lake (the highest Shannon α-diversity index H’ and Pielou’s evenness index J’). The gentle washing of the lakes might have stimulated the development of zooplankton in accordance with the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis. The diversity and density of zooplankton were higher in the connected lake compared to the isolated one. We confirmed the hypothesis that zooplankton should be more abundant and diverse in floodplain lakes connected with the river (or transitional) than in isolated ones. Zooplankton analyses indicated that hydrological conditions (flood-pulse regime) contributed most substantially to zooplankton diversity and density in the floodplain lakes of the lower Vistula valley. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality of Freshwater Ecosystems in a Temperate Climate)
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22 pages, 5480 KiB  
Article
Long-Term Water Quality Changes as a Result of a Sustainable Restoration—A Case Study of Dimictic Lake Durowskie
by Renata Dondajewska, Katarzyna Kowalczewska-Madura, Ryszard Gołdyn, Anna Kozak, Beata Messyasz and Sławek Cerbin
Water 2019, 11(3), 616; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11030616 - 25 Mar 2019
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4478
Abstract
Nature-based solutions in lake restoration enable gradual ecosystem reconstruction without drastic and expensive intervention. Sustainable lake restoration involves limited external interference strong enough to initiate and maintain positive changes in the ecosystem. It was introduced in Lake Durowskie, an urban, flow-through lake situated [...] Read more.
Nature-based solutions in lake restoration enable gradual ecosystem reconstruction without drastic and expensive intervention. Sustainable lake restoration involves limited external interference strong enough to initiate and maintain positive changes in the ecosystem. It was introduced in Lake Durowskie, an urban, flow-through lake situated in Western Poland, using hypolimnetic aeration, phosphorus precipitation with small doses of chemicals and biomanipulation in 2009, and is continued until today. Oxygen conditions in the lake hypolimnion after initial deterioration were gradually improved, and finally a shortening of the duration and range of oxygen deficits was observed. Nitrogen transformations were induced in the hypolimnion by water aeration as well, reducing ammonium N (30% during 2013–2017 in comparison to 2008) and increasing nitrates (90% in 2013–2017 in comparison to 2008). Phosphorus content was diminished (19% during 2015–2017 in relation to 2008 for SRP) due to effective iron-binding and a smaller amount of fresh organic matter being decomposed. Its reduction was related to lower phytoplankton biomass, expressed in a decrease of chlorophyll-a concentrations (55% reduction during 2013–2017 in comparison to 2008) and an increase in water transparency (two-fold during 2013–2017 in relation to 2008) throughout the nine years of treatment. A long-term restoration program, based on non-aggressive, multiple in-lake techniques was applied and, despite the lack of a reduction in total external loading, was able to suppress progressive eutrophication. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality of Freshwater Ecosystems in a Temperate Climate)
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