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Defining ecological and chemical reference conditions and restoration targets for nine European lakes

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Abstract

This paper aims to determine the ecological and chemical reference conditions (~1800–1850 AD) and degree of floristic change at nine enriched lakes, covering a range of types across Europe, using fossil diatom assemblages in dated sediment cores and application of total phosphorus (TP) transfer functions. Additionally the study assesses the potential of analogue matching as a technique for identifying reference sites and for estimating reference TP concentrations for the study lakes using a training set of 347 European lakes and 719 diatom taxa. Oligotrophic, acidophilous to circumneutral taxa were predominant in the reference samples of several of the deep lakes, and benthic Fragilaria spp. dominated the reference samples of two high alkalinity shallow lakes. The degree of floristic change from the reference sample, assessed using the squared chord distance (SCD) dissimilarity coefficient, revealed that two sites had experienced slight change (Lago Maggiore, Felbrigg Lake), five experienced moderate change (Mjoesa, Loch Davan, Loch Leven, White Lough, Esthwaite Water), and two showed evidence of major change (Groby Pool, Piburger See). For three lakes, there were no analogues in the diatom dataset owing to the uniqueness and diversity of the diatom reference assemblages. For the remaining six sites the number of analogues ranged from 2 to 44. For two deep lakes most of the analogues seemed appropriate as they were of the same type and had low TP concentrations. However, for two other deep lakes and two shallow lakes some of the analogues differed markedly in their depth and alkalinity from the lake in question or had TP concentrations seemingly too high to represent reference conditions suggesting that the analogues may not be suitable as reference sites. For the deep lakes, similar reference TP values were calculated using the EDDI Combined TP transfer function and the analogue matching technique with concentrations typically <20 μg L−1. However, for the shallow lakes, the analogue matching method produced inferred values considerably higher than those of the transfer function. The wide ecological tolerances of many of the diatom taxa found in the reference samples most likely explain the selection of inappropriate analogue sites. In summary, the study demonstrates that palaeoecological techniques can play a valuable role in determining reference conditions and indicates that the analogue matching technique has the potential to be a useful tool for identifying appropriate reference sites for lakes impacted by eutrophication.

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Acknowledgments

This paper was written with support from the European Union (FP6 Integrated Project ‘Euro-limpacs: European project to evaluate impacts of global change on freshwater ecosystems’ GOCE-CT-2003-505540) and the Scotland and Northern Ireland Forum for Environmental Research (SNIFFER, project number WFD08). Thank you to two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Change Research Centre, Department of Geography, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK

    Helen Bennion, Gavin L. Simpson, Gina Clarke, Xuhui Dong & Carl D. Sayer

  2. Department of Geography, Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, UK

    N. John Anderson

  3. Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), P.O.Box 2026, 5817, Nordnes, Bergen, Norway

    Anders Hobæk

  4. Department of Biology, University of Bergen, P.O. Box 7800, 5020, Bergen, Norway

    Anders Hobæk

  5. CNR-Istituto per lo Studio degli Ecosistemi, Largo Tonolli 50, 28922, Verbania Pallanza, Italy

    Piero Guilizzoni & Aldo Marchetto

  6. Institute of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Technikerstr. 25, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria

    Hansjörg Thies

  7. Fondazione E. Mach, Istituto Agrario di S. Michele all’Adige, IASMA Research and Innovation Centre, Environment and Natural Resources Area, Via Mach 1, 38010, S. Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy

    Monica Tolotti

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  1. Helen Bennion
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Correspondence to Helen Bennion.

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Bennion, H., Simpson, G.L., John Anderson, N. et al. Defining ecological and chemical reference conditions and restoration targets for nine European lakes. J Paleolimnol 45, 415–431 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-010-9418-4

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