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

Abstract

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.

Repeated Fish Removal to Restore Lakes: Case Study of Lake Væng, Denmark—Two Biomanipulations during 30 Years of Monitoring

“…Highly dynamic and cyclical growth of submerged macrophytes and regime shifts between turbid and clear water conditions as those seen in Lake Vaeng have been recorded in several other lakes [39,42,43]. In Lake Vaeng, P retention has been high, particularly after the second biomanipulation as demonstrated by low P concentrations in the lake water.…”

Preliminary evidence of an endangered species benefiting from moderate climate warming: A palaeolimnological study of the charophyte Lychnothamnus barbatus

“…Most often, palaeolimnological studies are based on single‐core analysis, where the sediment is taken from a pelagic site (Kowalewski, 2014). Palaeolimnological studies conducted in the phytolittoral areas are rare and limited to shallow lakes (Mazzini et al, 2015; Kornijów et al, 2016; Kowalewski et al, 2016). The advantage of the present study lies in the fact that it is based on three sediment cores collected along a depth gradient of the phytolittoral area.…”

An over 200-Year Environmental Change Record from the Highly Impacted Small, Hardwater Lake Pniówno (Chełm Hills)

“…Data on changes of ecological status of Łęczna-Włodawa Lakes covering periods longer than a few decades are scarce. So far only few lakes: Kleszczów (Kornijów et al 2016), Rotcze (Kowalewski et al 2016) and Głębokie Uścimowskie (Kowalewski et al 2013) have been comprehensively studied by applying paleolimnological methods. Although for all these lakes the development of macrophytes were very important phenomena, the results clearly point to the considerable differences in the trajectories of their changes within the last 200 years, as well as the important role of local factors in the process, especially with regard to transformation of their catchment.…”