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A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Biodiversity and Functionality of Aquatic Ecosystems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 33759

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Prof. Dr. Renata Dondajewska-Pielka

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Department of Water Protection, Faculty of Biology Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Uniwersytetu Poznanskiego 6, 61-614 Poznan, Poland
Interests: water quality; lakes eutrophication; aquatic ecosystems; lake restoration; water chemistry; bottom sediments; hydrobiology
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Dr. Agnieszka Budzyńska

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Department of Water Protection, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Umultowska 89, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
Interests: cyanobacterial blooms; invasive species of cyanobacteria; cyanotoxin production; cyanobacterial akinetes; restoration of lakes; phytoplankton; freshwater ecology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Human activity, including agriculture, industry, and urban development, has caused the degradation of numerous freshwater ecosystems, resulting very often in advanced eutrophication. This process is manifested most conspicuously by harmful algal blooms (HABs) mainly dominated by cyanobacteria, the elimination of submerged macrophytes due to turbid water state, and pronounced changes in fish communities. These adverse changes pose a threat both to the functioning of the lake ecosystem and biodiversity and to human water supply, recreation or fishery.

The limited freshwater resources and decreasing water quality generate the need to restore degraded lake ecosystems. Complex interactions in these systems, covering multiple pathways linking biotic and abiotic components, are a challenge in planning the restoration and successfully applying the plan. To date, various restorations methods have been applied, differing in the target element of the ecosystem, mode of action, costs, and results. However, there is still an urgent need for new cost-effective methods, and for a more thorough understanding of the ecosystem processes determining outcomes of restoration efforts, enabling the selection of an optimal plan for each lake.

This Special Issue welcomes articles dedicated to all aspects of lake protection and restoration. The specific topics may include but are not limited to:

▪ Recent advances in the catchment actions for lake protection or in-lake methods of lake restoration;

▪ The response of biotic and abiotic components of lake ecosystem to the restoration efforts;

▪ Case studies of successful or unsuccessful restoration actions, showing the reasons for success or failure;

▪ Fighting cyanobacterial water blooms and/or cyanotoxins released from the bloom;

▪ Management of lakes in the changing environment.

Papers covering novel techniques in lake restoration are particularly welcome, as are those covering innovative approaches to methods already tested in degraded lakes. Both original research papers and review papers are welcome.

Dr. Renata Dondajewska-Pielka
Dr. Agnieszka Budzyńska
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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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

aquatic communities
cyanobacterial blooms and cyanotoxins
eutrophication
in-lake restoration
nutrients
management of lakes

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 2316 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainable Restoration as a Tool for the Improvement of Water Quality in a Shallow, Hypertrophic Lake

by Katarzyna Kowalczewska-Madura, Anna Kozak, Natalia Kuczyńska-Kippen, Renata Dondajewska-Pielka and Ryszard Gołdyn

Water 2022, 14(7), 1005; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14071005 - 22 Mar 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1980

Abstract

Sustainable restoration treatments were implemented with the simultaneous application of pro-ecological methods that complement each other to improve water quality in the shallow and heavily polluted Raczyńskie Lake. Phosphorus inactivation with magnesium chloride and Phoslock^® was introduced along with biomanipulation. Physico-chemical and biological parameters were studied in 2015 (before restoration) and throughout 2018 and 2019 (during restoration). Water quality improved in the first year of treatment. An increase in water transparency, oxygen concentration above the bottom, a decrease of chlorophyll-a concentration and a reduction in cyanobacteria were observed. In the second year of treatment, a slight deterioration of water quality was recorded, probably caused by fewer phosphorus inactivation treatments and a shortened period of application. However, the deterioration of conditions is also characteristic of sustainable restoration at the beginning of the restoration process. The obtained results showed that sustainable restoration requires more than two years, and its scope and intensity should strictly depend on the pace of changes, determined on the basis of monitoring. In addition, improved water quality will have a positive impact on the recreational use of this reservoir. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lake Ecology and Restoration)

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16 pages, 4578 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial Distribution of Ciliate Assemblages in a Shallow Floodplain Lake with an Anaerobic Zone

by Roman Babko, Tetiana Kuzmina, Yaroslav Danko, Volodymyr Pliashechnyk, Joanna Szulżyk-Cieplak, Ewa Łazuka, Jacek Zaburko and Grzegorz Łagód

Water 2022, 14(6), 898; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14060898 - 13 Mar 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2096

Abstract

The spatial distribution of ciliate assemblages was studied in a shallow floodplain lake with a sharp division of space by oxygen conditions. The surface zone occupied by the “carpet” of Lemna trisulca and L. minor was characterized by a large daily amplitude of oxygen content with periodic exceeding of 100% of saturation; the underlying water layer was characterized by microaerobic conditions throughout most of the year, with seasonal deviations towards oxygen-free conditions (in winter and mid-summer) or increased oxygen content (before freezing and after ice melt); stable oxygen-free conditions were maintained in the bottom layer of water and at the bottom of the lake. There were 111 species of ciliated protozoa recorded in the lake. The ciliated protozoa were clearly structured and formed three almost non-overlapping assemblages in terms of species composition, which retained their isolation during all seasons of the year. On the basis of the analysis performed using the R indicspecies package, species of ciliated protozoa were identified as indicators of conditions with different oxygen regimes, which are determined by the level of organic pollution and the distribution of photosynthetic organisms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lake Ecology and Restoration)

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16 pages, 3179 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Determining the Optimal Biomass of Macrophytes during the Ecological Restoration Process of Eutrophic Shallow Lakes

by Wen Hu, Weiwei Wei, Chun Ye, Chunhua Li, Ye Zheng, Xiaogang Shi, Manqi Chang and Hongsen Chen

Water 2021, 13(21), 3142; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w13213142 - 08 Nov 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2469

Abstract

Many studies have shown that macrophytes play a significant role in controlling eutrophication; however, only a few of these are based on macrophyte biomass. Based on the growth characteristic of macrophytes, we propose an approach for the assessment of the optimal biomass of macrophytes in the decay and growth periods in Lake Datong (a shallow lake), using a lake ecological model. The results showed that the pollution load of the lake should be reduced by 50% while conforming to the Environmental Quality Standards for Surface Water (EQSSW) Class Ⅲ. In contrast, with an increase in the pollution load of 5%, the results indicate that the lake may deteriorate to a turbid state over the next few years. The macrophyte biomass should be harvested during the decay period, when 80% biomass is beneficial to the water quality of the eutrophic shallow lake. Based on macrophyte simulation from 2020–2024, the wet biomass of macrophytes should be controlled at 5.5 kg/m². The current macrophyte biomass in Lake Datong is four-fold higher than the simulated optimal biomass. This study provides a reference for the adequate ecological restoration of the lake and its subsequent maintenance, as well as scientific support for improving the comprehensive evaluation standard of healthy lakes and the theoretical basis of lake ecological restoration. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lake Ecology and Restoration)

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14 pages, 1602 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Artificial Reefs on Phytoplankton Community Structure in Baiyangdian Lake, China

by Hao Zhu, Xingguo Liu, Shuiping Cheng and Jie Wang

Water 2021, 13(13), 1802; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w13131802 - 29 Jun 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2377

Abstract

The habitat and feeding environment of freshwater fish in freshwater lakes have been destroyed, with the problem of miniaturization and simplification of catches being serious. An artificial reef is an effective technical measure to protect and proliferate offshore fishery resources, but little research has been conducted on its application in freshwater lakes. A small artificial reef for freshwater lakes was designed according to the water depth of the lake and the habits of benthic fish. The artificial reef is composed of biomass modules, each of which is 900 × 120 mm. The community structure of phytoplankton around the artificial reef and its adjacent waters was studied. The results showed that 77 species from seven phyla were identified, with a high number of species from the Chlorophyceae. In terms of density composition, the density of cyanobacteria decreased month by month, while the phylum Chlorophyta and Cryptophyta increased first and then decreased. As for biomass composition, Chlorophyta and Cryptophyta increased first and then decreased. RDA analysis showed that water temperature, dissolved oxygen, and total phosphorus were the main influencing factors. To sum up, the artificial reef can improve the algae phase in the surrounding water column, inhibit the growth and reproduction of cyanobacteria to a certain extent, and have a significant enrichment and promotion effect on diatoms. Artificial fish reef affects the phytoplankton community structure of the surrounding water bodies mainly through the absorption of phosphorus nutrients. Artificial reefs can be popularized and applied in freshwater lakes to provide foraging and shelter for benthic fish in the lake. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lake Ecology and Restoration)

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16 pages, 3971 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Low Dose Coagulant and Local Soil Ballast Effectively Remove Cyanobacteria (Microcystis) from Tropical Lake Water without Cell Damage

by Somjate Thongdam, Anthony C. Kuster, Brian J. Huser and Anootnara T. Kuster

Water 2021, 13(2), 111; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w13020111 - 06 Jan 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4207

Abstract

The combination of a low dose of coagulant with a ballast, also known as “flock and sink,” has been proposed as a lake restoration and cyanobacteria bloom management strategy. The effectiveness of this technique using aluminum sulfate (alum) as a coagulant and a local soil (LS) from Thailand as a ballast in eutrophic water dominated by positively buoyant Microcystis colonies collected from a tropical lake was investigated by measuring changes in chlorophyll-a (chl-a), pH, and zeta potential. Cell integrity was also evaluated using scanning electron microscopy. Results showed that alum alone could reduce chl-a (up to 60% to 83%) at doses (higher than 3 to 6 mg Al/L) dependent on the initial pH (7.6 to 8.2) and initial chl-a concentration (138 to 615 µg/L) of the lake water but resulted in morphological changes to cellular structure and generally required a dose that reduced pH to <7. LS ballast alone was able to reduce chl-a concentrations (up to 26% at highest dose of 400 mg/L) and caused no significant changes to pH or zeta potential. Combining a low dose of alum (2 mg Al/L) with some amount of LS ballast (50 to 400 mg/L) created an interaction effect that resulted in 81 to 88% reduction in chl-a without changes to zeta potential or morphological changes to cellular structure. Flock and sink may serve a niche role in lake restoration when positively buoyant cyanobacteria are present in the water column during time of treatment. This research showed that an 800% increase in ballast dose resulted in about an 8% reduction in chl-a when combined with 2 mg Al/L of alum. Therefore, it is recommended that ballast dose should be determined by considering its phosphorus sorption capacity and the potentially releasable phosphorus in the lake sediment in order to realize long-term reductions in sediment nutrient release. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lake Ecology and Restoration)

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14 pages, 28339 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Mapping of Major Land-Use Changes in the Kolleru Lake Freshwater Ecosystem by Using Landsat Satellite Images in Google Earth Engine

by Meena Kumari Kolli, Christian Opp, Daniel Karthe and Michael Groll

Water 2020, 12(9), 2493; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w12092493 - 07 Sep 2020

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 8945

Abstract

India’s largest freshwater ecosystem of the Kolleru Lake has experienced severe threats by land-use changes, including the construction of illegal fishponds around the lake area over the past five decades. Despite efforts to protect and restore the lake and its riparian zones, environmental pressures have increased over time. The present study provides a synthesis of human activities through major land-use changes around Kolleru Lake both before and after restoration measures. For this purpose, archives of all Landsat imageries from the last three decades were used to detect land cover changes. Using the Google Earth Engine cloud platform, three different land-use scenarios were classified for the year before restoration (1999), for 2008 immediately after the restoration, and for 2018, i.e., the current situation of the lake one decade afterward. Additionally, the NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) and NDWI (Normalized Difference Water Index) indices were used to identify land cover dynamics. The results show that the restoration was successful; consequently, after a decade, the lake was transformed into the previous state of restoration (i.e., 1999 situation). In 1999, 29.7% of the Kolleru Lake ecosystem was occupied by fishponds, and, after a decade of sustainable restoration, 27.7% of the area was fishponds, almost reaching the extent of the 1999 situation. On the one hand, aquaculture is one of the most promising sources of income, but there is also limited awareness of its negative environmental impacts among local residents. On the other hand, political commitment to protect the lake is weak, and integrated approaches considering all stakeholders are lacking. Nevertheless, alterations of land and water use, increasing nutrient concentrations, and sediment inputs from the lake basin have reached a level at which they threaten the biodiversity and functionality of India’s largest wetland ecosystem to the degree that immediate action is necessary to prevent irreversible degradation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lake Ecology and Restoration)

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19 pages, 2060 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ecosystem-Based Restoration to Mitigate Eutrophication: A Case Study in a Shallow Lake

by Konghao Zhu, Yao Wu, Chunhua Li, Jun Xu and Min Zhang

Water 2020, 12(8), 2141; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w12082141 - 29 Jul 2020

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3679

Abstract

Under the influence of human activities, eutrophication has become an increasingly serious global phenomenon, especially in shallow lakes. Many studies have shown that aquatic macrophytes play a significant role in controlling eutrophication, but only few of these studies are ecosystem based. In this paper, we applied a mass-balance ecosystem model to a shallow eutrophic lake (Lake Datong, China) as a case study with the aims of evaluating the status of ecosystem restoration via the recovery of aquatic vegetation and providing adaptive management suggestions. Results showed that the ecosystem was immature with weak energy flows and nutrient cycling largely due to the excessive submerged macrophytes and the lack of fish as consumer. In the early stages of restoration, the number of fish should be reduced, and aquatic vegetation needs to be recovered to mitigate eutrophication. When the aquatic vegetation community tends to be stable, herbivorous and omnivorous fish should be moderately stocked, and dead aquatic macrophytes should be harvested to maintain the healthy and sustainable development of the ecosystem. This study provided insights for the ecological restoration of shallow eutrophic lakes and revealed the urgent need for ecosystem-based restoration. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lake Ecology and Restoration)

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15 pages, 2571 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Water Hyacinth and Its Linkage with Lake-Level Fluctuation: Lake Tana, a Sub-Humid Region of the Ethiopian Highlands

by Minychl G. Dersseh, Seifu A. Tilahun, Abeyou W. Worqlul, Mamaru A. Moges, Wubneh B. Abebe, Demesew A. Mhiret and Assefa M. Melesse

Water 2020, 12(5), 1435; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w12051435 - 18 May 2020

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 4717

Abstract

Water hyacinth originated from the Amazon Basin and has expanded to other parts of the world since the 1800s. In Ethiopia, the weed is affecting the socio-economic activities of the people whose livelihood is directly or indirectly dependent on Lake Tana. Still, the area covered by water hyacinth and the impact of water level fluctuation on the expansion of water hyacinth has not been known clearly. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to determine the spatiotemporal distribution of water hyacinth and relation with lake-level fluctuation. The area covered by water hyacinth was determined using monthly Sentinel-2 images, which were collected from November 2015 to December 2019. The impact of water level fluctuation on the expansion of water hyacinth was evaluated using hourly water level data converted to a monthly average to correlate with the area covered by the water hyacinth. In addition, MOD13Q1.006 data was used to evaluate the trend of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and its linkage with the weed. The maximum areas covered by water hyacinth were 278.3, 613.6, 1108.7, 2036.5, and 2504.5 ha in Feb 2015, October 2016, September 2017, December 2018, and in December 2019, respectively. Its areal coverage was declining from the northern corridors and increasing in eastern shores of the lake. The lake-level fluctuation was observed in the range of 1.5 to 3.98 m in this study. The annual mean maximum spatial values of the NDVI were in the range of 0.27 and 0.47. The area covered by water hyacinth was increasing significantly (P < 0.05) and positively correlated with the seasonal lake-level fluctuation. High water level enabled the expansion of the weed by extending its suitable habitat of shallow water to the flood plain. Based on the results of this study, lake-level fluctuations can have an adverse impact on the expansion of the weed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lake Ecology and Restoration)

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15 pages, 2945 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effects of Limiting Restoration Treatments in a Shallow Urban Lake

by Katarzyna Kowalczewska-Madura, Joanna Rosińska, Renata Dondajewska-Pielka, Ryszard Gołdyn and Lech Kaczmarek

Water 2020, 12(5), 1383; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w12051383 - 13 May 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1953

Abstract

Swarzędzkie Lake, directly polluted for many years with municipal wastewater and heavily loaded with nutrient compounds from the catchment area, has become degraded and strongly eutrophicated. Strong cyanobacterial blooms have contributed, among others, to the cessation of recreational use of this urban lake. Its sustainable restoration was started in autumn 2011. These treatments were a combination of three complementary methods: aeration with a pulverizing aerator, phosphorus inactivation with small doses of magnesium chloride and iron sulphate (<15 kg ha⁻¹) and biomanipulation. These treatments were carried out for three years (2012–2014), and in the next two (2015–2016), treatments were limited from three to one method—aeration. The obtained effects (a decrease in the number of cyanobacteria in phytoplankton and at the same time an increase in its biodiversity, decrease in chlorophyll a concentration and improvement of transparency) were lost due to the cessation of phosphorus inactivation and biomanipulation. The biological balance was upset, which resulted in an increase in chlorophyll a concentration, the return of cyanobacteria dominance in the phytoplankton and a deterioration of water quality. Leaving only a pulverizing aerator active, to maintain low oxygen concentrations near the bottom zone was not sufficient to ensure a gradual improvement of water quality with quite a significant external load of nutrients. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lake Ecology and Restoration)

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