Abstract

Management actions often need to be taken in the absence of ecological information to mitigate the impact of pressing environmental problems. Managers counteracted the detrimental effects of cultural acidification on aquatic ecosystems during the industrial era using liming to salvage biodiversity and ecosystem services. However, historical contingencies, i.e., whether lakes were naturally acidic or degraded because of acidification, were largely unknown and therefore not accounted for in management. It is uncertain whether liming outcomes had a potentially detrimental effect on naturally acidic lakes. Evidence from paleolimnological reconstructions allowed us to analyze community structure in limed acidified and naturally acidic lakes, and acidified and circumneutral references. We analyzed community structure of phytoplankton, zooplankton, macroinvertebrates (littoral, sublittoral, profundal), and fish between 2000 and 2004. Naturally acidic limed lakes formed communities that were not representative of the other lake types. The occurrence of fish species relevant for ecosystem service provisioning (fisheries potential) in naturally acidic limed lakes were confounded by biogeographical factors. In addition, sustained changes in water quality were conducive to harmful algal blooms. This highlights a pathological outcome of liming lakes when their naturally acidic conditions are not accounted for. Because liming is an important social-ecological system, sustained ecological change of lakes might incur undesired costs for societies in the long term.

Keywords

biodiversity; community structure; ecosystem history; fish; invertebrates; lakes; liming; management; phytoplankton; zooplankton

Published in

Ecology and Society
2017, Volume: 22, number: 4, article number: 44
Publisher: RESILIENCE ALLIANCE

SLU Authors

• Angeler, David

  • Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Drakare, Stina

  • Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Johnson, Richard

  • Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Köhler, Stephan

  • Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Vrede, Tobias

  • Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Sustainable Development Goals

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all


UKÄ Subject classification

Ecology


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09794-220444

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/93517