Highlights of large lake research and management in Europe

Abstract

Lakes in Europe have a bipolar distribution by latitude with higher lake densities in the north (58–65° N) and south (38–48° N). By area, 95% of the large lakes (>100 km2) are located at altitudes lower than 100 m above sea level (ASL) and only 1% lie higher than 1,000 m ASL. Physically large lakes exhibit several similarities to seas and oceans in their thermal structure and circulation dynamics. From the chemical point of view, lakes are important accumulation sites for substances transported from the watershed or built up in the lake itself but they may contribute positively to global greenhouse gas emission. Fauna and flora of ancient large lakes such as the Caspian Sea and Lake Ohrid include large numbers of endemic species, which become endangered if conditions change because of direct human impact, alien species invasions or climate change. Large lakes offer a wide range of ecosystem services to society, the multiple use of which creates multiple pressures on these water bodies such as nutrient load and toxic pollution, modification of hydrology and shore line structure, and shifting of the food web balance by stocking or harvesting various species. Although large lakes are among the best-studied ecosystems in the world, the application to them of environmental regulations such as the European Water Framework Directive is a challenging task and requires that several natural and management aspects specific to these water bodies are adequately considered.