The Impact of Recreational Activities on Aquatic Vegetation in Alpine Lakes

Piotr Dynowski,Anna Źróbek-Sokolnik,Adam Senetra,Jacek Kozłowski

doi:10.3390/w11010173

Piotr Dynowski, Anna Źróbek-Sokolnik + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/w11010173

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Journal: Water	Publication Date: Jan 18, 2019
Citations: 17	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn

Abstract

Tourism pressure on protected areas with attractive landscapes leads to environmental modifications. Eutrophication poses the main threat to the quality of water in alpine lakes. Even small inflows of biogenic elements can disrupt the ecological balance of these ecosystems. The aim of this study was to verify the hypothesis that recreational activities and easy access to alpine lakes contribute to changes in their ecological status. This hypothesis was verified by analyzing the presence of hydromacrophytes in two lakes of the Tatra National Park (Poland). The analysis was carried out along segments of hiking trails which were evaluated for accessibility to the studied lakes. Underwater surveys were carried out during scuba diving expeditions in 2012–2016. Submerged vegetation was evaluated in both lakes. This is the first study in Poland and one of the few projects in the world to have relied on such extensive support from scuba divers to generate highly accurate measurements. The study demonstrated that lake bottoms were extensively covered by Potamogeton friesii in the vicinity of trail segments with easy access to lakes. Our results show that tourism pressure contributes to the growth of aquatic vegetation in some areas of alpine lakes. We relied on our findings to propose several modifications to the routes of the evaluated tourist trails to minimize the impact of anthropogenic pressure on the studied lakes.

Highlights

IntroductionAlpine lakes are water bodies that are situated at high altitudes (lakes characteristic of montane regions) and are relatively small, cold, oligotrophic, dilute and colonized by sparse flora and fauna [1,2,3]
The term “alpine lakes” applies to the lakes situated in the Alps or the Apennines, but it covers a broader category of water bodies with specific geomorphological and biological parameters.Alpine lakes are water bodies that are situated at high altitudes and are relatively small, cold, oligotrophic, dilute and colonized by sparse flora and fauna [1,2,3].Submerged, semi-submerged and littoral vegetation is not commonly encountered in alpine lakes
Our study demonstrated that the species regarded as indicators of degradation in alpine lakes [2] were present in the analyzed water body

Summary

Introduction

Alpine lakes are water bodies that are situated at high altitudes (lakes characteristic of montane regions) and are relatively small, cold, oligotrophic, dilute and colonized by sparse flora and fauna [1,2,3]. Semi-submerged and littoral (hygrophilous peri-lacustrine) vegetation is not commonly encountered in alpine lakes. The high ecological status of alpine lakes is generally characterized by average depth limit of vegetation at around 10 m [2]. Rushes and horsetails grow around lake shores due to nutrient enrichment in the littoral zone. Emergent plants, such as Sparganium angustifolium and Ranunculus aquatilis, are encountered in alpine lakes [3,4,5,6]

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