Paleolimnological Assessment of Eutrophication History of Large Transboundary Lake Peipsi, Estonia/Russia

Lake Peipsi (3555 km2, mean depth 7.1 m), shared between Estonia and Russia, is the fourth largest lake by area and the largest transboundary lake in Europe. Adequate information about the status and historical development of L. Peipsi is needed for the protection of its ecosystem and implementation of the Water Framework Directive. To establish the onset of man-made eutrophication and natural background conditions, a short sediment core from L. Peipsi was studied for diatom remains. Indigenous planktonic diatom assemblages typical for large alkaline mesotrophic lakes occurred in the sediment accumulated prior to mid-1950s.In the mid-1950s and early-1960s, an increase in the abundance of the diatom Stephanodiscus parvus indicated a change in diatom flora, although ¿pristine associations¿ for L.Peipsi were still dominating.High relative abundance of planktonic diatoms in the 1970s and 1980s suggests increased phytoplankton productivity and low transparency of the water and hence reflects progressive eutrophication. The sedimentary diatom flora indicates a slight recovery of the ecosystem in the 1990s while the in-lake P concentrations did not decrease.

NOGES Tiina;  HEINSALU Atko;  ALLIKSAAR Tiiu;  NOGES Peeter; 

2008-01-17

International Society of Limnology

JRC41441

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC41441,