Lakes in the era of global change : moving beyond single‐lake thinking in maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services
Year of publication
2021
Authors
Heino, Jani; Alahuhta, Janne; Bini, Luis Mauricio; Cai, Yongjiu; Heiskanen, Anna-Stiina; Hellsten, Seppo; Kortelainen, Pirkko; Kotamaki, Niina; Tolonen, Kimmo T.; Vihervaara, Petteri; Vilmi, Annika; Angeler, David G.
Abstract
The Anthropocene presents formidable threats to freshwater ecosystems. Lakes are especially vulnerable and important at the same time. They cover only a small area worldwide but harbour high levels of biodiversity and contribute disproportionately to ecosystem services. Lakes differ with respect to their general type (e.g. land‐locked, drainage, floodplain and large lakes) and position in the landscape (e.g. highland versus lowland lakes), which contribute to the dynamics of these systems. Lakes should be generally viewed as ‘meta‐systems’, whereby biodiversity is strongly affected by species dispersal, and ecosystem dynamics are contributed by the flow of matter and substances among locations in a broader waterscape context. Lake connectivity in the waterscape and position in the landscape determine the degree to which a lake is prone to invasion by non‐native species and accumulation of harmful substances. Highly connected lakes low in the landscape accumulate nutrients and pollutants originating from ecosystems higher in the landscape. The monitoring and restoration of lake biodiversity and ecosystem services should consider the fact that a high degree of dynamism is present at local, regional and global scales. However, local and regional monitoring may be plagued by the unpredictability of ecological phenomena, hindering adaptive management of lakes. Although monitoring data are increasingly becoming available to study responses of lakes to global change, we still lack suitable integration of models for entire waterscapes. Research across disciplinary boundaries is needed to address the challenges that lakes face in the Anthropocene because they may play an increasingly important role in harbouring unique aquatic biota as well as providing ecosystem goods and services in the future.
Show moreOrganizations and authors
University of Jyväskylä
Tolonen Kimmo
Publication type
Publication format
Article
Parent publication type
Journal
Article type
Review article
Audience
ScientificPeer-reviewed
Peer-ReviewedMINEDU's publication type classification code
A2 Review article, Literature review, Systematic reviewPublication channel information
Journal
Publisher
Volume
96
Issue
1
Pages
89-106
ISSN
Publication forum
Publication forum level
2
Open access
Open access in the publisher’s service
No
Self-archived
Yes
Other information
Fields of science
Environmental sciences; Ecology, evolutionary biology; Social and economic geography
Keywords
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Publication country
United Kingdom
Internationality of the publisher
International
Language
English
International co-publication
Yes
Co-publication with a company
No
DOI
10.1111/brv.12647
The publication is included in the Ministry of Education and Culture’s Publication data collection
Yes