Editorial Board

Editor-in-Chief: Petre Gastescu, Hyperion University of Bucharest (Romania)
Managing Editor: Petre Bretcan, Valahia University of Targoviste (Romania)
Volume 9(1) / 2015
ISSN: 1844-6477 (print version)
ISSN: 2284-5305 (electronic version)

 

 

  

 

CHANGES IN SEDIMENTATION AND AQUATIC VEGETATION CAUSED BY DRASTIC LAKE-LEVEL FLUCTUATION

 

Tiit VAASMA, Jaanus TERASMAA, Egert VANDEL

1Institute of Ecology, Tallinn University, Uus-Sadama 5, Tallinn, Estonia; Tel: +3726199828, Email: vaasma@tlu.ee

Abstract

This study identifies the water-level fluctuation signals from the lake sediment. The water level of small Lake Martiska (Estonia) decreased 3.4 m from 1946 to 1987 and only 29% of lake area and 21% of total volume remained. Since the 1990s the water level started to rise. The comparison between the LOI, grain-size distribution and documented water-level changes suggests that sign of water-level fluctuation in clearly reflected in sediment cores from the transportation and accumulation area. Regression causes the coarse-grained sediment transportation to the deepest area of the lake, but the transgression leaves a different pattern – when the lake level recovers, the connection with the previously available near-shore sand is still missing and only the previously reworked material can be transported to deeper area. During the water-level fluctuation period the accumulated sediments originate from two main sources: previously accumulated lacustrine sediments and the glaciolacustrine nearshore sands. The water-level fluctuation has also affected the ecology of the lake. Previously oligotrophic lake is now mesotrophic and the rare characteristic species for oligotrophic lakes such as Isoëtes lacustris L. and Lobelia dortmanna L. have disappeared.

Keywords: grain size, water-level fluctuation, lake sediment, lake ecology, macrophytes, human impact, palaeolimnology

  
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