Affiliation: | 1. Freshwater Centre, Finnish Environment Institute, Latokartanonkaari 11, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland;2. Geography Research Unit, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 3000, FI-90014 Oulu, Finland;3. Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, GO, 74690-900 Brazil;4. Key Laboratory of Watershed Geographic Sciences, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73 East Beijing Road, 210008 Nanjing, China;5. Freshwater Centre, Finnish Environment Institute, Latokartanonkaari 11, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland Biodiversity Centre, Finnish Environment Institute, Latokartanonkaari 11, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland;6. Freshwater Centre, Finnish Environment Institute, Latokartanonkaari 11, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland;7. Biodiversity Centre, Finnish Environment Institute, Latokartanonkaari 11, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland;8. Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7050, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 68583-0984 U.S.A. |
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. |