The effect of land use change on the vascular plant species turnover in boreal lakes

The effects of different land use types on nutrient and chemical run-off have been widely researched, but the total effect of change in land use on the aquatic species community is not well-known. For this study we researched the effect of land use change on the vascular plant communities in lakes. The study was conducted with aerial photographs and GIS-techniques in the countryside of central Finland. We compared the change in vascular plant species community structure with the change in land use around 25 lakes, between the years 1933–1934 and 1996. The change in land use was analyzed in two different riparian zones. We found several indications of links between changes in land use and aquatic vascular plant species. According to our data a decrease in agricultural land use, in particular fields and meadows, appears to influence species turnover and increases the number of new vascular plant species. When the changes in fields and meadows were added together and compared to the change in species turnover, the correlation was even more evident. Changes in land use types in a zone 0–100 m from the lake shoreline correlated with a change in vascular plant species more often than changes in a larger, adjacent zone, 100–400 m from the shore. This indicates that changes in the few hundred meters nearest the lake have the most elemental consequences for aquatic vascular plant species, giving an indication of the breadth of the protection zones needed between freshwaters and agricultural lands.