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River-lake systems in focus

29.07.2019

Aquatic ecosystems suffer disproportionately from anthropogenic pressure and the effects of climate change. According to the EU Water Framework Directive, lakes along river systems in particular are currently in poor ecological condition. How similar are lakes that are more or less strongly connected by rivers and how do algal blooms spread along lake chains? These and other questions are being investigated by an IGB research team led by Stella Berger and Sabine Wollrab together with other partners from remote sensing and landscape ecology. The project "CONNECT – Connectivity and synchronisation of lake ecosystems in space and time" is financed by the Leibniz Association. ... [»]

IGB is researching the effects of climate change at the Lake Lab

The LakeLab in Lake Stechlin of Brandenburg, Germany, is a large experimental setup of the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB). Here, scientists are studying the effects of climate change on lakes.

In the LakeLab, 24 lake-water basins each 9 metres in diameter and around 20 metres deep are isolated from the rest of the lake. In these experimental cylinders, future climatic scenarios will be simulated and their effects on the lake researched. Will the biodiversity change as a result of climate change? Will there be an enrichment of nutrients? Will more greenhouse gasses be released? – These are only a few of many questions the researchers of IGB intend to answer.

The LakeLab is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF), the Senate of Berlin (Department for Economy, Technology and Research), and the Leibniz Association. It is a winner of the 2012 competition «Germany – Land of Ideas».