Mowing Submerged Macrophytes in Shallow Lakes with Alternative Stable States: Battling the Good Guys?

ABSTRACT: Submerged macrophytes play an important role in maintaining good water quality in shallow lakes. Yet extensive stands easily interfere with various services provided by these lakes, and harvesting is increasingly applied as a management measure. Because shallow lakes may possess alternative stable states over a wide range of environmental conditions, designing a successful mowing strategy is challenging, given the important role of macrophytes in stabilizing the clear water state. In this study, the integrated ecosystem model PCLake is used to explore the consequences of mowing, in terms of reducing nuisance and ecosystem stability, for a wide range of external nutrient loadings, mowing intensities and timings. Elodea is used as a model species. Additionally, we use PCLake to estimate how

SUBMITTER: Kuiper JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5339322 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature