The Cumbrian Lakes Research Forum, comprising researchers and practitioners, meets annually. This year’s workshop took place online in November 2021. The timing of the meeting, during the United Nations COP26 negotiations in Glasgow, provided the theme for discussions examining the major climate change risks to lakes and options for climate adaptation and mitigation. Dr Ellie Mackay reviews the day…
The talks this year spanned a range of themes, exploring aquatic carbon cycling, molecular ecology, monitoring scheme design, climate change impacts and catchment and lake restoration.
Alex Elliott (UKCEH) began proceedings with insights into the likely future production of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) created by the growth of algae in two different reservoirs. The close association of this less easily treatable form of DOC with algal productivity highlights the continuing importance of managing nutrient inputs for wider water quality and treatability benefits, where systems are used for drinking water.
In a second carbon-focused presentation, Amy Pickard (UKCEH) discussed research on catchment carbon delivery to freshwaters as a result of peatland wildfires. Using a robust experimental design, Amy clearly showed the role of burning in changing the quantity and form of carbon being exported from peatlands, with ongoing work to investigate potential biological impacts.
Jo-Anne Pitt (Environment Agency) presented on the importance of developing a more representative national lake surveillance scheme. A statistical approach could be adopted to identify a representative sample of lakes capable of trend detection at the national scale, she explained. This scheme includes nationally important sites. Jo-Anne illustrated the complexity of balancing competing demands for resources to carry out monitoring while creating a network that can be used to understand the changing environmental condition of England’s lakes.
Staying at the national level, we heard from Ruth Hall and Glen Cooper (Natural England) about work being done to take forward lake restoration in the context of ambitions outlined in Defra’s 25-year plan for the environment. The plan aims to restore natural lake functioning across chemical, physical, hydrological and biological components of the system. It was clear that we need to work with a wide range of interest groups to protect and restore lakes.
Attendees were encouraged to think about measures that could improve our lakes (Lakes – cherished yet forgotten) and engage with action to identify priority freshwater habitats. Ruth and Glen showcased two specific initiatives that need input: identifying good quality lake environments via the priority habitat map and lakes with the potential for restoration activities via the restoration priorities map.
Monitoring was a key theme of the meeting, with three talks considering this activity from different perspectives. Lake catchment monitoring and management formed the basis of a talk by Mike West (South Cumbria Rivers Trust). He discussed progress in developing a monitoring network, identifying diffuse pollution sources and management interventions in an intensively farmed drinking water catchment in south Cumbria.
The development of novel metabarcoding molecular methods for monitoring zooplankton communities was the focus for Liz Davidson (UKCEH and Cardiff University). Her talk highlighted key considerations when adopting molecular approaches to plankton community assessment, compared to traditional microscopy. These include trade-offs in quantification between read counts and abundance, and the potential for the detection of rare taxa.
I presented on an initiative to improve the visibility and usage of Cumbrian Lakes monitoring data by the community, giving an update on work to increase the impact of the Cumbrian Lakes Monitoring Platform. The launch of these new webpages enables easier access to the platform and datasets generated by the monitoring work and encourages greater collaboration with UKCEH scientists. Ongoing work to visualise and ‘tell the stories’ behind the data will broaden our audience and raise the profile of the monitoring platform and the importance of lake ecosystems.
The final talk of the day from Iestyn Woolway (European Space Agency and University of Reading), provided an overview of how climate change is impacting the physical features of the lake environment. This includes reducing ice cover, increasing water temperatures and heat waves, lengthening stratification (a period in the year when a water density gradient develops in the lake due to surface heating), increasing evaporation and reducing water levels.
Predictions for potentially dramatic changes in physical lake functioning from modelling and observations carried out across the world emphasise the need to not only mitigate against climate change, but also work on strategies to adapt lake management to minimise negative consequences for ecosystem functioning and life in lakes. This was the focus for discussions held during the forum, with attendees considering strategies and specific measures to ameliorate impacts.
Solutions such as enhanced nutrient management, increased riparian shading, use of cool water refuges, landscape resilience and restoration to maximise habitat connectivity and the need to raise awareness of the threats and impacts that climate change is having on lake ecosystems were all highlighted Perhaps next year’s forum will allow us to reflect on progress on such solutions.
Thanks to all the attendees who contributed to this year’s event.
Ellie Mackay