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The Development of Plankton Communities in Strip‐Mine Lakes of the Cologne Lignite District
Author(s) -
Trahms KarlJürgen
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
internationale revue der gesamten hydrobiologie und hydrographie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1522-2632
pISSN - 0020-9309
DOI - 10.1002/iroh.19720570504
Subject(s) - alkalinity , plankton , environmental science , littoral zone , zooplankton , hydrology (agriculture) , groundwater , ecology , geology , biology , chemistry , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry
In former brown‐coal areas in the process of being returned to agriculture and forestation, there are holes left from the mining which are filled with groundwater. Three such strip‐mine lakes in the Cologne Lignite District were chosen for research purposes (i. e. the redevelopment by nature herself of plankton organisms). Despite a short research period (21/2 years) the analysis undertaken on lakes of different ages (40 years, 20 years and from the start) covers a span of 40 years. The main criteria of these waters are (1) extreme chemical conditions (sulphates = 400–500 mg/1, total alkalinity = 40–50° dH, permanent alkalinity: carbonate alkalinity max. 11:1), (2) poor in dissolved nutrient, phosphates non existent, (3) the lake form is not ideal (steep banks, no littoral) and (4) the unstable conditions. Comparison of the three lake ages shows an amelioration of the extreme chemical parameters, an increase in the number of the species of phyto‐ und zooplankton (tab. 4) and an increase of productivity running parallel with the ages. The waterborne inflow of organisms into these three lakes is more important than the transport by wind, birds, etc. as most of the lakes of the area are connected with one another (the same species and the same dominant species). The general conditions have been checked with other stripmine lakes, dams and reservoirs.