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  • Waters under stress: flashlight study illustrates the effects of climate change on lakes in Germany

Waters under stress: flashlight study illustrates the effects of climate change on lakes in Germany

27. July 2022

An ecological dystopia – and an outlook for the whole of Europe? Greece’s Lake Volvi dried up completely in 2019. Photo © Thies Geertz / GNF

The study “Lakes and Climate Change” by Global Nature Fund and Grüne Liga e.V. examines the impact of global warming on domestic waters
Rising temperatures and human use pressure are changing sensitive water ecosystems
GNF: Decisive measures are needed to protect unique habitats and the climate at the same time

Radolfzell, 27.07.2022: This publication is a wake-up call: Together with the Green League e.V., experts from the Global Nature Fund (GNF) have published the flashlight study “Lakes and Climate Change”. Their findings: climate change is having a major impact on domestic waters, for example in terms of temperature and precipitation. Lakes, small bodies of water and wetlands that are already heavily used by humans for agriculture or leisure activities are particularly affected. In addition, the effects of climate change will worsen in the coming years and decades if we do not take decisive action. The study is now available for download on the websites of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation and GNF.

Alarming data

Waters in Germany and other European countries were examined as part of the flashlight study. The study concludes that many lakes in their current state are already heavily impacted by human activities and are therefore more vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change. Rising water temperatures, changing hydrology and increasing utilization demands are reducing the resilience of water bodies to increasingly frequent extreme events.

The summer temperatures of European lakes have recently risen by an average of between 0.29 and 0.38 degrees Celsius per decade. What supposedly pleases bathers actually means a continuous weakening of the ecosystem and climate system: for example, the heat-related increase in chlorophyll and cyanobacteria correlates with falling water levels in many lakes. In some eutrophic, i.e. excessively nutrient-rich waters, fish deaths have been observed due to a lack of oxygen and high concentrations of ammonium and ammonia. Climate-related fluctuations in water levels also have a significant impact on the living conditions of waterfowl, some of which have to look for new breeding grounds.

Approaches for the preservation of unique ecosystems

Udo Gattenlöhner, GNF Managing Director and co-author of the study, comments on the results: “In times of global warming and summer drying, lakes and wetlands need better protection. Above all, this means the consistent avoidance of pollutant discharges, the renaturation of river banks and extremely restrained water use. In view of the limited carrying capacity of the lakes, planned shoreline stabilization measures must be subject to more strategic environmental assessments. We need more extensive buffer zones as well as more unused riparian strips and near-natural shallow water zones.”

Moors, which are considered particularly endangered wetlands and whose conservation also plays an important role in the fight against climate change, are also to be given greater focus. Although peatlands account for only seven percent of the agricultural land used in Germany, they are responsible for 37% of total agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. This is why paludiculture has been tested and promoted for a number of years now: an approach that simultaneously enables the use of the moor ecosystem and the restoration of its natural, wet state.

Download the flashlight study “Lakes and climate change”

Contact

Global Nature Fund (GNF)
International Foundation for Environment and Nature
Udo Gattenlöhner, Managing Director
Fritz-Reichle-Ring 4
78315 Radolfzell
gattenloehner@globalnature.org
+49 7732 9995 80