Estonian Journal of Ecology最新文献

{"title":"Fluxes of carbon and nutrients through the inflows and outflow of Lake Võrtsjärv, Estonia","authors":"P. Pall, S. Vilbaste, T. Kõiv, A. Kõrs, K. Käiro, Alo Laas, P. Nõges, T. Nõges, K. Piirsoo, L. Toomsalu, M. Viik","doi":"10.3176/ECO.2011.1.04","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3176/ECO.2011.1.04","url":null,"abstract":"We determined the incoming fluxes of total organic carbon (TOC), dissolved inorganic (DIC) and organic carbon (DOC), nitrogen, phosphorus, and silicon via four main inflows into Lake Vortsjarv and compared these with the outgoing fluxes from the lake during 2008-2009. The discharge and loads of the studied substances from the four main rivers alone were higher than the amounts carried out of the lake in 2008. In 2009, the outflow of water exceeded the inflows and this was the case with the amounts of TOC, DIC, and DOC as well. However, the incoming load of nutrients was continuously higher than the outgoing load. The lake accumulated nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and silicon) irrespective of whether water retention was positive or negative, but the balance between carbon accumulation and carbon emission depended on the lake's water budget.","PeriodicalId":262667,"journal":{"name":"Estonian Journal of Ecology","volume":"77 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129302931","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sedimentary geochemical response to human impact on Lake Nõmmejärv, Estonia","authors":"Agáta Marzecová, A. Mikomägi, T. Koff, T. Martma","doi":"10.3176/ECO.2011.1.05","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3176/ECO.2011.1.05","url":null,"abstract":"INTRODUCTION A number of palaeoecological investigations have proved that the geochemical composition of lake sediments serves as a valuable archive of information for the reconstruction of natural as well as human-induced processes that shape the present character of a lake's ecosystem (Engstrom & Wright, 1984; Birks & Birks, 2006; Battarbee et al., 2007). The use of chemical proxies is particularly important for analysis of sediments that accumulated during the last centuries when intensified human activities began to alter natural biogeochemical pathways, causing disturbance of natural systems at an elemental level (Boyle, 2001; Tylmann, 2005; Punning et al., 2007). Previous investigations show that during the last century the natural ecosystem of Lake Nommejarv in NE Estonia became affected by human activities that resulted in significant alterations in its sediment and water composition as well as in its ecological status (Vesiloo, 1987; Sagris, 1989; Varvas, 1994; Punning et al., 1997). As a result of the implementation of environmental protection measures and the political transition at the beginning of the 1990s, the industrial impact in the area connected with oil shale mining and power plants has become less pronounced. A complex palaeoecological study, which was carried out at the beginning of the 1990s, showed that this factor seems to positively contribute to a decrease of pollution connected with atmospheric fallout as well as to the overall tendency of the lake ecosystem to return to pre-disturbance conditions (Punning et al., 1997). Based on geochemical and stable isotope proxies, this study aims to describe the changes in the geochemical composition of the sediment as a response to the presumed reduction in the human impact on the lake during the last 20 years. It also attempts to detect what anthropogenic factors continue to control the present state of the lake. To document and understand the ways in which human impact on the ecosystems interacts with natural processes is one of the essential prerequisites for establishing sustainable and efficient land management (Oldfield & Dearing, 2003). STUDY AREA Lake Nommejarv is located in NE Estonia (58[degrees]03' N and 26[degrees]30' E) in the western part of the Kurtna lake district (Fig. 1). The lake is 15 ha in area and its maximum depth is 7 m (Varvas & Punning, 1993). Its catchment has a forested area in its western and eastern parts, peatland to the north, and arable land in the south (Fig. 1a). Human influence began to intensify at the end of the 19th century when drainage of the surrounding bogs and pastures started. During the 1920s, the natural flow of the Raudi Stream (Fig. 1a) was directed to the lake, changing it from a closed to an open system. Local human impact on the lake continued to increase with the construction of a military camp on the shore at the beginning of the 1930s, which was used then for military and later, including today, for tourist activities (Punnin","PeriodicalId":262667,"journal":{"name":"Estonian Journal of Ecology","volume":"51 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121574563","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Scale-specific effects of environmental variables on benthic macrophyte and invertebrate communities in the Vaindloo area, the central Gulf of Finland","authors":"I. Kuprijanov, J. Kotta, M. Pärnoja, K. Herkül, P. Kersen","doi":"10.3176/ECO.2011.1.02","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3176/ECO.2011.1.02","url":null,"abstract":"We quantified the relative importance of scale-specific variability of macroalgal and benthic invertebrate communities in the Vaindloo area, the central Gulf of Finland. Macrophyte communities had a clear variability minimum at 8 km spatial scale. In contrast to macrophytes, the scale-specific variability of benthic invertebrate communities was small with no clear variability peak or minimum. The spatial distribution patterns of macrophytes and benthic invertebrates did not vary with regard to the species composition and dominance structure of communities. Among environmental variables the coverage of boulders and depth contributed most to the variability of the species composition and biomass dominance structure of macrophytes as well as of the species composition of benthic invertebrates. In addition to these environmental factors, the variability in the abundance and biomass dominance structure of benthic invertebrates was described by coastal slope, exposure, and cover of sediment size fractions other than boulders. The study suggests that the scale-specific variability of marine communities is complex and differs notably among different ecosystem elements. The variability of macrophytes and benthic invertebrate communities was also described by the abiotic environment operating at multiple spatial scales.","PeriodicalId":262667,"journal":{"name":"Estonian Journal of Ecology","volume":"27 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122465426","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Analysing the spatial structure of the Estonian landscapes: which landscape metrics are the most suitable for comparing different landscapes?","authors":"E. Uuemaa, J. Roosaare, T. Oja, Ü. Mander","doi":"10.3176/ECO.2011.1.06","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3176/ECO.2011.1.06","url":null,"abstract":"We calculated 15 landscape metrics on 35 Estonian landscapes and performed factor and principal component analyses in order to determine which landscape metrics work on Estonian Basic Map and which do not. The results showed that there are four main components that describe landscape structure: dominance, contrast, shape complexity, and composition. We suggest the following landscape metrics for measuring these aspects respectively: ED or SIDI, TECI or ECON_MN, SHAPE_MN, and PRD. However, the selection of the metrics always depends on the purpose of the study and the character of the ecological process. Principal component analysis also showed that heights and plains have more heterogeneous landscape than lowlands. Moreover, although the heights (Otepaa and Haanja) and the plains with urban areas (Tallinn and Tartu) have high fragmentation and heterogeneity, they have different contrast values: urban areas have very low contrast while in the case of heights contrast is high.","PeriodicalId":262667,"journal":{"name":"Estonian Journal of Ecology","volume":"28 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115304187","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nitrogen and phosphorus in Estonian rivers discharging into Lake Peipsi: estimation of loads and seasonal and spatial distribution of concentrations","authors":"Olga Buhvestova, K. Kangur, M. Haldna, T. Möls","doi":"10.3176/ECO.2011.1.03","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3176/ECO.2011.1.03","url":null,"abstract":"Our study aims to estimate the riverine loads of nutrients to Lake Peipsi sensu stricto and to assess their effect on the lake's water quality. The data of national monitoring of 1992-2007 were used for the determination of seasonal and spatial distribution of nitrogen and phosphorus in the rivers discharging into Lake Peipsi s.s. Statistical conclusions and tests were based on a multi- parametric model. Our calculations revealed that the major Estonian rivers discharged approximately 5600 tonnes of nitrogen and 179 tonnes of phosphorus annually to Lake Peipsi s.s. Nitrogen export coefficients varied from 4 to 8 kg N ha -1 yr -1 , while the range of P losses was from 0.12 to 0.21 kg P ha -1 yr -1 . Seasonal variation in nitrogen concentrations had a sinusoidal pattern, with high concentrations during winter and spring and low values in summer, whereas phosphorus dynamics created a slightly different picture, with a much more irregular variation and a smaller amplitude over the year. Only a few rivers showed a pattern of notably higher phosphorus concentrations during summer low flows and more diluted concentrations during winter and spring. The differences in the concentration of phosphorus were mainly explained by variation in water discharge, while the availability of nitrogen in rivers was determined rather by seasonality. Nutrient concentrations in rivers discharging into Lake Peipsi are probably still influenced by nutrient stores from the period of intensive fertilization. Although a local effect of nitrogen loads on the lake's water quality was detected, the concentration of phosphorus in lake water remained insensitive to year-to-year changes in the riverine load of phosphorus.","PeriodicalId":262667,"journal":{"name":"Estonian Journal of Ecology","volume":"8 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132413578","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Adaptation of a method for involving environmental aspects in spatial planning of river basin management - a case study of the Narva River basin","authors":"Kristjan Piirimae, K. Pachel, A. Reihan","doi":"10.3176/ECO.2010.4.05","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3176/ECO.2010.4.05","url":null,"abstract":"INTRODUCTION A central target of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) is to achieve a good status of all European waterbodies (European Community, 2000). As most water pollution emanates from diffuse sources, the WFD challenges many existing land-use practices, especially those determined by agricultural production and urban development (overview in Moss, 2004). Consequently, the directive discourages intensive agriculture on land close to lakes and rivers and encourages minimization of urban run-off and retaining water in wetlands or polders. In those catchments where WFD objectives require strict protective measures, the use of land for agricultural production and urban settlements may fall under conflicts of interests (Moss, 2004). This paper seeks methodological ways to overcome such conflicts with more eco-efficient land-use planning. An example of an area with such conflicting interests is the Narva River basin, which hosts two large lakes--Peipsi and Vortsjdrv--of moderate ecological status. These lakes are eutrophied due to the load of phosphorus (Noges & Noges, 2006). The most significant contributing driving force has been found to be agricultural diffuse load, followed by household and industrial wastewaters (Ministry of Environment, 2010a). Considering also other waterbodies and groundwater in that drainage basin, other most significant drivers are oil shale based power engineering, drainage, dams, and peat mining (Ministry of Environment, 2010a). Such various land-demanding economic activities in the Narva basin provide an opportunity to test how advancements in land-use planning methodologies might generate more sustainable river basin management solutions. STUDY AREA \"Water Scenarios for Europe and for Neighbouring States (SCENES)\", a project under the EU 6th Research Framework Programme, selected the Narva River drainage basin as one of the pilot study areas for developing and analysing a set of comprehensive scenarios of Europe's freshwater futures up to 2050. These scenarios will provide a reference point for long-term strategic planning of European water resource development. In the SCENES project, the Narva basin represents the Eastern Baltic region. The Narva basin (56 200 km2) is located in Estonia and the Russian Federation (Fig. 1). The area is situated in the central part of the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea and has a population of approximately 1.1 million. Forests and semi-natural areas dominate in the flat drainage basin, which has its highest point at 338 m above sea level and an average elevation of 163 m. The area includes the large Lake Peipsi/Chudskoe, which consists of three unequal parts: the largest in the north known as Lake Peipsi s.s. (2603 [km.sup.2]) is connected through the narrow strait-like Lake Lammijarv/Teploe (240 [km.sup.2]) to the southern part called Lake Pihkva/Pskovskoe (710 [km.sup.2]). The water of Peipsi (25 [km.sup.3]) has a residence time of two years. The Narva River is 77 km long","PeriodicalId":262667,"journal":{"name":"Estonian Journal of Ecology","volume":"46 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129646794","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessment of water quality in a large lowland river (Narva, Estonia/Russia) using a new Hungarian potamoplanktic method.","authors":"K. Piirsoo, P. Pall, A. Tuvikene, M. Viik, S. Vilbaste","doi":"10.3176/ECO.2010.4.01","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3176/ECO.2010.4.01","url":null,"abstract":"Phytoplankton is one of the four biological elements used for the assessment of the water quality of surface water bodies. In rivers phytoplankton-based assessment of water quality has not been conducted in Estonia up to now. The aim of the present study was to test a new Hungarian potamoplanktic method for the assessment of the water quality of the Narva River, a large river on the Estonian-Russian border. For testing the method, algal species in the phytoplankton of the Narva River were classified into functional groups. Then the Ecological Quality Ratio (EQR) was calculated and its value was compared with the corresponding values for different water quality classes given in the literature. The mean value of the EQR for the Narva River revealed seasonal variation: in most cases it indicated 'good' or 'excellent' quality classes in spring and summer and 'very bad' quality class in autumn. The median value for the vegetation period of 2001-2008 indicated 'moderate' quality class. Variation in the functional groups of phytoplankton and in the EQR values reflected the seasonal dynamics of phytoplankton and the impact of Lake Peipsi. Comparison of the results of the assessments made by using the phytoplankton EQR and benthic diatom indices revealed agreement between the two metrics in the summer period: both were sensitive to the water quality and indicated at least 'good' quality class. The new Hungarian method appears to be suitable for the assessment of water quality in this Estonian large river. However, the numerical boundaries of the EQR for different water quality classes should be specified in the future on the basis of a larger Estonian phytoplankton database.","PeriodicalId":262667,"journal":{"name":"Estonian Journal of Ecology","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116225572","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A new species of the genus Dirphia (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae, Hemileucinae) from Ecuador","authors":"S. Naumann, A. Lindt, J. Viidalepp","doi":"10.3176/ECO.2010.4.04","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3176/ECO.2010.4.04","url":null,"abstract":"A new species, D. rengei sp. nov. of the genus Dirphia Hubner, 1819 (\"1816\") (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae, Hemileucinae) is described from Zamora Chinchipe and Napo provinces of Ecuador. The male holotype is stored in the scientific collections of the Estonian Museum of Natural History, Tallinn. The new species is compared with its (probably) nearest relatives, D. radiata Dognin, 1916 and D. irradians Lemaire, 1972.","PeriodicalId":262667,"journal":{"name":"Estonian Journal of Ecology","volume":"38 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125112097","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"On the Estonian fauna of Harpacticoida (Crustacea, Copepoda)","authors":"E. Fefilova","doi":"10.3176/ECO.2010.4.03","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3176/ECO.2010.4.03","url":null,"abstract":"For the first time a faunistic and ecological review of 18 harpacticoid species and forms from Estonia is presented. They were sampled in May and September and inhabit different types of freshwater habitats: from micro-waterbodies among hygrophilous plants to large lakes of Peipsi and Vortsjarv. The harpacticoid species occurring in Estonia belong to thermophilic, cold- preferring, and eurythermic ecological groups. A new harpacticoid subspecies Maraenobiotus brucei estonicus E. Fefilova subsp. nov. from wet plants under a waterfall is described. It differs from the known subspecies of M. brucei in the structures of the exopodite of antenna, mandibular palp, endopodite of leg 2, and spines on abdominal somites.","PeriodicalId":262667,"journal":{"name":"Estonian Journal of Ecology","volume":"82 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115289060","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Linking Diatom Community Dynamics to Changes in Terrestrial Vegetation: A Palaeolimnological Case Study of Lake Kuzi, Vidzeme Heights (Central Latvia)/Diatomee- Ja Oietolmuprofiilide Dunaamika Ning Nende Omavahelised Korrelatsioonid Holotseenis Kuzi Jarve (Vidzeme Korgustikul Latis) Naitel","authors":"Liisa Puusepp, M. Kangur","doi":"10.3176/ECO.2010.4.02","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3176/ECO.2010.4.02","url":null,"abstract":"Diatom and pollen records from the deepest part of Lake Ķūži (Vidzeme Heights, Central Latvia) show the history of the lake and its ecosystem responses to changes in the surrounding vegetation during the Holocene. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to compare the timing of the changes in the diatom and pollen assemblages. We found that major changes in the diatom record were contemporaneous with those in the pollen records. At the beginning of the Early Holocene, when the lake was receiving high inputs of mineral matter, no diatoms were found. Around 11 000 cal. BP, when the upland vegetation became established, periphytic diatom taxa (mostly Fragilaria species) prevailed. The Mid-Holocene period (9000-2000 cal. BP) was characterized by Cyclotella spp. and Tabellaria flocculosa, indicating long ice-free seasons and a rather high water level. Picea was a major tree species around the lake 5300-2500 cal. BP and it facilitated acidification of the lake water via the acidification of the soil, indicated by the increase in the acidophilous diatoms Eunotia spp. and T. flocculosa. The Late Holocene (2000-0 cal. BP) is characterized by anthropogenic impacts on both the upland vegetation and lake ecosystem, depicted by the simultaneous increase in Aulacoseira spp., herbaceous pollen such as Poaceae, Secale, and Rumex, and charcoal fragments. With pollen taxa used as predictor and diatom taxa as response variables, Redundancy Analysis (RDA) provided a statistically significant model that explains the variation in the diatom data. Our results show that the diatoms responded strongly to the catchment-driven changes around Lake Ķūži during the entire Holocene.","PeriodicalId":262667,"journal":{"name":"Estonian Journal of Ecology","volume":"6 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125357809","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}