Aquatic Ecology

In the working group „Aquatic Ecology“, inland wetlands such as lakes, flowing waters and their floodplains, moors, groundwater and subaquatic transition zones are subject of various studies. As an example, one main focus area is the ecological status assessment of surface waters, especially of flowing waters as an essential basis for renaturation procedures in disturbed water systems. Further core areas are the assessment and recording of biological water quality using current methods and the assessment and recording of water structure quality, i.e. the ecomorphology of flowing waters and the implementation of the studies in planning practice.

In addition to these studies with a stronger application focus, the influence or pollution of water bodies by (nutrient and pollutant) inputs from their respective catchment areas is being investigated - predominantly in actualistic approaches. On the one hand, substance loading and transfer processes from the catchment areas play a central role according to the geo-ecological approach "substance source - path - sink". On the other hand, biological-chemical and physical processes in the water bodies themselves are being studied. In addition to specific questions of aquatic ecology or limnology, which are intended to contribute to a fundamental understanding of the ecological functions and interactions in these complex aquatic ecosystems, the focus of various studies is also on highly topical or explosive issues such as the rapid eutrophication or aging of water bodies, e.g. in intensive agricultural regions, or the ever-increasing pollution of water bodies with plastics, or the influence of invasive aquatic animals on native aquatic and semi-aquatic biocoenoses. In this context, water bodies are not considered separately from their environment; rather, the interactions of water bodies with their semi-terrestrial or terrestrial environment play an important or even central role.

Last but not least, methodological issues such as the selection of approaches for sampling and the differentiated biological-physicochemical analysis of samples are also of particular importance in this working group. An example of this is the regionalisation of point data in lakes.

Current Projects (Selection)

Influence of invasive aquatic neozoans on native biocoenoses in Central European inland waters and their management (A. Lechner, S. Quaas)

Development of wetlands (lakes, floodplains, moors) in the mid-latitudes under the influence of climate change (A. Lechner)

Pollution of running waters and their floodplains in urban and suburban areas with macro-, meso- and micro-plastics (A. Lechner)

Pollution of lakes in north-west Germany by nutrient inputs from intensive agricultural areas (A. Lechner)

• Comparative studies on phosphate conversion in highly eutrophic shallow lakes

• Nutrient turnover in and release from lake and floodplain sediments (A. Lechner)

Guideline development and assessment of the geomorphological water quality of small and medium-sized watercourses (structural type recording and assessment) (STRUKA) (J. Härtling)

Limnological studies in river floodplains and lakes in Bulgaria (Pernik/ Radomir) on the binding forms of heavy metals in sediments (J. Härtling, H. Meuser (HS Osnabrück))

Hydrodynamics and site diversity in lowland floodplains of Central Europe

• Site changes in riverside floodplains due to changes in fluvial morphodynamics (re-)dynamisation vs. period of rest (Lechner)