Data Descriptor : A European Multi Lake Survey dataset of environmental variables, phytoplankton pigments and cyanotoxins

Under ongoing climate change and increasing anthropogenic activity, which continuously challenge ecosystem resilience, an in-depth understanding of ecological processes is urgently needed. Lakes, as providers of numerous ecosystem services, face multiple stressors that threaten their functioning. Harmful cyanobacterial blooms are a persistent problem resulting from nutrient pollution and climate-change induced stressors, like poor transparency, increased water temperature and enhanced stratification. Consistency in data collection and analysis methods is necessary to achieve fully comparable datasets and for statistical validity, avoiding issues linked to disparate data sources. The European Multi Lake Survey (EMLS) in summer 2015 was an initiative among scientists from 27 countries to collect and analyse lake physical, chemical and biological variables in a fully standardized manner. This database includes in-situ lake variables along with nutrient, pigment and cyanotoxin data of 369 lakes in Europe, which were centrally analysed in dedicated laboratories. Publishing the EMLS methods and dataset might inspire similar initiatives to study across large geographic areas that will contribute to better understanding lake responses in a changing environment.Peer reviewe

The disturbance-driven changes of periphytic algal communities in a Danubian floodplain lake

Disturbance event-driven changes in periphytic algal communities were studied in a Danubian floodplain using artificial substrata (glass slides). The hydrological regime of the river-floodplain system strongly influenced the physical and chemical environment of the investigated lake. Directional changes in the algal communities, demonstrated by the results of non-metric multidimensional scaling, indicated three distinct phases in periphyton development. Strong seasonal influences in the initial accrual phase favored diatom dominance in spring and rapid development of a community composed of filamentous and stalk-forming chlorophytes towards “climax” in summer. Macrophyte and metaphyton stands spreading represented a physical constraint for periphytic algal development. Irrespective of periphyton age and structure, the onset of disturbances resulted in an immediate decrease in periphytic biomass. Disturbances deeply transformed algal communities, whereas the morpho-functional properties of algal species were found to be decisive in community adaptations to altered environmental conditions. Tightly attached and stalk forming diatoms were shown to have an ability to resist and quickly recover from physical disturbance. Our results highlight the necessity for further development of the morpho-functional classification of periphytic algae, which will contribute to more precise evaluations of disturbance-driven events in freshwater ecosystems

The disturbance-driven changes of periphytic algal communities in a Danubian floodplain lake

Disturbance event-driven changes in periphytic algal communities were studied in a Danubian floodplain using artificial substrata (glass slides). The hydrological regime of the river-floodplain system strongly influenced the physical and chemical environment of the investigated lake. Directional changes in the algal communities, demonstrated by the results of non-metric multidimensional scaling, indicated three distinct phases in periphyton development. Strong seasonal influences in the initial accrual phase favored diatom dominance in spring and rapid development of a community composed of filamentous and stalk-forming chlorophytes towards “climax” in summer. Macrophyte and metaphyton stands spreading represented a physical constraint for periphytic algal development. Irrespective of periphyton age and structure, the onset of disturbances resulted in an immediate decrease in periphytic biomass. Disturbances deeply transformed algal communities, whereas the morpho-functional properties of algal species were found to be decisive in community adaptations to altered environmental conditions. Tightly attached and stalk forming diatoms were shown to have an ability to resist and quickly recover from physical disturbance. Our results highlight the necessity for further development of the morpho-functional classification of periphytic algae, which will contribute to more precise evaluations of disturbance-driven events in freshwater ecosystems

Steppe-like grassland as a refuge of the wild edible and medicinal plant species in anthropogenic landscape in northeastern Croatia

<p>Habitat fragmentation and modification have been recognized as the most serious threats to biodiversity. In Croatia, the intensive human activities resulted in the landscape transformation, reduction of grassland areas and loss of species number. Increasingly threatened are the wild edible and medicinal plants which contribute remarkably to the biodiversity of different grassland types. In northeastern Croatia, one of the last remnants of the steppe-like grassland remained preserved in a very complex anthropogenic landscape. We examined the diversity of vascular plants occurring on this small habitat patch. Among the relatively high number of plant taxa (in a total of 177) found during the two years of investigations, most could be used both for human nutrition (28 taxa), and for the treatment of a wide range of diseases (60 taxa), while some taxa have nutritional value for livestock (17 taxa). All 23 recorded taxa with edible and medicinal properties are threatened in Croatia, 21 are threatened across Europe, and two are Red Listed taxa. Our results showed that small and isolated steppe-like grassland represents an important refuge for variety of valuable plant species in intensively used landscapes. Accordingly, such small habitats should be, at least locally, effectively protected.</p