Department Surface Waters - Research and Management

Swiss geosciences are at the heart of major national and global challenges that our society is facing, including climate change and weather extremes, long-term environmental trends, natural hazards (e.g. landslides, floods,
seismic and volcanic events), the energy transition towards a green and blue economy, sustainable management of natural resources (e.g. water, soils, ecosystems, critical metals, building materials), and the increasing interest
towards extra-terrestrial life and resources. In order to remain at the forefront of geosciences research and provide the fertile environment necessary for groundbreaking findings addressing these societal challenges, the Swiss Geosciences Community proposes five large infrastructures, organised into four pillars built on a common datadriven research foundation. [...]

An array of lake sediment proxies including paleobotanic, geochemical, and historical records has been used to determine former environments of Bugbee Pond, a small, mesotrophic pond in northeastern Minnesota. Much research has been produced on the history of climate and vegetation change of the region, yet we have little information on the impact of human settlement. This well-dated, high resolution, multi-proxy record is important for its length and concentration on the historic period. The lake itself became established by ~7000 years ago. Pollen evidence suggests a transition between the regional Prairie Period to the Great Lakes mixed conifer – hardwood forest was established in the region at this time. XRF data suggest dry basin accumulation early in the record after ~7000 cal yr BP, but lake levels substantially increased by ~5600 cal yr BP, during a regionwide climatic transition to more humid conditions. Birch and boreal conifers increased after about 3800 cal yr BP; further increases in boreal conifers occurred by ~2000 cal yr BP. Anthropogenic vegetation changes during the Historic period, beginning in the late 19th century, is well represented by forest clearance of white pine (Pinus strobus), followed by increases in early successional species and an increased sediment accumulation rate due to land clearance. Establishment of farming communities locally are shown by occurrence of corn (Zea mays) and oat (Avena sativa) pollen, and pasturing and grazing are documented by Rumex, Fabaceae and Poaceae pollen, as well as coprophilous fungi, such as Sordaria. The increase and subsequent decline in Pb and S concentrations in the uppermost sediments are mirrored by historically documented, nearby industrial activities.

Les cartes historiques telles que la carte Siegfried fournissent des informations précieuses sur les paysages d'autrefois et leur utilisation par l'homme. Grâce à des méthodes d'apprentissage automatique, il est possible de déduire des données raster et vectorielles spatialement explicites de rivières, de lacs ou de zones humides à partir de ces cartes historiques. Des métriques écologiquement significatives pour la recherche et la pratique peuvent être calculées à partir de ces données, comme le nombre de confluences dans un bassin versant ou la modification de la composition des habitats. Dans cet article, nous présentons une sélection de résultats du projet de recherche HistoRiCH et concluons par des recommandations pour une utilisation prudente
des géodonnées obtenues à partir de cartes historiques.

Historische Karten wie die Siegfriedkarte liefern wertvolle Einblicke in frühere Landschaften und deren Nutzung durch den Menschen. Mit Machine Learning Methoden lassen sich aus den historischen Karten räumlich explizite Raster- und Vektordaten von Flüssen, Seen oder Feuchtgebieten ableiten. Daraus können ökologisch aussagekräftige Metriken für Forschung und Praxis berechnet werden wie z. B. die Anzahl Einmündungen in einem Einzugsgebiet oder die Veränderung der Lebensraumzusammensetzung. In diesem Artikel stellen wir ausgewählte Resultate des Forschungsprojekts HistoRiCH vor und schliessen mit Empfehlungen für eine umsichtige Nutzung von Geodaten, die aus historischen Karten gewonnen wurden.

Historical maps such as the Siegfried Map provide valuable insights into past landscapes and their utilisation by humans. Machine learning methods can be used to derive spatially explicit raster and vector data of rivers, lakes or wetlands from the historical maps. This can be used to calculate ecologically meaningful metrics for research and practice, such as the number of confluences in a catchment area or the change in habitat composition. In this article, we present selected results from the HistoRiCH research project and conclude with recommendations for the informed use of geodata obtained from historical maps.

Historische Karten wie die Siegfriedkarte liefern wertvolle Einblicke in frühere Landschaften und deren Nutzung durch den Menschen. Mit Machine Learning Methoden lassen sich aus den historischen Karten räumlich explizite Raster- und Vektordaten von Flüssen, Seen oder Feuchtgebieten ableiten. Daraus können ökologisch aussagekräftige Metriken für Forschung und Praxis berechnet werden wie z. B. die Anzahl Einmündungen in einem Einzugsgebiet oder die Veränderung der Lebensraumzusammensetzung. In diesem Artikel stellen wir ausgewählte Resultate des Forschungsprojekts HistoRiCH vor und schliessen mit Empfehlungen für eine umsichtige Nutzung von Geodaten, die aus historischen Karten gewonnen wurden.

The legacy of historic anthropogenic disturbance can significantly affect the structure and function of contemporary freshwater ecosystems. Environmental research and management that neglect anthropogenic legacy are likely to lead to a biased interpretation of present and future ecosystem dynamics. Yet, anthropogenic legacy remains poorly considered, mainly because of the challenges associated with its identification. Synthesizing past progress in legacy research, we present a conceptual framework for the systematic identification of anthropogenic legacy. We focus on the dynamic processes occurring during legacy formation (e.g., disturbance regime, ecosystem trajectories). Based on the review of relevant case studies, we discuss the historical and contemporary sources of information (e.g., communication, cartographic, paleoenvironmental sources) that can be employed for legacy identification. Finally, we provide practical examples of anthropogenic legacy identification in real-world freshwater ecosystems. Produced in multidisciplinary collaboration, this review presents a comprehensive approach to anthropogenic legacy to foster its informed and systematic consideration in freshwater research and management.

Historische Karten wie die Siegfriedkarte liefern wertvolle Einblicke in frühere Landschaften und deren Nutzung durch den Menschen. Mit Machine Learning Methoden lassen sich aus den historischen Karten räumlich explizite Raster- und Vektordaten von Flüssen, Seen oder Feuchtgebieten ableiten. Daraus können ökologisch aussagekräftige Metriken für Forschung und Praxis berechnet werden wie z. B. die Anzahl Einmündungen in einem Einzugsgebiet oder die Veränderung der Lebensraumzusammensetzung. In diesem Artikel stellen wir ausgewählte Resultate des Forschungsprojekts HistoRiCH vor und schliessen mit Empfehlungen für eine umsichtige Nutzung von Geodaten, die aus historischen Karten gewonnen wurden.

Les cartes historiques telles que la carte Siegfried fournissent des informations précieuses sur les paysages d'autrefois et leur utilisation par l'homme. Grâce à des méthodes d'apprentissage automatique, il est possible de déduire des données raster et vectorielles spatialement explicites de rivières, de lacs ou de zones humides à partir de ces cartes historiques. Des métriques écologiquement significatives pour la recherche et la pratique peuvent être calculées à partir de ces données, comme le nombre de confluences dans un bassin versant ou la modification de la composition des habitats. Dans cet article, nous présentons une sélection de résultats du projet de recherche HistoRiCH et concluons par des recommandations pour une utilisation prudente des géodonnées obtenues à partir de cartes historiques.

Background Environmental reservoirs of antibiotic resistance pose a threat to human and animal health. Aquatic biofilms impacted by wastewater effluent (WW) are known environmental reservoirs for antibiotic resistance; however, the relative importance of biotic factors and abiotic factors from WW on the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) within aquatic biofilms remains unclear. Additionally, experimental evidence is limited within complex aquatic microbial communities as to whether genes bearing low sequence similarity to validated reference ARGs are functional as ARGs.

Results To disentangle the effects of abiotic and biotic factors on ARG abundances, natural biofilms were previously grown in flume systems with different proportions of stream water and either ultrafiltered or non-ultrafiltered WW. In this study, we conducted deep shotgun metagenomic sequencing of 75 biofilm, stream, and WW samples from these flume systems and compared the taxonomic and functional microbiome and resistome composition. Statistical analysis revealed an alignment of the resistome and microbiome composition and a significant association with experimental treatment. Several ARG classes exhibited an increase in normalized metagenomic abundances in biofilms grown with increasing percentages of non-ultrafiltered WW. In contrast, sulfonamide and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase ARGs showed greater abundances in biofilms grown in ultrafiltered WW compared to non-ultrafiltered WW. Overall, our results pointed toward the dominance of biotic factors over abiotic factors in determining ARG abundances in WW-impacted stream biofilms and suggested gene family-specific mechanisms for ARGs that exhibited divergent abundance patterns. To investigate one of these specific ARG families experimentally, we biochemically characterized a new beta-lactamase from the Planctomycetota (Phycisphaeraceae). This beta-lactamase displayed activity in the cleavage of cephalosporin analog despite sharing a low sequence identity with known ARGs.

Conclusions This discovery of a functional planctomycete beta-lactamase ARG is noteworthy, not only because it was the first beta-lactamase to be biochemically characterized from this phylum, but also because it was not detected by standard homology-based ARG tools. In summary, this study conducted a metagenomic analysis of the relative importance of biotic and abiotic factors in the context of WW discharge and their impact on both known and new ARGs in aquatic biofilms.

As the Earth system is exposed to large anthropogenic interferences, it becomes ever more important to assess the resilience of natural systems, i.e., their ability to recover from natural and human-induced perturbations. Several, often related, measures of resilience have been proposed and applied to modeled and observed data, often by different scientific communities. Focusing on terrestrial ecosystems as a key component of the Earth system, we review methods that can detect large perturbations (temporary excursions from a reference state as well as abrupt shifts to a new reference state) in spatio-temporal datasets, estimate the recovery rate after such perturbations, or assess resilience changes indirectly from stationary time series via indicators of critical slowing down. We present here a sequence of ideal methodological steps in the field of resilience science, and argue how to obtain a consistent and multi-faceted view on ecosystem or climate resilience from Earth observation (EO) data. While EO data offers unique potential to study ecosystem resilience globally at high spatial and temporal scale, we emphasize some important limitations, which are associated with the theoretical assumptions behind diagnostic methods and with the measurement process and pre-processing steps of EO data. The latter class of limitations include gaps in time series, the disparity of scales, and issues arising from aggregating time series from multiple sensors. Based on this assessment, we formulate specific recommendations to the EO community in order to improve the observational basis for ecosystem resilience research.

Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) are common in lake sediments, where they are frequently employed to infer mean annual air temperatures (MAAT) or air temperatures of months above freezing (MAF) using the MBT'_5Me lipid paleothermometer. The reliable reconstruction of such temperatures, however, requires robust calibration functions. Here, we investigated brGDGT distributions in surface sediments from 41 freshwater lakes located along an altitudinal gradient across the Alps (Central Europe) and spanning a MAAT range from 1.3 to 12.9 °C. Linear regression analysis demonstrates that fractional abundances of brGDGTs are strongly correlated with MAAT and MAF allowing to establish regional MBT'_5Me-based transfer functions: MAAT (°C) = −2.19 + 31.91 × MBT'_5Me (r² = 0.72; RMSE = 1.51 °C) and MAF (°C) = 4.81 + 15.64 × MBT'_5Me (r² = 0.64, RMSE = 0.92 °C). Stepwise forward selection yielded the following, alternate temperature calibrations: MAAT (°C) = 7.11 + 67.66 × Ib – 13.54 × IIIa (r² = 0.72; RMSE = 1.47 °C) and MAF (°C) = 5.19 + 16.22 × Ia (r² = 0.66; RMSE = 0.98 °C). Our results demonstrate that the above calibration functions allow precise temperature reconstructions using lacustrine sediment records. However, our data also show that high-altitude lakes are more prone to warm bias and that lakes characterized by comparatively high abundances of 6-methyl brGDGTs show aberrant behaviors with temperature offsets up to ∼7 °C. Determining the IR_6Me, as an independent control complementary to the MBT'_5Me, is thus essential to validate the robustness of brGDGT-based temperature reconstructions of past climates. A cut-off value of 0.50 for the IR_6Me is here proposed, after which MBT'_5Me-reconstructed MAATs from lacustrine archives should be regarded as unreliable.

The global nitrogen (N) cycle has been strongly altered by anthropogenic activities, including increased input of bioavailable N into aquatic ecosystems. Freshwater sediments are hotspots with regards to the turnover and elimination of fixed N, yet the environmental controls on the microbial pathways involved in benthic N removal are not fully understood. Here, we analyze the abundance and expression of microbial genes involved in N transformations using metagenomics and -transcriptomics across sediments of 12 Swiss lakes that differ in sedimentation rates and trophic regimes. Our results indicate that microbial N loss in these sediments is primarily driven by nitrification coupled to denitrification. N-transformation gene compositions indicated three groups of lakes: agriculture-influenced lakes characterized by rapid depletion of oxidants in the sediment porewater, pristine-alpine lakes with relatively deep sedimentary penetration of oxygen and nitrate, and large, deep lakes with intermediate porewater hydrochemical properties. Sedimentary organic matter (OM) characteristics showed the strongest correlations with the community structure of microbial N-cycling communities. Most transformation pathways were expressed, but expression deviated from gene abundance and did not correlate with benthic geochemistry. Cryptic N-cycling may maintain transcriptional activity even when substrate levels are below detection. Sediments of large, deep lakes generally showed lower in-situ N gene expression than agriculture-influenced lakes, and half of the pristine-alpine lakes. This implies that prolonged OM mineralization in the water column can lead to the suppression of benthic N gene expression.

The pathway of dense river inflows into lakes, which affects the lake water quality, is not accurately predicted by existing models. The pathway of a dense riverine inflow in a lake with a submerged canyon is analyzed based on measurements during a 4-month period of weakening lake stratification and weakening density excess between river and epilimnion. In line with models, the dense riverine inflow plunges upon entering the lake, continues as an underflow on the sloping lake bottom, and finally intrudes at its level of neutral buoyancy. Underflow and interflow velocities are O(0.1 m s⁻¹). The river inflow is finally trapped in the pycnocline most of the time, even when the river's density excess and the lake's stratification are marginal. This trapping in the pycnocline is explained by the reduction of the inflow density excess due to the intense plunging mixing, which is an order of magnitude larger than that obtained in confined laboratory flumes. The pathway of the dense riverine inflow is affected by interactions of the underflow with the lake bottom and sedimentary processes. A canyon carved by the underflows confines and accelerates the underflow, which enhances its capacity to entrain and carry sediment. The entrainment of sediment that was previously deposited on the canyon bottom accelerates the underflow. Due to both effects, the underflow can temporarily break through the pycnocline and reach the hypolimnion. Existing models explain these observations qualitatively, but a quantitative prediction would require better parameterizations of the plunging mixing and the sedimentary processes.

Human activities significantly alter natural river flows, impacting ecosystem functioning and biodiversity worldwide. Hydropeaking, resulting from intermittent on-demand hydropower generation, introduces sub-daily flow fluctuations exceeding natural variability. While the effects of single hydropeaking events are well-studied, the cumulative impacts of frequent hydropeaking requires further exploration. This study aims to develop metrics that captures changes in habitat dynamics at the patch scale (i.e. individual micro-habitats within the habitat mosaic) due to reoccurring hydropeaking. Using hydrodynamic simulations, we introduce three patch-scale metrics to quantify habitat dynamics with high spatial (0.5 m) and temporal (10 min) resolution: (M1) Habitat probability within patches, assessing spatio-temporal diversity of habitats; (M2) Habitat shifts within patches, evaluating habitat persistence for sessile organisms (e.g. vegetation, invertebrates); and (M3) Spatial shifts of habitats, indicating habitat relocation affecting mobile species (e.g. adult fish). Using eight hydro-morphological scenarios representing different levels of anthropogenic modification of flow and morphology, we demonstrate that these metrics effectively quantify changes in habitat dynamics at patch-scale. The results highlight the ecological relevance of these metrics and their potentially utility for river management. By identifying areas susceptible to ecological impacts, these metrics may serve as tools for hydropeaking mitigation, enabling more targeted and spatially explicit habitat management and restoration.

In this study, we investigated the temporal and spatial quantitative changes in the concentration of antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) markers in a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Four ARGs conferring resistance to different classes of antibiotics (ermB, sul1, tet[W], and bla_CTXM) and a gene used as a proxy for ARG pollution (intl1) were quantified in two separate sampling campaigns covering two and half years of operation of the WWTP. First, a systematic monthly monitoring of multiple points in the inlet and the outlet revealed an absolute decrease in the concentration of all analyzed ARGs. However, the relative abundance of sul1 and intl1 genes relative to the total bacterial load (estimated using the universal marker 16S rDNA) increased in the outlet samples as compared to the inlet. To pinpoint the exact stage of removal and/or enrichment within the WWTP, a second sampling including the stages of the biological treatment was performed bimonthly. This revealed a distinct enrichment of sul1 and intl1 genes during the biological treatment phase. Moreover, the temporal and spatial variations in ARG abundance patterns within the WWTP underscored the complexity of the dynamics associated with the removal of ARGs during wastewater treatment. Understanding these dynamics is pivotal for developing efficient strategies to mitigate the dissemination of ARGs in aquatic environments. Practitioner points: Regular monitoring of ARG markers in WWTPs is essential to assess temporal and spatial changes, aiding in the development of effective mitigation strategies. Understanding the dynamics of ARG abundance during biological treatment is crucial for optimizing processes and minimizing dissemination in aquatic environments. Increased relative abundance of certain ARGs highlights potential enrichment during wastewater treatment, necessitating targeted interventions. Systematic monitoring of multiple points within WWTPs can provide valuable insights into the efficacy of treatment processes in reducing ARG levels over time. The complexity of ARG abundance patterns underscores the need to develop holistic approaches to tackle antibiotic resistance in wastewater systems.

Climate change exerts a profound impact on lakes, eliciting responses that range from gradual to abrupt transitions. When reaching critical tipping points, the established lake dynamics stand to undergo substantial modifications, setting off a chain reaction that reverberates through the entire ecosystem. This lake shift ripples into related ecosystem services and even influences the well-being of human communities. Despite the importance of lake shifts, we lack a systematic overview of their occurrence, mainly due to the lack of systematic data at the global scale. We reviewed the literature focusing on climate-related lake shifts and assessed how satellite Earth Observation (EO) has contributed to the research topic, and what we can unlock from this novel data. Our results show that EO data are used in only 9% of studies on lake shifts, although this fraction has increased since 2012. EO data is most commonly used to assess shifts in surface extent, ice coverage, or phytoplankton phenology. These variables are directly observable and the spatio-temporal resolution of EO satellites is of great advantage. But lake shifts can also be identified indirectly from EO data, as in the example of the vertical mixing of lake water, which can be described on the basis of surface patterns. In all possible applications, we expect increasing use of EO satellites in the future, including the development of early warning systems that promise to provide timely alerts regarding impending lake shifts, thus serving as a vanguard against abrupt alterations that could ripple through interconnected ecosystem services.

Remote Oceania was among the last places settled by humans. However, the timing of initial human settlements and the early introduction of horticulture remain debated. We retrieved a sediment core close to Teouma, the oldest cemetery in Remote Oceania that reveals evidence of initial settlement, horticulture practice, and concurrent climatic conditions on the island of Efate, Vanuatu. Sedimentary biomarkers indicating human presence (coprostanol and epicoprostanol), and taro cultivation (palmitone), increase simultaneously, attesting to the early introduction of horticulture by first settlers. The precipitation signal preserved in leaf waxes shows that the initial settlement occurred during a period of increasing wetness—climatic conditions favourable for the establishment of horticulture. The timing of these events is constrained by a high-resolution radiocarbon chronology that places the first unequivocal trace of human activity and horticulture at 2800 years ago. These findings advance our understanding of human history in the Pacific.

Patagonia is a unique area for climate studies, exposed to the strong Southern Hemisphere Westerly Winds (SWW) and modulated by the Southern Annular Mode (SAM). Patagonia is also affected by volcanic eruptions of the Andean Mountain Range, and is rich in lacustrine environments, which are ideal for paleocological and paleoclimatological reconstructions. Sediments of Patagonian lakes provide an excellent opportunity to study the responses of aquatic communities to major climatic and environmental events in still pristine freshwater ecosystems. Here, we present a high-resolution paleolimnological reconstruction using testate amoebae and chironomid assemblages and compare it with organic and inorganic sediment geochemistry (Ca, K, Ti, N, TOC, TOC/N, δ¹⁵N, δ¹³C) from a sediment core of Laguna Polo (49°S, Santa Cruz, Argentina) covering the last ca. 1300 years. Our results imply a warm-dry and productive environment from around 1300–1400 CE, a cold and less productive environment from ca. 1400–1700 CE, broadly corresponding to the Little Ice Age (LIA). The latter period is followed by high volcanic activity between ca. 1700 and 1960 CE. The tephra layers are known from other records in the vicinity and are preliminarily attributed to the eruptions of the adjacent Lautaro Volcano. A warm-stenothermic chironomid assemblage indicates a progressive increase in temperature in the most recent time after the last eruption, attributed to Lautaro Volcano in 1960 CE.

Catchment urbanisation results in urban streams being exposed to a multitude of stressors. Notably, stressors originating from diffuse sources have received less attention than stressors originating from point sources. Here, advances related to diffuse urban stressors and their consequences for stream benthic communities are summarised by reviewing 92 articles. Based on the search criteria, the number of articles dealing with diffuse urban stressors in streams has been increasing, and most of them focused on North America, Europe, and China. Land use was the most common measure used to characterize diffuse stressor sources in urban streams (70.7 % of the articles characterised land use), and chemical stressors (inorganic nutrients, xenobiotics, metals, and water properties, including pH and conductivity) were more frequently reported than physical or biological stressors. A total of 53.3 % of the articles addressed the impact of urban stressors on macroinvertebrates, while 35.9 % focused on bacteria, 9.8 % on fungi, and 8.7 % on algae. Regarding ecosystem functions, almost half of the articles (43.5 %) addressed changes in community dynamics, 40.3 % addressed organic matter decomposition, and 33.9 % addressed nutrient cycling. When comparing urban and non-urban streams, the reviewed studies suggest that urbanisation negatively impacts the diversity of benthic organisms, leading to shifts in community composition. These changes imply functional degradation of streams. The results of the present review summarise the knowledge gained to date and identify its main gaps to help improve our understanding of urban streams.

La urbanización de las cuencas expone a los arroyos urbanos a multitud de factores de estrés. Destacan aquellos que tienen su origen en fuentes difusas, los cuales han recibido menos atención que aquellos estresores procedentes de fuentes puntuales. Este estudio resume los avances relacionados con los estresores urbanos difusos y sus consecuencias para las comunidades bentónicas fluviales, a partir de la revisión de 92 artículos. En base a los criterios de búsqueda, el número de artículos que tratan sobre estresores urbanos difusos en arroyos ha ido en aumento, la mayoría de ellos centrados en América del Norte, Europa y China. Los usos del suelo fueron la variable más utilizada para caracterizar las fuentes difusas de estrés (el 70.7 % de los artículos caracterizó los usos del suelo), y los factores de estrés químico (nutrientes inorgánicos o propiedades del agua, como pH o conductividad) se mencionaron con más frecuencia que los factores de estrés físico o biológico. El 53.3 % de los trabajos abordaron el impacto de los estresores urbanos difusos sobre los macroinvertebrados, mientras que el 35.9 % se centraron en bacterias, el 9.8 % en hongos y el 8.7 % en algas. En cuanto al funcionamiento de los ecosistemas, prácticamente la mitad de los trabajos (43.5 %) analizó cambios en la dinámica de las comunidades, el 40.3 % en la descomposición de materia orgánica y el 33.9 % en los ciclos de los nutrientes. Al comparar los arroyos urbanos y no urbanos, los trabajos revisados sugieren que la urbanización afecta negativamente a la diversidad de organismos bentónicos, provocando cambios en la composición de la comunidad. Estos cambios implican la degradación funcional de los arroyos. Los resultados de la presente revisión resumen los conocimientos adquiridos hasta hoy e identifican sus principales carencias a fin de ayudar a mejorar nuestra comprensión de los arroyos urbanos.

The highly biodiverse Lake Poso, located in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, can be considered one of the least studied ancient lakes in the world. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of Lake Poso's hydrology and hydrochemistry, shedding light on factors that may have contributed to the exceptional biodiversity. Riverine and lake water chemical compositions indicated a soft water lake and relative major cation and anion abundances of Ca²⁺ ≫ Mg²⁺ > Na⁺ > K⁺ and HCO₃^– ≫ SO₄²⁻ > Cl⁻, primarily a result of the high annual precipitation and chemical weathering of calcareous-siliceous metamorphic bedrock. Lake Poso’s nutrient concentrations were low (average DIN/TDP mass ratio of 6.2 and 50.9 for the lake surface water and its tributaries, respectively), indicating that most of the inlets were P-limited and that the lake was likely P-limited as well. Metal pollutants indicated a minor to moderate impact of anthropogenic land use (∼32 % of the catchment area). Water isotopic compositions of the different tributaries clearly delineated rivers draining higher elevation catchments with lower δ²H and δ¹⁸O from those draining lower elevation catchments with higher δ²H and δ¹⁸O. Surface lake water isotopic compositions indicated detectable evaporation from the lake leading toward more enriched isotope compositions than the integrated source signal. Overall, the findings suggested that Lake Poso remains relatively resilient to anthropogenic land use and related nutrient and pollutant inputs. However, ongoing alterations to its hydrological balance due to significant changes in land use may drive the lake towards higher trophic levels in the future.

The extent of littoral influence on lake gas dynamics remains debated in the aquatic science community due to the lack of direct quantification of lateral gas transport. The prevalent assumption of diffusive horizontal transport in gas budgets fails to explain anomalies observed in pelagic gas concentrations. Here, we demonstrate through high-frequency measurements in a eutrophic lake that daily convective horizontal circulation generates littoral-pelagic advective gas fluxes one order of magnitude larger than typical horizontal fluxes used in gas budgets. These lateral fluxes are sufficient to redistribute gases at the basin-scale and generate concentration anomalies reported in other lakes. Our observations also contrast the hypothesis of pure, nocturnal littoral-to-pelagic exchange by showing that convective circulation transports gases such as oxygen and methane toward both the pelagic and littoral zones during the daytime. This study challenges the traditional pelagic-centered models of aquatic systems by showing that convective circulation represents a fundamental lateral transport mechanism to be integrated into gas budgets.

Das interdisziplinäre Forschungsprogramm «Wasserbau und Ökologie» des Bundesamts für Umwelt vereint seit 21 Jahren erfolgreich Wasserbauingenieur:innen sowie Ökolog:innen des ETH-Bereichs zur Erarbeitung von wissenschaftlichen Grundlagen zum nachhaltigen Wasserbau und zur Biodiversität entlang von Fliessgewässern. Die Programmphase «Lebensraum Gewässer – Sedimentdynamik und Vernetzung» wurde unlängst abgeschlossen, und die wissenschaftlichen und praxisorientierten Produkte sind auf der Webseite www.rivermanagement.ch verfügbar. Die aktuelle Programmphase mit dem Titel «Resiliente Fliessgewässer: Refugien – Vernetzung – Trittsteine» baut auf den gewonnenen Ergebnissen auf und vertieft die interdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit. Der vorliegende Beitrag greift exemplarisch einige Ergebnisse der letzten Phase auf und zeigt, wie diese weiterbearbeitet werden.

Le programme de recherche interdisciplinaire « Aménagement et écologie des cours d’eau » de l’Office fédéral de l’environnement réunit depuis 21 ans avec succès des ingénieurs hydrauliciens et des écologistes du domaine des EPF afin d’élaborer des bases scientifiques pour l’aménagement durable des cours d’eau et de la biodiversité le long de ces derniers. Le dernier projet « Milieux fluviaux – dynamique sédimentaire et connectivité » du programme s’est achevé récemment et des produits scientifiques et pratiques sont disponibles sur le site www.rivermanagement.ch. Le projet actuel, intitulé « Cours d’eau résilients: refuges – connectivité – relais », s’appuie sur les résultats acquis précédemment tout en approfondissant la collaboration interdisciplinaire. Le présent article reprend à titre d’exemple quelques résultats du dernier projet et montre comment ils continuent à être développés.

L'état global de la qualité des lacs en Suisse a tendance à s'améliorer, mais de nombreux problèmes d'oxygénation dans le fond des lacs persistent. Ce phénomène, lié aux concentrations actuelles et passées de phosphore, demeure préoccupant. La modélisation au coeur de cette étude vise à guider le choix d'approches simples mais appropriées pour la gestion des lacs. Deux exemples d'applications pour les lacs de Schiffenen et de Baldegg sont illustrés.

À chaque éclusée, les contraintes hydrauliques s'intensifient dans les habitats individuels au sein de la mosaïque d'habitats du cours d'eau. Ces contraintes hydrauliques peuvent entraîner une dérive passive des macroinvertébrés, au cours de laquelle une partie des individus sont arrachés du fond du lit. À long terme, ce phénomène entraîne une modification de la composition et de la biomasse de la communauté des macroinvertébrés.
    Dans notre étude de terrain, nous avons utilisé un chenal expérimental portatif pour quantifier, dans différents types d’habitats, l'intensité de la dérive des macroinvertébrés provoquée par une augmentation des contraintes hydrauliques telle qu'elle pourrait être causée par les éclusées. Nos résultats montrent que cette augmentation des contraintes hydrauliques peut avoir des effets différents selon les types d'habitats. Dans les habitats à courant lent (vitesse d'écoulement <0,5 cm/s), la hausse de la vitesse d'écoulement est le paramètre déterminant pour l’intensification de la dérive passive. Dans les habitats à courant rapide (> 0,5 cm/s), le paramètre dominant est en revanche le rapport entre la vitesse d'écoulement maximale et minimale (rapport des vitesses d'écoulement).
    Pour réduire de façon ciblée le risque de dérive des macroinvertébrés causé par les éclusées, les mesures devraient viser à (i) limiter l'augmentation de la vitesse d'écoulement dans les habitats à courant lent et à (ii) maintenir le rapport des vitesses d'écoulement aussi bas que possible dans les habitats à courant rapide. Cela exige une considération explicite (par modélisation, par exemple) de la distribution aussi bien spatiale que temporelle des contraintes hydrauliques dans les tronçons soumis aux éclusées.

Bei Schwall-Sunk-Betrieb erhöhen sich mit jedem Schwall die hydraulischen Kräfte in den einzelnen Habitaten des Habitatmosaiks. Dies kann zur passiven Drift von Makroinvertebraten führen, bei der Individuen unfreiwillig von der Flusssohle abgelöst werden. Längerfristig beeinträchtigt dies die Zusammensetzung und Biomasse der Makroinvertebraten-Gemeinschaft.
    In unserem Feldexperiment haben wir mit einer tragbaren Versuchsrinne die passive Drift von Makroinvertebraten unter erhöhten hydraulischen Kräften, wie sie beim Schwall-Sunk-Betrieb auftreten können, gemessen. Unsere Resultate zeigen, dass sich eine Erhöhung der hydraulischen Kräfte in unterschiedlichen Habitattypen unterschiedlich auswirken kann. In langsam durchflossenen Habitaten (Fliessgeschwindigkeit < 0,5 cm/s) ist die Zunahme der Fliessgeschwindigkeit ausschlaggebend für die Erhöhung der passiven Drift. In schnell durchflossenen Habitaten (> 0,5 cm/s) hingegen ist das Verhältnis zwischen minimaler und maximaler Fliessgeschwindigkeit (Fliessgeschwindigkeitsverhältnis) hauptverantwortlich für die Zunahme der passiven Drift.
    Um das durch den Schwall-Sunk-Betrieb verursachte Driftrisiko von Makroinvertebraten gezielt zu reduzieren, sollten Massnahmen darauf abzielen, dass (i) in langsam durchflossenen Habitaten die Fliessgeschwindigkeit möglichst wenig erhöht und (ii) in schnell durchflossenen Habitaten das  Fliessgeschwindigkeitsverhältnis möglichst gering gehalten wird. Dies bedarf einer expliziten Betrachtung (z. B. Modellierung) der räumlichen, aber auch zeitlichen Verteilung der hydraulischen Kräfte in einer Schwall-Sunk-Strecke.

Bei Schwall-Sunk-Betrieb erhöhen sich mit jedem Schwall die hydraulischen Kräfte in den einzelnen Habitaten des Habitatmosaiks. Dies kann zur passiven Drift von Makroinvertebraten führen, bei der Individuen unfreiwillig von der Flusssohle abgelöst werden. Längerfristig beeinträchtigt dies die Zusammensetzung und Biomasse der Makroinvertebraten-Gemeinschaft.
    In unserem Feldexperiment haben wir mit einer tragbaren Versuchsrinne die passive Drift von Makroinvertebraten unter erhöhten hydraulischen Kräften, wie sie beim Schwall-Sunk-Betrieb auftreten können, gemessen. Unsere Resultate zeigen, dass sich eine Erhöhung der hydraulischen Kräfte in unterschiedlichen Habitattypen unterschiedlich auswirken kann. In langsam durchflossenen Habitaten (Fliessgeschwindigkeit < 0,5 cm/s) ist die Zunahme der Fliessgeschwindigkeit ausschlaggebend für die Erhöhung der passiven Drift. In schnell durchflossenen Habitaten (> 0,5 cm/s) hingegen ist das Verhältnis zwischen minimaler und maximaler Fliessgeschwindigkeit (Fliessgeschwindigkeitsverhältnis) hauptverantwortlich für die Zunahme der passiven Drift.
    Um das durch den Schwall-Sunk-Betrieb verursachte Driftrisiko von Makroinvertebraten gezielt zu reduzieren, sollten Massnahmen darauf abzielen, dass (i) in langsam
durchflossenen Habitaten die Fliessgeschwindigkeit möglichst wenig erhöht und (ii) in schnell durchflossenen Habitaten das Fliessgeschwindigkeitsverhältnis möglichst gering
gehalten wird. Dies bedarf einer expliziten Betrachtung (z. B. Modellierung) der räumlichen, aber auch zeitlichen Verteilung der hydraulischen Kräfte in einer Schwall-Sunk-Strecke.

À chaque éclusée, les contraintes hydrauliques s'intensifient dans les habitats individuels au sein de la mosaïque d'habitats du cours d'eau. Ces contraintes hydrauliques peuvent entraîner une dérive passive des macroinvertébrés, au cours de laquelle une partie des individus sont arrachés du fond du lit. À long terme, ce phénomène entraîne une modification de la composition et de la biomasse de la communauté des macroinvertébrés.
    Dans notre étude de terrain, nous avons utilisé un chenal expérimental portatif pour quantifier, dans différents types d'habitats, l'intensité de la dérive des macroinvertébrés provoquée par une augmentation des contraintes hydrauliques telle qu'elle pourrait être causée par les éclusées. Nos résultats montrent que cette augmentation des contraintes hydrauliques peut avoir des effets différents selon les types d'habitats. Dans les habitats à courant lent (vitesse d’écoulement < 0,5 cm/s), la hausse de la vitesse d'écoulement est le paramètre déterminant pour l'intensification de la dérive passive. Dans les habitats à courant rapide (> 0,5 cm/s), le paramètre dominant est en revanche le rapport entre la vitesse d'écoulement maximale et minimale (rapport des vitesses d'écoulement).
    Pour réduire de façon ciblée le risque de dérive des macroinvertébrés causé par les éclusées, les mesures devraient viser à (i) limiter l'augmentation de la vitesse d'écoulement dans les habitats à courant lent et à (ii) maintenir le rapport des vitesses d'écoulement aussi bas que possible dans les habitats à courant rapide. Cela exige une considération explicite (par modélisation, par exemple) de la distribution aussi bien spatiale que temporelle des contraintes hydrauliques dans les tronçons soumis aux éclusées.

Marine sediments are one of the largest organic carbon (OC) sinks on Earth. Yet, major knowledge gaps remain in our understanding of sedimentary OC cycling, particularly regarding temperature-induced alteration processes of OC from different sources. Here, we investigate OC-rich sediments of Guaymas Basin (Gulf of California) across two hydrothermal areas, one with only conductive geothermal heating and the other additionally experiencing seepage of hydrocarbon-rich fluids from deeper layers. We use Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) to investigate diagenetic OC changes and show that cold control sites in both hydrothermal areas are dominated by similar contributions of lipid-derived compounds, nitrogenous (likely protein-derived) compounds, carbohydrates, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These OC compound groups are largely derived from phytoplankton detritus from overlying water. Conductively heated sediments, which reach in situ temperatures of ∼ 80 °C, have similar general OC compositions and contents to these cold sites, but show evidence of diagenetic modifications of individual carbohydrate groups in deeper layers. By contrast, strong decreases in carbohydrate and nitrogenous compound abundances at the seep sites indicate that these compound groups are not only modified but also selectively degraded at the higher temperatures (>80 °C) of these sites. Increases in pyrolysis products of PAHs, prist-1-ene, and alkanes with depth, moreover, show that import of OC by deep hydrothermal fluids contributes significantly to sedimentary OC pools mainly in deeper layers of these sites. Our study provides the first comprehensive analysis of major OC compound groups in Guaymas Basin sediment and indicates that the supply of OC by hydrothermal fluid flow only has minor impacts on particulate organic matter compositions at the seafloor, even at active seep sites. We furthermore show that temperatures up to ∼ 80 °C already result in thermochemical modifications of organic matter (OM) that are potentially linked to the onset of kerogen formation. The sequence and time scales of chemical modifications and activations in relation to temperature are an important subject for future investigations.

Mesomediterranean vegetation with abundant evergreen broadleaved trees and shrubs is dominant along the coast of northern Greece. Well-dated palynological records are available from the inland submediterranean zone, where evergreen broadleaved trees and shrubs are absent or rare, but less is known about the vegetation history of the coastal area. For instance, it is unclear when and why evergreen broadleaved vegetation expanded during the Holocene. Here we present a new record from a mesomediterranean site, Limni Volvi, near the coast of the Aegean Sea. To understand Holocene vegetation history, we combined palynology, microscopic charcoal analysis and biogeochemical proxies (Ti, Ca, RABD_655–680max). At the start of the Holocene, open steppe vegetation and high fire activity prevailed around Limni Volvi. Afforestation by deciduous trees was likely delayed compared to sites further inland, due to the lack of moisture at the start of the Holocene, but vegetation composition was generally similar (i.e. submediterranean), with barely any evergreen broadleaved element. Around 8150 cal. BP (6200 cal. BC) trees and shrubs declined in the open woodlands or parklands, and the landscape returned to steppe conditions at 8000 cal. BP (6050 cal. BC), likely because of drier and colder conditions during the "8.2 ka event." Around the same time, cultural indicators suggest the start of Neolithic agriculture in the region. The present-day mesomediterranean vegetation with evergreen oaks only began to develop after 6000–5000 cal. BP (4050–3050 cal. BC), likely in response to increasing winter temperatures and reduced frost occurrence, further advantaged by human impact during the past 3600 years.

It has been debated whether wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) primarily act to attenuate or amplify antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). However, ARGs are highly diverse with respect to their resistance mechanisms, mobilities, and taxonomic hosts and therefore their behavior in WWTPs should not be expected to be universally conserved. We applied metagenomic sequencing to wastewater influent and effluent samples from 12 international WWTPs to classify the behavior of specific ARGs entering and exiting WWTPs. In total, 1079 different ARGs originating from a variety of bacteria were detected. This included ARGs that could be mapped to assembled scaffolds corresponding to nine human pathogens. While the relative abundance (per 16S rRNA gene) of ARGs decreased during treatment at 11 of the 12 WWTPs sampled and absolute abundance (per mL) decreased at all 12 WWTPs, increases in relative abundance were observed for 40% of the ARGs detected at the 12th WWTP. Also, the relative abundance of mobile genetic elements (MGE) increased during treatment, but the fraction of ARGs known to be transmissible between species decreased, thus demonstrating that increased MGE prevalence may not be generally indicative of an increase in ARGs. A distinct conserved resistome was documented in both influent and effluent across samples, suggesting that well-functioning WWTPs generally attenuate influent antibiotic resistance loads. This work helps inform strategies for wastewater surveillance of antibiotic resistance, highlighting the utility of tracking ARGs as indicators of treatment performance and relative risk reduction.

Fresh produce is suggested to contribute highly to shaping the gut resistome. We investigated the impact of pig manure and irrigation water quality on microbiome and resistome of field-grown lettuce over an entire growth period. Lettuce was grown under four regimes, combining soil amendment with manure (with/without) with sprinkler irrigation using river water with an upstream wastewater input, disinfected by UV (with/without). Lettuce leaves, soil, and water samples were collected weekly and analyzed by bacterial cultivation, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, and shotgun metagenomics from total community DNA. Cultivation yielded only few clinically relevant antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), but numbers of ARB on lettuce increased over time, while no treatment-dependent changes were observed. Microbiome analysis confirmed a temporal trend. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) unique to lettuce and water included multidrug and β-lactam ARGs, whereas lettuce and soil uniquely shared mainly glycopeptide and tetracycline ARGs. Surface water carried clinically relevant ARB (e.g. ESBL-producing Escherichia coli or Serratia fonticola) without affecting the overall lettuce resistome significantly. Resistance markers including biocide and metal resistance were increased in lettuce grown with manure, especially young lettuce (increased soil contact). Overall, while all investigated environments had their share as sources of the lettuce resistome, manure was the main source especially on young plants. We therefore suggest minimizing soil-vegetable contact to minimize resistance markers on fresh produce.

Over the last decades, the chromium (Cr) stable isotope system (referred to as δ⁵³Cr) has emerged as a proxy to reconstruct past oxygenation changes in Earth’s atmosphere and oceans. Although Cr is a promising paleoproxy, uncertainties remain as to the modern marine Cr cycle, and limited data are yet available in large swaths of the ocean, including the Atlantic Ocean. Here we present dissolved seawater Cr concentrations ([Cr]) and δ⁵³Cr along a meridional transect from the North to the South Atlantic (AMT 29). Chromium concentrations range from of 2.51 to 3.96 nmol kg⁻¹ (n = 68) and δ⁵³Cr values range from +0.86 ± 0.04 ‰ (2SEM) to +1.20 ± 0.02 ‰ (2SEM) (n = 68). In contrast to data from other ocean basins [Cr] and δ⁵³Cr show only a weak correlation (δ⁵³Cr vs. Ln([Cr]) R² = 0.17), inconsistent with a closed-system Rayleigh distillation model. These results can mainly be explained by horizontal advection and water mass mixing, which our data demonstrate are the dominant processes controlling [Cr] and δ⁵³Cr distributions throughout much of the Atlantic, while the impact of in situ biogeochemical cycling is comparatively minor. There is, indeed no clear impact of biological productivity nor of dysoxic environments in the (sub)tropical Atlantic on the cycling of Cr along the transect. This is likely explained by insufficiently depleted oxygen concentrations and relatively low biological productivity, resulting in these processes being of secondary importance relative to water mass mixing in shaping the distribution of Cr in the low- to mid-latitude Atlantic Ocean.

Microbial biodiversity is fundamental to maintain ecosystem functioning in seasonally variable ecosystems. However, it remains unclear how alterations in water availability caused by episodic drying compromise the ability of stream microbes to maintain multiple functions simultaneously (e.g., primary production and carbon cycling). Using data from 32 streams, we investigated how the phenology of annual drying influences stream sediment microbial biodiversity and their capacity to sustain multifunctionality. Our results showed that stream multifunctionality and most bacteria did not respond to changes in drying phenology. Only two bacterial groups, the drying-resistant Sphingobacteriia and the drying-sensitive Acidobacteria_Gp7, exhibited positive associations with multifunctionality; whereas, bacterial diversity showed a negative correlation with functions. Among these biodiversity aspects, Sphingobacteriia showed the strongest capacity to maintain multifunctionality at low and moderate performance levels. Our findings will help to better understand the mechanisms through which biodiversity sustains the functioning of seasonally variable streams and their responses to global change.

Hydrological drought, characterized by a significant deficiency in rainfall events, promotes natural desiccation processes. The reduction in water recharge and the loss of freshwater ecosystems pose urgent challenges in the face of increasing global population and the escalating demand for water resources.

The variability in the duration of no-flow periods can have profound implications for ecosystem functioning, specifically impacting the microbiota residing in streambed sediments and the vital processes they perform. The streambed serves as an ecotone where microorganisms form biofilms, playing critical roles in in-stream biogeochemical cycles and greenhouse gas emissions. Consequently, prolonged desiccation periods and subsequent rewetting episodes can disrupt, limit, or alter the functions and structure of microbial communities, thereby compromising the overall functioning of aquatic ecosystems. Understanding how streambed microbial communities respond to prolonged desiccation events is crucial.

This revision manuscript provides a synthesis of recent empirical and experimental studies that have explored various aspects of streambed microbial communities in the context of diverse drying-rewetting periods. A special focus is placed on highlighting key microbial community structural and functional responses that could be used as endpoints of responses to desiccation. In particular, we showed the greater expression of the phenol-oxidase activity among the intermittent streambeds submitted to long-term drought. This result suggested a potential begin of transition from freshwater to terrestrial systems. Additionally, we observed a tendency of decreasing bacterial diversity in the dry conditions together with a change in the relative abundance of certain microbial taxa and a general shift from Gram-negative to Gram-positive bacteria. All of these evidences strengthened the similarity between the dry streambed systems studied and a (dry)-soil environment, suggesting that prolonged and unusual dry periods could boost the terrestrial transition of the aquatic intermittent ecosystem. By summarizing these findings, we aim to enhance our understanding of the responses exhibited by streambed microbiota in the face of desiccation events. The synthesized results may further provide potential diagnosis and/or management tools for intermittent freshwater ecosystems functioning.

La sequía hidrológica, caracterizada por una deficiencia significativa de las precipitaciones, favorece los procesos naturales de desecación. La reducción de la recarga de agua y la pérdida de ecosistemas de agua dulce plantean retos urgentes ante el aumento de la población mundial y la creciente demanda de recursos hídricos.

La variabilidad en la duración de los periodos sin caudal puede tener profundas implicaciones para el funcionamiento de los ecosistemas, afectando específicamente a la microbiota que reside en los sedimentos de los lechos de los ríos y a los procesos vitales que llevan a cabo. El lecho de los ríos es un ecotono en el que los microorganismos forman biopelículas que desempeñan un papel fundamental en los ciclos biogeoquímicos y en las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero. Por consiguiente, los periodos prolongados de desecación y los subsiguientes episodios de rehumectación pueden perturbar, limitar o alterar las funciones y la estructura de las comunidades microbianas, comprometiendo así el funcionamiento general de los ecosistemas acuáticos. Es crucial comprender cómo responden las comunidades microbianas de los lechos de los ríos a los episodios de desecación prolongada.

Este manuscrito de revisión ofrece una síntesis de estudios empíricos y experimentales recientes que han explorado diversos aspectos de las comunidades microbianas de los lechos de los ríos en el contexto de diversos periodos de desecación-remojo. Se hace especial hincapié en destacar las respuestas estructurales y funcionales clave de la comunidad microbiana que podrían utilizarse como puntos finales de las respuestas a la desecación. En particular, mostramos la mayor expresión de la actividad fenol-oxidasa entre los microorganismos de los ríos intermitentes.

Nitrit ist eine ökotoxikologisch problematische Substanz und führt auf Kläranlagen zur Bildung von klimaschädlichem Lachgas. Auf nitrifizierenden Belebtschlammanlagen kann Nitrit saisonal akkumulieren und erhöhte Ablaufwerte treten auf. Hier diskutieren wir die Häufigkeit von Überschreitungen des Nitrit-Richtwerts auf Schweizer ARA und schlagen Gegenmassnahmen vor.

Research and management of hydropeaked rivers largely overlook the ecological impacts of recurring flow fluctuations, such as fish stranding, on ecosystem health. This article synthesizes scientific and grey literature, field studies, and experiments to assess the effects of frequent hydropeaking on fish. Findings show that hydropeaking frequency significantly affects the ecological integrity of alpine rivers, with an average of three daily down-ramping events. Despite some evidence of behavioral adaptation of fish to recurrent flow fluctuations, this adaptation appears insufficient to counter the cumulative effect of a series of single hydropeaking events. Larval and juvenile fish are particularly vulnerable, with stranding impacts extending to the population and community levels. Effective mitigation should prioritize reducing the cumulative impact of recurring hydropeaks while ensuring single-event ramping rates and flow amplitudes remain within ecological limits. To effectively safeguard sensitive habitats, targeted mitigation efforts informed by an understanding of habitat dynamics are critical. Furthermore, maintaining lateral connectivity within river systems is essential for supporting resilient fish populations, especially where hydropeaking mitigation possibilities are limited. Finally, this study identifies future research directions on hydropeaking frequency and its ecological effects.

Freshwater algae exhibit complex dynamics, particularly in meso-oligotrophic lakes with sudden and dramatic increases in algal biomass following long periods of low background concentration. While the fundamental prerequisites for algal blooms, namely light and nutrient availability, are well-known, their specific causation involves an intricate chain of conditions. Here we examine a recent massive Uroglena bloom in Lake Geneva (Switzerland/France). We show that a certain sequence of meteorological conditions triggered this specific algal bloom event: heavy rainfall promoting excessive organic matter and nutrients loading, followed by wind-induced coastal upwelling, and a prolonged period of warm, calm weather. The combination of satellite remote sensing, in-situ measurements, ad-hoc biogeochemical analyses, and three-dimensional modeling proved invaluable in unraveling the complex dynamics of algal blooms highlighting the substantial role of littoral-pelagic connectivities in large low-nutrient lakes. These findings underscore the advantages of state-of-the-art multidisciplinary approaches for an improved understanding of dynamic systems as a whole.

Iron-rich, ferruginous waters were the dominant geochemical regime for most of Earth's history. Modern ferruginous waters are found in stratified, sulfur-poor lakes, and serve as crucial analogs for biogeochemical cycling throughout Earth's past. Here we present the first depth-resolved data of physical structure, nutrients and trace elements from Lake Poso (Indonesia), a deep oligotrophic ancient lake. Lake Poso is ferruginous, with anoxia below ~ 90 m depth, placing it among the world's largest ferruginous lakes. Physical stratification is weaker than other tropical anoxic lakes, indicating sensitivity for paleoclimate reconstructions. Trace elements and nutrients are predominantly shaped by the oxic–anoxic transition. Manganese– and Fe oxyhydroxide–driven biogeochemical cycling occurs at distinct depth horizons, with Co and Ni controlled by Mn and showing shallow release in anoxic waters, while V, Cr, P, and As are controlled by Fe, with release in surface sediments and diffusive transport. Chromium is nonquantitatively removed in anoxic waters, in contrast to widespread assumptions in Cr-based paleoreconstructions. Oxycline U and Se removal corresponds to a local N minimum, suggesting biological reduction and/or uptake. These first ferruginous water Se data also show removal in sediments, indicating sediment signals reflect multiple removal processes and informing Se-based paleoreconstructions, while the absence of sediment U removal contrasts other anoxic basins. A comparison with other ferruginous lakes demonstrates how local influences drive deviations from expectations in other systems, and highlight common, generalizable ferruginous basin features. Therefore, these data will guide research in ferruginous settings across space and time, and improve paleoreconstructions from ferruginous sediment records.

Forests substantially mediate the water and carbon dioxide exchanges between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. The rate of this exchange, including evapotranspiration (ET) and gross primary production (GPP), depends mainly on the underlying vegetation type, health state, and the composition of abiotic environmental drivers. However, the complex 3D structure of forest canopies and the inherent top-view perspective of optical and thermal remote sensing complicate remote sensing-based retrievals of biotic and abiotic factors that eventually determine ET and GPP. This study investigates the sensitivity of remote sensing approaches to 3D variation of abiotic and biotic environmental drivers. We use 3D virtual scenes of two structurally different Swiss forests and the radiative transfer model DART to simulate the 3D distribution of solar irradiance and reflected radiance in the forest canopy. These simulations, in combination with LiDAR data, are used to derive the absorbed photosynthetic active radiation (APAR) and the leaf area index (LAI) in 3D space. The 3D variation of both parameters was quantified and analyzed. We then simulated images of the top-of-canopy bi-directional reflectance factor (BRF) and compared them with the hemispheric-conical reflectance factor (HCRF) data derived from HyPlant airborne imaging spectrometer measurements. The simulated BRF data was used to derive APAR and LAI, and the results were compared to their respective 3D representations. We unravel considerable spatial differences between both representations. We discuss possible reasons for the disagreement, including a potential insensitivity of the inherent top-of-canopy view for the real 3D product dynamics and limitations of the processing of remote sensing data, especially the approximation of effective surface irradiance. Our results can help understanding sources of uncertainties in remote sensing based gas exchange products and defining mitigation strategies.

In large and stratified lakes, substantial methane stocks are often observed within the metalimnion. The origin of the methane (CH₄) accumulated in the metalimnion during stratification, which can sustain significant emissions during convective mixing, is still widely debated. While commonly attributed to the transport of methane produced anaerobically ex situ, recent evidence suggests that oxic in situ methane production could also contribute to metalimnetic methane peaks. Here, we assessed the origin, that is, pelagic CH₄ production or transport of sublittoral CH₄ through the interflow, of metalimnetic methane in Lake Geneva, the largest lake in Western Europe. Microbial diversity data do not support the hypothesis of oxic methane production in the metalimnion. In contrast, both spatial and temporal surveys of methane show that maxima occur at depths and sites most affected by the Rhône River inflow. Methane δ¹³C values point to an anaerobic sublittoral methane source, within a biogeochemical hotspot close to the river delta region, and an efficient transport across several kilometers in a vertically well-constrained metalimnion. Our current findings emphasize the indirect role of river interflows for the long-range transport of CH₄ produced in sediment biogeochemical hotspots, even for large lakes where sublittoral habitats represent a fairly limited fraction of the lake volume.

When antimicrobial resistant bacteria (ARB) and genes (ARGs) reach novel habitats, they can become part of the habitat’s microbiome in the long term if they are able to overcome the habitat's biotic resilience towards immigration. This process should become more difficult with increasing biodiversity, as exploitable niches in a given habitat are reduced for immigrants when more diverse competitors are present. Consequently, microbial diversity could provide a natural barrier towards antimicrobial resistance by reducing the persistence time of immigrating ARB and ARG. To test this hypothesis, a pan-European sampling campaign was performed for structured forest soil and dynamic riverbed environments of low anthropogenic impact. In soils, higher diversity, evenness and richness were significantly negatively correlated with relative abundance of >85% of ARGs. Furthermore, the number of detected ARGs per sample were inversely correlated with diversity. However, no such effects were present in the more dynamic riverbeds. Hence, microbiome diversity can serve as a barrier towards antimicrobial resistance dissemination in stationary, structured environments, where long-term, diversity-based resilience against immigration can evolve.

Lakes represent a vital source of freshwater, accounting for 87% of the Earth’s accessible surface freshwater resources and providing a range of ecosystem services, including water for human consumption. As climate change continues to unfold, understanding the potential evaporative water losses from lakes becomes crucial for effective water management strategies. Here we investigate the impacts of climate change on the evaporation rates of 23 European lakes and reservoirs of varying size during the warm season (July–September). To assess the evaporation trends, we employ a 12-member ensemble of model projections, utilizing three one-dimensional process-based lake models. These lake models were driven by bias-corrected climate simulations from four General Circulation Models (GCMs), considering both a historical (1970–2005) and future (2006–2099) period. Our findings reveal a consistent projection of increased warm-season evaporation across all lakes this century, though the magnitude varies depending on specific factors. By the end of this century (2070–2099), we estimate a 21%, 30% and 42% average increase in evaporation rates in the studied European lakes under RCP (Representative Concentration Pathway) 2.6, 6.0 and 8.5, respectively. Moreover, future projections of the relationship between precipitation (P) and evaporation (E) in the studied lakes, suggest that P-E will decrease this century, likely leading to a deficit in the availability of surface water. The projected increases in evaporation rates underscore the significance of adapting strategic management approaches for European lakes to cope with the far-reaching consequences of climate change.

Long-chain diols are biomarkers commonly used in the marine realm to reconstruct several environmental parameters such as sea surface temperature and salinity. However, they are also produced in lacustrine and slow-flowing river environments, a characteristic that has proved to be useful to trace past riverine inputs in coastal sedimentary records. So far, their use in lacustrine settings is sparse as their controls are not well-known. Previous studies in two lakes have shown that long-chain diol distribution is linked to changes in temperature (in a small Spanish alpine lake), but also to water column stratification (in a large deep Swiss lake). To understand the controls on i) the presence of long-chain diols in lakes, and ii) the distribution of long-chain diol isomers, surface sediments from 52 Swiss lakes were studied. Long-chain diols are present in 57% of the lakes, and machine learning (i.e., random forest model) showed that their presence is mainly controlled by mean annual air temperature, sodium and potassium concentrations and area of the lakes. Long-chain diol isomer relative distribution seems to react to temperature, nutrient (here nitrate) and oxygen concentrations in the lakes. This new insight was tested on a short sedimentary core from Lake Zurich, and compared with other biomarker proxies (based on branched and isoprenoid glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers), as well as with historical record of nutrient contents and temperature. Variations in the long-chain diol index (LDI) mirror measured temperature, but also reacted to changes in nutrients and oxygenation in the lake. This study highlights the potential of long-chain diols as a proxy to trace both nutrients and temperature in lakes, potentially on geological timescales.

Methane (CH₄) accumulation in the well-oxygenated lake epilimnion enhances the diffusive atmospheric CH₄ emission. Both lateral transport and in situ oxic methane production (OMP) have been suggested as potential sources. While the latter has been recently supported by increasing evidence, quantifying the exact contribution of OMP to atmospheric emissions remains challenging. Based on a large high-resolution field data set collected during 2019-2020 in the deep stratified Lake Stechlin and on three-dimensional hydrodynamic modeling, we improved existing CH₄ budgets by resolving each component of the mass balance model at a seasonal scale and therefore better constrained the residual OMP. All terms in our model showed a large temporal variability at scales from intraday to seasonal, and the modeled OMP was most sensitive to the surface CH₄ flux estimates. Future efforts are needed to reduce the uncertainties in estimating OMP rates using the mass balance approach by increasing the frequency of atmospheric CH₄ flux measurements.

Lakes emit substantial amounts of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the atmosphere, but why they do remains debated. The long-standing vision of lakes as solely respirators of the organic matter leaking from the soils has been challenged by evidence that inorganic carbon produced by weathering of the catchment bedrock could also support lake CO₂ emissions. How inorganic carbon inputs ultimately generate lake CO₂ outgassing remains a blind spot. We develop and introduce a calcite module in a coupled one-dimensional physical-biogeochemical model that we use to simulate the carbon cycle of the large Lake Geneva over the past 40 years. We mechanistically demonstrate how the so-far neglected process of calcite precipitation boosts net CO₂ emissions at the annual scale. Far from being anecdotal, we show that calcite precipitation could explain CO₂ outgassing across various lakes globally, including some of the largest lakes in the world.

A growing interest in lacustrine alkenones as a proxy for continental paleotemperature reconstructions accompanied important methodological improvements over the past two decades. New gas chromatography (GC) columns were used for alkenone analysis, that drastically improved alkenone separation, especially for freshwater lakes. However, these recent advances are sometimes not sufficient in separating compounds that interfere with alkenones in the resulting chromatograms and concurrently, new chemical procedures were implemented to further clean up the samples. Here we investigate the impact of two clean-up procedures, saponification and silver-nitrate purification, on alkenone distribution, alkenone quantification, and C₃₇ alkenone-based indices, including the U₃₇^K index. The silver-nitrate purification modified the C₃₇ alkenone distribution and thus the C₃₇ alkenone-based indices, especially the U₃₇^K index, in 6 out of the 9 studied samples by further retaining alkenones with more double bonds. These changes would result on an average error of 3 °C in reconstructed temperatures. Saponification also influenced the C₃₇ alkenone distribution mainly by removing co-eluting compounds, thereby improving the quality of the results. Both saponification and purification resulted in the reduction of the C₃₇ alkenone concentration by almost half. Clean-up steps should thus be used carefully, paying particular attention to any change in alkenone distribution and concentration. Limiting the use of additional clean-up steps reduces the risk of modifying the alkenone distribution.

Lacustrine alkenones are increasingly reported in freshwater lakes worldwide, which makes them a very promising proxy to reconstruct past continental temperatures. However, a more systematic understanding of ecological preferences of freshwater alkenone-producers at global scale is lacking, which limits our understanding of alkenones as a proxy in lakes. Here we investigated 56 Swiss freshwater lakes and report Group 1 alkenones in 33 of them. In twelve of the lakes containing alkenones, a mixed Group 1/Group 2 alkenone signature was detected. We used a random forest (RF) model to investigate the influence of 15 environmental variables on alkenone occurrence in Swiss lakes and found sodium (Na⁺) concentration and mean annual air temperature (MAAT) to be the most important variables. We also trained a RF model on a database that included Swiss lakes and all freshwater lakes worldwide, which were previously investigated for alkenone presence. Water depth appeared as the most important variable followed by MAAT and Na⁺, sulfate and potassium concentrations. This is very similar to results found for freshwater and saline lakes, which suggests that Group 1 and Group 2 alkenone occurrence could be controlled by the same variables in freshwater lakes. For each tested variable, we defined the optimal range(s) for the presence of alkenones in freshwater lakes. The similarity of the results for the Swiss and global models suggests that the environmental parameters controlling the occurrence of freshwater alkenone producers could be homogenous worldwide.

Biodiversity loss is increasing worldwide, necessitating effective approaches to counteract negative trends. Here, we assessed aquatic macroinvertebrate biodiversity in two river catchments in Switzerland; one significantly degraded and associated with urbanisation and instream barriers, and one in a near-natural condition. Contrary to our expectations, environmental heterogeneity was lower in the near-natural stream, with enhanced productivity in the degraded system resulting in a greater range of environmental conditions. At face value, commonly employed alpha, beta and gamma biodiversity metrics suggested both catchments constituted healthy systems, with greater richness or comparable values recorded in the degraded system relative to the near-natural one. Further, functional metrics considered to be early indicators for anthropogenic disturbance, demonstrated no anticipated differences between degraded and near-natural catchments. However, investigating the identity of the taxa unique to each river system showed that anthropogenic degradation led to replacement of specialist, sensitive species indicative of pristine rivers, by generalist, pollution tolerant species. These replacements reflect a major alteration in community composition in the degraded system compared with the near-natural system. Total nitrogen and fine sediment were important in distinguishing the respective communities. We urge caution in biodiversity studies that employ numerical biodiversity metrics alone. Assessing just one aspect of diversity, such as richness, is not sufficient to track biodiversity changes associated with environmental stress. We advocate that biodiversity monitoring for conservation and management purposes must go beyond traditional richness biodiversity metrics, to include indices that incorporate detailed nuances of biotic communities that relates to taxon identity.

Nitrogen oxides (NO_x Combining double low line NO + NO₂) are air pollutants which are co-emitted with CO₂ during high-temperature combustion processes. Monitoring NO_x emissions is crucial for assessing air quality and for providing proxy estimates of CO₂ emissions. Satellite observations, such as those from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) on board the Sentinel-5P satellite, provide global coverage at high temporal resolution. However, satellites measure only NO₂, necessitating a conversion to NO_x. Previous studies have applied a constant NO₂-to-NO_x conversion factor. In this paper, we develop a more realistic model for NO₂-to-NO_x conversion and apply it to TROPOMI data of 2020 and 2021. To achieve this, we analysed plume-resolving simulations from the MicroHH large-eddy simulation model with chemistry for the Bełchatów (PL), Jänschwalde (DE), Matimba (ZA) and Medupi (ZA) power plants, as well as a metallurgical plant in Lipetsk (RU). We used the cross-sectional flux method to calculate NO, NO₂ and NO_x line densities from simulated NO and NO₂ columns and derived NO₂-to-NO_x conversion factors as a function of the time since emission. Since the method of converting NO₂ to NO_x presented in this paper assumes steady-state conditions and that the conversion factors can be modelled by a negative exponential function, we validated the conversion factors using the same MicroHH data. Finally, we applied the derived conversion factors to TROPOMI NO₂ observations of the same sources. The validation of the NO₂-to-NO_x conversion factors shows that they can account for the NO_x chemistry in plumes, in particular for the conversion between NO and NO₂ near the source and for the chemical loss of NO_x further downstream. When applying these time-since-emission-dependent conversion factors, biases in NO_x emissions estimated from TROPOMI NO₂ images are greatly reduced from between -50 % and -42 % to between only -9.5 % and -0.5 % in comparison with reported emissions. Single-overpass estimates can be quantified with an uncertainty of 20 %-27 %, while annual NO_x emission estimates have uncertainties in the range of 4 %-21 % but are highly dependent on the number of successful retrievals. Although more simulations covering a wider range of meteorological and trace gas background conditions will be needed to generalise the approach, this study marks an important step towards a consistent, uniform, high-resolution and near-real-time estimation of NO_x emissions - especially with regard to upcoming NO₂-monitoring satellites such as Sentinel-4, Sentinel-5 and CO₂M.

Emissions of microbially produced methane (CH₄) from lake sediments are a major source of this potent greenhouse gas to the atmosphere. The rates of CH₄ production and emission are believed to be influenced by electron acceptor distributions and organic carbon contents, which in turn are affected by anthropogenic inputs of nutrients leading to eutrophication. Here, we investigate how eutrophication influences the abundance and community structure of CH₄ producing Archaea and methanogenesis pathways across time–resolved sedimentary records of five Swiss lakes with well–characterized trophic histories. Despite higher CH₄ concentrations which suggest higher methanogenic activity in sediments of eutrophic lakes, abundances of methanogens were highest in oligotrophic lake sediments. Moreover, while the methanogenic community composition differed significantly at the lowest taxonomic levels (OTU), depending on whether sediment layers had been deposited under oligotrophic or eutrophic conditions, it showed no clear trend in relation to in situ distributions of electron acceptors. Remarkably, even though methanogenesis from CO₂-reduction was the dominant pathway in all sediments based on carbon isotope fractionation values, taxonomic identities, and genomes of resident methanogens, CO₂-reduction with hydrogen (H₂) was thermodynamically unfavorable based on measured reactant and product concentrations. Instead, strong correlations between genomic abundances of CO₂-reducing methanogens and anaerobic bacteria with potential for extracellular electron transfer suggest that methanogenic CO₂-reduction in lake sediments is largely powered by direct electron transfer from syntrophic bacteria without involvement of H₂ as an electron shuttle.

Background: Seasonal movements of animals often result in the transfer of large amounts of energy and nutrients across ecosystem boundaries, which may have large consequences on local food webs through various pathways. While this is known for both terrestrial- and aquatic organisms, quantitative estimates on its effects on food web structure and identification of key pathways are scarce, due to the difficulty in obtaining replication on ecosystem level with negative control, i.e. comparable systems without migration. Methods: In this study, we estimate the impact of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) migration on riverine ecosystem structure, by comparing multiple streams with strictly resident populations above natural migration barriers with streams below those barriers harboring partially migratory populations. We compared density estimates and size structure between above and below populations. Diet differences were examined through the analysis of stomach contents, changes in trophic position were examined by using stable isotopes. To infer growth rate of resident individuals, back-growth calculation was performed using otoliths. Results: We find higher densities of small juveniles in partially migratory populations, where juvenile Arctic charr show initially lower growth, likely due to higher intraspecific competition. After reaching a size, where they can start feeding on eggs and smaller juveniles, which are both more frequent in partially migratory populations, growth surpasses that of resident populations. Cannibalism induced by high juvenile densities occurred almost exclusively in populations with migration and represents an altered energy pathway to the food web. The presence of large cannibalistic charr feeding on smaller ones that have a similar trophic level as charr from strictly resident populations (based on stomach content) coupled with steeper δ¹⁵N-size regression slopes illustrate the general increase of food chain length in systems with migration. Conclusions: Our results thus suggest that the consumption of migration-derived resources may result in longer food chains through middle-up rather than bottom-up effects. Furthermore, by occupying the apex of the food chain and feeding on juvenile conspecifics, resident individuals experience reduced competition with their young counterparts, which potentially balances their fitness with migratory individuals.

Subaqueous paleoseismic studies used soft sediment deformation structures (SSDS) to discern the shaking strength of past earthquakes, as the deformation degree of SSDS related to Kelvin Helmholtz Instability evolves from disturbed lamination and folds to intraclast breccia with higher peak ground accelerations (PGA). We lack comparative studies of different sediment types with SSDS related to earthquakes from different seismogenic sources to comprehend how these factors modulate earthquake-induced deformation. Here, we compile sediment records with seven earthquake-triggered SSDS from 10 lakes with organic-, carbonate-, siliciclastic-, and diatom-rich sediment from three subduction zones and one collisional setting. We target basin sequences with slope angles <0.65° to reduce the influence of gravitational downslope stress. We find that even minimal increases in slope angle, maximal 1°, lead to higher deformation degrees and, for some earthquakes, SSDS are only present at >0.65°. Fine-grained clastics enhance sediment susceptibility to deformation, whereas abundant diatoms reduce it, demonstrating the influence of composition. Deformation correlates best with PGA and the vicinity of the earthquakes, suggesting that high frequency shaking promotes deformation. In addition, deformation only occurs above a minimum magnitude dependent on sediment composition, and higher deformation degrees in our studied basin sedimentary sequences only above M_w 4.9 for all sediment types, suggesting that sufficient duration of shaking—magnitude correlates with duration—is essential for SSDS development. We advise taking multiple cores on gentle slopes to study SSDS—additional to basin cores—to resolve small magnitude local earthquakes and relative differences in frequency content of past events.

Sentinel-2 satellite data enables multispectral monitoring of the earth at a high temporal revisit rate. Combining this information with a network of optical ground measurements enables a more detailed and a more complete understanding of terrestrial ecosystems. However, independent optical ground measurements often lack consistency, especially when comparing different sites in geographically remote locations. Using the very high temporal and spectral resolution offered by the automated field spectrometer systems FloX and RoX (Fluorescence Box and Reflectance Box, respectively, JB-Hyperspectral Devices GmbH, Duesseldorf, Germany), we investigated continuous time series ranging over three years and in ten different locations across Europe, Africa, America and Asia. The continuous records of ground-measured reflectance were first validated against Sentinel-2 top of canopy (TOC) reflectance to evaluate the consistency of the in-situ network. Our results suggest a good agreement of ground-measured reflectance with Sentinel-2 TOC reflectance in vegetation and snow with R² around 0.79 in the 833 nm band and R² up to 0.94 in the bands around 559 nm and 492 nm, demonstrating good consistency across the network. Spatial misalignment of Sentinel-2 pixel-sizes with respect to the different footprint sizes of the ten automated spectrometers on the ground, atmospheric uncertainties, sub-optimal instrument setup and spatial-temporal variable landscape heterogeneity were identified as the most relevant sources of uncertainties in the network. Comparing the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Transformed Chlorophyll Absorption in Reflectance Index (TCARI) and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) between ground and satellite revealed a decreasing agreement with increasing complexity of index formulation. The best agreement between satellite and ground was exhibited by NDVI with R² around 0.96 and relative error of 4.3% investigating vegetation and snow across all ten sites. Furthermore, we identified a seasonal pattern in residuals of NDVI between ground and satellite in an alpine ecosystem in northern Italy, which was associated with increased spatial heterogeneity due to the effects of diverse vegetation phenology and snowfall. In contrast, a random distribution of residuals was recognized in a rather uniform oak forest canopy in southern France. Clustering Sentinel-2 pixels with respect to their temporal patterns in NDVI identified similar areas seen as homogenous in the canopy of Torgnon, Italy, and Observatoire de Haute-Provence (OHP), France, each. The very high temporal resolution of NDVI measured on the ground confirmed overlap with matched homogenous areas, but must consider seasonal landscape heterogeneity. Using well-standardized and globally homogenous Sentinel-2 TOC reflectance enabled the assessment of uncertainties in ten field spectrometer sites around the world. The standardization of the automated field spectrometers, their data products and data annotation were essential prerequisites that enabled joint validation against Sentinel-2. Harmonizing optical ground measurements with respect to a satellite is promising for future research to ensure the valid intercomparison and transfer of data products across different sites in a network worldwide.

Constructing a robust ocean color (OC) record (e.g., water transparency, phytoplankton absorption) for long-term assessments of coastal and inland water ecosystems from past, present, and future missions requires high-quality spectral remote sensing reflectance (R_rs) products. Using the GLORIA dataset [1], we evaluated the quality of R_rs products from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS on Terra and Aqua), Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS), and Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) processed via the 2-band heritage atmospheric correction method (a combination of near-infrared and shortwave infrared bands) available in the SeaWiFS Analysis Data Analysis System (SeaDAS). Overall, retrieval residuals are consistent within a few percent among the four missions. Median residuals ranged from ~20% in the ~550 nm band to > 60% in the ~412 nm bands. Spectrally averaged root mean squared differences for all the missions were ~ 0.0024 sr^-1 with one standard deviation of ~0.001 sr^-1. The corresponding (median) biases in the visible bands varied from -60 to -3%, with the largest biases identified in MERIS and VIIRS products. Despite the lower sensitivity of band-ratio algorithms to residuals in specific spectral regions (e.g., OC3 chlorophyll-a algorithm is less prone to residuals in R_rs(λ > 600 nm)), other algorithms or downstream products that leverage all the visible bands are highly compromised. We underscore the need to improve the quality of R_rs products, thereby enabling the reconstruction of baseline OC products of high caliber in global coastal and inland waters that are often near human activity.

Climate change is contributing to rapid changes in lake ice cover across the Northern Hemisphere, thereby impacting local communities and ecosystems. Using lake ice cover time-series spanning over 87 yr for 43 lakes across the Northern Hemisphere, we found that the interannual variability in ice duration, measured as standard deviation, significantly increased in only half of our studied lakes. We observed that the interannual variability in ice duration peaked when lakes were, on average, covered by ice for about 1 month, while both longer and shorter long-term mean ice cover duration resulted in lower interannual variability in ice duration. These results demonstrate that the ice cover duration can become so short that the interannual variability rapidly declines. The interannual variability in ice duration showed a strong dependency on global temperature anomalies and teleconnections, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation and El Niño–Southern Oscillation. We conclude that many lakes across the Northern Hemisphere will experience a decline in interannual ice cover variability and shift to open water during the winter under a continued global warming trend which will affect lake biological, cultural, and economic processes.

Siberia experienced a prolonged heatwave in the spring of 2020, resulting in extreme summer drought and major wildfires in the North-Eastern Siberian lowland tundra. In the Arctic tundra, plants play a key role in regulating the summer land surface energy budget by contributing to land surface cooling through evapotranspiration. Yet we know little about how drought conditions impact land surface cooling by tundra plant communities, potentially contributing to high air temperatures through a positive plant-mediated feedback. Here we used high-resolution land surface temperature and vegetation maps based on drone imagery to determine the impact of an extreme summer drought on land surface cooling in the lowland tundra of North-Eastern Siberia. We found that land surface cooling differed strongly among plant communities between the drought year 2020 and the reference year 2021. Further, we observed a decrease in the normalized land surface cooling (measured as water deficit index) in the drought year 2020 across all plant communities. This indicates a shift towards an energy budget dominated by sensible heat fluxes, contributing to land surface warming. Overall, our findings suggest significant variation in land surface cooling among common Arctic plant communities in the North-Eastern Siberian lowland tundra and a pronounced effect of drought on all community types. Based on our results, we suggest discriminating between functional tundra plant communities when predicting the drought impacts on energy flux related processes such as land surface cooling, permafrost thaw and wildfires.

While it is commonly accepted that ecosystem dynamics are nonlinear, what is often not acknowledged is that nonlinearity implies scale-dependence. With the increasing availability of high-resolution ecological time series, there is a growing need to understand how scale and resolution in the data affect the construction and interpretation of causal networks—specifically, networks mapping how changes in one variable drive changes in others as part of a shared dynamic system ("dynamic causation"). We use Convergent Cross Mapping (CCM), a method specifically designed to measure dynamic causation, to study the effects of varying temporal and taxonomic/functional resolution in data when constructing ecological causal networks. As the system is viewed at different scales relationships will appear and disappear. The relationship between data resolution and interaction presence is not random: the temporal scale at which a relationship is uncovered identifies a biologically relevant scale that drives changes in population abundance. Further, causal relationships between taxonomic aggregates (low-resolution) are shown to be influenced by the number of interactions between their component species (high-resolution). Because no single level of resolution captures all the causal links in a system, a more complete understanding requires multiple levels when constructing causal networks.

In a warming world, the input of glacier meltwater to inland water ecosystems is predicted to change, potentially affecting their productivity. Meta-ecosystem theory, which posits that the nutrient availability in the recipient ecosystem can determine the extent of cross-ecosystem boundary utilization, can be useful for studying landscape-scale influences of glacier meltwater on inland waters. Here, we investigate how the input of glacier meltwater in a river system in Southern Greenland influences the utilization of marine subsidies in freshwater fish. Our study system comprised four sites, with controls for glacial meltwater and marine subsidies, harboring a partially migrating population of arctic char, meaning that some individuals migrate to the ocean and others remain in freshwaters, and two fully resident populations as a freshwater reference. We assessed the incorporation of marine carbon in freshwater resident char using both bulk and amino acid stable isotope analysis of muscle tissue. In the population with partial migration, marine subsidies were a significant resource for resident char individuals, and estimates of trophic position suggest that egg cannibalism is an important mechanism underlying the assimilation of these marine subsidies. In proglacial streams, namely those with high glacial meltwater, the total dependence on marine subsidies increased and reached 83% because char become cannibals at smaller sizes. In the configuration of our focal meta-ecosystem, our results suggest that the importance of marine subsidies to freshwater fish strengthens within increasing meltwater flux from upstream glaciers.

1. Global change drives multiple facets of biodiversity including interaction diversity, which is fundamental for ecosystem functioning. However, studying trophic interactions is challenging in meta-ecosystems, that is ecosystems connected by spatial flows of energy, materials and organisms across ecosystem boundaries. While analytical methods based on abundances of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and stable isotopes of amino acids (AAs) are being increasingly used, it has never been explored if both approaches could be: (i) combined in mixing models to enhance precision in dietary inference (ii) compared to disentangle transfers of various PUFAs and proteins in food webs in the wild.
2. We explore the utility of analytical approaches based on PUFA abundances and AA isotopes to resolve resource transfers in a natural riparian food web. We focus on spiders and their potential prey from blue, green and brown sources to address three important and persisting methodological issues in food-web ecology, namely whether (i) essential AA carbon isotopes can resolve protein origin from blue, green and brown resources, (ii) PUFA relative abundance and AA isotopes can be combined in a mixing model to provide higher precision estimates (i.e. narrower intervals) and (iii) combining the two approaches can unveil the coupling of protein and PUFA transfers in food webs. 3. Our research demonstrates the power of AA isotopes and PUFAs to distinguish blue, green, and brown sources and their transfer up to consumers. We show that combining PUFA relative abundance and AA isotopes in a mixing model provides overall estimates similar to the individual estimates but significantly increases precision. In addition, we showcase how combining approaches unveil the coupling of protein and PUFA transfers. For instance, we show that most PUFAs are less concentrated from prey to predators, relative to proteins, highlighting uncoupling of PUFAs and protein transfer along food chains.
4. We show for the first time the effectiveness of combining AA isotopes and PUFA abundances, particularly relevant for complex trophic interactions in a meta-ecosystem context. Our study illustrates the trophic uncoupling of proteins and PUFAs, highlighting the necessity in combining both approaches.

Given the use of machine learning-based tools for monitoring the Water Quality Indicators (WQIs) over lakes and coastal waters, understanding the properties of such models, including the uncertainties inherent in their predictions is essential. This has led to the development of two probabilistic NN-algorithms: Mixture Density Network (MDN) and Bayesian Neural Network via Monte Carlo Dropout (BNN-MCD). These NNs are complex, featuring thousands of trainable parameters and modifiable hyper-parameters, and have been independently trained and tested. The model uncertainty metric captures the uncertainty present in each prediction based on the properties of the model—namely, the model architecture and the training data distribution. We conduct an analysis of MDN and BNN-MCD under near-identical conditions of model architecture, training, and test sets, etc., to retrieve the concentration of chlorophyll-a pigments (Chl a), total suspended solids (TSS), and the absorption by colored dissolved organic matter at 440 nm (a_cdom (440)). The spectral resolutions considered correspond to the Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO), PRecursore IperSpettrale della Missione Applicativa (PRISMA), Ocean Colour and Land Imager (OLCI), and MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI). The model performances are tested in terms of both predictive residuals and predictive uncertainty metric quality. We also compared the simultaneous WQI retrievals against a single-parameter retrieval framework (for Chla). Ultimately, the models’ real-world applicability was investigated using a MSI satellite-matchup dataset (N = 3'053) of Chla and TSS. Experiments show that both models exhibit comparable estimation performance. Specifically, the median symmetric accuracy (MdSA) on the test set for the different parameters in both algorithms range from 30% to 60%. The uncertainty estimates, on the other hand, differ strongly. MDN’s uncertainty estimate is ∼50%, encompassing estimation residuals for 75% of test samples, whereas BNN-MCD’s average uncertainty estimate is ∼25%, encompassing the residuals for 50% of samples. Our analysis also revealed that simultaneous estimation results in improvements in both predictive performance and uncertainty metric quality. Interestingly, the trends mentioned above hold across different sensor resolutions, as well as experimental regimes. This disparity calls for additional research to determine whether such trends in model uncertainty are inherent to specific models or can be more broadly generalized across different algorithms and sensor setups.

After years of partial winter mixing in Lake Zurich (Switzerland), a complete turnover of the water column reoccurred during winter/spring 2021. It was favored by a cold, windy winter and a small difference of water temperatures between the surface zone and a hypolimnion (deep water zone) that had gradually warmed during the previous years. The trend of declining phytoplankton spring blooms due to incomplete winter mixing was interrupted by mass development of algae due to the upwelling of nutrients accumulated in the hypolimnion. The effects of this singular deep mixing on the microbial food web during spring were studied in a high-frequency sampling campaign and compared with data from two years of partial winter mixing (2020 and 2022). A particular focus was put on the quantitative composition of the ciliate assemblage. Our results showed that not all organisms reacted equally to the nutrient (phosphorus) boost in the surface zone. Centric diatoms and cryptophytes profited most directly from the deep mixing, outcompeting the otherwise dominant cyanobacterium Planktothrix rubescens. Heterotrophic bacteria and their top predators, the ‘heterotrophic nanoflagellates’ trophic guild, were less affected by the nutrient supply and showed only short-lived increases of maximal biomass. The assemblage composition of ciliate morphotypes was highly resilient over the three years, presumably due to the range of acceptable food items of the predominant omnivorous species. However, numerous ciliate morphotypes showed brief mass development in 2021, and Balanion planctonicum, small Urotricha species and tintinnids were significantly more frequent than in 2020/2022. Small interception-feeding morphotypes apparently profited from the rich supply of their cryptomonad food, and tintinnid morphotypes additionally benefited from the availability of building material (e.g., centric diatom shells) for their loricae. In summary, we show that effects of lake warming in deep stratifying lakes are not as unidirectional as previously presumed, and we reveal resilience of the pelagic ciliate morphotype assemblage to lake warming related interannual variability in Lake Zurich.

Global warming particularly impacts terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in the Arctic. To constrain the sensitivity of Arctic lakes and make meaningful predictions about future change under global warming, we need to examine their response to previous warm phases. Lake sediments from Greenland's deglaciated area offer valuable archives to investigate past climate variability and associated lake changes.
Here, we applied hyperspectral imaging and lipid biomarker thermometry to a Holocene-length sediment record from Lake 578 in the Eastern Settlement of the Norse (61.08° N, 45.62° W; ∼155 m a.s.l) to investigate local temperature, productivity, and anoxia histories. We calibrated branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) with summer mean water temperatures (SMWT) using a previously published site-specific calibration and analyzed pigment fluxes based on hyperspectral imaging. Notably, the anoxia reconstructions were corroborated with two independent proxies (GDGT-0/Crenarchaeol and bacterio pheophytins). We investigated the lake's environmental history and identified periods of significant change by employing generalized additive models (GAMs).
Our results reveal significant transitions in Lake 578 driven both by natural climate shifts and anthropogenic impacts. During the early Holocene, low SMWT and productivity coupled with high anoxia suggest strong seasonality and prolonged inverted thermal stratification, possibly enhanced by extended ice cover. The mid-Holocene showed higher SMWT and productivity along with low anoxia, indicating a dimictic lake system. The early Holocene temperature rise lagged that of to the Northern Hemisphere, but closely followed the Atlantic-Fennoscandian stack. The Holocene Thermal Maximum (7.5–4.5 cal ka BP) aligns with other regional reconstructions. After 3 cal ka BP, we observed a Neoglacial cooling characterized by increased anoxia and reduced temperatures due to enhanced stratification. At around 1.0 cal ka BP, Lake 578 saw a surge in productivity and anoxia, which we attribute to land use and lake damming by the Norse. Despite a post-Norse decline in productivity and disappearance of anoxia, the lake never reverted to its pre-Norse state, with modern sheep farming further intensifying productivity in recent decades. While early Holocene anoxia resulted from natural cold temperature stratification, anoxia during the Norse period was anthropogenically induced.
This research underscores the value of integrating lipid biomarkers with hyperspectral imaging for detailed reconstructions of changes within Arctic lakes. It provides crucial insights for anticipating the ecologic and climatic resilience of Arctic lakes to ongoing global warming and anthropogenic influence.

Lacustrine methane emissions are strongly mitigated by aerobic methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) that are typically most active at the oxic-anoxic interface. Although oxygen is required by the MOB for the first step of methane oxidation, their occurrence in anoxic lake waters has raised the possibility that they are capable of oxidizing methane further anaerobically. Here, we investigate the activity and growth of MOB in Lake Zug, a permanently stratified freshwater lake. The rates of anaerobic methane oxidation in the anoxic hypolimnion reached up to 0.2 µM d⁻¹. Single-cell nanoSIMS measurements, together with metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses, linked the measured rates to MOB of the order Methylococcales. Interestingly, their methane assimilation activity was similar under hypoxic and anoxic conditions. Our data suggest that these MOB use fermentation-based methanotrophy as well as denitrification under anoxic conditions, thus offering an explanation for their widespread presence in anoxic habitats such as stratified water columns. Thus, the methane sink capacity of anoxic basins may have been underestimated by not accounting for the anaerobic MOB activity.

Past changes in the input/output, and internal cycling, of bioavailable nitrogen (N) in marine and lacustrine environments can be reconstructed by analyzing the N isotopic composition (δ¹⁵N) of organic matter in the sedimentary record. To verify, and eliminate, potential biases of bulk sedimentary δ¹⁵N (δ¹⁵N_bulk) signatures by diagenetic alteration and external N inputs, we applied, for the first time, the diatom-bound N isotope (δ¹⁵N_db) paleo-proxy to lake sediments. By comparing δ¹⁵N_bulk and δ¹⁵N_db in a sedimentary record from eutrophic Lake Lugano (Switzerland), we demonstrate that changing redox conditions influence the degree of N-isotopic alteration of the bulk sediment, emphasizing the need for caution when interpreting δ¹⁵N_bulk in paleolimnological studies. Furthermore, in combining δ¹⁵N_db measurements with X-ray fluorescence scanning and state-of-the-art molecular biomarker analyses, we reconstruct nutrient cycling and paleoenvironmental conditions in the lake over the past ~ 125 yr. Coeval with the period of severe eutrophication in Lake Lugano in the 1960s, our proxy data indicate that export production, δ¹⁵N_db, and the concentration of heterocyst glycolipids (a biomarker for N₂-fixing cyanobacteria) increased simultaneously. Together, these data suggest that the rise in δ¹⁵N_db is likely the result of enhanced water-column denitrification in response to increased phytoplankton productivity. We hypothesize that greater export production during eutrophication led to anoxic conditions in the hypolimnion as a result of enhanced organic matter remineralization, raising water-column denitrification. Enhanced N loss and remobilization of phosphorous (P) from the sediments under anoxic conditions lowered the N : P ratio in the lake, fostering cyanobacterial N₂ fixation in surface waters.

The removal of organic particulate matter, predominantly phytoplankton, in eutrophic coastal seas and estuaries is considered an ecosystem service performed by large bivalve assemblages. Mussel farming has been proposed as a measure to mitigate eutrophication, as filtration directly reduces the concentration of chlorophyll a (Chl a), a primary ecological indicator. Seston depletion is typically assessed by in situ investigation, which generally lacks spatiotemporal coverage of features relative to greater ecosystem dynamics. To assess the scale and structure of this service, the present study couples multiple measurement approaches, including moored stations, synoptic transect surveys, flow cytometry, a preliminary drone survey technique, and satellite remote sensing within and around a large mussel farm. Significant depletion patterns were observed with all methods, and mixing gradients could be detected hundreds of meters beyond the farm, with repeatable patterns but distinct findings between methods. The intensity of the depletion signal was correlated with mussel biomass loads, ambient conditions, and hydrodynamic regimes, ranging from 5% to 91% relative Chl a depletion and Secchi depth increases of up to 2 m. Changes in particle size distributions were impacted in all downstream areas, as well as phytoplankton diversity. Observed depletion gradients with satellite imagery were consistent with other measurements and can be used to complement in situ field measurements. The findings of this study, will inform carrying capacity assessments, farm configuration, and development of impact assessment programs on seston removal for bivalve aquaculture.

Three-dimensional lake hydrodynamic model is a powerful tool widely used to assess hydrological condition changes of lake. However, its computational cost becomes problematic when forecasting the state of large lakes or using high-resolution simulation in small-to-medium size lakes. One possible solution is to employ a data-driven emulator, such as a deep learning (DL) based emulator, to replace the original model for fast computing. However, existing DL-based emulators are often black-box and data-dependent models, causing poor interpretability and generalizability in practical applications. In this study, a data-driven emulator is established using deep neural network (DNN) to replace the original model for fast computing of three-dimensional lake hydrodynamics. Then, the Koopman operator and transfer learning (TL) are employed to enhance the interpretability and generalizability of the emulator. Finally, the generalizability of DL-based emulators is comprehensively analyzed through linear regression and correlation analysis. These methods are tested against an existing hydrodynamic model of Lake Zurich (Switzerland) whose data was provided by an open-source web-based platform called Meteolakes/Alplakes. According to the results, (1) The DLEDMD offers better interpretability than DNN because its Koopman operator reveals the linear structure behind the hydrodynamics; (2) The generalization of the DL-based emulators in three-dimensional lake hydrodynamics are influenced by the similarity between the training and testing data; (3) TL effectively improves the generalizability of the DL-based emulators.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pose significant environmental and health risks due to their ubiquitous presence and persistence in water systems. Herein, the efficacy of piezocatalysis using barium titanate nanoparticles under ultrasound irradiation for the degradation and defluorination of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in water is investigated. The research demonstrates a substantial 90.5% degradation and 29% defluorination of PFOS after 6 h of treatment, highlighting the potential of piezocatalysis as a promising approach for PFAS degradation. Additionally, the quantification of degradation products elucidates the transformation pathways of PFOS, suggesting a stepwise chain-shortening mechanism. The findings underscore the importance of continued research in optimizing piezocatalytic processes and exploring synergistic approaches with other advanced oxidation methods to effectively address PFAS contamination challenges. These efforts are essential for advancing sustainable water treatment strategies and mitigating the environmental and health hazards associated with PFAS contamination.

The research goal is the investigation of environmental processes of recent sedimentation in the Arctic Ocean area. A short core (length – 37 cm) was taken from the Northern part of the Chukchi Sea. Analytical methods included macroscopic sedimentological description by smear-slides, dating by γ-measurements of ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb, diatom and palynological analyses. Sedimentation rates at the research site have been determined to be 1 mm y^-1. Thus, the age of the cored sediments spans approximately 400 years, which includes the period of the Little Ice Age. Abundant cold-water diatom species and spores of terrestrial plants within the lower part of the sediment core are characteristic for cold climate conditions, which dominated the Little Ice Age. The occurrence of Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Neogene species of spores and pollen in the Holocene deposits are the evidence of coastal abrasion and the subsequent transfer of the material to the coring site by currents. Southern, subtropical, and tropical species of diatoms within the upper, more recent part of the core reveal the transfer of material by currents from the Pacific Ocean to the Arctic Ocean through the Bering Strait. The results of biostratigraphic analyses indicate environmental changes during the last 400 years, revealed in bottom sediments of the Northern part of the Chukchi Sea.

Im Spannungsfeld dreier Krisen. Der Klimawandel schreitet voran, der Biodiversitätsverlust verschärft sich und die Energieversorgung ist angespannt. Diese drei globalen Herausforderungen betreffen sowohl die Gewässer und Auengebiete als auch die gesamte Wasserwirtschaft, insbesondere die Wasserkraft. Im Schnittpunkt der drei Krisen steht das politisch umkämpfte Restwasser.

As climate change intensifies, understanding the dynamics of lake evaporation is imperative, especially in semi-arid regions where water resources are already scarce. This study examines the regulatory role of lake depth on evaporation rates, focusing on a terminal lake in a semi-arid region: Dali Lake in China. Using the Complementary Relationship Lake Evaporation model, we simulated the heat and temperature lag time of Dali Lake, an 8 m deep lake, due to its heat storage capacity. This approach was validated through moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS)-based surface temperatures of Dali Lake and adjacent Ganggenor Lake. Dali Lake, by storing heat during the warmer months, maintains lower surface temperatures compared with the shallower Ganggenor Lake. Under the same climatic conditions, Dali Lake has an annual evaporation of 980 mm, which is 45 mm less than that of Ganggenor Lake, which has an annual evaporation of 1024 mm. To further study the impact of lake depth, we simulated the heat storage and evaporation of Dali Lake during the Holocene, when the lake reached up to 34 m average depth, representative of the maximum depth reached by Dali Lake. During the Holocene, under constant climate conditions, the annual evaporation would be 44 mm/year less than the average evaporation from 1984 to 2016. Average annual evaporation decreased with increasing depth, showing a significant reduction during warmer months, while the release of heat during the ice-cover period did not result in additional evaporation. Our results highlight the important relationship between lake depth and evaporation under climate change, emphasizing the necessity for depth-specific water management strategies in semi-arid regions.

The Southern Hemisphere Westerlies (SHW) are a vital part of the Southern Hemisphere's coupled ocean-atmosphere system and play an important role in the global climate system. The SHW affect the upwelling of carbon-rich deep water and exchange of CO₂ from the ocean to the atmosphere by driving the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. On seasonal to millennial timescales, changes in the strength and position of the SHW are associated with temperature and precipitation changes throughout the extratropical Southern Hemisphere. Understanding the behaviour of the SHW under different background climate states is important for anticipating its future behaviour and remains a subject of ongoing research. Terrestrial paleoclimate records from lake sediments are valuable for reconstructing past atmospheric change and records from the handful of sub-Antarctic islands provide the opportunity to develop datasets to document spatio-temporal patterns of long-term SHW behaviour. Here, we generate palynological, microcharcoal, and sedimentological reconstructions (including CT imagery, μXRF analysis, magnetic susceptibility, and loss-on-ignition) on lake sediments from the Kerguelen Islands (49°S) to constrain variability in Holocene vegetation, climate, and atmospheric circulation (SHW position). Due to the influence of the SHW on the Kerguelen Islands, the influx of long-distance transported (LDT) pollen and microcharcoal from southern Africa serve as proxies for the meridional position of the SHW. In contrast with the stable conditions that prevailed on the Kerguelen Islands over the past 8,600 cal yr BP, our findings reveal a highly dynamic Early Holocene period. Consistent with local palynological evidence of warmer conditions, a high influx of LDT pollen and charcoal from southern Africa suggest that the SHW core belt was located further south of the Kerguelen Islands during this time. Comparison against paleoclimate records from the surrounding region and beyond suggests that the inferred changes might be explained by changes to our planet's interhemispheric thermal gradient, triggered by North Atlantic cooling in response to melting of the last remnants of the Laurentide Ice Sheet.

Knowledge of actual crop transpiration (T) is important for advanced crop management but challenging to obtain due to the large spatial and temporal variation of T. Remote sensing offers various possibilities to assess T dynamics, while particularly sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) has been demonstrated as a sensitive empirical proxy for T. Despite this success, the advancement of the mechanistic understanding of how SIF relates to T dynamics is key for the future development and implementation of robust and reliable SIF-based T products. This study aims to contribute insights by experimentally assessing the sensitivity of several SIF-based T estimation strategies for evolving soil water limitation. We investigated extensive in situ and airborne data acquired during a water limitation experiment in a maize canopy in northern Italy. We evaluated five empirical strategies to integrate SIF in a T modelling framework based on the Penman-Monteith (PM) and the Ball-Berry-Leuning (BBL) concepts. Our results indicate that replacing model parameters sensitive to canopy conductance with SIF results in the best agreement between modelled and measured T under evolving water limitation. Our study contributes expanding existing knowledge with empirical insights on the sensitivity of SIF based T approaches under increasing soil water limitation at short time scales.

Storage hydropower plants, which are an important component of energy production in Switzerland, can lead to hydro- and thermopeaking, affecting river habitats and organisms. In this study, we developed an approach for integrating water temperature simulations into a habitat model to assess the impact of both hydro- and thermopeaking on the availability of suitable fish habitats. We focused on the habitat requirements of juvenile brown trout (Salmo trutta) in a semi-natural braided floodplain along the Moesa River (Southern Switzerland) in early summer. First, we defined different scenarios (with and without hydropeaking) based on the local hydrological and meteorological conditions. Second, we used a two-dimensional depth-averaged hydro- and thermodynamic model to simulate the spatial distributions of water depth, flow velocity, and water temperature. Third, we applied generalized preference curves for juvenile brown trout to identify hydraulically suitable habitats, and developed a new index to assess the availability of thermally suitable habitats. Finally, we quantified the extent to which hydraulically and thermally suitable habitats overlap in space and time. During both base and peak flow phases, most of the hydraulically and thermally suitable habitats are located in the side channels. High flow conditions combined with strong cold-thermopeaking lead to a higher thermal heterogeneity. However, disconnected habitats originate in the dewatering zone, increasing the risk of stranding as well as thermal stress. By helping to better understand the effects of thermopeaking on the availability of fish habitats, our approach could contribute to the design and evaluation of ecological restoration in hydropeaking rivers.

Aquatic fungi are highly diverse organisms that play a critical role in global biogeochemical cycles. Yet it remains unclear which assembly processes determine their co-occurrence and assembly patterns over gradients of drying intensity, which is a common stressor in fluvial networks. Although aquatic fungi possess drying-specific adaptations, little is known about how functional similarity influences co-occurrence probability and which functional traits are sorted by drying. Using field data from 15 streams, we investigated how co-occurrence patterns and assembly processes responded to drying intensity. To do so, we determined fungal co-occurrence patterns, functional traits that best explain species co-occurrence likelihood, and community assembly mechanisms explaining changes in functional diversity over the drying gradient. Our results identified 24 species pairs with positive co-occurrence probabilities and 16 species pairs with negative associations. The co-occurrence probability was correlated with species differences in conidia shape and fungal endophytic capacity. Functional diversity reduction over the drying gradient is generally associated with non-random abiotic filtering. However, the assembly processes changed over the drying gradient, with random assembly prevailing at low drying intensity and abiotic filtering gaining more importance as drying intensifies. Collectively, our results can help anticipate the impacts of global change on fungal communities and ecosystem functioning.

Accumulation of methane in oxic waters of lakes and the ocean has been widely reported. Despite the importance for the greenhouse gas budget, mechanistic controls of such "methane paradox" remain elusive. Here, we use a combination of CH₄ concentration and isotopic (δ¹³C_CH4, δD_H2O and δ¹⁸O_H2O) measurements, plankton incubations and microbial community assessments to demonstrate the existence of the methane paradox in oxygenated waters of a meromictic lake (Lake Cadagno, Switzerland). Following mass dynamics using water isotopes, we exclude the possibility that the accumulation of CH₄ at the thermocline results solely from lateral transport. Interannual variability in the magnitude of the methane paradox (between 0.5 and 5 μmol L^-1) is associated to stratification patterns, changes in zooplankton biomass and planktonic detritus accumulation along density gradients, as well as fluctuating microbial cell numbers. The links between hydrodynamic conditions, aggregation of planktonic detritus and its microbiome, as well as the accumulation of CH₄ in the water column are further supported by high-resolution echosounder revealing backscatter maxima at the top of the thermocline, where detritus is effectively trapped, and by oxic incubations showing that CH₄ is produced in zooplankton detritus (0.046 nmol L^-1 to 0.095 CH₄ mg dry mass L^-1 d^-1). Our results also show that detritus-hosted methanogenesis is stimulated through the addition of methylphosphonate, suggesting that zooplankton-associated microbiomes exploit organic phosphorus compounds to release CH₄. Understanding the variability of the methane paradox in relation to changing hydrodynamics and plankton communities will be crucial to predict the future role of lakes in the global methane budget.

Alteration in the river flow regime due to intermittent hydropower production (i.e., hydropeaking) leads to biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation worldwide. Due to the increasing shear of volatile green energy (i.e., wind and solar), hydropeaking frequency is deemed to increase in the coming decades. However, our mechanistic understanding of how the frequency of repeated hydropeaking (i.e., series of multiple events) affects ecological processes is still limited. Here, we reflect on the impacts of altered flow frequency and relative duration on the persistency of aquatic habitats. We focus on the habitats at patch-scale, being this the scale representing what organisms perceive when interacting with their environment. With a showcase we explore a temporally explicit approach to quantify altered habitat dynamics at patch-scale due to hydropeaking. We then review how changes in habitat dynamics and persistency may affect ecological processes. Our findings suggest that (i) a time-series approach allows to account for the inherent multi-event nature of hydropeaking; (ii) hydropeaking can increase the dynamics of single habitat patches by at least one order of magnitude if compared to unregulated rivers; (iii) altered habitat dynamics at the patch scale can affect the survival of more sessile species and life cycle stages (e.g., invertebrates) or the energy budget of mobile species and life cycle stages (e.g., adult fish). However, the ecological significance and potential environmental thresholds of patch-scale dynamics and persistency are still poorly investigated and need further attention. Moreover, methods for the aggregation of habitat dynamics and persistency from the patch to the reach-scale are not available yet.

Interdisciplinary approaches are required to tackle complex environmental issues as freshwater ecosystems face unprecedented pressures globally. The emerging Ecohydraulics field of research should, therefore, take steps towards developing true interdisciplinarity to adapt to a continuing changing world. This study contributes to the ongoing discussion on interdisciplinarity in Ecohydraulics and shapes its growth by identifying key actions, actors and implementation strategies that can strengthen it. Based on an online questionnaire and a workshop involving over 150 early and established careers, we present a list of 20 prioritised actions that will help engage the research community towards specific goals and will result in increased interdisciplinary outcomes. While early career researchers (ECRs) have taken the lead on creating this roadmap, its implementation should be a joint responsibility of both ECRs, established career scientists, groups, and institutions within Ecohydraulics. The list of identified actions and assigned responsibility should, therefore, be considered a conversation starter. Continued revision of the here-stated approaches will be required in the future as the field of research and its community progresses. With this contribution, we resume a critical reflection on where the Ecohydraulics field of research and community stand today and suggest where resources should be invested in the long-term to consolidate the inherent interdisciplinarity in Ecohydraulics.

Long-term effects of climate change on lakes globally will include a substantial modification in the thermal regime and the oxygen solubility of lakes, resulting in the alteration of ecosystem processes, habitats, and concentrations of critical substances. Recent efforts have led to the development of long-term model projections of climate change effects on lake thermal regimes and oxygen solubility. However, such projections are hardly ever confronted with observations extending over multiple decades. Furthermore, global-scale forcing parameters in lake models present several limitations, such as the need of significant downscaling. In this study, the effects of climate change on thermal regime and oxygen solubility were analyzed in the four largest French peri-alpine lakes over 1850–2100. We tested several one-dimensional (1D) lake models' robustness for long-term variations based on up to 63 years of limnological data collected by the French Observatory of LAkes (OLA). Here, we evaluate the possibility of forcing mechanistic models by following the long-term evolution of shortwave radiation and air temperature while providing realistic seasonal trends for the other variables for which local-scale downscaling often lacks accuracy. Based on this approach, MyLake, forced by air temperatures and shortwave radiations, predicted accurately the variations in the lake thermal regime over the last 4 to 6 decades, with RMSE < 1.95 ^∘C. Over the previous 3 decades, water temperatures have increased by 0.46 ^∘C per decade (±0.02 ^∘C) in the epilimnion and 0.33 ^∘C per decade (±0.06 ^∘C) in the hypolimnion. Concomitantly and due to thermal change, O₂ solubility has decreased by −0.104 mg L⁻¹ per decade (±0.005 mg L⁻¹) and −0.096 mg L⁻¹ per decade (±0.011 mg L⁻¹) in the epilimnion and hypolimnion, respectively. Based on the shared socio-economic pathway SSP370 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), peri-alpine lakes could face an increase of 3.80 ^∘C (±0.20 ^∘C) in the next 70 years, accompanied by a decline of 1.0 mg L⁻¹ (±0.1 mg L⁻¹) of O₂ solubility. Together, these results highlight a critical alteration in lake thermal and oxygen conditions in the coming decades, and a need for a better integration of long-term lake observatories data and lake models to anticipate climate effects on lake thermal regimes and habitats.

Introduction: Bioconvection, a phenomenon characterized by the collective upward swimming of motile microorganisms, has mainly been investigated within controlled laboratory settings, leaving a knowledge gap regarding its ecological implications in natural aquatic environments. This study aims to address this question by investigating the influence of bioconvection on the eco-physiology of the anoxygenic phototrophic sulfur bacteria community of meromictic Lake Cadagno.
Methods: Here we comprehensively explore its effects by comparing the physicochemical profiles of the water column and the physiological traits of the main populations of the bacterial layer (BL). The search for eco-physiological effects of bioconvection involved a comparative analysis between two time points during the warm season, one featuring bioconvection (July) and the other without it (September).
Results: A prominent distinction in the physicochemical profiles of the water column centers on light availability, which is significantly higher in July. This minimum threshold of light intensity is essential for sustaining the physiological CO₂ fixation activity of Chromatium okenii, the microorganism responsible for bioconvection. Furthermore, the turbulence generated by bioconvection redistributes sulfides to the upper region of the BL and displaces other microorganisms from their optimal ecological niches.
Conclusion: The findings underscore the influence of bioconvection on the physiology of C. okenii and demonstrate its functional role in improving its metabolic advantage over coexisting phototrophic sulfur bacteria. However, additional research is necessary to confirm these results and to unravel the multiscale processes activated by C. okenii’s motility mechanisms.

Gravity currents contribute to the transport of heat and mass in atmospheric and aquatic environments. In aquatic systems subject to daily surface cooling, gravity currents propagate through turbulent convective surroundings. Yet, the effects of thermal convection on aquatic gravity currents remain to be quantified. This paper demonstrates how the interaction between penetrative convection and downslope gravity currents impacts the fluid dynamics and transport across littoral aquatic systems. We performed field experiments in a wind-sheltered lake experiencing differential cooling to resolve the dynamics of thermally driven gravity currents in convective environments. Our in situ observations reveal that convective plumes penetrate gravity currents, generating large vertical fluctuations that foster the erosion of the stratified layer. This enhanced vertical mixing destroys the stratified downslope flow and limits the basin-scale transport. Our results demonstrate that the interaction between penetrative convection and downslope gravity currents controls the littoral-pelagic connectivity in aquatic ecosystems.

Abrupt changes in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) are thought to affect tropical hydroclimate through adjustment of the latitudinal position of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ). Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1) involves the largest AMOC reduction in recent geological time; however, over the tropical Indian Ocean (IO), proxy records suggest zonal anomalies featuring intense, widespread drought in tropical East Africa versus generally wet but heterogeneous conditions in the Maritime Continent. Here, we synthesize proxy data and an isotope-enabled transient deglacial simulation and show that the southward ITCZ shift over the eastern IO during HS1 strengthens IO Walker circulation, triggering an east-west precipitation dipole across the basin. This dipole reverses the zonal precipitation anomalies caused by the exposed Sunda and Sahul shelves due to glacial lower sea level. Our study illustrates how zonal modes of atmosphere-ocean circulation can amplify or reverse global climate anomalies, highlighting their importance for future climate change.

The factors that govern the geographical distribution of nitrogen fixation are fundamental to providing accurate nitrogen budgets in aquatic environments. Model-based insights have demonstrated that regional hydrodynamics strongly impact nitrogen fixation. However, the mechanisms establishing this physical-biological coupling have yet to be constrained in field surveys. Here, we examine the distribution of nitrogen fixation in Lake Tanganyika – a model system with well-defined hydrodynamic regimes. We report that nitrogen fixation is five times higher under stratified than under upwelling conditions. Under stratified conditions, the limited resupply of inorganic nitrogen to surface waters, combined with greater light penetration, promotes the activity of bloom-forming photoautotrophic diazotrophs. In contrast, upwelling conditions support predominantly heterotrophic diazotrophs, which are uniquely suited to chemotactic foraging in a more dynamic nutrient landscape. We suggest that these hydrodynamic regimes (stratification versus mixing) play an important role in governing both the rates and the mode of nitrogen fixation.

Lake Tanganyika’s pelagic fish sustain the second largest inland fishery in Africa and are under pressure from heavy fishing and global warming related increases in stratification. The strength of water column stratification varies regionally, with a more stratified north and an upwelling-driven, biologically more productive south. Only little is known about whether such regional hydrodynamic regimes induce ecological or genetic differences among populations of highly mobile, pelagic fish inhabiting these different areas. Here, we examine whether the regional contrasts leave distinct isotopic imprints in the pelagic fish of Lake Tanganyika, which may reveal differences in diet or lipid content. We conducted two lake-wide campaigns during different seasons and collected physical, nutrient, chlorophyll, phytoplankton and zooplankton data. Additionally, we analyzed the pelagic fish–the clupeids Stolothrissa tanganicae, Limnothrissa miodon and four Lates species–for their isotopic and elemental carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) compositions. The δ¹³C values were significantly higher in the productive south after the upwelling/mixing period across all trophic levels, implying that the fish have regional foraging grounds, and thus record these latitudinal isotope gradients. By combining our isotope data with previous genetic results showing little geographic structure, we demonstrate that the fish reside in a region for a season or longer. Between specimens from the north and south we found no strong evidence for varying trophic levels or lipid contents, based on their bulk δ¹⁵N and C:N ratios. We suggest that the development of regional trophic or physiological differences may be inhibited by the lake-wide gene flow on the long term. Overall, our findings show that the pelagic fish species, despite not showing evidence for genetic structure at the basin scale, form regional stocks at the seasonal timescales. This implies that sustainable management strategies may consider adopting regional fishing quotas.

Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes lying in the Albertine Rift. It provides livelihoods to 5.7 million people living in the two riparian countries of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Rwanda. Lake Kivu is currently experiencing numerous stressors, including fish habitat destruction, pollution, invasive species, weak governance and law enforcement as well as conflict between riparian countries. One of the biggest challenges on Lake Kivu is the limitation of coordinated and consistent research on the lake. Scientific attention to large lakes is often not seen as a high enough priority by the riparian countries, despite the lake sustaining millions of people's livelihoods, and contributes to the GDP of both countries. Although we have a fair understanding of the basic geology, physics, chemistry, and biology of the lake, there is a need for stronger long-term monitoring and research frameworks to gain more comprehensive understanding of the changes resulting from human uses and global warming. These would be needed to develop good policies and management decisions for sustainable and long-term health and use of the lake's resources. This manuscript presents an opinion of experts on what is known about the current lake's current status and its resources as well as about what should be done. It highlights key threats, issues and gaps that needs to be urgently addressed, and provides specific and strategic ways forward for long-term monitoring and management, essential to achieving a healthy Lake Kivu, able to sustain its dependents.

Die Sedimentdynamik und Vernetzung in Flusslandschaften sind Schlüsselelemente für die ökologische Funktion und den Hochwasserschutz. Im interdisziplinären Forschungsprojekt «Lebensraum Gewässer - Sedimentdynamik und Vernetzung» erforschten Wasserbau- ingenieur:innen und Ökolog:innen des ETH-Bereichs gemeinsam mit dem Bundesamt für Umwelt (BAFU) Massnahmen zur Förderung funktionaler Lebensräume und der Sedimentdynamik in Fliessgewässern. Die wichtigsten Forschungsergebnisse werden in einer Publikation der Reihe Umwelt-Wissen des BAFUs der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich gemacht. Mit einem Flyer für Schweizer Gemeinden wird zudem auf das langjährige Forschungsprogramm «Wasserbau und Ökologie», die neu gestaltete Webseite www.rivermanagement.ch und die Vermittlung der Erkenntnisse durch «Stop-Motion-Filme» aufmerksam gemacht. Der Flyer wird an alle Schweizer Gemeinden verschickt.

La dynamique sédimentaire et la connectivité dans les milieux fluviaux sont des éléments clés pour la fonction écologique et la protection contre les crues. Dans le projet de recherche intenlisciplinaire «Milieux fluviaux - dynamique sédimentaire et connectivité», des spécialistes en aménagement et en écologie des cours d'eau du domaine des EPF, en collaboration avec l'Office fédéral de l'environnement (OFEVI, ont étudié des mesures pour promouvoir les habitants fonctionnels et la dynamique sédimentaire dans les cours d'eau. Les principaux résultats de la recherche font l'objet d'une publication dans la série Connaissance de renvironnement de l'OFEV. De plus, un flyer destiné aux communes suisses informe sur le programme de recherche «Aménagement et écologie des cours d'eau», mené depuis de nombreuses années, ainsi que sur le nouveau site Internet www.rivermanagement.ch, ou des animations en volume servent à la transmission des connaissances. Le flyer sera envoyé à toutes les communes suisses.

Dissolved iron (dFe) availability limits the uptake of atmospheric CO₂ by the Southern Ocean (SO) biological pump. Hence, any change in bioavailable dFe in this region can directly influence climate. On the basis of Fe uptake experiments with Phaeocystis antarctica, we show that the range of dFe bioavailability in natural samples is wider (<1 to ~200% compared to free inorganic Fe′) than previously thought, with higher bioavailability found near glacial sources. The degree of bioavailability varied regardless of in situ dFe concentration and depth, challenging the consensus that sole dFe concentrations can be used to predict Fe uptake in modeling studies. Further, our data suggest a disproportionately major role of biologically mediated ligands and encourage revisiting the role of humic substances in influencing marine Fe biogeochemical cycling in the SO. Last, we describe a linkage between in situ dFe bioavailability and isotopic signatures that, we anticipate, will stimulate future research.

Carbohydrates are a ubiquitous constituent of organisms and contribute significantly to sedimentary organic carbon pools. Yet, the factors that control the degradation and long-term preservation of sedimentary carbohydrates are not well understood. Here, we investigate carbohydrate pool sizes and chemical compositions in high-altitude, meromictic Lake Cadagno (Switzerland) over a 13,500-year-old sedimentary succession that has recorded past changes from oxic to anoxic conditions and consists mostly of intercalations of lacustrine sediments and terrestrial-derived sediments. Analyses of the organic matter chemical composition by pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) show that carbohydrates are selectively preserved over other organic matter constituents over time. The carbohydrate pyrolysis products levosugars (potentially cellulose-derived) and (alkyl)furans and furanones (potentially pectin-derived) dominate both lacustrine and terrestrially derived sediment layers, suggesting aquatic and terrestrial-derived sources of these compounds. Carbohydrate monomer analyses indicate galactose and glucose as dominant monomers and show no clear differences between aquatic and terrestrial organic matter. No clear impacts of past changes in redox conditions on carbohydrate compositions were observed. Our study shows that carbohydrates are a major contributor to sedimentary organic carbon burial in Lake Cadagno and indicates the effective preservation of both aquatic and terrestrial derived carbohydrates over millennia in lake sediments.

As motivation to address environmental dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is mounting, there is a need to characterize mechanisms by which AMR can propagate under environmental conditions. Here we investigated the effect of temperature and stagnation on the persistence of wastewater-associated antibiotic resistance markers in riverine biofilms and the invasion success of genetically-tagged Escherichia coli. Biofilms grown on glass slides incubated in-situ downstream of a wastewater treatment plant effluent discharge point were transferred to laboratory-scale flumes fed with filtered river water under potentially stressful temperature and flow conditions: recirculation flow at 20 °C, stagnation at 20 °C, and stagnation at 30 °C. After 14 days, quantitative PCR and amplicon sequencing were used to quantify bacteria, biofilms diversity, resistance markers (sul1, sul2, ermB, tetW, tetM, tetB, blaCTX-M-1, intI1) and E. coli. Resistance markers significantly decreased over time regardless of the treatment applied. Although invading E. coli were initially able to colonize the biofilms, its abundance subsequently declined. Stagnation was associated with a shift in biofilm taxonomic composition, but there was no apparent effect of flow conditions or the simulated river-pool warming (30 °C) on AMR persistence or invasion success of E. coli. Results however indicated that antibiotic resistance markers in the riverine biofilms decreased under the experimental conditions in the absence of exposure to external inputs of antibiotics and AMR.

Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) has been widely used to quantify gene copy numbers in microbial ecology. Despite its simplicity and straightforwardness, establishing qPCR assays is often impeded by the tedious process of producing qPCR standards by cloning the target DNA into plasmids. Here, we designed double-stranded synthetic DNA fragments from consensus sequences as qPCR standards by aligning microbial gene sequences (10–20 sequences per gene). Efficiency of standards from synthetic DNA was compared with plasmid standards by qPCR assays for different phylogenetic marker and functional genes involved in carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling, tested with DNA extracted from a broad range of soils. Results showed that qPCR standard curves using synthetic DNA performed equally well to those from plasmids for all the genes tested. Furthermore, gene copy numbers from DNA extracted from soils obtained by using synthetic standards or plasmid standards were comparable. Our approach therefore demonstrates that a synthetic DNA fragment as qPCR standard provides comparable sensitivity and reliability to a traditional plasmid standard, while being more time- and cost-efficient.

Special attention has been given to chromium (Cr) as a paleoproxy tracing redox cycling throughout Earth’s history, due to differences in the solubility of its primary redox species at Earth’s surface (Cr(III) and Cr(VI)) and isotope fractionation associated with their interconversion. In turn, chromium’s paleoproxy potential has motivated studies of the modern ocean to better understand which processes drive its cycling and to constrain their impact on the Cr isotope composition (δ⁵³Cr) of seawater. Here, we present total dissolved seawater Cr concentrations and δ⁵³Cr along the GEOTRACES GP13 section. This section is a zonal transect extending from Australia in the subtropical southwest Pacific Ocean. Surface signals of local biological Cr cycling are minimal, in agreement with distributions of dissolved major nutrients as well as biologically-controlled trace metals in this low productivity, oligotrophic environment. Depth profiles have Cr concentration minima in surface waters and maxima at depth, and are largely shaped by the advection of nutrient- and Cr-rich subsurface waters rather than vertically-driven processes. Samples close to the sediment-water interface indicate important benthic Cr fluxes across the section.
The GP13 transect crosses the hydrothermally-active Kermadec Arc. Hydrothermal fluids (consisting of <15% background seawater) were collected from three venting sites at the Brothers Volcano (along the Kermadec Arc). These fluids yielded near-crustal δ⁵³Cr values (-0.17 to +0.08‰) and elevated [Cr] (7.5-23 nmol kg^-1, hydrothermal endmember [Cr] ≈ 8-27 nmol kg^-1), indicating that the Kermadec Arc may be an isotopically light Cr source. Dissolved [Fe] enrichments have been reported previously in deep waters (∼1600-3000 m) along the GP13 transect, east of the Kermadec Arc. These same waters show elevated [Cr] compared to Circumpolar Deep Water ([Cr] = 3.88 ± 0.11, δ⁵³Cr = 0.89 ± 0.08, n = 32), with an average [Cr] accumulation of 0.71 ± 0.11 nmol kg^-1 (1 SD), and an estimated δ⁵³Cr of +0.46 ± 0.30‰ (2 SD, n = 9) for the accumulated Cr. Comparing high-temperature vent and neutrally buoyant plume data, hydrothermal-sourced Cr is likely negligable compared to Cr contributions from other processes (benthic fluxes, release from particles), and the advection of more Cr-rich Pacific Deep Water. It is unlikely that hydrothermal vents would be a major contributor within the regional or global biogeochemical Cr cycle, even if hydrothermal fluxes change by orders of magnitude, and therefore δ⁵³Cr trends in the paleorecord may be attributable, at least in part, to major changes in other controls on Cr (e.g. widespread anoxia).

Inland and coastal waters provide key ecosystem services and are closely linked to human well-being. In this study, we propose a semi-analytical method, which can be applied to Sentinel-2 MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI) images to retrieve high spatial-resolution total suspended solids (TSS) concentration in a broad spectrum of aquatic ecosystems ranging from clear to extremely turbid waters. The presented approach has four main steps. First, the remote sensing reflectance (R_rs) at a band lacking in MSI (620 nm) is estimated through an empirical relationship from R_rs at 665 nm. Second, waters are classified into four types (clear, moderately turbid, highly turbid, and extremely turbid). Third, semi-analytical algorithms are used to estimate the particulate backscattering coefficient (b_bp) at a reference band depending on the water types. Last, TSS is estimated from b_bp at the reference band. Validation and comparison of the proposed method with three existing methods are performed using a simulated dataset (N = 1000), an in situ dataset collected from global inland and coastal waters (N = 1265) and satellite matchups (N = 40). Results indicate that the proposed method can improve TSS estimation and provide accurate retrievals of TSS from all three datasets, with a median absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 14.88 %, 31.50 % and 41.69 % respectively. We also present comparisons of TSS mapping between the Sentinel-3 Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI) and MSI in Lake Kasumigaura, Japan and the Tagus Estuary, Portugal. Results clearly demonstrate the advantages of using MSI for TSS monitoring in small water bodies such as rivers, river mouths and other nearshore waters. MSI can provide more detailed and realistic TSS estimates than OLCI in these water bodies. The proposed TSS estimation method was applied to MSI images to produce TSS time-series in Lake Kasumigaura, which showed good agreements with in situ and OLCI-derived TSS time-series.

In this study, the speciation and isotopic composition of Zn were traced across the sediments of a freshwater lake that experienced one hundred years of strong eutrophication, in order to assess the potential of sedimentary Zn isotopes to record such an environmental disturbance. The results indicate that the sedimentary Zn isotope signal varied with the change from pre-eutrophic to eutrophic conditions in the investigated lake. The average δ⁶⁶Zn_JMC value of the dominantly allochthonous lithogenic sediments deposited during the pre-eutrophic period was +0.27‰ ±0.05‰ (i.e. similar to the δ⁶⁶Zn_JMC value of +0.28‰ ±0.05‰ proposed for Bulk Silicate Earth), while enhanced autochthonous biochemical sedimentation during the eutrophic period resulted in significantly lower δ⁶⁶Zn_JMC values down to +0.04‰ ±0.06‰. Synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy data revealed a concomitant change in Zn speciation from a dominant fraction of Zn in clay minerals during the pre-eutrophic period to a major fraction of Zn in ZnS during the eutrophic period. A linear regression relating the sedimentary Zn isotope signal to the fraction of Zn in ZnS indicated δ⁶⁶Zn_JMC values of +0.27‰ ±0.06‰ and 0.00‰ ±0.08‰ for Zn in clay minerals and in ZnS, respectively. The enrichment of light Zn in ZnS in the eutrophic sediments is tentatively attributed to enhanced biological uptake of light Zn in the water column, which resulted in an enhanced flux of organic-bound Zn towards the sediments and further transformation of organic Zn into ZnS upon biomass mineralization during early diagenesis. This hypothesis is in agreement with the fractionation towards lighter Zn reported for both biological uptake of Zn and ZnS precipitation. The results of this study emphasize the potential of sedimentary Zn isotopes to register past eutrophic periods in freshwater lakes, and thus to serve as a probe of paleo-environmental conditions and/or past land use at the catchment scale.

In total, 28 of the 29 fish species reported from the Lake Kivu basin occur in the littoral zone of the lake, but information about their structure, occurrence, and the habitats affecting their distribution is largely lacking. The lake’s inshore area is poorly heterogenous, with rock and macrophyte habitats representing the major habitats. The lack of heterogeneity in the habitats is probably an important factor influencing species richness, abundance, and the association between the species and habitats. We evaluated the fish diversity, abundance, and habitat parameters across 14 sites representing the major habitats of the lake, using data collected between April 2018 and October 2019. We calculated Hull and Jaccard indices and applied uni- and multivariate statistical approaches to the collected data. We identified 18 fish species in the lake. In the north, 17 species were found, with high abundance in rocky sites but low abundance in sandy habitats. In the south, 15 species were reported. We identified 12 species in the Ishungu Basin where the site with rock substrate had high abundance and 13 species in the Bukavu Basin with weak species richness and low abundance across degraded sites. Lamprichthys tanganicanus, a non-native species, was abundant in rocky (north) and macrophyte sites (south). Sand, rock, conductivity, depth, dissolved oxygen, and water transparency were significant parameters that could explain the fish distribution in the north while dissolved oxygen, vegetation cover, depth, and conductivity were significant in the south. A monitoring programme of the fish fauna in Lake Kivu is needed.

Freshwater systems have undergone drastic alterations during the last century, potentially affecting cross-boundary resource transfers between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. One important connection is the export of biomass by emergent aquatic insects containing omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), especially eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), that is scarce in terrestrial systems. Because of taxon-specific differences in PUFA content and functional traits, the contribution of different insect groups should be considered, in addition to total biomass export. In this context, one important trait is the emergence mode. Stoneflies, in contrast to other aquatic insects, crawl to land to emerge instead of flying directly from the water surface, making them accessible to ground-dwelling predators. Because stoneflies are especially susceptible to environmental change, stream degradation might cause a mismatch of available and required nutrients, particularly for ground-dwelling predators. In this study, we estimated emergent biomass and EPA export along two streams with different levels of habitat degradation. The EPA content in aquatic insects did not differ with different degrees of habitat degradation and total biomass export in spring was with 7.9 ± 9.6 mg m^-2 day^-1 in the degraded and 7.3 ± 8.5 mg m^-2 day^-1 in the natural system, also unaffected. However, habitat degradation substantially altered the contribution of crawling emergence to the total export in spring, with no biomass export by stoneflies at the most degraded sites. The EPA content in ground-dwelling spiders was correlated with emergent stonefly biomass, making up only 16.0 ± 6.2 % of total fatty acids at sites with no stonefly emergence, but 27.3 ± 3.0 % at sites with highest stonefly emergence. Because immune function in ground-dwelling spiders has been connected to EPA levels, reduced crawling emergence might impact spider fitness. Functional traits, like emergence mode as well as nutritional quality, should be considered when assessing the effects of stream degradation on adjacent terrestrial ecosystems.

Climate change and reduction in nutrient loads have significant effects on primary production and phytoplankton growth dynamics. Since in the last few decades in many regions, nutrients in lakes were reduced simultaneously as the climate changed. Yet, it remains unclear which of the two has impacted primary production the most. In this study, we couple the General Ocean Turbulence Model with the Ecological Regional Ocean Model to disentangle the effects of climate change and reoligotrophication on primary production (PP) in Lake Geneva, Switzerland–France. We apply a data assimilation method to calibrate the model with the observations from the past (1981–1990) and validate it against the in situ data from the present decade (2011–2019). Both decades represent different climate conditions and trophic states of the lake. We show that the model is skilful to reproduce assimilated and unassimilated observations from both periods. According to our results, the effect of reoligotrophication on PP is marginally higher than that of warming, leading to a net decrease in primary production by 10% from the past to the present. The areal phosphorus supply in Lake Geneva, in spite of a decrease by ∼70%, is still characteristic of a meso-to-eutrophic ecosystem. This points towards an incomplete reoligotrophication of the lake. The effects of future climate change on winter mixing and PP dynamics have also been studied. Although there would be a significant reduction in deep mixing, the autotrophic production in Lake Geneva is expected to increase by ∼20% by the end of twenty-first century, largely due to stimulation in biomass build-up of temperature-dependent algae (e.g. dinoflagellates and cyanobacteria). Considering our results to represent other large temperate lakes with similar trophic status and water residence time as Lake Geneva, future climate scenarios are expected to bring back symptoms of eutrophication.

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are key sources of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) that could influence the resistomes of microbial communities in various habitats of the receiving river ecosystem. However, it is currently unknown which habitats are most impacted and whether ARGs, like certain chemical contaminants, could be accumulated or enriched in the river ecosystem. We conducted a systematic metagenomic survey on the antibiotic resistomes of WWTP effluent, four riverine habitats (water, suspended particles, sediment, epilithic biofilm), and freshwater amphipod gut microbiomes. The impact of WWTP effluent on the downstream habitats was assessed in nine Swiss rivers. While there were significant differences in resistomes across habitats, the wastewater resistome was more similar to the resistome of receiving river water than to the resistomes of other habitats, and river water was the habitat most strongly impacted by the WWTPs effluent. The sulfonamide, beta-lactam, and aminoglycoside resistance genes were among the most abundant ARGs in the WWTP effluents, and especially aadA, sul1, and class A beta-lactamase genes showed significantly increased abundance in the river water of downstream compared to upstream locations (p < 0.05). However, this was not the case for the sediment, biofilm, and amphipod gut habitats. Accordingly, evidence for accumulation or enrichment of ARGs through the riverine food web was not identified. Our study suggests that monitoring riverine antimicrobial resistance determinants could be conducted using "co-occurrence" of aadA, sul1, and class A beta-lactamase genes as an indicator of wastewater-related pollution and should focus on the water as the most affected habitat.

The development of algorithms for remote sensing of water quality (RSWQ) requires a large amount of in situ data to account for the bio-geo-optical diversity of inland and coastal waters. The GLObal Reflectance community dataset for Imaging and optical sensing of Aquatic environments (GLORIA) includes 7,572 curated hyperspectral remote sensing reflectance measurements at 1 nm intervals within the 350 to 900 nm wavelength range. In addition, at least one co-located water quality measurement of chlorophyll a, total suspended solids, absorption by dissolved substances, and Secchi depth, is provided. The data were contributed by researchers affiliated with 59 institutions worldwide and come from 450 different water bodies, making GLORIA the de-facto state of knowledge of in situ coastal and inland aquatic optical diversity. Each measurement is documented with comprehensive methodological details, allowing users to evaluate fitness-for-purpose, and providing a reference for practitioners planning similar measurements. We provide open and free access to this dataset with the goal of enabling scientific and technological advancement towards operational regional and global RSWQ monitoring.

Theory suggests that increasingly long, negative feedback loops of many interacting species may destabilize food webs as complexity increases. Less attention has, however, been paid to the specific ways in which these delayed negative feedbacks' may affect the response of complex ecosystems to global environmental change. Here, we describe five fundamental ways in which these feedbacks might pave the way for abrupt, large-scale transitions and species losses. By combining topological and bioenergetic models, we then proceed by showing that the likelihood of such transitions increases with the number of interacting species and/or when the combined effects of stabilizing network patterns approach the minimum required for stable coexistence. Our findings thus shift the question from the classical question of what makes complex, unaltered ecosystems stable to whether the effects of, known and unknown, stabilizing food-web patterns are sufficient to prevent abrupt, large-scale transitions under global environmental change.

Human impacts such as habitat loss, climate change and biological invasions are radically altering biodiversity, with greater effects projected into the future. Evidence suggests human impacts may differ substantially between terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems, but the reasons for these differences are poorly understood. We propose an integrative approach to explain these differences by linking impacts to four fundamental processes that structure communities: dispersal, speciation, species-level selection and ecological drift. Our goal is to provide process-based insights into why human impacts, and responses to impacts, may differ across ecosystem types using a mechanistic, eco-evolutionary comparative framework. To enable these insights, we review and synthesise (i) how the four processes influence diversity and dynamics in terrestrial versus freshwater communities, specifically whether the relative importance of each process differs among ecosystems, and (ii) the pathways by which human impacts can produce divergent responses across ecosystems, due to differences in the strength of processes among ecosystems we identify. Finally, we highlight research gaps and next steps, and discuss how this approach can provide new insights for conservation. By focusing on the processes that shape diversity in communities, we aim to mechanistically link human impacts to ongoing and future changes in ecosystems.

We introduce the first two-way coupled model for the thermo-viscous damping of a mechanical structure (such as quartz tuning fork) that is forced by the weak acoustic and thermal waves generated when a laser source periodically interacts with a trace gas. The model is based on a Helmholtz system of thermo-visco-acoustic equations in the fluid, together with a system of equations for the temperature and the displacement of the structure. These two subsystems are coupled across the fluid-structure interface via several conditions. With this model, the user specifies the geometry of the structure and the viscous and thermal parameters of the fluid, and the model outputs an effective damping parameter and a signal strength that is proportional to the concentration of the trace gas. This new model is a significant improvement over existing one-way coupled models in which damping effects are incorporated via a priori laboratory measurements. Analytical solutions derived for an annular structure show reasonable agreement between the one-way and two-way coupled models at higher ambient pressures. However, at low ambient pressure the one-way coupled model does not adequately capture thermo-viscous effects.

The United Nations (UN) expectations for 2030 account for a renewable, affordable, and eco-friendly energy future. The 2030 agenda includes 17 different Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for countries worldwide. In this work, the 7th SDG: Affordable and Clean Energy, is brought into focus. For this goal, five main challenges are discussed: (i) limiting the use of fossil fuels; (ii) migrating towards diversified and renewable energy matrices; (iii) decentralizing energy generation and distribution; (iv) maximizing energy and energy storage efficiency; and (v) minimizing energy generation costs of chemical processes. These challenges are thoroughly scrutinized and surveyed in the context of recent developments and technologies including energy planning and supervision tools employed in the Global South. The discussion of these challenges in this work shows that the realization of SDG 7, whether partially or in full, within the Global South and global contexts, is possible only if existing technologies are fully implemented with the necessary international and national policies. Among the key solutions identified in addressing the five main challenges of SDG 7 are a global climate agreement; increased use of non-fossil fuel energy sources; Global North assistance and investment; reformed global energy policies; smart grid technologies and real time optimization and automation technologies.

Ein zeitnahes Biomonitoring mit Nanopore-Sequenzierung gewährt neue Einblicke in die biologischen Prozesse einer Abwasserreinigungsanlage (ARA). Im Rahmen des Projekts «MicROcensus» wurde an verschiedenen ARA die Einsatzfähigkeit solcher Mikrobiom-Analysen als Diagnoseinstrument evaluiert. So unterstützen Momentaufnahmemessungen die Ursachenfindung von Prozessinstabilitäten oder Begleitphänomenen. Während wöchentliche Analysen des Mikrobioms – bei Bekanntsein der jahreszeitlichen Dynamiken - als Frühwarnsystem dienen und praxisrelevante Daten für den ARA-Betrieb liefern können.

Sun-induced fluorescence (SIF) as a close remote sensing based proxy for photosynthesis is accepted as a useful measure to remotely monitor vegetation health and gross primary productivity. It is therefore important to develop methods that allow for its precise and reliable retrieval from radiance measurements with spectral resolutions that have been increasing over the past few years. Retrieval methods are catching up to the increasing complexity of the available datasets making use of their whole information extent (spectral, spatial and temporal) but the comparability of different SIF retrievals and consistency across scales is still limited.
In this work we present the new retrieval method WAFER (WAvelet decomposition FluorEscence Retrieval) based on wavelet decompositions of the measured spectra of reflected radiance as well as a reference radiance not containing fluorescence. By comparing absolute absorption line depths by means of the corresponding wavelet coefficients, a relative reflectance is retrieved independently of the fluorescence, i.e. without introducing a coupling between reflectance and fluorescence. The fluorescence can then be derived as the remaining offset. This method can be applied to arbitrary chosen wavelength windows in the whole spectral range, such that all the spectral data available is exploited, including the separation into several frequency (i.e. width of absorption lines) levels and without the need of extensive training datasets.
At the same time, the assumptions about the reflectance shape are minimal and no spectral shape assumptions are imposed on the fluorescence, which not only avoids biases arising from wrong or differing fluorescence models across different spatial scales and retrieval methods but also allows for the exploration of this spectral shape for different measurement setups.
WAFER is tested on a synthetic dataset as well as several diurnal datasets acquired with a field spectrometer (FloX) over an agricultural site. We compare the WAFER method to two established retrieval methods, namely the improved Fraunhofer line discrimination (iFLD) method and spectral fitting method (SFM) and find a good agreement with the added possibility of exploring the true spectral shape of the offset signal and free choice of the retrieval window. On our synthetic dataset, WAFER seems to outperform the SFM and works best in a spectral window only containing solar Fraunhofer lines where we achieve a relative retrieval error of 10% on average. Applied to the real dataset, the method returns reasonable diurnal cycles for SIF and can, due to the decoupling of reflectance and fluorescence retrieval, reveal interesting trends at times when vegetation canopies may experience a midday depression that remain largely unobserved with current methods.

During the Pleistocene, Earth's climate changed dramatically. The mid-Pleistocene transition (MPT; ~1.3-0.7 million years (Ma)) featured an important ice volume increase at both poles. The evolution of large Arctic ice sheets caused the sequestration of methane as free gas and hydrates in subseabed sediments. Ice volume changes, associated with variable pressures and temperatures, perturbed those giant reservoirs, causing methane leakages. Here, we present borehole data from the Arctic-Atlantic gateway region, providing foraminiferal stable carbon isotope and source-specific biomarker evidence that reveals three main seafloor leakage episodes that occurred prior to and across the mid-Pleistocene transition. By combining borehole data with hydrate stability modelling, we propose that tectonic stress changes associated with large ice volume early build-up and wastage during the mid-Pleistocene controlled episodic methane leakages from subsurface reservoirs. Our data indicate methane release, showing a potential scenario for vast Arctic areas storing methane that are now affected by ongoing ice volume decrease.

In ice-covered lakes, near-bottom oxygen concentration decreases for most of the wintertime, sometimes down to the point that bottom waters become hypoxic. Studies insofar have reached divergent conclusions on whether climate change limits or reinforces the extent and duration of hypoxia under ice, raising the need for a comprehensive understanding of the drivers of the dissolved oxygen (DO) dynamics under lake ice. Using high-temporal resolution time series of DO concentration and temperature across 14 mountain lakes, we showed that the duration of bottom hypoxia under ice varies from 0 to 236 d within lakes and among years. The variability of hypoxia duration was primarily explained by changes in the decay rate of DO above the lake bottom rather than by differences in DO concentration at the ice onset or in the ice-cover duration. We observed that the DO decay rate was primarily linked to physical controls (i.e., deep-water warming) rather than biogeochemical drivers (i.e., proxies for lake or catchment productivity). Using a simple numerical model, we provided a proof-of-concept that the near-bed stratification can be the mechanism tying the DO decay rate to the sediment heat release under the ice. We ultimately showed that the DO decay rate and hypoxia duration are driven by the summer light climate, with faster oxygen decline found under the ice of clearer cryostratified alpine lakes. We derived a framework theorizing how the hypoxia duration might change under the ice of alpine lakes in a warmer climate.

In alkaline freshwater systems, the apparent absence of carbon limitation to gross primary production (GPP) at low CO₂ concentrations suggests that bicarbonates can support GPP. However, the contribution of bicarbonates to GPP has never been quantified in lakes along the seasons. To detect the origin of the inorganic carbon maintaining GPP, we analyze the daily stoichiometric ratios of CO₂–O₂ and alkalinity–O₂ in a deep hardwater lake. Results show that aquatic primary production withdraws bicarbonate from the alkalinity pool for two-thirds of the year. Alkalinity rather than CO₂ is the dominant inorganic carbon source for GPP throughout the stratified period in both the littoral and pelagic environments. This study sheds light on the neglected role of alkalinity in the freshwater carbon cycle throughout an annual cycle.

Refugia are habitats where organisms retreat during a disturbance (e.g. flood, drought). Due to their reduced intensity of physico-chemical conditions, refugia allow organisms to withstand a disturbance. Despite their important ecological role, refugia are poorly studied and often neglected in practical management (e.g. river restoration). Through descriptions of field and laboratory experiments, this chapter illustrates the structure and function of flood refugia and emphasizes the role of the sediment regime in refuge provision.

Refugien sind Habitate, in die sich Lebewesen während einer Störung (z. B. Hochwasser, Trockenheit) zurückziehen können. Die Intensität einer Störung ist in Refugien gedämpft; dies ermöglicht den Lebewesen, eine Störung zu überstehen. Refugien sind trotz ihrer wichtigen ökologischen Rolle aber nur unzureichend erforscht und werden im praktischen Management (z. B. bei der Revitalisierung von Fliessgewässern) häufig vernachlässigt. Dieses Kapitel veranschaulicht die Struktur und Funktion von Hochwasserrefugien anhand von Feld- und Laborexperimenten und betont die Rolle des Geschiebehaushalts für die Verfügbarkeit von Refugien.

Les refuges sont des habitats dans lesquels des organismes se mettent à l'abri durant une perturbation (p. ex. crue ou sécheresse). Étant donné qu'ils présentent des conditions physico-chimiques moins sévères, les refuges permettent aux organismes de résister à une perturbation. Bien qu'ils jouent des rôles écologiques importants, peu d'études leur sont consacrées et ils sont souvent négligés dans la gestion pratique (p. ex. revitalisation des eaux). S'appuyant sur des descriptions d'expérience de terrain et de laboratoire, le présent chapitre illustre la structure et la fonction des refuges en situation de crue, en mettant l’accent sur le rôle du régime sédimentaire dans la mise à disposition d'un refuge.

I rifugi sono habitat in cui gli organismi si ritirano durante un evento estremo (p. es. piena o siccità). Considerata la ridotta intensità delle condizioni fisico-chimiche, i rifugi consentono agli organismi di resistere ai disturbi. Nonostante il loro importante ruolo ecologico, i rifugi sono poco studiati e spesso trascurati nella gestione pratica (p. es. la rivitalizzazione dei corsi d'acqua). Attraverso la descrizione di esperimenti sul campo e in laboratorio, il presente capitolo illustra la struttura e la funzione dei rifugi alluvionali evidenziando il ruolo del regime sedimentario nella disponibilità dei rifugi.

Global change increasingly threatens nature, endangering the ecosystem services human wellbeing depends upon. Biodiversity potentially mediates these impacts by providing resilience to ecosystems. While biodiversity has been linked to resilience and ecosystem service supply on smaller scales, we lack understanding of whether mediating interactions between biodiversity and anthropogenic drivers are global and ubiquitous, and how they might differ between systems. Here, we examine the potential for biodiversity to mediate anthropogenic driver-ecosystem service relationships using global datasets across three distinct systems: mountains, islands and deltas. We found that driver-ecosystem service relationships were stronger where biodiversity was more intact, and weaker at higher species richness, reflecting the negative correlation between intactness and richness. Mediation was most common in mountains, then islands, then deltas; reducing with anthropogenic impact. Such patterns were found across provisioning and regulating ecosystem services, and occurred most commonly with climate change and built infrastructure. Further, we investigated the contribution of biodiversity and abiotic and anthropogenic drivers to ecosystem services. Ecosystem service supply was associated with abiotic and anthropogenic drivers alongside biodiversity, but all drivers were important to different ecosystem services. Our results empirically show the importance of accounting for the different roles that biodiversity plays in mediating human relationships with nature, and reinforce the importance of maintaining intact biodiversity in ecosystem functioning.

Billions of tons of hazardous mine waste are stored in thousands of tailings storage facilities around the world. These impoundments represent one of the most important environmental risk factors of industrial mining, since occasional tailings spills or dam failures cause devastating impacts on humans and ecosystems, specifically along river corridors. In this study, we developed a satellite remote sensing methodology to assess the impacts of tailings spills on water quality focusing on the controversial incident that occurred at the Catoca diamond mine in Angola in late July 2021. The spill allegedly caused important river pollution in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) and led to public health concerns including the loss of human lives - however the mining company denied any responsibility. We processed high resolution imagery acquired by ESA's Sentinel-2 satellites using the Python package Acolite for atmospheric correction and turbidity retrieval, and applied a river skeletonizing algorithm to automatically extract turbidity values for the entire river system. This allowed tracking the propagation of the pollution front from the source at the Catoca mine through the Tshikapa- and the Kasaï River during more than one month and across 1400 km, until the pollution front finally dissipated after discharging into the Congo River. We further analyzed a 6-year time series of virtual stations in the Tshikapa River located up- and downstream of the effluent discharge to compare the impacts of the tailings spill to seasonal variabilities of water quality. Turbidity values caused by the spill largely exceeded the seasonal variability in the Tshikapa River in recent years. These findings confirm that the Catoca tailings spill has significantly affected water quality of the Tshikapa- and the Kasaï River with total suspended solids concentrations that were several 10-fold above drinking water standards in Lunda Norte Province, Angola, and Kasaï Province, DR Congo, making severe public health impacts for residents and fish kills highly probable. After investigating whether this methodology could be applied to other tailings dam failures that have occurred since the Sentinel-2 mission began in 2015, we recommend to apply it to four other incidents in Mexico, Myanmar, Peru and China, respectively. Overall, this Sentinel-2 workflow provides the opportunity to assess the large-scale impacts of pollution incidents in mining areas around the world in locations where hydrological- and water quality data are scarce and monitoring capacities are limited.

1. Lakes are recipients of allochthonous organic matter and nutrients. However, the importance of these subsidies for food webs and how they vary with lake trophic status remains unclear, especially for large lakes.
2. We assessed the source and fate of organic matter and nutrients in seven perialpine lakes across a gradient of trophic status. We measured carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes of amino acids of lake-residing Atlantic trout, Salmo trutta, to determine the source of primary production (i.e., how carbon is fixed in the ecosystem) and how it is transferred through food webs, respectively. Based on essential amino acid carbon fingerprinting, we estimated the probability of organic carbon originating from autochthonous (algal), allochthonous (terrestrial plant), and recycled (bacterial) sources. In addition, we used amino acid δ¹⁵N to track how this primary production is transferred to consumers in general, and by using different trophic amino acids (glutamic acid and alanine), identify the trophic pathways involving either metazoan or protozoans.
3. We found a high likelihood of autochthonous origin of organic carbon (86 ± 9%) in trout that contrasted with allochthonous origins of particulate organic matter and some sediments. We showed that those estimates are good proxies of source reliance. Our results also highlighted the importance of bacterial origin of organic carbon in fish (12%). The likely autochthonous origin of this carbon was supported by trophic markers (Ala δ¹⁵N) that suggest the role of protists in transferring recycled organic carbon up the food web. While the sources of nitrogen sustaining food webs varied among lakes, we found a conserved carbon fingerprinting of fish. Overall, this suggests an uncoupling between the source of nutrients and organic carbon in large perialpine lakes.
4. Across a wide range of trophic status (c. 2 orders of magnitude range of phosphorus concentration), several lines of evidence suggested that perialpine lake food webs shared a common reliance on autochthonous and bacterial production.
5. Our study is the first to quantify the dependence on allochthonous organic carbon in lake food webs based on new amino acid stable isotope markers (carbon fingerprinting and Ala δ¹⁵N) and shows promise for estimating the source of carbon fixation in ecosystems. Our results support previous suggestions that terrestrial organic carbon is a relatively minor source for aquatic consumers despite contributing to the pool of organic matter, and more importantly, its contribution does not vary substantially with trophic status in perialpine lakes.

This article focuses on defining hydromorphological features to be extracted from historical maps by means of digital map processing techniques. The hydromorphological features, evolving through time, can be described quantitatively by the development and application of various ecological metrics to study the spatiotemporal change of the natural and built freshwater environment. With the goal to support future revitalization efforts, this article first reviews the theory on quantifying spatiotemporal change using landscape and ecological metrics, ranging from simple shape metrics (e.g., shoreline length) to more complex hydromorphological indexes (e.g., river braiding index). Second, the hydromorphological features themselves are important to consider in terms of data quality and uncertainty as they might inherit errors due to the low-quality maps, the extraction process, or due to poor definitions used during feature extraction efforts. Errors introduced by poorly defined features can be avoided by the use of a well-structured definition system. Thus, the article concludes in a new concept categorizing hydromorphological features and the changes they can undergo. The definition framework integrates novel perspectives for defining and evaluating features from the Siegfried and old Swiss national map, including key aspects from the theory.

Recent efforts using microstructure turbulence measurements have contributed to our understanding of the overall energy budget in lakes and linkages to vertical fluxes. A paucity of lake-wide turbulence measurements hinders our ability to assess how representative such budgets are at the basin scale. Using an autonomous underwater glider equipped with a microstructure payload, we explored the spatial variability of turbulence in pelagic and near-shore regions of Lake Geneva. Dissipation rates of kinetic energy and thermal variance were estimated by fitting temperature gradient fluctuations spectra to the Batchelor spectrum. In deep waters, turbulent dissipation rates in the surface and thermocline were mild (∼10^-8 W kg^-1) and weakened towards the hypolimnion (∼10^-11 - 10^-10 W kg^-1). The seasonal thermocline exhibited inhibited interior mixing, with extremely low values of mixing efficiency (Ri_f ≪ 0.1). In contrast, in the slope zone, a band of significantly enhanced energy dissipation (∼5 × 10^-8 W kg^-1) extended well above the bottom boundary layer and was associated with strong, efficient mixing (Ri_f > 0.17). The resulting contribution of the slope region to basin-scale mixing was large, with 90% of the basin-wide mixing - and only 30% energy dissipation - occurring within 4 km of the shoreline. This boundary mixing will modify overturning circulation and the transport pathways of dissolved compounds exchanged with the sediments. The dynamics responsible for the shift in the mixing regime, which appears crucial for the mixing budget of lakes, could not be fully unraveled with the collected observations. Additional model data analyses hint at the role of submesoscale instabilities.

Climate change leads to an increased frequency of severe weather events as well as stressful growing conditions. Together these changes may impact the resilience of ecosystems. To keep track of such effects, conservation managers monitor the “ecological integrity” or coherence of ecosystem processes, such as the cycling of carbon and water. Networked phenocams can produce near-continuous observations of leaf function in the context of climate change, capturing declines due to disturbance or stress. Here we explore the application of phenocams to detect responses to disturbance and stress using 14 examples from the PhenoCam Network. We selected these previously published and new examples to include a variety of disturbances in the form of hurricanes, a windstorm, frost, insect defoliation, and stress due to drought. Frost and herbivory disturbances led to both reductions and extensions in the duration of the rising section of the greenness curve, while hurricanes generally led to reductions in the duration of the plateau section and entire leaf-on period. We found that changes of at least ±20% in the duration of the rising section in the seasonal greenness curve, ±20% in the duration of the plateau section following the seasonal greenness peak, and ±10% in the duration of the entire leaf-on period were a reliable signal of leaf functional declines due to disturbance or stress. If such declines become increasingly frequent and severe as a consequence of climate change, this could impact ecological integrity through interruptions to ecosystem processes. Comparing the duration of these periods in a given year to the average for other years with these thresholds resulted in average true detection rates of 86% and false-positive detection rates of 11% when sampling from probability density functions of 344 broadleaf and needleleaf PhenoCam site-years. Here we show that phenocams are powerful ecological integrity monitoring tools, which can be efficiently applied to quantify dynamic responses to disturbance or stress.

The old question of whether the solar dynamo is synchronized by the tidal forces of the orbiting planets has recently received renewed interest, both from the viewpoint of historical data analysis and in terms of theoretical and numerical modeling. We aim to contribute to the solution of this longstanding puzzle by analyzing cosmogenic radionuclide data from the last millennium. We reconsider a recent time series of ¹⁴C-inferred sunspot data and compare the resulting cycle minima and maxima with the corresponding conventional series down to 1610 A.D., enhanced by Schove's data before that time. We find that, despite recent claims to the contrary, the ¹⁴C-inferred sunspot data are well compatible with a synchronized solar dynamo, exhibiting a relatively phase-stable period of 11.07 years, which points to a synchronizing role of the spring tides of the Venus-Earth-Jupiter system.

Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus [L.] complex) has been widely used as a model system for studies in evolutionary ecology because of its diversity in feeding ecology, habitat use, life history forms, and associated morphologies observed in matured individuals. However, we still know relatively little about traits exhibited early in life of the species, although the trait diversity of matured individuals may largely be shaped during development. Egg size is a key determinant of various traits exhibited early in life. Therefore, describing egg size variation within- and between-individuals as well as the link between egg size and adult traits will be a useful step in understanding the early life trait diversity of Arctic charr. Here, using Greenlandic Arctic charr, which includes alternative life history forms (i.e. anadromous and resident) and spawning habitat use (i.e. lake and river spawner), we described egg size variation (i.e. clutch-mean egg diameter and within-clutch variation) and explored the link between egg size variation and female body length, life history form, and spawning habitats. As in many other fishes, clutch-mean egg diameter increased with female body length. No significant effect of other female traits on clutch mean-egg diameter was detected, suggesting that female body size variation could be a direct cause of early life history trait variation. On the other hand, we found that the degree of within-clutch variation of the anadromous life history form was higher than that of the resident life history form. The pattern could be interpreted in an adaptive context. For instance, given that the anadromous life history form tends to be semelparous, anadromous females could decrease the likelihood of complete reproductive failure by producing variable-sized offspring within a clutch since at least some offspring are expected to be matched to the prevailing environment.

Die Drift (bzw. Verdriftung) wird als flussabwärts gerichteter Transport von aquatischen Organismen durch die Strömung definiert (Waters, 1972; Brittain & Eikeland, 1988). Die natürliche Drift des Makrozoobenthos in Fliessgewässern hat einen wesentlichen Einfluss auf die Aus- und Verbreitung der Organismen (Palmer et al., 1996; Matthaei et al., 1997). Die Makrozoobenthos-Drift umfasst drei grundlegende Prozesse (Abb. 37): Zuerst löst sich das Makrozoobenthos vom Substrat ab, was als Driftanfang ("drift entry"; A) bezeichnet wird. Dann folgt das Driften in der Wassersäule (Drifttransport; Pfeile AB, AC, AD, AE). Zum Schluss erfolgt das Driftende ("drift exit"), welches entweder durch Prädation (B), durch passives Zurücksinken auf die Gewässersohle (C), durch aktives Absetzen in neue Bereiche oder Strandung (D) oder durch Emergenz, d.h. das Verlassen des aquatischen Habitats (Adultphase; E), erfolgt. [...]

La dérive est le transport, par le courant, d'organismes aquatiques en direction de l'aval (Waters 1972 ; Brittain et Eikeland 1988). La dérive naturelle du macrozoobenthos dans les cours d'eau a une influence considérable sur la dissémination et la propagation des organismes (Palmer et al. 1996 ; Matthaei et al. 1997). La dérive du macrozoobenthos comprend trois processus fondamentaux (fig. 37). D’abord, le macrozoobenthos se détache du substrat : c'est le début de la dérive (« drift entry » ; A). Vient ensuite la dérive dans la colonne d'eau (transport par dérive ; flèches AB, AC, AD, AE). Enfin, c'est la fin de la dérive (« drift exit ») du fait de la prédation (B), de la redescente passive sur le fond du lit (C), du déplacement actif vers de nouvelles zones ou de l’échouage (D), ou de l’émergence, c'est-à-dire la sortie de l’habitat aquatique (phase adulte ; E). [...]

The interdisciplinary project “Resilient Rivers” links research in hydraulic engineering and ecology to explore processes and to evaluate measures related to river restoration. The partners from four different Swiss research institutions together with the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment are pursuing the common objective to develop scientific basics for answering current questions in restoration practice while involving experts from cantonal administrations, private offices and non-governmental organizations. The current project is the fifth phase within the Swiss national research program “Hydraulic Engineering and Ecology” which focusses on flood protection and functional riverscape habitats as well as current challenges such as biodiversity conservation, water use and adaptation to climate change. We introduce the 13 subprojects and highlight research questions, methodology, and collaboration. There are subprojects addressing lateral and longitudinal connectivity with regard to biodiversity of aquatic and terrestrial species, and connectivity will be studied locally at individual sites and on reach scale between different restoration sites. This includes also the study and modelling of hydrochory considering effect of sills and fluvial morphology, among others. Other subprojects are focusing on morphodynamics in river widenings, particularly with regard to sediment supply, flood protection and refuge availability, considering also climate change. Furthermore, instream structures such as engineered log jams are studied with respect to flood protection and habitat provision. The major common feature of all subprojects is the tight collaboration between hydraulic engineers and aquatic and terrestrial ecologists.

The objective of the work was a comprehensive study of Late Holocene bottom sediments from the southern Chukchi Sea and reconstruction of their accumulation conditions. Analytical methods included macroscopic description with smear slides, ²¹⁰Pb dating of sediments, determination of biogenic components, magnetic susceptibility measurements, and grain size distribution, palynological, and mineral analyses. The modern sedimentation rate established at the study point is 8–10 mm/year. Sediments are mainly represented by silts. In the upper part of the core, there are elevated concentrations of SiO_2biog, C_org, and N_tot and decreased magnetic susceptibility values. This is probably due to the increased bioproductivity of the Chukchi Sea in recent years, caused by current climate warming. The palynological composition of the studied deposits reflects the tundra and forest–tundra vegetation on land adjacent to the Chukchi Sea. The presence of Neogene pollen in Late Holocene sediments is evidence of their transfer from eroded ancient sediments.

The paper provides the results of experiments with sediment traps in the deep-water part of the South Basin of Lake Baikal (depth of 1366 m), installed from March 2015 to March 2016 in order to study recent sedimentation within the lake. We present new data on total fluxes of particulate matter and fluxes of biogenic components (SiO_2biog, С_org, and N_tot) at different depths of the water column both for the whole year and for individual periods of the year. Diatom analyses were carried out for all obtained samples. The total flux of sedimentary material averaged 94.9 g/m²/y; the average fluxes of SiO_2biog, С_org, and N_tot were 23.9, 11.6, and 0.94 g/m²/y, respectively. The molar C/N ratio varies from 11 to 21 and indicates a predominance of allochthonous material in almost all samples. Maximum fluxes of sedimentary matter were recorded from 20 June to 20 July 2015. This period corresponds to the bloom of diatoms of the species Synedra acus. This species amounts to >94% of the total diatom content in all samples taken during this year. The recent predominance of Synedra acus in the water column, as well as in the surface bottom sediments of South Baikal, is probably due to the climate warming.

Abstract: Late Holocene sediments have been recovered in a core from the central Chukchi Sea to reconstruct their accumulation conditions. The sediments consist mainly of terrigenous and just partly of biogenic material. Fine sand is dominated by up to 99.8% light fraction minerals, whereas heavy minerals account for not more than 1.4%. Results of magnetic susceptibility, related to the sand and heavy mineral content, decrease from the bottom to the top of the core. The species composition of pollen spectra varies insignificantly throughout the core and, on the whole, reflects the modern vegetation of the Chukchi Sea coast. The increased number of cysts of dinoflagellates and other aquatic palynomorphs, as well as some increased content of coarse-grained material at the upper part of the sediment core, is presumably caused by recent climate warming conditions. Two peaks of ¹³⁷Cs activity at the 7.5 and 1.5 cm in the core are related to radioactive fallout, caused by the accidents at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 and the Fukushima nuclear power plant in 2011. The resulting sedimentation rates of 2.5–3 mm/yr correspond well to rates of sedimentation determined by ²¹⁰Pb dating (2.0 mm/yr).

We quantify the lake dynamics, near-bottom turbulence, flux of dissolved oxygen (DO) across the sediment-water interface (SWI) and their interactions during oxygenation in two lakes. Field observations show that the lake dynamics were modified by the bubble plumes, showing enhanced mixing in the near-field of the plumes. The interaction of the bubble-induced flow with the internal density structure resulted in downwelling of warm water into the hypolimnion in the far-field of the plumes. Within the bottom boundary layer (BBL), both lakes show weak oscillating flows primarily induced by seiching. The vertical profile of mean velocity within 0.4 m above the bed follows a logarithmic scaling. One lake shows a larger drag coefficient than those in stationary BBLs, where the classic law-of-the-wall is valid. The injection of oxygen elevated the water column DO and hence, altered the DO flux across the SWI. The gas transfer velocity is driven by turbulence and is correlated with the bottom shear velocity. The thickness of the diffusive boundary layer was found to be consistent with the Batchelor length scale. The dynamics of the surface renewal time follow a log-normal distribution, and the turbulent integral time scale is comparable to the surface renewal time. The analyses suggest that the effect of bubble plumes on the BBL turbulence is limited and that the canonical scales of turbulence emerge for the time-average statistics, validating the turbulence scaling of gas transfer velocity in low-energy lakes.

Uncertainty is an inherent aspect of aquatic remote sensing, originating from sources such as sensor noise, atmospheric variability, and human error. Although many studies have advanced the understanding of uncertainty, it is still not incorporated routinely into aquatic remote sensing research. Neglecting uncertainty can lead to misinterpretations of results, missed opportunities for innovative research, and a limited understanding of complex aquatic systems. In this article, we demonstrate how working with uncertainty can advance remote sensing through three examples: validation and match-up analysis, targeted improvement of data products, and decision-making based on information acquired through remote sensing. We advocate for a change of perspective: the uncertainty inherent in aquatic remote sensing should be embraced, rather than viewed as a limitation. Focusing on uncertainty not only leads to more accurate and reliable results but also paves the way for innovation through novel insights, product improvements, and more informed decision-making in the management and preservation of aquatic ecosystems.

The Tropical Andes is a biodiversity hotspot facing pressure from planned and ongoing hydropower development. However, the effects of dams on the region's river ecosystems, as mediated by physicochemical changes in the water quality, are poorly known. Colombia is unique among its peers in South America with respect to managing central public environmental databases, including surface water quality data sets associated with the environmental monitoring of dams. To assess the relationship between hydropower and Colombian river conditions, we analyze monitoring data associated with 15 dams, focusing on oxygen availability, thermal regimes and sediment losses because these properties are influenced directly by river damming and impose fundamental constraints on the structure of downstream aquatic ecosystems. We find that most Colombian dams (7 of 10) seasonally reduce concentrations of total suspended solids by large percentages (50 %-99 %) through sediment trapping. Most dams (8 of 15) also, via the discharge of warm reservoir surface waters, seasonally increase river temperatures by 2 to 4 °C with respect to upstream conditions. A subset of four dams generate downstream hypoxia (< 4 mg L^-1) and water that is 2 to 5 °C colder than inflows, with both processes driven by the turbination and discharge of cold and anoxic hypolimnetic waters during periods of reservoir stratification. Reliance on monitoring data likely leads us to under-detect impacts: many rivers are only sampled once or twice per year, which cannot capture temporal shifts across seasons and days (i.e., in response to hydropeaking). Despite these blind spots, the monitoring data point to some opportunities for planners and hydropower companies to mitigate downstream ecological impacts. These findings highlight the importance of implementing environmental monitoring schemes associated with hydrologic infrastructure in developing countries.

The Northern Mesoamerican Frontier was a complex multicultural region characterized by frequent human settlement changes and shifts in agricultural conditions during the Late Preclassic period (~400 BCE-150 CE). Here, we report a high-resolution paleoenvironmental record from the varved sedimentary sequence of the crater maar La Alberca which spans the Late Preclassic (~400 BCE-150 CE) to part of the Early Classic period (~150 CE-250 CE) corresponding to Late Chupicuaro phase (400 BCE-100 CE) and Mixtlan phase (0–250 CE). Our work aims to study the paleoenvironmental conditions during the rise of agriculture in the Northern Mesoamerican Frontier and provide insights related to landscape alteration by human activity. To reach these aims, a multiproxy investigation was conducted by means of varve counting, high-resolution XRF scans, magnetic susceptibility, pollen data and fecal stanol biomarkers as a proxy for human population change. Our results reveal two varve type. Type 1 is characterized by the alternation of detrital-organic layers and aragonite layers, type 2 by alternating detrital-organic layers with an organic layer formed by diatom frustules and aragonite layers. This study suggest that the increase of erosion by human activity during the Late Chupicuaro phase (400 BCE-100 CE) and the start of the Mixtlan phase (0–250 CE) coincide with a high percentage of Amaranthaceae pollen, a rise of sedimentation rates, increase in nutrient content and the increase of human waste flux interpreted with the (Coprostanol + epi) :((Coprostanol + epi)+cholestanol biomarker. Moreover, a wetter period (~137 BCE-37 CE) interpreted during the Late Chupiacuaro phase and the start of the Mixtlan phase could suggest favorable environmental conditions for the establishment of agriculture.

For over 50 years Lake Licheńskie (LLi), central Poland, has been involved in the cooling system of two power plants (PP). Owing to the discharge of cooling waters the lake was prone to considerable environmental changes which involved its thermal structure, mixing regime and water parameters. In this study we investigated how the man-made transformations affected greenhouse gas emissions (GHG; CH₄ and N₂O) from the lake. The GHG emissions in Lake Licheńskie were monitored at the deepest site from December 2014 to November 2015 and between March 2022 and February 2023. The values obtained were compared to reference lakes encompassing 10 natural and undisturbed inland and coastal lakes in Poland. Our results revealed that LLi was a net source of CH₄ and N₂O to the atmosphere but the fluxes were low. The mean annual diffusive fluxes were 0.21–0.38 mmol·m⁻² d⁻¹ for CH₄ and 4.90–7.40 μmol·m⁻² d⁻¹ for N₂O. The CH₄ emissions were significantly lower than in most of reference lakes, while the N₂O emissions were comparable. Therefore, the human intervention resulted in reduction of CH₄ release from LLi but it had minor effect on the N₂O. The most likely reason for the low direct fluxes of GHGs from the surface waters was the high flushing rate of the lake and export of dissolved gases to adjacent lakes and canals. Hence, the overall emission from the connected lake and canal system was not mitigated by the man-made changes to the lake system.

Lake Nyos, a deep crater lake, located in the north-west of Cameroon, was permanently stratified below 50 m depth due to subaquatic sources supplying warm, salty and CO₂-enriched water into the deepest reaches. The high CO₂ content in these source waters caused the 1986 limnic eruption. The deep inflowing water is denser than the hypolimnetic water and maintains the stability of the water column, which is double-diffusively stratified. During the dry season in Feb 2002, cooling triggered the formation of a double-diffusive (DD) staircase, a sequence of homogeneously mixed layers separated by distinct stable interfaces. The initiation of the staircase was slightly below the permanent chemocline at ~50 m depth, from where the staircase expanded vertically in a diffusion-type manner for ~750 days to a maximal vertical extension of ~37 m. The staircase pattern caused the upward heat fluxes to increase which depleted the driving temperature gradient. Subsequently, the density ratio increased and reduced the upward heat flux divergence until DD progressively weakened and finally the staircase structure eroded. Based on 39 CTD profiles, we describe the DD phenomenon, explain the three distinct phases of this unique DD event, which lasted for ~ 850 days, and discuss the vertical extension of the DD zone in relation to the rates of new layer formation and layer decay. To our knowledge, this is the only observation over the entire lifespan - "from birth to death" - of a DD event in a natural water body.

Surveillance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) has been increasingly conducted in environmental sectors to complement the surveys in human and animal sectors under the "One-Health" framework. However, there are substantial challenges in comparing and synthesizing the results of multiple studies that employ different test methods and approaches in bioinformatic analysis. In this article, we consider the commonly used quantification units (ARG copy per cell, ARG copy per genome, ARG density, ARG copy per 16S rRNA gene, RPKM, coverage, PPM, etc.) for profiling ARGs and suggest a universal unit (ARG copy per cell) for reporting such biological measurements of samples and improving the comparability of different surveillance efforts.

Forests account for nearly 90 % of the world's terrestrial biomass in the form of carbon and they support 80 % of the global biodiversity. To understand the underlying forest dynamics, we need a long-term but also relatively high-frequency, networked monitoring system, as traditionally used in meteorology or hydrology. While there are numerous existing forest monitoring sites, particularly in temperate regions, the resulting data streams are rarely connected and do not provide information promptly, which hampers real-time assessments of forest responses to extreme climate events.
The technology to build a better global forest monitoring network now exists. This white paper addresses the key structural components needed to achieve a novel meta-network.
We propose to complement - rather than replace or unify - the existing heterogeneous infrastructure with standardized, quality-assured linking methods and interacting data processing centers to create an integrated forest monitoring network.
These automated (research topic-dependent) linking methods in atmosphere, biosphere, and pedosphere play a key role in scaling site-specific results and processing them in a timely manner. To ensure broad participation from existing monitoring sites and to establish new sites, these linking methods must be as informative, reliable, affordable, and maintainable as possible, and should be supplemented by near real-time remote sensing data.
The proposed novel meta-network will enable the detection of emergent patterns that would not be visible from isolated analyses of individual sites. In addition, the near real-time availability of data will facilitate predictions of current forest conditions (nowcasts), which are urgently needed for research and decision making in the face of rapid climate change. We call for international and interdisciplinary efforts in this direction.

Protected agriculture boosts the production of vegetables, berries and fruits, and it plays a pivotal role in guaranteeing food security globally in the face of climate change. Remote sensing is proven to be useful for identifying the presence of (low-tech) plastic greenhouses and plastic mulches. However, the classification accuracy notoriously decreases in the presence of small-scale farming, heterogeneous land cover and unaccounted seasonal management of protected agriculture. Here, we present the random forest-based pixel-level Open field and Protected Agriculture land cover Classifier (OPAC) developed using Sentinel-2 L2A data. OPAC is trained using tiles from Switzerland over 2 years and the Almeria region in Spain over 1 acquisition day. OPAC classifies eight land covers typical of open field and protected agriculture (plastic mulches, low-tech greenhouses and for the first time high-tech greenhouses). Finally, we assess (1) how the land covers in OPAC are labelled in the Sentinel-2 Scene Classification Layer (SCL) and (2) the correspondence between pixels classified as protected agriculture by OPAC and by the best performing Advanced Plastic Greenhouse Index (APGI). To reduce anthropogenic land covers, we constrain the classification task to agricultural areas retrieved from cadastral data or the Corine Land Cover map. The 5-fold cross-validation reveals an overall accuracy of 92% but other classification scores are moderate when keeping the separation among the three classes of protected agriculture. However, all scores substantially improve upon grouping the three classes into one (with an Intersection Over Union of 0.58 as an average among the scores of the three classes and of 0.98 for one single class). Given the recently acknowledged importance of Sentinel-2 Band 1 (central wavelength of 443 nm), the classification accuracy of OPAC for the Swiss small-scale farming is mostly limited by the band's reduced spatial accuracy (60 m). A careful visual assessment indicates that OPAC achieves satisfactory generalization capabilities also in North European (the Netherlands) and four Mediterranean areas (Spain, Italy, Crete and Turkey) without the need of adding location and temporal specific information. There is good agreement among natural land covers classified by OPAC and the SCL. However, the SCL does not have a class for protected agriculture, the latter being often classified as clouds. APGI achieved similar to lower classification accuracies than OPAC. Importantly, the APGI classification task depends on a user-defined space- and time-specific threshold, whereas OPAC does not. Therefore, OPAC paves the way for rapid mapping of protected agriculture at continental scale.

Agriculture relies heavily on the use of plastic mulch films, which increase crop yields and can lower water demands. In recent years, soil-biodegradable mulch films have been marketed to replace the non-biodegradable, conventional polyethylene-based mulch films. These biodegradable mulch films are designed to be ploughed into the soil after use to be biodegraded in situ by soil microorganisms. However, research has shown that part of the mulch film material may be transported from the fields to neighboring environments, including aquatic ecosystems. Research on potential biodegradation of soil-biodegradable plastics in freshwater habitats is lacking. Here, we investigated the mineralization of soil-biodegradable agricultural mulch films in freshwater lake sediments of Lake Lucerne, Switzerland. Two types of commercial soil-biodegradable mulch films were incubated within lake sediment cores, along with traditional polyethylene (PE) plastic, and the production of CO₂ and CH₄ was followed over time relative to non-plastic-containing control sediments. After the 40-week incubation period, the films were visually intact and showed no signs of mineralization. Gas analyses showed no additional production of either CO₂ or CH₄ in the degradable mulch film incubations, compared to the control or PE plastic incubations. We conclude that these two used soil-biodegradable mulch films have a low biodegradability in lake sediments, likely reflecting that the microbial community structure in the lake sediment lacks active microbial degraders. Our results highlight the importance of preventing transport of soil-biodegradable mulch films from agricultural soils to surrounding aquatic environments.