Lakes are large bodies of freshwater that are lentic by nature which means that they do not flow, compared to other freshwater bodies such as rivers and streams. The importance of lakes has been evident by the amount of work done to clean up highly polluted lakes.
Different local government offices, environmental organizations, and school activities have conducted clean-up drives that aim to reduce the amount of waste and pollution done to these beautiful bodies of water.
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What Does Lake Maintenance Involve?
However, prevention is indeed better than the cure. Once cleaned up, the next most important thing to do is keep these lakes clean and maintained by experts like Karina Lakefront. Lakes are natural sources of freshwater for animals and people and keeping these bodies of water maintained should be a priority.
A few factors that need to be considered will be mentioned below. However, the bottomline is that lake maintenance involves a lot of heavy monitoring. The gist of lake maintenance is to monitor these factors so that the lake will remain healthy and pristine.
While constant monitoring might take up a significant amount of time and resources, the benefits from a healthy lake will surely be worth it. With that, here are some things that should be kept in mind when maintaining a lake.
Fish Species
Once a lake is clean and able to support life, fishes are a great group of animals to add to the lake. Not only will fish be able to serve as food for people and other animals, but they will be able to help control the dynamic food web that exists in these bodies of water. Without large animals such as fish, microscopic organisms will overpopulate the lake and eventually deteriorate the health of the lake.
Now, understandably, lakes are freshwater bodies and the species of fishes that have to be put should also be freshwater. However, that is just a very small aspect of what is meant when we say that it is important to keep in mind the species of the fishes.
While they are dynamic and able to correct themselves to a certain degree, food webs are especially fragile. Having the right species in a lake is very crucial because if even just a single species of fish is too competitive compared to the rest of the fishes in the lake, they will ultimately overpopulate and outcompete the other fishes.
The best way to decide the right species in a lake is to simply follow what the lake originally had. After many years, natural ecosystems such as lakes will eventually hold the right species of fishes because that will provide the right equilibrium for the habitat. If no data is found for the original species of fish found in the lake, then other lakes can serve as reference habitats.
Erosion
Erosion is defined by the wear or transport of earth and rock material. While lakes have been emphasized to be important, erosion has to be controlled as to not let lakes increase in surface area.
Perhaps the most dangerous aspect of shoreline erosion is structural damage. As shoreline erosion occurs, the extent of the lake increases and this can reach man-made structures nearby. Damage can become very expensive to repair – especially for something that could have been prevented.
A number of factors can cause shoreline erosion such as storms, wind, rain, and loss of vegetation. While people cannot control the weather, they can influence the surrounding vegetation. Plants such as shrubs and trees are highly effective in preventing erosion because their root systems sun deep into the ground and help stabilize the soil. This is why people attribute illegal logging in mountains with frequent landslides.
For lake maintenance, people have to choose the correct species of plants that will do well beside these bodies of water. Furthermore, not all plants have the same root systems which means not all plants have the same effectiveness in preventing erosion. For the purpose of preventing erosion, the surrounding vegetation should have deep and wide root systems.
Algae
Even without the need for human intervention, algae will eventually end up in humid environments. As multicellular microorganisms, these plant-like organisms are heavily abundant in aquatic ecosystems and serve multiple roles such as primary producers and food source for larger organisms.
Due to their importance in the food web, algae have to be monitored. As much as possible, the lake being maintained should have the right kind of algae and the right amount of algae. While these organisms can be helpful, some species are detrimental and produce toxic substances that will do the lake no good.
Another big concern when it comes to algae is harmful algal blooms (also known as HABs). These events are caused by eutrophication (the enrichment of the environment with nutrients). When a lot of nutrients are dumped into a lake (i.e., like fertilizers from a nearby garden, etc.), the algae in the lake get so comfortable with the abundance of food that they multiply drastically. Unfortunately, these booms in the algal population prove to be detrimental to the whole lake ecosystem.
At times, the species involved in HABs produce toxins that will kill the local wildlife. Not only will the fish die, but also other surrounding animals that might have eaten these poisoned fish. Furthermore, harmful algal blooms suck the oxygen out of the lake, making the lake an inhospitable habitat.
For better prevention of harmful algal blooms, possible sources of eutrophications should be noted such as nearby homes, gardens, and farmlands. If possible, these places should be inspected to make sure that they have proper drainage systems for waste.
Conclusion
As dynamic ecosystems, there are still numerous other factors that people can take in consideration when it comes to lake maintenance. However, even a single step is at least a step in the right direction. Lakes are incredibly beautiful and functional components of the environment that have to be protected at all cost.