DOLMANT - development of lake management tools - poster

Summary of poster

This AFESD work, crossing both Fisheries and Aquatic Ecosystems Branch and Agri-Environment Branch, will develop lake management tools that integrate the biological, hydromorphological, and physicochemical properties of lakes with lake and lake catchment variables in the INTERREG region.

The models will provide frameworks for evaluating the effects of measures, adopted in catchments, to improve or maintain the ecological status of lakes. This will allow Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to create an
effective programme of measures and help meet requirements under the EU Water Framework Directive and Nitrates Directive.

The project involves a number of work packages

1. Fish stock assessment at selected small lakes (Fig. 1 & 2)
2. Fish stock Assessment of Lough Neagh (Fig. 3)
3. Phytoplankton assessment of selected small lakes (Fig. 4 & 5)
4. Phytoplankton assessment of LoughNeaghand LoughErne
5. Zooplankton assessment of selected small lakes 6. Zooplankton assessment of LoughNeaghand LoughErne (Fig. 6)
7. Macrophyte(lake plant) assessment of selected small lakes
8. Macrophyteassessment of LoughNeaghand LoughErne
9. Linking the lake catchments to lake chemistry and biology:

• Statistical models will be used to link the different biological
• elements and study indirect and direct relationships (Fig. 7).
• Nutrients from the lake catchments will be incorporated where possible to improve the lake models.
• The statistical models will help predict changes in different biological groups due to changing nutrient status.
• This will benefit legislators implementing European Directives in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.