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- Title
Human Impacts Dominate Global Loss of Lake Ecosystem Resilience.
- Authors
Han, Yaoyao; Lin, Qi; Huang, Shixin; Du, Chenliang; Shen, Ji; Zhang, Ke
- Abstract
Strengthening aquatic resilience to prevent adverse shifts is critical for preserving global freshwater biodiversity and advancing Sustainable Development Goals. Nonetheless, understanding the long‐term trends and underlying causes of lake ecosystem resilience at a global scale remains elusive. Here, we employ an innovative framework, integrating satellite‐derived water quality indices with early warning signals and machine learning techniques, to investigate the dynamics of resilience in 1,049 lakes worldwide during 2000–2018. Our results indicate that 46.7% of lakes are experiencing a significant decline in resilience, particularly since the early 2010s, closely associated with higher human population density and anthropogenic eutrophication. In contrast, most lakes situated in alpine regions exhibit an increase in resilience, probably benefiting from climate warming and wetting. Together, this study provides a novel way to monitor lake resilience and predict undesired transitions, and reveals a widespread erosion in the ability of lakes to withstand stressors associated with global change. Plain Language Summary: Based on water quality data from satellite observation and generic indicators of ecological resilience, we found 46.7% of lakes worldwide are experiencing a significant decline in the ability to resist and recover from environmental disturbances. This issue is exacerbated in Northern Europe and Eastern North America, closely related to local human impacts, such as anthropogenic eutrophication. As the regional wealth grows, like in central North America, the negative impact of human activity on aquatic ecosystems may decrease. In contrast, in regions like the Tibetan Plateau and Andes Mountains, lakes are actually showing an increase in resilience, indicating that ecosystems may adapt to or even benefit from climate change. Our analysis' global scope allows us to better understand lake ecosystem dynamics and the socioeconomic drivers associated with them. This knowledge will help manage lakes' response to global change. Key Points: Over the last two decades (2000–2018), nearly half of global lakes experienced resilience lossLake resilience decline is closely linked to human activities in the catchmentsSatellite data effectively track early warning signals of lake resilience loss
- Subjects
ANDES; TIBETAN Plateau; NORTH America; AQUATIC biodiversity; ECOLOGICAL resilience; EUTROPHICATION; SUSTAINABLE Development Goals (United Nations); GLOBAL warming; POPULATION density; ECOLOGICAL disturbances; FRESHWATER biodiversity
- Publication
Geophysical Research Letters, 2024, Vol 51, Issue 11, p1
- ISSN
0094-8276
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1029/2024GL109298