Research Project, 2004–2015
A project of the
Academy, since 1846
Saxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Leipzig
The biotic structure of a water body, together with its physicochemical and hydrological properties, forms the most important basis for the assessment of its mass balance and the recording of environmental changes. The project focuses on the causal analysis of dominant processes and the long-term development of material flows and biological structures in reservoir ecosystems.
Reservoirs are characterised in particular by two habitats: open water and the water-sediment contact zone in lightless deep water, while the important plant belt on the shore of lakes is usually missing due to water level changes. Therefore, plankton, sedimentation and sediment microbiology are at the centre of attention. In addition to the recording of the basic behaviour, which should reveal the frequency patterns of natural fluctuations, the reactions to load changes (eutrophication, re-oligotrophication, acidification) as well as the reactions to climate fluctuations are investigated. As the importance of the sediment as a source of matter increases with the remediation-related reduction of the external nutrient loads from the catchment area, special attention is paid to the exchange of matter between the sediment and the water body, the chemical and biological composition of the sediment and its microbial activity. Case studies are the Saidenbach and Neunzehnhain reservoirs with their different catchment areas and material budgets.
Contact person for the academies' programme
Sebastian Zwies M.A.
Geschäftsstelle Mainz
Union der deutschen Akademien der Wissenschaften
Geschwister-Scholl-Straße 2
55131 Mainz
Tel: 06131/218 528-17
E-Mail: sebastian.zwies@akademienunion.de