User:Cassidar/sandbox

landscape limnology happens on a variety of scales

very confused why several sources like this one all have the same definition as the first sentence of the article, "Landscape limnology is the spatially explicit study of lakes, streams, and wetlands as they interact with freshwater, terrestrial, and human landscapes to determine the effects of pattern on ecosystem processes across temporal and spatial scales." Did the wiki author come up with this definition and everyone else is plagiarizing? Should this be cited? Is it in a dictionary somewhere?

Actually, the whole article is structured eerily similarly to box 1 in. I'm very confused about this.

The article has an article listed by the same author (Soranno) but not this exact paper

Paragraph and References Assignment 9/29/2020
Connectivity between lakes, streams, and watersheds plays an important role in nutrient regulation in aquatic systems. Systems that are more connected are able to move nutrients more efficiently between water bodies than areas that are isolated or have long distances between connections. For example, lakes that are more connected with other lakes or streams retain phosphorus for shorter periods of time than lakes that are more independent. Connected systems also see a greater influence of land use on lake nutrients. More connected systems can accumulate nutrients from a greater area through runoff or seepage. This pattern can be seen in more complex spatial patterns as well. Lakes that are considered headwaters are influenced far less by drainage and connectivity with regards to nutrients than more lowland water bodies that have a greater chance to accumulate nutrients from the surrounding area.

Lake Classification
Landscape limnology principles have been used to classify lakes into groups that can be used to inform management decisions. Landscape limnology suggests that there are many smaller ecosystems in an interconnected larger landscape. Because of this, blanket management across the landscape is often ineffective on the smaller scale, and localized management does not necessarily affect the larger landscape. Soranno et al. (2010) developed a system to classify lakes into different categories based on what conservation goals need to be met, which could have a variety of applications for scientists and lake managers.

Nutrient Regulation and Water Quality
Connectivity between lakes, streams, and watersheds plays an important role in nutrient regulation in aquatic systems. Systems that are more connected are able to move nutrients more efficiently between water bodies than areas that are isolated or have long distances between connections. For example, lakes that are more connected with other lakes or streams retain phosphorus for shorter periods of time than lakes that are more independent. Connected systems also see a greater influence of land use on lake nutrients. More connected systems can accumulate nutrients from a greater area through runoff or seepage. This pattern can be seen in more complex spatial patterns as well. Lakes that are considered headwater lakes are influenced far less by drainage and connectivity with regards to nutrients than more lowland water bodies that have a greater chance to accumulate nutrients from the surrounding area. Due to the dynamics of how lakes and water bodies transport nutrients across the landscape, there can be differences in how lakes are able to mediate different variables of water quality. Read et. al (2015) found that in some cases, connectivity helps to mediate water quality, while in other cases the idea of patch distinctiveness is more important in determining water quality.

Connection to Agriculture
Landscape limnology helps to connect lake systems with the terrestrial systems surrounding them. Studying how terrestrial and lake characteristics plays into shoreline characteristics is a growing area of interest, and the proximity of agriculture is especially important in this. Along with other variables, such as the ratio of catchment area to surface area of the lake, the percentage of agriculture in the catchment area compared to forest cover can help predict the likelihood of eutrophication in a lake. The location of this agriculture in relation to the water bodies is important as well. If the amount of agriculture closer to near-stream areas is high, there is a higher chance that nutrients within the aquatic system will also be high. Thus the spatial location of factors within a landscape is just as important as the heterogeneity of the landscape.

Biota
Landscape limnology principles have been used in many studies of biological communities. Marcy-Quay (2020) used these techniques to analyze fish populations over a region, and found that the fish migrate between the lakes, so connectivity is very important in this system, where previously the lakes had been seen as more discrete features. In another study in the Amazon river region, scientists found that landscape effects differ based on season. In the dry season, lakes become isolated from the rest of the system, which influences fish-phytoplankton interaction. However, in the wet season, lakes become highly connected to each other and the rest of the system, and then the only predictor of phytoplankton biomass is lake depth, rather than fish controlling biomass in the dry season.