Changes in the Water Resources of Selected Lakes in Poland in the Period 1916–2020 as Information to Increase Their Availability

Mariusz Ptak, Adam Choiński, Mariusz Sojka and Senlin Zhu
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Mariusz Ptak: Department of Hydrology and Water Management, Adam Mickiewicz University, Krygowskiego 10, 61-680 Poznań, Poland
Adam Choiński: Department of Hydrology and Water Management, Adam Mickiewicz University, Krygowskiego 10, 61-680 Poznań, Poland
Mariusz Sojka: Department of Land Improvement, Environmental Development and Spatial Management, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Piątkowska 94E, 60-649 Poznań, Poland
Senlin Zhu: College of Hydraulic Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 13, 1-10

Abstract: The historical effects of land development on water management currently require a new approach, in many cases involving attempts at the restoration of the quasi-natural state. This is evident in reference to many regions in Poland, where the hydrographic network has been diminishing over the centuries, among others in favour of obtaining new agricultural land. Such activities overlap with natural processes causing transformations of the hydrosphere. The most serious problems currently include water deficits resulting from climate change and human activity. This paper employed archival bathymetric maps from the beginning of the 20th century for the determination of the scale of changes in the morphometric parameters of six lakes in western Poland. It was determined that over a period of more than a hundred years, the surface area (12.2%) and original volume of water bodies (13.9%) were largely reduced. This situation was caused by both natural (overgrowing and shallowing) and anthropogenic (change in water level) factors. The obtained information points to the need of an inventory of historical bathymetric maps of lakes. In combination with modern research, this will allow for the determination of changes in the water resources of lakes and, in a longer-term perspective, potential possibilities of their renaturisation. This knowledge is important in the context of the reconstruction of water resources in the territory of Poland, where their deficits are recorded increasingly frequently. It should also be emphasised that the restoration of the natural capacity of water retention in lakes is a more economical solution and, most importantly, it is not invasive for the environment.

Keywords: water resources; bathymetry; historical maps; human impact; renaturisation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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