Muddying the unexplored post-industrial waters: Biodiversity and conservation potential of freshwater habitats in fly ash sedimentation lagoons.

Autor: Kolar V; Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 1160/31, 37005 České Budějovice, Czechia; University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, Departments of Ecosystem Biology and Botany, Branišovská 1760, 37005 České Budějovice, Czechia., Chmelová E; Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 1160/31, 37005 České Budějovice, Czechia; Charles University, Faculty of Science, Department of Ecology, Viničná 7, 12844 Prague, Czechia., Bílková M; Masaryk University, Faculty of Science, Department of Botany and Zoology, Kotlářská 2, 61137 Brno, Czechia., Borovec J; Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 1160/31, 37005 České Budějovice, Czechia; University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, Departments of Ecosystem Biology and Botany, Branišovská 1760, 37005 České Budějovice, Czechia., Carreira BM; Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 1160/31, 37005 České Budějovice, Czechia; University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, Departments of Ecosystem Biology and Botany, Branišovská 1760, 37005 České Budějovice, Czechia; cE3c - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes & CHANGE - Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, Edifício C2, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisbon, Portugal., Černý M; Charles University, Faculty of Science, Department of Ecology, Viničná 7, 12844 Prague, Czechia., Ditrich T; University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Education, Department of Biology, Jeronýmova 10, 37112 České Budějovice, Czechia., Horká P; Charles University, Faculty of Science, Institute for Environmental Studies, Benátská 2, 12801 Prague, Czechia., Hrivniak Ľ; Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 1160/31, 37005 České Budějovice, Czechia., Hrubý F; University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, Departments of Ecosystem Biology and Botany, Branišovská 1760, 37005 České Budějovice, Czechia., Jan J; Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 1160/31, 37005 České Budějovice, Czechia; University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, Departments of Ecosystem Biology and Botany, Branišovská 1760, 37005 České Budějovice, Czechia., Landeira-Dabarca A; Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 1160/31, 37005 České Budějovice, Czechia; University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, Departments of Ecosystem Biology and Botany, Branišovská 1760, 37005 České Budějovice, Czechia., Lepšová-Skácelová O; University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, Departments of Ecosystem Biology and Botany, Branišovská 1760, 37005 České Budějovice, Czechia., Musilová Z; Charles University, Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology, Viničná 7, 12844 Prague, Czechia., Otáhalová Š; Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 1160/31, 37005 České Budějovice, Czechia., Poláková M; University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, Departments of Ecosystem Biology and Botany, Branišovská 1760, 37005 České Budějovice, Czechia; Masaryk University, Faculty of Science, Department of Botany and Zoology, Kotlářská 2, 61137 Brno, Czechia., Polášková V; Masaryk University, Faculty of Science, Department of Botany and Zoology, Kotlářská 2, 61137 Brno, Czechia., Sacherová V; Charles University, Faculty of Science, Department of Ecology, Viničná 7, 12844 Prague, Czechia., Špaček J; Povodí Labe State Enterprise, Víta Nejedlého 951/8, Slezské Předměstí, 50003 Hradec Králové, Czechia., Sroka P; Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 1160/31, 37005 České Budějovice, Czechia., Vebrová L; University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, Departments of Ecosystem Biology and Botany, Branišovská 1760, 37005 České Budějovice, Czechia., Boukal DS; Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 1160/31, 37005 České Budějovice, Czechia; University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, Departments of Ecosystem Biology and Botany, Branišovská 1760, 37005 České Budějovice, Czechia., Tropek R; Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 1160/31, 37005 České Budějovice, Czechia; Charles University, Faculty of Science, Department of Ecology, Viničná 7, 12844 Prague, Czechia. Electronic address: robert.tropek@gmail.com.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2023 Nov 20; Vol. 900, pp. 165803. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Jul 25.
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165803
Abstrakt: Deposits of fly ash and other coal combustion wastes are common remnants of the energy industry. Despite their environmental risks from heavy metals and trace elements, they have been revealed as refuges for threatened terrestrial biodiversity. Surprisingly, freshwater biodiversity of fly ash sedimentation lagoons remains unknown despite such lack of knowledge strongly limits the efficient restoration of fly ash deposits. We bring the first comprehensive survey of freshwater biodiversity, including nekton, benthos, zooplankton, phytoplankton, and macrophytes, in fly ash lagoons across industrial regions of the Czech Republic. To assess their conservation potential, we compared their biodiversity with abandoned post-mining ponds, the known strongholds of endangered aquatic species in the region with a shortage of natural ponds. Of 28 recorded threatened species, 15 occurred in the studied fly ash lagoons, some of which were less abundant or even absent in the post-mining ponds. These are often species of nutrient-poor, fishless waters with rich vegetation, although some are specialised extremophiles. Species richness and conservation value of most groups in the fly ash lagoons did not significantly differ from the post-mining ponds, except for species richness of benthos, zooplankton, and macrophytes, which were slightly lower in the fly ash lagoons. Although the concentrations of some heavy metals (mainly Se, V, and As) were significantly higher in the fly ash lagoons, they did not significantly affect species richness or conservation value of the local communities. The differences in species composition therefore does not seem to be caused by water chemistry. Altogether, we have shown that fly ash lagoons are refuges for threatened aquatic species, and we thus suggest maintaining water bodies during site restoration after the cessation of fly ash deposition. Based on our analyses of environmental variables, we discuss suitable restoration practices that efficiently combine biodiversity protection and environmental risk reduction.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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