Large lakes are important because of their size and ecological distinctiveness as well as their economic and cultural value. Optimal management of them requires a proper understanding of anthropogenic impacts both on the lake ecosystems as such and on the services they provide for society. The specific structural and functional properties of large lakes, e.g. morphology, hydrography, biogeochemical cycles and food-web structure, are all directly related to their size. Although large lakes are among the best-studied ecosystems in the world, the application to them of environmental regulations such as the European Water Framework Directive is a challenging task and requires that several natural and management aspects specific to these water bodies are adequately considered. These vulnerable ecosystems often suffer from accelerated eutrophication, over-fishing, toxic contamination and invasive species. Large lakes offer socio-economic benefits and can be used in many ways, and are often areas in which economic, cultural and political interests overlap. In this book the problems regarding the present status of European large lakes and the directions of change are discussed. Threats caused by direct human impact and by climate change, protection needs and restoration measures are considered.

Lakes Ladoga and Onego are the greatest lakes in Europe. With a surface area of 17891 km2 and a volume of 902 km3, the former is one of the top fifteen world’s freshwater lakes and is only slightly smaller than Lake Ontario. Lake Onego’s surface area is 9600 km2 and it has a volume of 292 km3. The watershed of Lake Ladoga (258000 km2) extends through Northwestern European Russia and the eastern part of Finland, including the large Lakes Ilmen and Saimaa, and together these Great European Lakes are an important link in the Caspian-Baltic-White Sea waterway system. Their ecological state affects the water quality of the Neva River, the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea. Thus any changes affect the operational use, environmental protection and management of water resources of a wide area and concern such issues as drinking, recreation, transport and energy. The anthropogenic impact on the Lake Onego ecosystem is mostly determined by the sewage waters of the Petrozavodsk and Kondopoga industrial centres, while the river inflow makes the most impact on Lake Ladoga. Although the anthropogenic stress on the water ecosystems of the Great European Lakes has decreased over the last 15 years, there has been some simultaneous evidence of global warming. There is not enough current data to identify the climate-induced changes in lake ecosystems, but there is proof that the main cause of lacustrine ecosystem changes is determined by anthropogenic factors.

The vast majority of the world's lakes are small in size and short lived in geological terms. Only 253 of the thousands of lakes on this planet have surface areas larger than 500 square kilometers. At first sight, this statistic would seem to indicate that large lakes are relatively unimportant on a global scale; in fact, however, large lakes contain the bulk of the liquid surface freshwater of the earth. Just Lake Baikal and the Laurentian Great Lakes alone contain more than 38% of the world's total liquid freshwater. Thus, the large lakes of the world accentuate an important feature of the earth's freshwater reserves-its extremely irregular distribution. The energy crisis of the 1970s and 1980s made us aware of the fact that we live on a spaceship with finite, that is, exhaustible resources. On the other hand, the energy crisis led to an overemphasis on all the issues concerning energy supply and all the problems connected with producing new energy. The energy crisis also led us to ignore strong evidence suggesting that water of appropriate quality to be used as a resouce will be used up more quickly than energy will. Although in principle water is a "renewable resource," the world's water reserves are diminishing in two fashions, the effects of which are multiplicative: enhanced consumption and accelerated degradation of quality.

In this book, scientists from eleven countries summarize the results of an EU project (CLIME) that explored the effects of observed and projected changes in the climate on the dynamics of lakes in Northern, Western and Central Europe. Historical measurements from eighteen sites were used to compare the seasonal dynamics of the lakes and to assess their sensitivity to local, regional and global-scale changes in the weather. Simulations using a common set of water quality models, perturbed by six climate-change scenarios, were then used to assess the uncertainties associated with the projected changes in the climate. The book includes chapters on the phenology and modelling of lake ice, the supply and recycling of nitrogen and phosphorus, the flux of dissolved organic carbon and the growth and the seasonal succession of phytoplankton. There are also chapters on the coherent responses of lakes to changes in the circulation of the atmosphere, the development of a web-based Decision Support System and the implications of climate change for the Water Framework Directive.

A derivative of the Encyclopedia of Inland Waters, Lake Ecosystem Ecology examines the workings of the lake and reservoir ecosystems of our planet. Information and perspectives crucial to the understanding and management of current environmental problems are covered, such as eutrophication, acid rain and climate change. Because the articles are drawn from an encyclopedia, the articles are easily accessible to interested members of the public, such as conservationists and environmental decision makers. - Includes an up-to-date summary of global aquatic ecosystems and issues - Covers current environmental problems and management solutions - Features full-color figures and tables to support the text and aid in understanding

First printed in 1982, this is the third and final volume to be published as a result of the British Academy Major Research Project on the Early History of Agriculture, carried out in the Department of Archaeology in Cambridge under the direction of the late Eric Higgs. After his death in 1976, the Project was drawn to its conclusion by his associates, and this book is effectively a summary of the results of the Project. The first two volumes, Papers in Economic Prehistory and Palacoeconomy, argued that the development of agriculture was a much more gradual and widespread phenomenon than had been thought previously. This book now discusses the origins and early development of prehistoric agriculture within the framework of prehistoric subsistence economies in general. Early human economies are viewed in their adaptation to three crucial resource zones: the uplands, the lowlands and the littorals.

Fresh Surface Water theme is a component of Encyclopedia of Water Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The occurrence of surface water in abundance is unique to planet Earth among the inner or terrestrial planets. This is only one of the environmental consequences of the anomalous properties of water. Water has been central to human life and human thought throughout history. The availability of fresh surface water varies between continents, between regions within any given continent, between countries in a given region, and between catchments in a given country.Five key topics have been identified under the theme of Fresh Surface Water. These are: Origin, Resources and Distribution of Rivers and Streams; Characteristics of River Systems; Transport Processes in River Systems; River Ecosystems; The Uses of River Water and Impacts, which are then expanded into multiple subtopics, each as a chapter. These three volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, Managers, and Decision makers and NGOs.