Student Research Reports

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Negative human impact can affect lakes very differently. We can see litter near the shoreline, erosion and lost habitats, but organisms that are living at these places must react as well. One way is to assess the ecological status of macrophytes (aquatic plants). This method allows us to evaluate how much different the plant community is compared to the natural state of the aquatic plants. The purpose of our project was to find out the ecological status of the plants near Lake Viljandi. The research site was near Sammuli Holiday Village, the research transect was an artificial shoreline (bay for small boats and leisure purposes). We explored the shoreline and identified the macrophytes growing there. After the expedition, we used our collected data to examine the ecological status of the macrophytes using the quality indicator species. The methods are following the guidelines of the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD) and Estonian National lake monitoring methodology. We identified 70 different plant species at the research site, but the ecological quality of the plant community was moderate.