Abstract
Last month, hundreds of people attended a ‘wake’ for Lough Neagh, Britain and Ireland’s largest freshwater lake. This marked a devastating cyanobacterial bloom of alarming magnitude, caused by a perfect storm of eutrophication, climate change and invasive species. A petition has been tabled to recall Northern Ireland’s government, after an absence of almost two years, to urgently address this ecological crisis.
Lough Neagh provides more than 40% of Northern Ireland’s drinking water and supports Europe’s largest commercial eel fishery. It also drains around 40% of Northern Ireland’s land, roughly 75% of which is agricultural. In July, the lake became heavily contaminated with farmland runoff after more than double the month’s average rainfall.
Famous for its wildfowl, the lake also hosts an endangered endemic whitefish, the pollan (Coregonus pollan). Invasive, non-native zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) now thrive in the lake, which has warmed by 1 °C over the past few decades. The mussels feed on algae, a process that clarifies the water and so boosts photosynthesis by the cyanobacteria.
We call for large-scale reduction of nutrient-rich contaminants through effective animal-waste management and nature-based solutions, such as the reinstatement of vegetated and fenced riparian corridors throughout the lake area to reduce agricultural runoff.
Lough Neagh provides more than 40% of Northern Ireland’s drinking water and supports Europe’s largest commercial eel fishery. It also drains around 40% of Northern Ireland’s land, roughly 75% of which is agricultural. In July, the lake became heavily contaminated with farmland runoff after more than double the month’s average rainfall.
Famous for its wildfowl, the lake also hosts an endangered endemic whitefish, the pollan (Coregonus pollan). Invasive, non-native zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) now thrive in the lake, which has warmed by 1 °C over the past few decades. The mussels feed on algae, a process that clarifies the water and so boosts photosynthesis by the cyanobacteria.
We call for large-scale reduction of nutrient-rich contaminants through effective animal-waste management and nature-based solutions, such as the reinstatement of vegetated and fenced riparian corridors throughout the lake area to reduce agricultural runoff.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 679 |
Number of pages | 1 |
Journal | Nature |
Volume | 622 |
Publication status | Published - 24 Oct 2023 |
Keywords
- Lough Neagh
- Blue-green algae
- Algal bloom
- Harmful algal bloom
- Cyanobacteria
- Eutrophication
- climate change
- invasive species