Impacts of forestry planting on primary production in upland lakes from north‐west Ireland

Abstract

Planted forests are increasing in many upland regions worldwide, but knowledge about their potential effects on algal communities of catchment lakes is relatively unknown. Here, the effects of afforestation were investigated using palaeolimnology at six upland lake sites in the north‐west of Ireland subject to different extents of forest plantation cover (4–64% of catchment area). 210 Pb‐dated sediment cores were analysed for carotenoid pigments from algae, stable isotopes of bulk carbon ( δ 13 C) and nitrogen ( δ 15 N), and C/N ratios. In lakes with >50% of their catchment area covered by plantations, there were two‐ to sixfold increases in pigments from cryptophytes (alloxanthin) and significant but lower increases (39–116%) in those from colonial cyanobacteria (canthaxanthin), but no response from biomarkers of total algal abundance ( β ‐carotene). In contrast, lakes in catchments with

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