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Excessive phosphorus loading lead to the accumulation of this nutrient in water bodies. Lake sediments can retain phosphorus. In laboratory tests, an IGB team has investigated the conditions under which this retention is long-term.

On 3 August 2021, Parliamentary State Secretaries Uwe Feiler (BMEL) and Dr. Michael Meister (BMBF), Brandenburg’s Minister of the Environment Axel Vogel (MLUK), and several municipal representatives gathered at IGB’s Stechlin site. They all wanted to find out first-hand about the state of the lake, which had recently raised concerns on account of sharply increased levels of phosphorus and oxygen depletion in the lake’s deep water.

Many of the world's clear lakes are deteriorating at an alarming rate: at the shore, where people want to play and swim, the lake bottom is covered with green carpets of algae.

IGB gives feedback on the revision of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD).

Conserving and restoring surface waters and their floodplains takes time and resources. But how can we assess whether a measure is worthwhile? Researchers at IGB recommend that ecosystem services should also be included when evaluating the success of measures in and along water bodies.

In Germany, the protection of fish is supported by general pro-ecological values and norms. In France, Sweden and Norway, on the other hand, native fish species have great influence on individual conservation-oriented behaviour.

Around half of the hydropower plants in Romania are located in nature conservation areas. These are mostly small plants that contribute only 3 percent of Romania's electricity generation, but threaten biodiversity.

The “Zeitschrift für Fischerei” (or “FischZeit” for short) is the first peer-reviewed, German-language journal for fisheries research that brings together knowledge on all aspects of commercial and recreational fisheries, aquaculture, stock management, and fish conservation in inland, coastal and marine ecosystems.