Floodplain lakes: evolution and response

PAGES International Floodplain Lakes Workshop; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 16–19 September 2010

Human alteration of the major rivers and floodplains of the world is a global concern because they sustain aquatic ecosystems and supply food and energy to society. When in flood stage, the influence of a river extends across the floodplain and can revitalize productive wetlands. The condition of many rivers has declined worldwide, but the degree of degradation is hard to assess due to natural variability of flow and uncertainty of baseline status. Evidence of changes over decades to millennia in river and wetland conditions, however, can be quantified from physical, chemical, and biological information archived in the accumulated sediments of floodplain lakes.