Lake health assessment based on ecosystem integrity and services：A case study in Baiyangdain Lake

Abstract

Abstract Health assessment is vital for ecological protection, restoration and management of lake ecosystems. Although previous studies have established many frameworks and assessment index systems, most of them primarily focused on the single measurements of the natural status of ecosystems under external pressures. However, there is a lack of comprehensive assessment models based on the ecosystem integrity and services from the perspective of balancing the natural health status and human demand. In this study, we proposed an improve method that consider the ecosystem integrity and social services demand, which comprised five categories: physical structure, hydrology, water quality, aquatic organisms, and social service function. We used the Baiyangdian lake of the Haihe river basin in China as a case study to apply the assessment method, and the results show that (1) the overall level of lake health is “sub-healthy”, and the “sub-healthy” sample sites dominate the lake areas in the current year. (2) the index system provided a perspective to reveal the complex interactions among ecosystem integrity, services and ecosystem health status, which can characterize the health status more comprehensively compared to the single index or indicator species method. (3) the assessment method in this study is capable in evaluating the health status of Baiyangdian lake, the results can be used for decision makers to lake ecosystem protection, restoration and management.