Depth limit of littoral vegetation in a storage reservoir: A case study of Lipno Reservoir (Czech Republic)

Controlling factors for the occurrence of littoral macrophyte species were investigated in Lipno Reservoir (area: 46.5 km2; zmean: 6.6 m; zmax: 22 m; water residence time: 0.6 yr), a dam impoundment with moderately fluctuating water level (amplitude up to 4 m) which is used for hydropower and downstream flow augmentation. The options of supporting littoral macrophyte growth for improving the reservoir's ecological potential were evaluated according to the European Water Framework Directive's definitions. Macrophytes were examined at 115 sites, each 50 m long, along the whole reservoir perimeter at regular 1 km intervals. Sites were surveyed for their phytocoenology, shore morphometry, pedological characteristics of substrate, transparency of water, and anthropogenic impacts. Most of the sites were characterised by a wide eulittoral zone with a tenuous cover of terrestrial hydrophilic, amphibious, and/or emergent macrophytes and a low proportion of silt, clay, and organic fractions in the substrate. Infralittoral submerged and floating-leaved macrophytes were restricted to a few sites within the mouths of the main and side tributaries where transparency was maintained by clear inflow water independent of reservoir pool fluctuations. Water transparency was low (1-2 m) compared to annual changes of water level (2 to >3 m). Multivariate statistical analysis (DCA, CCA) confirmed relationships between the occurrence of macrophyte species and morphological and substrate characteristics of the shore. Improvement of macrophyte cover and establishment of vital infralittoral zones requires improvements in water transparency and changes in reservoir operation, i.e., limiting the range of water level fluctuation to less than ca. 1 m.