Laboratory feasibility tests improve decision support for wetland eco-engineering; Lake Bartków Ług (Poland) as test case

For the studied lake, successful improvement of the water quality and biodiversity can therefore only be achieved by scenario 4, internal P fixation, after the cessation of fish production. The removal of fish only will not lead to improvement, because of the strong mobilization of P in the sediment. We show that the combination of field research and small-scale laboratory feasibility tests strongly reduces the risks of failure, and avoids less efficient and more costly approaches based on trial and error in the field. We therefore recommend the inclusion of such tests in decision support systems for ecological engineering.