Regional Lake Surveys in Finland - Norway - Sweden - Northern Kola - Russian Karelia - Scotland - Wales 1995 Coordination and Design

Abstract

The three Nordic countries Finland, Norway and Sweden decided to carry out a joint Nordic Lake Survey in the fall of 1995. A working group, supported financially by the Nordic Council of Ministers (NMR), prepared a common manual for this purpose. It was decided to use similar lake selection criteria and harmonized analytical procedures. Generally, lakes in Denmark are not sensitive to acidification, but most lakes are strongly affected by nutrients. Thus , lake surveys like those carried out in the other Nordic countries have not been undertaken in this country. NMR has asked for a common evaluation of the properties of the lake populations in the four countries. As a result of Norwegian-Finnish-Swedish-Russian initiatives lake surveys were also carried out concurrently in Northern Kola and the Russian Karelia with financial support from Finland, Norway and Sweden. The working group also asked the United Kingdom to joint in a common lake survey. As a result a lake survey was concurrently carried out in Scotland and Wales using similar lake selection criterias as those used for the surveys in Finland, Norway and Sweden. This report presents the coordination and the design og the surveys. A second report will present and discuss the results.