Recent Changes in Northern German Lagoons with Special Reference to Eutrophication

Abstract

Non-tidal boddens and haffs are common along the southern Baltic Sea coast. They serve as major filters and buffers for the Baltic proper. Buffering and filtering capacities vary, depending on the size of the catchment area, on exchange processes with the Baltic Sea as well as on chemical, physical and biological processes within the waters concerned. Major anthropogenic impacts and the pronounced use of coastal lagoons as "treatment plants" has resulted in eutrophication. Over the past 40 years, this has caused an overload, resulting in a reduction, or even an almost complete elimination, of any buffering and filtering capacities. A variety of socio-economic uses of resources and functions is most closely allied with the specific features of these waters. A multivalent and co-ordinated use can prevent such development, and therefore, it represents the superior strategy to guarantee sustainable development because it saves money and maintains the ecosystem.