152 lakes from northwest Europe provide diatom data for surface sediment samples collected between 1990 and 1993. The dataset was compiled by researchers Helen Bennion, John Anderson, and Tim Allott from six regional datasets. It was used to develop a diatom-based transfer function for reconstructing lake nutrient histories.
Use Cases
- Predict total phosphorus (TP) levels using diatom species counts via a WAPLS transfer function.
- Analyze the relationship between diatom assemblages and lake trophic status across an oligotrophic to hypertrophic gradient.
- Reconstruct historical lake nutrient levels by applying the developed model to diatom sequence data.
- Compare diatom community composition across six northwest European regions: southeast England, English Midlands, Wales, Northern Ireland, Denmark, and Sweden.
Strengths
- Training set includes 152 lakes after data screening.
- Transfer function achieved an apparent r2 of 0.91 for predicting log10TP.
- Data spans a long total phosphorus gradient from oligotrophic to hypertrophic waters.
Limitations
- Sample collection period is limited to 1990-1993, providing no recent data.
- Lakes are mostly lowland, shallow, and small, limiting applicability to other lake types.
- Original full dataset of 164 lakes was reduced to 152, indicating some data exclusion.
Provenance
- Source
- European Diatom Database (EDDI), amalgamation of six regional datasets.
- Collection Method
- Surface sediment samples (0-1 cm) collected from the deepest point of each lake; diatoms counted by named researchers; taxonomic harmonisation performed.
- Time Range
- 1990-1993
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Northwest Europe: southeast England, English Midlands, Wales, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Sweden.