5.4. Monitoring of abiotic parameters
Dr Giorgos Catsadorakis
Society for the Protection of Prespa
Access to a
wide and – as much as possible – up-to-date database for the fundamental abiotic parameters of the target area is crucial for any kind of
management decision. Collected data on abiotic parameters may vary enormously
according to the body of water, its overall importance and the part of the
world where it lies, as well as upon other factors, such as the size and status
of the institution collecting these data. In the case of lakes, the abiotic
parameters are of two main categories: meteorological and limnological
physicochemical. The number, type and location of the meteorological stations
operated in the Greek part of Prespa by state and private institutions has
varied during the last 70 years for which we have data, but there are more data
from the last 30 years than prior to this time. Currently, there are three
operating meteorological stations collecting data on precipitation (rain and
snow), air temperature, wind speed and direction, evaporation and sunlight. The
SPP runs one of them, as well as monitoring the water level of both Prespa
lakes. The SPP also takes monthly Secchi disk measurements of the water clarity
(or turbidity) of both lakes, which is considered to be a rough proxy of
primary productivity (phyto-plankton abundance). Some physicochemical
parameters of both lakes are measured a few times annually under the country-wide
national monitoring scheme. There is no other monitoring system of the
physicochemical parameters of the two lakes, except for some years when
intensive and systematic research may make such data available.