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Diatoms as indicators of water quality in Western Mongolian lakes: a 54-site calibration set

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Abstract

Mongolia is an arid land with limited freshwater availability. Recent changes in climate as well as changes in livestock management in the post-Soviet era may threaten the quality and availability of these freshwater resources and emphasize the need to characterize current conditions relative to a long-term baseline. Because diatoms are responsive to changes in water chemistry and are commonly preserved in lake sediments, they can be used as indicators of both present and past water quality. To these ends, we have developed a diatom-based calibration set and quantitative inference models for the region. Physical and chemical factors and modern diatom communities were sampled at 54 sites in western Mongolia in the Altai and Khangai mountains and the Valley of the Great Lakes. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) demonstrated that both salinity and total phosphorus accounted for statistically significant fractions of the variation in 151 diatom taxa across the 54 sampled sites. Diatom-based inference models were developed with weighted averaging (WA) techniques and showed strong predictive capabilities and low prediction errors for salinity and total phosphorus. These models are now available to help identify and interpret historical and future disturbances to this sensitive and globally important eco-region.

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Acknowledgements

We thank B. Buyantsog for logistical support, Otgonbayar for help with water chemistry data collection, Lizz Johnson and Tserenkhand for coring assistance, Charles Umbanhower for providing the base map for Fig. 1 and Steve Juggins and Joy Ramstack for many helpful discussions. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under grants DEB-0316503 and DEB-0431529 to MBE and JEA. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, University of Minnesota, 310 Pillsbury Dr, SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Avery L. C. Shinneman

  2. St. Croix Watershed Research Station, Science Museum of Minnesota, 16910 152nd St. North, Marine on St. Croix, MN, 55047, USA

    Mark B. Edlund & James E. Almendinger

  3. Botany Department, Biology Faculty, Water Research Center, National University of Mongolia, Post Box 377, 210646, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

    Nergui Soninkhishig

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  1. Avery L. C. Shinneman
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  2. Mark B. Edlund
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  3. James E. Almendinger
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  4. Nergui Soninkhishig
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Correspondence to Avery L. C. Shinneman.

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Shinneman, A.L.C., Edlund, M.B., Almendinger, J.E. et al. Diatoms as indicators of water quality in Western Mongolian lakes: a 54-site calibration set. J Paleolimnol 42, 373–389 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-008-9282-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-008-9282-7

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