Author/Editor		Gaberščik, Alenka; Urbanc-Berčič, Olga
Title		Kakovost vode v jezeru in njegovih pritokih
Translated title		Water quality in the lake and its tributaries
Type		članek
Source		In: Gaberščik A, editor. Jezero, ki izginja: monografija o Cerkniškem jezeru. Ljubljana: Društvo ekologov Slovenije,
Publication year		2002
Volume		str. 45-9
Language		slo
Abstract		The densely vegetated lake functions as a sink for nutrients discharging into the lake. Eight years of monitoring indicates a relatively high content of nutrients, i. e. nitrogen and phosphorus in the surface tributaries. The same holds true for the presence of coliform bacteria. This is usually not the case in the karst flows and at the locations on the lake even though the former could occasionally bring the nutrients from distant areas where they originate. When the area is flooded, nutrients quickly incorporate into biomass of primary producers and that is why nutrient loads from the polluted tributaries present an insignificant source of pollution for the lake. In dry periods, the permanent main stream Stržen and its tributaries become a refuge for the remaining fish population and other organisms. The selfpurification efficiency of the system is much lower and therefore water quality becomes of primary importance. The carried out analyses revealed a significant negative relation between the water level and nutrient content in the surface flows of Cerkniščica and Martinjščica, which bring the majority of nutrients. At other locations, water quality parameters revealed to be variable and no correlation to the water level was found. Besides the water table, the water quality depends on several other factors, i.e. on the success of colonisation by macrophytes, amount and distribution of precipitation, runoff, decomposition potential and temperature.
Descriptors		FRESH WATER WATER POLLUTANTS PLANTS ECOSYSTEM