Trophic Status of Peipus Lake

Abstract

The data of hydrochemical and hydrobiological monitoring of the Estonian water area of Lake Peipsi (Peipus, Chudskoe) during 1985–2016 are presented. The trophic state of the water area has been determined according to different methods. According to the method developed at the Hydrochemical Institute, the trophic state of the Estonian waters of Lake Peipsi during the analyzed period is characterized as “mesotrophic,” whereas other methods (OECD, Ministry for the Environment of New Zealand, the Carlson index, the criteria by O.A. Alekin and I.S. Trifonova) it is “eutrophic.” According to the probabilistic estimate accounting for the total phosphorus concentration, the trophic state of the Estonian water area of Lake Peipsi is characterized as “mesotrophic-eutrophic.”