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Limnological study on a newly built drinking water reservoir near Tirana, Albania

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Abstract

Bovilla Lake is a reservoir constructed 12 years ago for supplying the city of Tirana (Albania) mainly with drinking water. It has a surface area of 4.6 km2, a maximum depth of originally 60 m and is monomictic with a stratification period from early spring to end of October. The lake is oligotrophic with low nutrient concentrations (e.g. SRP in spring about 8 μg L − 1) and minor oxygen depletion in the hypolimnion during thermal stagnation. The lake is highly turbid due to severe particle import by several rivers during rain periods. This led to a massive deposition of sediments, lifting the maximum depth to 45 m in 2008. Furthermore, the photic zone reached hardly more than 10 m. Algal species diversity is high; however, diatoms from the genus Cyclotella dominate most of the year both in numbers and biomass. Our study describes for the first time the hydrography and limnology of the Bovilla Reservoir.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania

    Alqiviadh Çullaj & Sonila Duka

  2. Drinking Water Treatment Plant, Kodra Kuqe, Tirana, Albania

    Artan Emiri

  3. Institute of Veterinary Food Security, Tirana, Albania

    Erlinda Koni

  4. Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania

    Aleko Miho

  5. University Research Center of Waters, Energy and Environment, Polytechnic University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania

    Bledar Murtaj

  6. Faculty of Biotechnology and Food, Agricultural University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania

    Spase Shumka

  7. Institute of Plant Biology, University of Zürich, Zollikerstr. 107, 8008, Zürich, Switzerland

    Reinhard Bachofen & Ferdinand Schanz

  8. Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

    Helmut Brandl

Authors
  1. Alqiviadh Çullaj
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  2. Sonila Duka
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  3. Artan Emiri
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  4. Erlinda Koni
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  5. Aleko Miho
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  6. Bledar Murtaj
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  7. Spase Shumka
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  8. Reinhard Bachofen
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  9. Ferdinand Schanz
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  10. Helmut Brandl
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Reinhard Bachofen.

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Çullaj, A., Duka, S., Emiri, A. et al. Limnological study on a newly built drinking water reservoir near Tirana, Albania. Environ Monit Assess 182, 215–232 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-010-1871-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-010-1871-z

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