Experimental Lakes Area
Encyclopedia
The Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) is a fully equipped, year-round, permanent field station that uses the whole ecosystem approach
and long-term, whole-lake investigations of freshwater focusing on cultural eutrophication
. ELA is currently cosponsored by the Canadian Departments of Environment and Fisheries and Oceans, with a mandate to investigate the aquatic effects of a wide variety of stresses on lakes and their catchments
and other types of water pollution. It included 46 small, deep, pristine lakes and their catchment areas in the Precambrian Shield.
The ELA project originated as a Canadian governmental response to the International Joint Commission
(IJC)'s recommendation (1965) to Canada and the United States for additional support for studies on transboundary pollution in the lower Great Lakes.
In the 1960s there was a widespread concern about the consequences of eutrophication but there was a lacunae of solid scientific evidence. Dr. W. E. Johnson of the Freshwater Institute of Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada) convinced the Canadian government that unimpeachable evidence could be obtained by experimental pollution of pristine lakes through controlled overfertilization of specified elements. The Experimental Lakes Area was established in 1968 by the Fisheries Research Board of Canada. Dr. John Reubec Vallentyne and Dr. W. E. Johnson of the Freshwater Institute created the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA). While Vallentyne was Scientific Leader of the Eutrophication Section from 1966 to 1972 he attracted a stellar staff of scientists from around the world in the late 1960s and early 1970s. A junior scientist David W. Schindler was interviewed to head the future ELA. David W. Schindler OC, D.Phil., FRSC
, FRS, who would become one of the world's leading limnologists directed ELA projects from 1968 to 1989.
In 1969 the fertilization experiment began with Lake 227 and in 1973 the double-basin eutrophication experiment on Lake 226 began in which a section of the Lake 226S was overfertilized with carbon and nitrogen and the other section 226N with carbon and nitrogen as well as phosphorus. The iconic image of the green eutrophied section 226N has been described as the most important in the history of limnology. It convinced the public and policymakers that phosphorus levels needed to be controlled.
Ecosystem Approach
The Ecosystem Approach is considered one of the most important principles of sustainable environmental management.The Fifth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity defined the Ecosystem Approach in Decision V/6, Annex A, section 1 as ‘a strategy for the integrated...
and long-term, whole-lake investigations of freshwater focusing on cultural eutrophication
Cultural eutrophication
Cultural eutrophication is the process that speeds up natural eutrophication because of human activity. Due to clearing of land and building of towns and cities, land runoff is accelerated and more nutrients such as phosphates and nitrate are supplied to lakes and rivers, and then to coastal...
. ELA is currently cosponsored by the Canadian Departments of Environment and Fisheries and Oceans, with a mandate to investigate the aquatic effects of a wide variety of stresses on lakes and their catchments
Early Years
In 1968 the Province of Ontario and the Government of Canada set aside an area in a sparsely inhabited region of central Canada, southeast of Kenora, Ontario which is relatively unaffected by external human influences and industrial activities, for experimental studies of the causes and control of eutrophicationEutrophication
Eutrophication or more precisely hypertrophication, is the movement of a body of water′s trophic status in the direction of increasing plant biomass, by the addition of artificial or natural substances, such as nitrates and phosphates, through fertilizers or sewage, to an aquatic system...
and other types of water pollution. It included 46 small, deep, pristine lakes and their catchment areas in the Precambrian Shield.
The ELA project originated as a Canadian governmental response to the International Joint Commission
International Joint Commission
The International Joint Commission is an independent binational organization established by the United States and Canada under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909.The Commission has responsibilities related to the following treaties and agreements:...
(IJC)'s recommendation (1965) to Canada and the United States for additional support for studies on transboundary pollution in the lower Great Lakes.
In the 1960s there was a widespread concern about the consequences of eutrophication but there was a lacunae of solid scientific evidence. Dr. W. E. Johnson of the Freshwater Institute of Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada) convinced the Canadian government that unimpeachable evidence could be obtained by experimental pollution of pristine lakes through controlled overfertilization of specified elements. The Experimental Lakes Area was established in 1968 by the Fisheries Research Board of Canada. Dr. John Reubec Vallentyne and Dr. W. E. Johnson of the Freshwater Institute created the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA). While Vallentyne was Scientific Leader of the Eutrophication Section from 1966 to 1972 he attracted a stellar staff of scientists from around the world in the late 1960s and early 1970s. A junior scientist David W. Schindler was interviewed to head the future ELA. David W. Schindler OC, D.Phil., FRSC
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada , may also operate under the more descriptive name RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...
, FRS, who would become one of the world's leading limnologists directed ELA projects from 1968 to 1989.
In 1969 the fertilization experiment began with Lake 227 and in 1973 the double-basin eutrophication experiment on Lake 226 began in which a section of the Lake 226S was overfertilized with carbon and nitrogen and the other section 226N with carbon and nitrogen as well as phosphorus. The iconic image of the green eutrophied section 226N has been described as the most important in the history of limnology. It convinced the public and policymakers that phosphorus levels needed to be controlled.
ELA Contributions: Past, Present and Future: a Summary
For forty years the ELA has collected long-term records for climate, hydrology, and limnology based on whole-ecosystem experiments which address key issues in water management. The ELA has influenced public policy in water management in Canada, the USA and Europe. The international science community recognizes the uniqueness of the ELA facility.Further reading
- Hayes, F.R. 1973. The Chaining of Prometheus: Evolution of a Power Structure for Canadian Science. Toronto.
- Johnstone, Kenneth. 1977. The Aquatic Explorers: A History of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada. xv + 342 pp. University of Toronto Press: Toronto and Buffalo.
- Planas, Dolors. "John R. Vallentyne, in memoriam." Limnetica, 27 (1): i-ii (2008). Asociacion Iberica de Limnologıa, Madrid. Spain.
- Schindler, David W., Vallentyne, John Reubec. 2008. The Algal Bowl : Overfertilization of the World's Freshwaters and Estuaries. University of Alberta Press.
- Schindler, David William. 2009.“A personal history of the Experimental Lakes Project[1]” Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 66 (11): 1837–1847.
- Stokstad, Erik. 2008. "Canada's Experimental Lakes." Science 28 November 2008: Vol. 322. no. 5906, pp. 1316–1319.
- Vallentyne, John Reubec. "The Canadian Experimental Lakes Area." Keynote Address. Lake 2000. Symposium on Restoration of Lakes and Wetlands. Centre for Scientific and Industrial Consultancy (CSIC). Indian Institute of Science. Bangalore, India. November 27–29, 2000.