The management of hypertrophic lochs: case studies in southwest Scotland

This paper considers the range of management techniques which are currently available for the remediation of eutrophic lakes, with respect to two lochs within southwest Scotland. Preliminary studies of sources of nutrients identified the need for the development of different management prescriptions for each. Such studies will ensure that the management is tailored to meet the specific needs of the site. The two lochs, Carlingwark Loch at Castle Douglas and Castle Loch at Lochmaben, both support algal blooms but have different nutrient sources. Carlingwark Loch appears to be receiving large quantities of nutrients from the surrounding catchment, whereas Castle Loch shows a net loss of nutrients over its surface inflows, indicating release from the sediments and/or input from overwintering wildfowl. In these cases, if preliminary studies had not been undertaken, the management programmes developed may not have used the most effective control measures.