Recent Changes in Productivity in Selected Ponds of the Cape Cod National Seashore
Ludlam SD. 1977. Recent Changes in Productivity in Selected Ponds of the Cape Cod National Seashore. U.M.-N.P.S.C.R.U. Report Number 20. University of Massachusetts. Amherst, MA
Sediment cores from Gull, Higgins, Snow, and Spectacle Ponds were examined for carotenoids and chlorophyll derivatives. Pigment profiles show that productivity is currently increasing in all of these ponds, beginning 60 years ago in Snow Pond, and 40 years or more earlier in the rest of the ponds. An earlier phase of high aquatic productivity is apparently associated with the initial European settlement of the area. Productivity decreased to a minimum thereafter, probably due to misuse of the land, causing leaching and impoverishment of the soil. The most recent productivity increase is probably associated with an increasing human population and shifting land use, and has continued despite restoration of the forest cover. The rapid shifts in aquatic productivity with changing land use indicated these ponds are responsive to conditions in their watersheds. For this reason, proper management techniques should be successful in either maintaining or reversing present productivity levels. Recommendations are made at the end of the report.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Ludlam, Stuart
- Date of Issue
- 1977-01
- Publisher
- University of Massachusetts
- Units
- CACO
- Keywords
- Aquatic Sciences, Ecology, Geology Hydrology Soils, Hydrology, Management, Ponds, Productivity, Sediments