THE MAIN LIMNOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF WATER BODIES

Abstract

The article presents the results of monitoring the ecological state of the water bodies of the Republic of Karakalpakstan and describes their main limnological characteristics. It is shown that the sharp increase of anthropogenic pressure on aquatic ecosystems in the lower reaches of the Amudarya worsens water quality and threatens the conservation of biological diversity. Data on biogenic elements are given: the average content of dissolved phosphorus in the water of the Amudarya and in irrigation canals varied from 0.004 to 0.36 mg/l, and ammonium nitrogen near the Takhiatash bridge ranged from 0.01 to 0.20 mg/l. The Sudochye lake system, which unites several water bodies (Akushpa, Karateren, Begdulla-Aydin, Bolshoye and Maloye Sudochye and others), is a nesting site and a stopover on the West Asian migration route; its ornithofauna comprises 230 bird species, of which 117 nest there, including rare and endangered species, and in 2007 the lake was included in the list of Important Bird Areas of Uzbekistan (Uz 002) under criteria A1, A3, A4i and A4iii. The limnological features of the Daukul and Mezhdurechye lake systems are also characterized, including water mineralization, vegetation dominated by Phragmites australis, and the seasonal dynamics of seston.