Ecology and management of soda pans in the Carpathian Basin

About this book
Language: English

Soda pans are a specific type inland salt water bodies, dominated by sodium carbonate and hydrogen carbonate ions. This generally results in lower salinity than sodium chloride and sulphate salt lakes, which in turn favours more wildlife and a higher biodiversity. The Carpathan Basin is particularly rich in these kind of surface water bodies, but they have not been researched extensively, and only recently have they been recognized as important sites for for example waterbird populations.

The publication of Ecology and Management of Soda Pans in the Carpathian Basin is the result of a research project of several years. It aimed to gather, categorize and assess basic data on the ecology and conservation of these soda pans, and put this information into practice in conservation and sustainable management, and publish the knowledge required for the greatest possible degree of restoration.

The book consists of two parts. Part one presents soda pans and the basic physical, chemical, biological and ecological characteristics, partly by providing an overview of published scientific literature, party processing the data collected in the course of this research project. Part two describes the remaining 77 natural soda pans in the Carpathian Basin, and also includes soda pans affected by anthropogenic disturbance, as well as restored soda pans.