Info Package Denmark

Management and
restoration
of lakes in Denmark
LakePromo
The County of North Jutland
Management and
restoration
of lakes in Denmark
LakePromo
Mette Bramm & Inge Christensen
County of North Jutland Department of Aquaric Environment

2006
Preface
This report concerns the management and restoration
of lakes in Denmark. Chapter 1 describes the state and
development of Danish lakes and provides a status of
past and present lake management and restoration
efforts. Methods of restoration and loading reducing
initiatives to be applied in lake catchments are presented. The next two chapters of the report deal with
administrative issues such as structure, legislation and
bodies involved in Danish lake management, and a status is presented of the ongoing implementation of the
EU Water Framework Directive.
land, Estonia, England, Germany, Hungary, Spain and

Russia. All project partners will elaborate status reports whose results will be summed up in a conclusive
report. This report will serve as the basis of transfer
of experiences and knowledge on lake issues between
all the Lakepromo partners and thereby between EU
countries and Russia.
Lakepromo is carried out within the framework of the
EU INTERREG IIIC North, which supports transnational cooperation between the regional authorities of
the EU and border countries. The overall purpose of
the project is to promote transnational cooperation on
aquatic issues with special emphasis on initiatives designed to improve the water quality of lakes, wetlands
and other aquatic ecosystems in accordance with the
demands of the EU Water Framework Directive.
Chapters 4-6 focus on various aspects of lake restoration such as project funding and the actual restoration
process, and a detailed description is given of the most
frequently applied restoration measures in Denmark
using the restoration project undertaken by the County
of Aarhus of Lake Stubbe as an example.
The County of Northern Jutland wishes to thank all

parties involved. A special thanks is given to Martin
Sndergaard, the National Environmental Research
Institute, for his contribution to Chapter 7. We are
grateful to Jacob Peter Jacobsen and Jette Mikkelsen,
Bio/consult, for their contribution to Chapters 3 and 6,
and to the County of Aarhus for their contribution to
the section on Lake Stubbe.
Finally, Chapter 7 provides a summary evaluating the

effects of lake restoration, puts the findings into a
broader perspective and forwards suggestions as to
areas in need of further development.
The report was elaborated by the County of Northern
Jutland as a part of the international EU project Lakepromo in which the County of Northern Jutland is the
only Danish participant. Also a Danish version of the
report is available. The Lakepromo partners comprise
research institutions and regional authorities from Fin-
Contents
Preface
1. Background
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
The characteristics of lakes suffering from eutrophication in Denmark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Development of the condition of lakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
History and current scope of lake management and restoration in Denmark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Current practices and methods available for lake restoration and external nutrient loading reduction . . . . 12
2. Administrative structure and legislation in the lake area
15
2.1 Administrative structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

2.2 Essential national legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.3 Current state of the national implementation of the Water Framework Directive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3. Actors in the lake area in Denmark
21
3.1 Involved actors and their tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

3.2 Overview of research, education and networking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4. Sources of funding for restoration projects
25
5. Restoration planning and implementation procedures
27
6. National best practices and special expertise in methods and projects
31
6.1 National special expertise biomanipulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

6.2 New methods for lake restoration in Denmark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
6.3 Lake Stubbe an example of a completed restoration project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
7. Summary and needs for development
43
Background and types of restoration interventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

References
47
1. Background
During the 20th century the anthropogenic nutrient
input, mainly coming from agriculture and sewage, to
most Danish lakes was much higher than the natural
input. The result was that many lakes became so rich in
nutrients that they shifted from a clearwater to a turbid
state (figure 1).
or lake management is important when tracing the

development pattern of Danish lakes.
The poor water quality of most Danish lakes may often
be due to increased nutrient input, but resilience after
a nutrient loading reduction may be another important factor to consider. This resilience may be either
chemical or biological (Sndergaard et al., 1999a,b).
Chemical resilience implying continuously high lake
water concentrations of phosphorus can be ascribed to
release of phosphorus from a pool accumulated over
the years in the lake sediment. Biological resilience
implying continuously high phytoplankton biomass is
often caused by dominance of the fish stock by species
preying on the zooplankton (Daphnia, etc.). This diminishes the potential of zooplankton to graze down the
phytoplankton and the turbid water state is therefore
maintained.
To remedy this situation, comprehensive measures

have been implemented during the past 20-30 years to
reduce the nutrient input, one of the instruments being
the national action plans on the aquatic environment.
In many lakes these initiatives have led to reduced nutrient concentrations; however, the majority of Danish
lakes are still so nutrient-rich that they are maintained
in a turbid state characterised by high phytoplankton
growth (Sndergaard et al., 1998).
In Denmark, there is a long tradition for monitoring
the environmental state of lakes, and this monitoring
Figure 1. Illustration of the shift from a clearwater to a turbid state. The figure furthermore shows the different structure of the ecosystem in a clearwater lake and a turbid (eutrophic) lake, respectively (Source: Aarhus County).
1. Background
Various kinds of interventions into existing lakes also
called lake restoration may be used to precipitate the
process towards improved water quality and to disrupt
the ecosystem resilience. For this purpose numerous
methods have been developed and many lake restoration projects undertaken in Danish lakes over the
past two decades. Thus, attempts have been made to
disrupt the chemical resilience by either removing the
large phosphorus pools of the sediment or by improving
the sediments retention capacity. To break biological
resilience fish stock manipulations are the most frequently used method (Sndergaard et al., 1998).
Danish Institute for Fisheries Research) have provided

valuable advice and guidance.
1.1 The characteristics of lakes suffering from

eutrophication in Denmark
Danish lakes have long been a threatened nature type.
With time lakes become more shallow, overgrown or
transformed into other types of nature such as bogs,
wet meadows and forests. However, during the past
centuries the largest threat has come from intensified
agricultural exploitation of the soil and urban expansion, implying drainage or eutrophication of lakes and
ponds (Sand-Jensen, 2001) (box 1.1). Today, however,
lakes are protected by Danish legislation (Chapter 2.2),
lakes are re-established and there is an increasing
awareness of the importance of allocating efforts to
protect and preserve the remaining lakes (Sndergaard
et al., 1999a).
So far (i.e. before implementation of the structural

reform), most lake management and lake restoration
projects have been undertaken by the Danish counties
in co-operation with the municipalities and interest organisations. The research institutions NERI (the National Environmental Research Institute) and DIFRES (the
Box 1.1. Eutrophication

Eutrophication is increased input of nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) to an aquatic ecosystem, leading to increased growth of
algae (phytoplankton). Natural eutrophication is the process by which the character of lakes is gradually changed in consequence of
natural shallowing, overgrowth or transformation into other lake types such as bogs, wet meadows or forests. Natural eutrophication
takes place over a very long period of time, usually centuries. However, the various cultural activities of humans may accelerate the
process, entailing the so-called anthropogenic eutrophication. In thousands of Danish lakes, anthropogenic eutrophication has led
to increased input of nutrients that thus become available to the phytoplankton populations of the lakes. Enhanced phytoplankton
growth adversely affects the animal and vegetation communities of the lakes and restricts their recreational use (see Chapter 1.2).
Four trophic levels reflecting the degree of eutrophication are generally assumed (after Wetzel, 1983):
Trophic levels
Oligotrophic
Mesotrophic
Eutrophic
Hypereutrophic
Definition
Oligotrophic lakes are

characterised by low
nutrient concentrations and therefore low
phytoplankton abundance and clear water.
Biological productivity
is low and so are plant
and fish densities.
Mesotrophic lakes are

characterised by moderate nutrient concentrations and moderate
biological productivity.
The water is relatively
clear and plant and fish
densities are high.
Eutrophic lakes are

characterised by high
nutrient concentrations,
high biological productivity, green water and
high abundance or even
absence of plants. Fish
density is high.
3 17.7
307 - 1630
0.3 4.5
10.9 95.6
361 - 1387
3 - 11
16 - 386
393 - 6100
3 - 78
Hypereutrophic lakes
are characterised by
extremely high nutrient
concentrations, turbid,
green water and high
biological productivity.
Plants are either abundant or absent, and the
densities of fish and
other small animals/invertebrates are high.
750 - 1200
100 - 150
5.4 28.3
1.5 8.1
0.8 7
0.4 0.5
Total phosphorus (g/l)

Total nitrogen (g/l)
Chlorophyll a (g/l)
Secchi depth
(m)
1. Background
Today, there are approximately 120,000 Danish lakes
larger than 0.01 ha (100 m). However, most lakes are
small or can be characterised as ponds. Only 2 %, corresponding to 2,762 lakes, measure more than 1 ha,
and only 6 lakes are larger than 1,000 ha. Denmarks
largest lake is Lake Arres with an area of approx.
4000 ha. In total, Danish lakes cover an area of 58,000
ha, which corresponds to 1.4 % of the total Danish land
area (Sndergaard et al., 1999b).
2001). If the phosphorus level in a Danish lake exceeds

150 g/l, Secchi depth will always be poor. Is it below
50 g/l the abundance of phytoplankton declines, and
Secchi depth will be relatively high. At phosphorus
concentrations between 50 and 150 g per litre, shallow lakes may be either turbid or clear and may shift
between the two states from year to year (figure 1).
Almost 40% of the Danish lakes belong to the latter
category, which makes them suitable candidates for
lake restoration initiatives aimed to promote the process towards improved water quality. In deep lakes, the
phosphorus level must be somewhat lower to obtain an
improvement of the Secchi depth (Sndergaard et al.,
1999b).
Most Danish lakes are shallow. Half of them have an

average depth below 1.6 m, 25% have an average
depth >3 m, and only 3 % have an average depth
exceeding 10 m. The deepest lake is Lake Fures with a
depth of 38 m (Kristensen et al., 1990).
1.2 Development of the condition of lakes
About half the Danish lakes exhibit phosphorus concentrations exceeding 150 g P/l, and in 65 % of the
lakes summer Secchi depth is lower than 1 m (Jeppesen & Sndergaard, 1997). Thus, Danish lakes are
generally highly nutrient-rich (eutrophic) and turbid. In
many lakes phosphorus is the most important limiting
nutrient for phytoplankton growth, in other lakes phosphorus and nitrogen are equally important or change
in relative importance with the season (Sand-Jensen,
Past investigations and paleolimnological studies (i.e.

investigations of plant and animal remains in the sediment) show that most Danish lakes were clear 50-200
years ago (Amsinck et al., 2003; Jeppesen, 1998).
However, during the 20th century, most lakes were heavily impacted by anthropogenic eutrophication in the
form of vast inputs of nutrients, mainly phosphorus and
nitrogen.
increased
P loading
reduced recreational
quality & possibly
restricted bathing
due to toxic algae
increased
algae biomass
turbid water
possibly obnoxious
smells & fauna death
due to toxic algae
fewer submerged
macrophytes
increased
sedimentation
increased oxygen
demand, possibly
anoxic conditions
increased
P release
negative effect on
aquatic organisms
increase in
planktivorous
fish
decrease in
piscivorous
fish
fewer and smaller

zooplankton
fewer
invertebrates
Figure 1.2.1. Biological (green), physico-chemical (blue) and recreational (red) consequences of eutrophication.
more fish
eating birds
1. Background
Consequences of eutrophication
Phosphorus
Phytoplankton abundance increases dramatically in

response to high nutrient concentrations (figure 1.2.1).
Phytoplankton blooms adversely affect the lake ecosystem in various ways: 1) the water becomes turbid and
light penetration thereby decreases (impoverished Secchi depth), and submerged macrophytes are replaced
by other species at the larger depths. This implies that
the forage and refuge opportunities for many aquatic
organisms disappear. 2) When the phytoplankton die
and decompose a large oxygen demand is created,
which negatively affects most aquatic organisms, including fish. 3) The risk increases of toxic algae blooming
that may cause fauna depletion and impede the recreational use of the lake.
Wastewater
Atmosphere
Fish farming
3,9%
0,5%
6,4%
Rainwater
9,2%
Scattered
dwellings
14,2%
Open land
65,8%
Increased nutrient loading also entails changes in the

trophic structure of lakes, these being particularly
pronounced at the top of the food chain. Eutrophication
may thus cause a shift from dominance of piscivorous
fish such as perch (Perca fluviatilis) and pike (Esox
lucius) to dominance of zooplanktivorous non-predatory fish such as roach (Rutilus rutilus) and bream
(Abramis brama). Moreover, the biomass of non-predatory fish increases with increasing nutrient loading.
Together, this results in enhanced predation pressure
on the zooplankton that may then lose its control of
the phytoplankton (Jeppesen, 1998). The result is an
increase in phytoplankton biomass. The consequences
are depicted in figure 1.2.1 (and figure 1).
Nitrogen
Wastewater
2,6%
Atmosphere
Fish farming
0,1%
18,9%
Rainwater
1,5%
Scattered
dwellings
3,9%
Reasons for eutrophication
Open land
73,1%
Untreated or only partly treated sewage was the main

source of phosphorus loading to lakes when detergents contained large quantities of phosphates. Today,
sewage treatment is highly effective, and the main
source of nutrient loading of the Danish lakes is the
nutrient runoff from agricultural soils (Sand-Jensen,
2001). About 66 % of the phosphorus and 73 % of
the nitrogen loading of lakes derive from open land,
i.e. agricultivated fields (figure 1.2.2). Since 1989 the
nitrogen and phosphorus input to the Danish lakes has
decreased, particularly to the most sewage-impacted
sites (Lauridsen et al., 2005).
Figure 1.2.2. Sources of phosphorus and nitrogen loading to

20 intensively monitored Danish lakes in 2004 (Lauridsen et al.,
2005).
Focus on eutrophication
Sewage pollution from urban areas was easily recognisable and efficient removal of both organic substances
and phosphorus was initiated in the 1970s. The use of
fertilizers and imported animal feedstuff, which increased markedly from around 1960 to the mid-1980s,
resulted in a dramatic increase in the nutrient loading
of the aquatic environment. Political awareness of the
problem increased, a contributory factor being several
episodes of oxygen depletion and fish kills in inner Danish waters during the 1980s. In autumn 1986, oxygen
depletion caused death of lobsters in the Kattegat,
10
1. Background
which proved beyond doubt that conditions were poor.
The effects of the oxygen depletion were covered intensively by the media, which led to a severe pressure
on the Danish politicians. Focus was put on the aquatic
environment, and the first of three Action Plans on the
Aquatic Environment was launched (Grant et al., 2002).
and treat the county data for the purpose of national

reporting (see Chapter 3).
The present lake monitoring programme termed NOVANA was implemented in 2004 under Aquatic Action
Plan III and comprises intensive lakes of which most
have been monitored since 1989 as well as extensive
lakes (table 1.3.1.). The new NOVANA lake programme
has a stronger biological focus, implying that more
emphasis is now placed on natural elements and biodiversity. The purpose of this is two-fold, i.e. i) to ensure
compliance with the EU Water Framework Directive
and EU Habitats Directive, and ii) to provide a detailed
general status of the environmental state and development of Danish lakes. NOVANA will be in operation until
2009 when the programme will be revised (Lauridsen
et al., 2005; Svendsen et al., 2005).
The implementation of Aquatic Action Plan I in 1987

was the initiation of intensive treatment of urban and
industrial sewage, and small-scale changes in the
structure of agriculture were made with the purpose of
obtaining an 80 % reduction of the phosphorus and a
50 % decrease in the nitrogen input to Danish aquatic
areas. The reduction targets set by Action Plan I for
industrial and municipal sewage works were all met.
However, the objective set for reduction of nitrogen
leaching from agricultural fields could not be fulfilled,
which led to the implementation of the Aquatic Action
Plan II in 1998. In combination, Action Plan I and II led
to the desired 50 % reduction of agricultural nitrogen
leaching (Grant et al., 2004). In 2004, the government passed Aquatic Action Plan III, which is aimed to
further reduce agricultural nitrogen leaching and bring
down also the agricultural phosphorus leaching (Ministry of Environment & Ministry of Food, Agriculture and
Fisheries, 2004).
Lake restoration
Lake restoration was first put on the agenda in the
mid-1970s when the Danish Environmental Protection
Agency received a number of enquiries concerning the
potential restoration of lakes with deteriorated environmental quality. In spring 1977 the agency decided
to set up a working group to elaborate a report on the
potentials of lake restoration (Danish Environmental
Protection Agency, 1979). However, lake restoration
did not become a serious possibility until 1984 when
Dr Erik Jeppesen was asked to form a lake group at the
Freshwater Laboratory in Silkeborg (now the National
Environmental Research Institute, NERI) (Jeppesen,
1998). The first large-scale lake restoration project was
completed during 1986-1988 in Lake Vng in Central
Jutland (Jeppesen et al., 1989), and although lake
restoration has thus been applied since the end of the
1980s, most projects have been undertaken during the
past 10-12 years.
1.3 History and current scope of lake management and restoration in Denmark
Lake management
In Denmark, there is a relatively long tradition for
monitoring lakes and other aquatic areas. This owes
to the introduction of the Environmental Protection
Act in 1974 that allocated to the Danish counties the
responsibility for monitoring the environment, but only
with the implementation of Action Plan I in 1987 was
monitoring of the aquatic environment systematised. A
national lake monitoring programme was launched to
trace the effects of the measures introduced by Action
Plan I to reduce the nutrient input. To cover the additional costs incurred in complying with the supplementary monitoring, the Danish Parliament has since 1988
annually allocated approx. 13 million to the counties,
the amount being supplemented by funds for research
and operation (Andersen et al., 2005). Since 1988,
the national lake monitoring programme has been the
joint responsibility of county and state authorities. The
counties are responsible for sampling, preliminary data
analysis and reporting at the local level, while the National Environmental Research Institute (NERI) collect
The Danish restoration projects have produced widely

varying results; however, there is no doubt that
adequate restoration may significantly improve water
quality. Thus, fish stock intervention, the most popular
method, has often had a positive effect on the remaining trophic levels and overall water quality. Many
Danish examples show that clearwater conditions may
be created in shallow lakes if a substantial proportion
(approx. 70-80%) of the planktivorous fish stock is
removed, preferably during a period of 1-2 years (Jeppesen & Sammalkorpi, 2002). If the removal is insufficient and/or external loading remains high, the effect
may be limited, though. Preferably, external loading
11
1. Background
Parameters
Large lakes > 5 ha
Small lakes
(0.1-5 ha)
Ponds
(0.01-0.1 ha)
Intensive programme
23 lakes
Extensive programme I
204 lakes
Extensive programme II
414 lakes
Extensive programme III

456 lakes
Mass balance and nutrient sources
Environmental hazardous substances
Heavy metals
Physico-chemical parameters
Water chemical analyses
19 (every year)
7 (every 3
Physical analyses (e.g. oxygen

and temperature)
19 (every year)
year)
1 (every 6th year)
7 (every 3rd year)
5 (every 6th year)
1 (every 6th year)
1 (every 6th year)
Phytoplankton
19 (every year)
1 (every 3rd year)
Zooplankton
19 (every year)
Submerged macrophytes
1 (every year)
Sediment analyses
Loading and threats (GIS)
rd
year)
5 (every 6
th
Biological parameters
Reeds
Bottom animals
1 (every 3
rd
1 (every 3
rd
year)
1 (every 6th year)

1 (every year)
year)
1 (every 3
rd
1 (every 6
th
year)
1 (every 6th year)
year)
Fish
1 (every 6th year)
1 (every 6th year)
Birds
1 (every year)
Amphibians
1 (every year)
1 (every year)
Table 1.3.1. The number of intensive and extensive lakes included in the NOVANA programme (2004-2009). The number of extensive
lakes will be reduced during the period 2007-2009 when focus will be shifted to environmental hazardous substances. The table gives a
survey of parameters, frequency (years) and number of samplings per year (according to Svendsen et al., 2005).
should be reduced to a level corresponding to an equilibrium phosphorus concentration below 50-100 g P/l in
shallow lakes and desirably <20-50 g P/l in deep lakes
to obtain lasting effects (Sndergaard et al., 1999b).
description of the different methods can also be found

in Cooke et al. (1993).
A distinction is made between biological and physicochemical methods. Biological restoration methods are
by far the most common tools applied to Danish lakes
(table 1.4.1 and figure 1.4.1). Fish stock intervention or
biomanipulation entails removal of planktivorous fish,
possibly in combination with stocking of piscivores, typically pike fry (a detailed description is given in Chapter 6, section 6.1). Another biological tool is transplantation and/or protection of submerged macrophytes
to precipitate the re-establishment and spreading of
submerged plants whose presence is vital for improving
lake water quality and stabilising the clearwater state
(Jeppesen et al., 1998).
Long-term effects are not yet well documented, and

whether the positive effects of the interventions will
last in the long term is uncertain and will not become
clear until the future (M. Sndergaard, NERI, personal
communication) (see Chapter 7).
1.4 Current practices and methods available

for lake restoration and external nutrient
loading reduction
Lake restoration methods applied in Denmark
The possibility of actively shifting particularly shallow
lakes lying within the nutrient interval of 50-100 g
P/l from a turbid to a clearwater lakes has led to the
development of various restorative measures during
the past decades (Sndergaard et al., 1998). A detailed
Physico-chemical methods have been far less frequently applied in Danish restoration projects (table
1.4.1 and figure 1.4.1). The three most commonly used
methods are oxidation of bottom water/sediment (e.g.
Lake Hald (Rasmussen, 1998)), sediment removal (e.g.
12
1. Background
Description of advantages and disadvantages
Number
of lakes
*Stocking of piscivorous
fish fry
- particularly pike fry. Reduction of zooplanktivorous fish increased

control of algae improved water quality.
~ 46
*Removal of planktivores
- particularly zooplanktivorous roach and bream increased control

of algae improved water quality.
~ 43
Transplantation/protection
of submerged macrophytes
- to promote plant re-establishment and development reduced

resuspension, maintenance of nutrients, improved living conditions for
the zooplankton, mussels and small-sized perch and pike, etc. Success depends on the growth conditions within the lake and the grazing
pressure from waterfowl and fish.
~7
Oxidation of bottom water/

sediment
- in stratified lakes reduced phosphorus release from the sediment

by increasing its retention capacity. Typically a multiple-year symptom
treatment approach. Relatively cheap. Success depends on the phosphorus binding capacity of the sediment.
~ 10
Sediment removal
- removal of the source of internal phosphorus loading reduced

phosphorus release. Success depends on external loading. Highly
expensive.
~8
Addition of iron or aluminium salts
- in shallow and stratified lakes. Precipitation of phosphorus from the

lake water and reduced phosphorus release from the sediment. Success depends on the pH level.
~4
Restoration methods
Biological
Physicochemical
Restoration methods divided on on single projects
Table 1.4.1. Survey of the most frequently applied methods in Danish lake restoration projects. Most restored lakes are shallow but differ
widely in size (<1-850 ha) and nutrient level (~ 50-800 g P/l) (Sndergaard et al., 1998). The survey is based on October 2005 data and
includes county restoration projects. *A detailed description of the fish manipulation method is given in Chapter 6, section 6.1.
30
27
25
20
15
18
14
10
8
4
0
Only fish removal
Fish removal +
stocking
Fish removal + others
Only stocking
Only sediment
Only oxygen
Only aluminium/iron
Figure 1.4.1. Survey of the most commonly applied lake restoration methods based on number of projects undertaken. Green and blue
columns represent, respectively, biological and physico-chemical measures. The figure illustrates that fish removal combined with pike
stocking is the most frequently used method in Denmark. The survey is based on October 2005 data and comprises all restoration projects
with county involvement.
Methods for reduction of the external nutrient

loading
Lake Brabrand (Jrgensen, 1998)) and addition of iron

and aluminium salts (e.g. Lake Snderby (Hansen et
al., 2004; Reitzel et al., 2003)).
An important prerequisite for successful lake restoration is that the external nutrient input to the lake
is reduced to an equilibrium level of 50-100 g P/l.
Table 1.4.2 gives a survey of loading-reducing measu-
13
1. Background
res currently applied in Danish lake catchments. It is
important to note that the measures aim to improve
the aquatic environment as a whole and not only the
environmental state of lakes. The measures reduce
loading from diffuse sources as well as point sources
within the catchment. The diffuse loading derives from
Measures applied
open country and mostly comprises agricultural runoff.

Point sources comprise loading from sewage treatment
plans, scattered dwellings and fish farms as well as
precipitation-induced loading.
Comments
Diffuse sources
Action Plan I (1987-), II (1998-) and III (20042015) and Action Plan for Sustainable Development of Agriculture (1991-)
Four important environmental instruments aimed to reduce nutrient loading of the aquatic environment.
Changed fertilisation practices in accordance with

the Animal Manure Regulations
Regulations regarding capacity of manure storage tanks (minimum 9

months), methods of spreading (precipitation or irrigation) and practices
(time of year, slopes), winter crops.
Re-establishment of aquatic areas and lakes,

remeandering of streams
Increases nutrient retention in the catchments and implicitly reduces

nutrient loading of the lake.
Evaluation of effects on the environment (in accordance with the EU directive of EIA - Environmental Impact assessment
Regulations to ensure that the total impact on nature, environment and

humans of a project is evaluated before the expansion or changing of
agricultural activities involving intensive husbandry. The EIA rules require
phosphorus balance, i.e. the amount of phosphorus added to the soil in
the manure will not exceed the plant uptake.
Cultivation-free strips along lakes and streams
Reduces the risk of agricultural runoff to lakes.
Designation of particularly sensitive agricultural

areas (PSAAs)
In PSAA-areas government funds may be obtained for introduction of

extensive and environmentally friendly agricultural practices .
Shift to manual weed removal in streams
Avoids the sediment disturbance of mechanical removal.
Tree removal around lakes
Reduces the input of organic substances (nutrients) and the risk of acidification.
Tree/shrub planting on particularly sensitive agricultural land
Such as hillsides in risk of erosion, ravines, etc.
Point sources
Improved sewage treatment at plants with a
capacity >1000 individuals (biological treatment,
phosphorus and nitrogen removal)
95-98% of all Danish sewage is treated at large-scale plants. Nitrogen

and phosphorus levels in treated water are 8 mg N/l and 1 mg P/l, respectively.
Tax on water discharged from sewage treatment

plants
The tax decreases with increasing quality of the water discharge to promote effective treatment.
Stricter requirements for sewage treatment in

designated lake and watercourse catchments
Applies to dwellings in open country that are not connected with the sewage system. The designation demands biological treatment.
Phosphorus quota for freshwater fish farms
Reduces the amount of phosphorus in the water discharge from fish farms
and improves the fodders quality (low phosphorus levels).
Re-routing of agricultural drains
Field drains will be diverted from particularly sensitive lakes.
Establishment of rainwater tanks
Primarily to reduce the hydraulic loading of watercourses (maximum 1

l/sec/ha), a positive side effect for lakes/watercourses being precipitation
of nutrients and organic substances within the tanks.
Table 1.4.2. Survey of measures applied to reduce catchment nutrient loading.
14
2. Administrative structure and legislation in

the lake area
2.1 Administrative structure
Denmark is currently implementing a major structural
reform of its public sector to become operational from
1 January 2007. Todays 271 local municipalities will be
replaced by 98 larger and more sustainable municipalities. The 13 current regions (counties) will be dissolved
and replaced by 7 governmental environment centres that together with the new municipalities will be
responsible for the environmental tasks earlier managed by the counties. Figures 2.1.1 and 2.1.2 depict the
administrative structure before and after the structural
reform and the degree of authority attachment to and
co-operation respective to the lake area.
Figure 2.1.1. The administrative structure before the structural reform to be effected by January 1, 2007. The various
authorities involved in lake management activities as well as the
interface between them are shown. Governmental institutions
are represented by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency,
the Danish Forest and Nature Agency, the National Environmental Research Institute and the Danish Fisheries Research
Institute.
interest groups
lake
municipality
DIFRES
DEPA
NERI
county
DFNA
Figure 2.1.2. The administrative structure after structural reform to be effected by January 1, 2007. The various authorities
involved in lake management activities as well as the interface
between them are shown. The red arrows and boxes depict the
expectedly most significant changes. The counties will be dissolved, and the governmental institutes are now represented
by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, the Danish
Forest and Nature Agency, the National Environmental Research
Institute, the Danish Fisheries Research Institute and the new
governmental environment centres.
interestgroups
large
municipality
lake
DIFRES
Center of
Environment
NERI
DEPA
DFNA
Before the structural reform
revised every fourth year. The regional plans state the

specific objectives for the use and quality of lakes (box
2.1.1). The counties and municipalities must endeavour to
comply with these objectives by introducing restorative
measures in the lake and/or its catchment as described
in Chapter 1.4. Also, the EU Water Framework Directive
(WFD) demands fulfilment of the established objectives.
Today, the Danish counties are responsible for monitoring

the environmental state of lakes, for mapping major pollution sources and for the undertaking of lake restoration
projects. These tasks are undertaken in collaboration with
interest organisations, local municipalities and government authorities, and all the activities in combination
form the basis of the counties Regional plans, which are
15

Each year reports are elaborated by the counties for
lakes with established objectives. These reports are
submitted to the Danish Forest and Nature Agency
(DFNA), which then elaborates a joint status report for
all the reported lakes. Moreover, each year the counties submit raw data and reports on the environmental
state on the lakes to the Danish National Environmental
Research Institute (NERI), the responsible body for
the national Danish lake monitoring programme (figure
2.1.1).
their responsibility areas before and after the structural reform.
2.2 Essential national legislation

Danish legislation protects lakes in various ways. The
Nature Protection Act and the Watercourse Act ensure
the physical state of lakes, while the Environmental
Protection Act primarily protects the water quality and
thereby the ecological state of the lakes. The Planning
Act prescribes that objectives are set for lake quality
and use in the county regional plans. The fish populations in lakes are comprised by the Fisheries Act, whereas other animals and plants are indirectly protected
through the Nature Protection Act and the Watercourse
Act. Besides national legislation the guidelines of the
EU Water Framework and Habitats Directives govern
the rules for lake management established by the Environmental Objectives Act.
After the structural reform

The counties will be dissolved and their tasks transferred to the regional environment centres, the new
municipalities and NERI. The primary tasks of the 7
governmental environment centres will expectedly be
monitoring of surface water (including lakes), groundwater and nature areas as well as elaboration of water
and nature plans according to the Environmental Objectives Act (i.e. the Water Framework Directive). The
new municipalities will take over the responsibility of
lake restoration activities and administrative service of
citizens. NERI will be responsible for the overall planning and prioritisation of the regional lake monitoring
(figure 2.1.2).
Below a more detailed description is given of the acts

regulating Danish lakes and Table 2.2.1 provides a brief
presentation of their main purposes.
The Nature Protection Act covers all natural and
artificial lakes larger than 100 m and protects the
lakes from all kinds of physical change of state, such
as unregulated digging, weed clearance, lowering of
Chapter 3 provides a detailed description of the organisations involved in lake management activities and
Box 2.1.1. Lake objectives

For approx. 700 Danish lakes > 3 ha specific environmental objectives are set. Three categories exist: stringent (A), basic (B) and
moderate (C). The desired environmental state is described using one or more quality objectives (e.g. Secchi depth and phosphorus
level). Limits may also be given for the lakes upper tolerance level in terms of nutrient input should the objectives be met. The process
of objectives establishment differs from county to county and the quality objectives below are those contained in the regional plan
of the County of Northern Jutland. In 2004 the objectives were met in approx. 30% of lakes with specific objectives, a level that has
remained largely unchanged during the past 20 years.
Lake objectives
Quality measure: Lake water transparency

measured as summer mean Secchi depth (m)
A1
Site of specific scientific interest
A2
Bathing lake
Transparency to the bottom or > 3 m
Naturral and diverse animal and plant communities
C1
Sewage impacted lake
> 05 m
C2
Agriculturally impacted lake
> 0.5 m
2-3 m
16
> 1-3 m

the water level, etc. The undertaking of such changes
requires an exemption according to the acts section
3. Furthermore, according to the acts section 6, a 150
metre wide protection zone is established along lake
shores within which erection of buildings, planting, etc
are prohibited. To transplant water plants in connection
to lake restoration projects, a permit must therefore be
obtained, according to the acts section 16.
The Planning Act is the judicial background for the

establishment of lake water quality objectives (section
6). Depending on the type of objective (box 2.1.1) the
desired environmental state of a lake is described using
one or more parameters, for instance the Secchi depth.
The Environmental Objectives Act facilitates the
implementation of the Water Framework Directive
and the Habitats Directive in Danish legislation. The
act stipulates the set up of specific objectives for
the quality of Danish environment and nature and
empowers the authorities to take the necessary
measures to ensure that the environmental objectives
are met. The overall objective is to adopt quality
objectives ensuring a good ecological state of all
aquatic ecosystems by 2015. For lakes good ecological
state and good chemical state are required, which
primarily implies good living conditions for plants and
animals. The practical application of the legislation
entails the elaboration of measures to ensure
compliance with the objectives of the Water Framework
Directive (website of Danish EPA: www.mst.dk).
The Watercourse Act protects lakes from lowering

of their water level consequent to drainage, water
abstraction or land reclamation, according to the acts
section 18. The acts section 69 stipulates a two metre
wide cultivation-free strip alongside the lakes.
The Environmental Protection Act includes provisions to prevent and combat pollution of Danish lakes
(section 1) and is administered by the Ministry of
Environment. Section 27 of the act forbids the use of
substances that may cause pollution and change the
environmental state of a lake. Thus, for lake restoration projects involving addition of aluminium sulphate
or iron for the purpose of binding phosphorus a permit
must be obtained under the Environmental Protection
Act. Section 27 also stipulates that animal manure
must not be used on steep slopes when the waste product is likely to run off to watercourses and lakes in the
event of heavy rainfall. This section is important when
considering the extension of swine and cattle operations. In addition, according to section 28 discharge of
sewage to lakes requires a special permit. According
to todays administrative structure, the act imposes on
the counties to undertake lake monitoring activities,
according to the acts section 66.
The responsibility of implementing the Water Framework Directive lies with the Danish Ministry of
Environment which has decided to combine its implementation with parts of the Habitats and Bird Protection Directives. The Water Framework Directives strict
demands for protection of aquatic ecosystems contribute to the protection of biological diversity through
the preservation of nature types, which is the primary
goal of the Habitats Directive. Thus, the Habitats Direc-
The Fisheries Act regulates all aspects of fishery and

farming in both salty and fresh waters, including lakes.
To undertake fish manipulation in lakes (fish removal,
stocking of piscivorous fish, etc.) and other investigations of scientific, environmental and managerial nature,
a permit must be obtained from the Danish Directorate
of Fisheries (DDF), which is a part of the Ministry of
Food, Agriculture and Fisheries. Thus, fishing tools and
methods and deviations from prevailing preservation
regulations (e.g. the acts section 63 and 109) must be
approved by the DDF. Moreover, all fishing activities
in connection with lake restoration projects must be
presented to and permitted by land owners (cf. section
28). The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries is
the responsible authority.
17

Significant acts regulating lake management activities
Function
The Nature Protection Act
Statutory order no. 884 of October

1, 2004
Change of environmental state

Lake protection zones
Transplantation of water plants
The Watercourse Act
Statutory order no. 632 of June 23,

2001, with later amendments
Change of water level

Drainage
Cultivation-free strips
The Environmental Protection Act
Statutory order no. 753 of August

25, 2001, with later amendments
Lake restoration via aluminium addition or similar

measures
Surface runoff of animal manure to lakes
Sewage discharge
Monitoring
The Planning Act
Statutory order no. 883 of August

18, 2004
Establishment of lake objectives
The Environmental Objectives Act
Act no. 1150 of December 17, 2003
Danish implementation of the EU Water Framework, Habitats and Bird Protection Directives
The Fisheries Act
Statutory order no. 828 of July 3,

2004
Scientific investigations
Removal of non-predatory fish
Stocking of piscivorous fish
Fishery in general
Permission for lake restoration must be obtained
from land owners
tive comprises several characteristic Danish lake types such as Lobelia lakes as well as lake-associated plant and
animal species.
Table 2.2.1. Significant acts regulating Danish lake management and lake restoration activities and their functions. The Danish wording of
the Acts is found at the website of the Danish Forest and Nature Agency: www.skovognatur.dk/Lovgivning/Love/).
2.3 Current state of the national implementation of the Water Framework Directive
groundwater and the completion of a survey of the impacts on aquatic ecosystems (the Danish Environmental Protection Agency & the Danish Forest and Nature
Agency, 2004).
Present status
The administrative framework of the Environmental Objectives Act is the water districts. Before the structural
reform there were 13 water districts whose boundaries
generally followed those of the present counties. After
the structural reform, which will become effective as
from January 1 2007, the number of water districts will
be reduced to 3, and the responsibility for these will be
transferred to the regional environment centres. Before
2009 the counties/environment centres must draw up
a water plan for each district to ensure cohesion of
planning activities. By the end of 2006 at the latest,
the general objectives of the Water Framework Directive should be transformed into specific environmental
objectives for each individual water district.
The next step is the conduct of Basis analysis, part II,

which is to include characterisations of environmental
state, preliminary objectives for the future state and a
risk assessment of whether the aquatic ecosystems (including lakes) may fulfil the objective of good ecological
state by 2015 (the Danish Environmental Protection
Agency & the Danish Forest and Nature Agency, 2005).
The guidelines for Basis analysis, part II were forwarded to the counties in October 2005 and the tasks
involved must be completed during March 2006.
The Danish Environmental Protection Agency has announced that the future water and nature plans, which
must comply with the stipulations of the Water Framework and Habitats Directives, should be elaborated
at the regional environment centres (O. Christiansen,
Danish Environmental Protection Agency, personal
communication). Also, the new municipalities will be
The first step towards implementation of the Water

Framework Directive was the conduct of Basis analysis,
part I. This analysis was finalised in December 2004
and comprised the establishment of a classification
and typology of surface waters (including lakes) and
18

given the responsibility of implementing the water
plans (Danish Forest and Nature Agency & the Danish
Environmental Protection Agency, 2005), including
potential lake restoration projects.
the criteria for objective fulfilment vary widely between

the counties, this position is problematic.
Another factor giving rise to criticism is the less stringent objectives of the regional plans for lakes impacted
by sewage and agricultural waste. As less stringent
objectives are a phenomenon unknown to the Water
Framework Directive, it is questionable whether nutrient-impacted lakes with such objectives will be able to
attain good ecological status by 2015.
National challenges in connection with the implementation of the Water Framework Directive
The objectives of the Danish Action Plans on the Aquatic Environment are not based on legislation. However,
with the implementation of the EU Water Framework
Directive all member states are obliged to follow common guidelines for preserving and improving aquatic
ecosystems and to elaborate water plans. The so far
three Danish Action Plans form a solid basis for this
work (see Chapter 1) and the Water Framework Directive has consequently been implemented in the most
recent Action Plan III. To demonstrate the effects of
Action Plan III, the lake monitoring programme NOVANA was initiated in 2004, fulfilling also the Directives
requirement of control monitoring of aquatic areas
(including lakes).
So far, until the EU agrees on the boundaries between

the ecological quality classes, which will expectedly be
based on the chlorophyll concentration or other simple
and frequently used environmental variables, the
Danish boundary between good and moderate will be
based on the environmental objectives stipulated in the
county regional plans (M. Sndergaard NERI, personal
communication).
One of the biggest challenges in connection with the

implementation of the Water Framework Directive in
Denmark has been the definition of good and moderate in the categorisation of the environmental states
of lakes according to the Directives five ecological quality classes: high, good, moderate, poor and bad (Sndergaard et al., 2003a). This definition is crucial in the
future implementation work as all aquatic ecosystems
are to obtain good environmental state by 2015. The
National Environmental Research Institute was asked to
provide a scientific evaluation and their suggestion for
a total phosphorus-based classification was a boundary
of 25-50 g P L-1 for good state and a boundary of 50100 g P L-1 for moderate state in shallow lakes, the
corresponding boundaries being 12.5-25 and 25-50 in
deep lakes. However, this limit was not acceptable for
political reasons and was met with strong objections
from Danish agricultural organisations.
The current position of the Danish Environmental
Protection Agency and the Danish Forest and Nature
Agency is that the demand of good ecological quality
should be based on the quality objectives established
by the regional plans (the Danish Environmental Protection Agency & the Danish Forest and Nature Agency,
2005). Thus, the risk assessment should consider
whether there is a risk that a lake, classified for instance as B (see box 2.1.1), will not meet the objectives
set by the regional plan in force in 2015. However, as
19
20

3.1 Involved actors and their tasks
This chapter describes the different involved parties
and their respective roles and cooperation in relation to
planning and implementation of lake management and
lake restoration in Denmark until the structural reform
of Danish municipal and country structure comes into
Key players
Local level
Regional level
Responsibilities
271 municipalities
13 counties
Monitoring of swimming areas and waste water upstream to lakes

Maintenance and sign posting
Participation in restoration projects
National and regional monitoring, data collection, quality control of

data, setting of objectives, reporting
Nature and environmental consideration in relation to the public
Restorations, water plans, according to the Water Framework Directive
Research
Responsible for the national monitoring program, technical advisory
services, storing data
Restorations
Communication/education
Advising politicians, administrators and agencies
Danish Institute for Fisheries

Research (DIFRES)
Research
Restorations
Universities
Research
Education
Responsible for the implementation and handling of EUdirectives

Responsible for setting environmental objectives, the action taken
and the economy, all based on the basis analysis
Advising politicians and administrators
National Environmental Research Institute (NERI)
National level
Danish Environmental Protection Agency (DEPA),

Danish Forest and Nature
Agency (DFNA)
Consultancy
level
force by January 1 2007 (table 3.1.1). In addition, this

chapter outlines the expected division of roles between
the local municipal level and the regional level after
January 1 2007 (table 3.1.2).
Private expert consultancy

companies/advisory services
All consultant work: restorations, investigations, monitoring advise,

research, modeling, reports
Promoters of environmental improvement and possible participation

Pointing out environmental problems
Public awareness raising
Spokesmen for the public and/or specific interest groups
Responsible of restoration projects supported technically and academically by e.g. the county
Funding
EU regulations and directives dealing with the environment
Sport fishing associations

Forestry associations
Houseowners associations
Recidents associations
Voluntary level
Recreational users
Scouts associations
Danish Society for Nature Conservation
Landowners
Environmental NGOs
International
level
EU
Table 3.1.1. Before the structural reform. Players in lake management and lake restoration in Denmark and their roles.
21

Key players
Responsibilities
Local level
98 municipalities
Same as before the structural reform plus:

Comments/suggestions to the governmental plans
Implementing the actions plans, according to the Water Framework Directive
Restorations
All administration of nature- and environmental considerations
Regional level
7 governmental environment
centers (replaces the counties)
Same as before structural reform plus:

Advising politicians and administrators
Advising the municipalities in relation to for example action plans
and restorations
Note! Lake restoration and consideration in relation to the public are
transferred to the municipalities
5 regions
National Environmental Protection Institute (NERI)
Same as before the structural reform plus:

Responsible for the regional monitoring program (before undertaken by the counties)
Responsible for a common database
Danish Institute for Fisheries

Research (DIFRES),
Universities,
Danish Environmental Protection Agency (DEPA),
Danish Forest and Nature
Agency (DFNA)
Same as before the structural reform
Private expert consultancy

companies/advisory services
National level
Private level
Voluntary level
International level
See table 3.1.1

EU
Play no role in connection to lakes

Table 3.1.2. After the structural reform. Players in lake management and lake restoration in Denmark and their roles. The roles are qualified guesses, as the structural reform has not yet been implemented.
Today, the 13 Danish counties are the implementing

authorities responsible for handling and approving
restoration projects in accordance with existing national and European legislation. Restoration projects are
in most cases initiated because the lake in question
does not meet the environmental objectives set in the
so-called Regional plan of the county. The county then
prepares the necessary action plans for the restoration based on existing knowledge and supplementary
investigations of the specific lake, if necessary. Furthermore, the county is responsible for rising funding for
restoration projects and for issuing necessary permissions and exemptions from the Danish law if needed
(see Chapter 5).
and the county with the overall responsibility including

the planning and funding. The volunteers involved in
a restoration project are typically the landowners,
scouts associations, environmental NGOs or other interest groups, who contact the municipality or county,
because they wish to improve the condition of their
specific lake. In these cases, local people often contribute with important knowledge of the flora and fauna
and the history of the lake, which in turn helps the
county to gain more insight in and background knowledge of the condition of the lake. Volunteers also often
take part in for instance fish removal (biomanipulation), monitoring of different field equipment, checking
nets, measuring Secchi depth, recording water levels,
counting of birds, recordings of recapture of stocked
fish etc.
In some cases however, the initiator has been one

of the local key players, e.g. a volunteer association
and/or the municipality, who has pointed out an environmental problem and hence, developed the project
idea. Often, there is co-operation between the county
and the municipality on a case-by-case basis, where
the municipality mainly contributes with manpower
Furthermore, there is a long tradition for counties and

municipalities of using private consultancy companies
in possession of relevant expertise to carry out many
of the different aspects of lake restoration and lake
management projects. The consultancy companies
22

then co-operate closely with the county in both preparing and implementing the action plan for the given
lake restoration project. Especially in connection to the
implementation phase of a project, the co-operation on
a case-by-case basis between the expert consultancy
company, county, municipality and volunteers is an important driving force when it comes to lake restoration
projects carried out in Denmark. Continuation of similar
co-operation models is still expected to take place also
after the structural reform, although the co-operation
between municipalities and governmental environment
centres will be considerably closer.
established to discuss the implementation of the Water

Framework Directive in relation to the Danish lakes and
how to improve existing Danish monitoring programme
for water bodies. The result was a report, which forms
the scientific basis for the implementation of the Water
Framework Directive (Sndergaard et al., 2003c).
Another example is a group of representatives from
NERI, DIFRES, consultancy companies and the counties, which was formed in 1997 with the purpose of
collecting all experiences and knowledge achieved from
lake restoration projects in Denmark. The final report
describes many different restoration projects with evaluations and recommendations for the different methods of restoration (Sndergaard et al., 1998).
In Denmark, there is also a long and strong tradition

for co-operation and exchange of experiences between
the counties, as the main players in lake restoration,
and the research centres (NERI - National Environmental Research Institute & DIFRES - Danish Institute for
Fisheries Research and the Danish universities).
In November 2005, a group of representatives from

the counties and NERI took the initiative in gathering
the latest knowledge and experiences on restoration projects. The report will summarize and give a
cross-analysis of the long- and short-term effects of
implemented restoration projects together with an
evaluation of the methods applied. Furthermore, it is
the intention to give a general view of lake restoration
projects as well as recommendations for the use of the
future work of the municipalities in regard to the implementation of the water plans to meet the requirements
of the Water Framework Directive (H. Skovgaard,
personal communication). The report is expected ready
before the end of 2006.
3.2 Overview of research, education and

networking
Research and educational institutions
NERI is a research institution under the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, while DIFRES is a
research institution under the Danish Ministry of Food,
Agriculture and Fisheries. Both institutions carry out
research within lake restoration and lake ecology, and
the results from this research are published in scientific
journals and reports, or through training courses, via
network and advisory services.
Once every year NERI has a national conference were

the counties, the Danish Environmental Protection
Agency and the Danish Forest and Nature Agency are invited to discuss the current lake monitoring programme
and to present the latest research within this field.
There are five universities in Denmark where biology

and environmental science are offered. The Master and
Ph.D. students often do their thesis in co-operation
with the research institutions and the practical work is
on few occasions carried out in contact with a county
or municipality. Furthermore, the universities and the
research institutions often engage foreign students.
Maintenance of knowledge and networking
In addition, a seminar is arranged by the counties

association MINA (the former DAVID) once or twice a
year. Here planned as well as completed restoration
projects is presented and discussed. To these seminars other relevant parties are invited depending on
the specific topic (for example NERI, DIFRES and the
consultancy companies).
Working groups are often formed comprising the relevant actors within the various aspects of lake management and restoration to secure a participatory planning
process and an exchange of know-how and ideas for
new initiatives, methods etc. One example is a group of
representatives from NERI, DFNA (Danish Forest and
Nature Agency), GEUS (Geological Survey of Denmark
and Greenland) and the counties. This group was
There are continuously workshops on different lake

aspects going on in Denmark. One of the latest initiatives is a network forum where people working with
lakes and streams (universities, research institutions,
counties, consultancies etc.) are invited to a Freshwater Symposium. The first symposium will be held in
January 2006.
23

Furthermore, in relation to a comprehensive restoration project in Lake Fure, a workshop for exchanging
experience from lake restoration in general in Denmark
has been planned. The County of Frederiksborg, in cooperation with the Municipality of Farum, is responsible
for the restoration project, which is partly financed by
the EU Life-programme (see Chapter 4). The workshop
will be held in May 2006.
Internationally, Denmark also co-operates on lake

issues with other European countries/partners, for
example on two different projects, Lakepromo and
Eurolimpacs. This report is a part of the first mentioned
(see the preface). The purpose of Eurolimpacs is to give
a general overview of restoration projects in Northern
Europe, including short- and long-term effects and possible climatic causes of successes and failures.
Research and educational institutions
Links
Universities
Aalborg University
University of Aarhus
University of Southern Denmark
University of Copenhagen Roskilde University
http://www.aau.dk
http://www.au.dk
http://www.sdu.dk
http://www.ku.dk
http://www.ruc.dk
Research institutes
DIFRES
NERI
http://www.dfu.min.dk
http://www.dmu.dk
Consultancy companies
Bio/consult
Carl Bro
Hedeselskabet
Fiskekologisk Laboratorium
Rambll
DHI
Cowi
Niras
http://www.bioconsult.dk
http://www.carlbro.com
http://www.hedeselskabet.dk
http://www.foel.dk (in preparation)
http://www.ramboll.dk
http://www.dhi.dk
http://www.cowi.dk
http://www.niras.dk
National and international collaborations

Workshops
Freshwater Symposium
Project Lake Fure
http://www.ferskvandsbiologi.dk
http://www.kbhamt.dk
National conferences
MINA (former DAVID)

Conference of NERI
http://www.davi.dk
http://www.dmu.dk
Lakepromo
http://webd.savonia-amk.fi/projektit/markkinointi/
lakepromo/uk/index_uk.html
http://www.eurolimpacs.ucl.ac.uk
International projects
Eurolimpacs
Table 3.2.1. Overview of the research and educational institutions in Denmark as well as international co-operations in 2005. Most links
refer to Danish web pages - some are, however, also in English.
24

Most frequently, lake restoration projects are financed
by municipalities, counties or governmental institutions
either alone or in combination occasionally supplemented by EU means. In a few instances land owners
or interest groups may provide financial support or
funding from foundations or other sources may be obtained. However, most restoration projects are funded
by the counties that also function as project managers.
Resources in the form of man-hours from municipality,
government and particularly county authorities often
constitute a large part of the total costs of lake restoration.
at individual dwellings for the purpose of watercourse

restoration, ochre removal and establishment of smallscale aquatic ecosystems. (Information is available at:
http://www.skovognatur.dk/Emne/Naturbeskyttelse/Naturpleje/Naturforvaltningsmidler/ (in Danish)).
Net and Rod Fishing license funds

The counties and various organisations - may also
apply to the Danish Directorate of Fisheries for the
stocking of pike fry. For several years the so-called
fishing license funds have been used to pay for the
stocking of pike in lakes with no or only few piscivores
or in connection with major restoration projects. The
Danish Institute for Fisheries Research approves the
applications and sets the number of pike to be stocked.
Typically, the applications involve pike fry to a value of
130-13,000 , depending on the lake size. On an annual
basis, approx. 270,000 of the fishing licence funds
are spent at fish stocking in lakes, of these ca. 110,000
are used in biomanipulation projects involving pike
fry stocking (Berg & Jacobsen, 2003).
Nature management funds

Lake restoration projects may obtain funding from
the state nature management funds. Since 1989, the
Danish Parliament has each year allocated additional
funds (approx. 9.2 mill ) for nature management purposes to the state and to the counties as block grants.
The nature management funds are used to:
restore nature areas to improve the living conditions for wild animals and plants,
increase the areas of state forests as a contribution
to the aim of doubling Denmarks forested area,
promote the outdoor life of the Danish population,
maintain and preserve landscape and culture-historical values.
Foundation means
The largest and most well-known Danish foundation is
Aage V. Jensens Fonde, which comprises two separate
foundations, the Danish Aage V. Jensens Fond established in 1977 and the international Aage V. Jensen
Charity Foundation established in 1980. The avowed
objectives of the Foundations are to contribute to conserving nature and protecting wildlife. While the Danish
Foundation sponsors primarily projects in Denmark
and Greenland, the international and somewhat larger
foundation domiciled in Liechtenstein operates on the
international level with nature conservation and wildlife
protection. The income from the capital of the Foundations is used to sponsor many different nature projects,
including research projects and educational work, and
the acquisition and management of nature areas. The
Foundations own a number of nature areas in Denmark,
including the Vejlerne nature reserve, Lille Vildmose
and ble.
By means of the nature management funds many

lakes, moors and commons have been established and
new city-near forests created all around the country to
the benefit of the Danish population. The Danish Forest
and Nature Agency (DFNA) administers the grants
programme and distributes the annual means among
the various projects. Applications may be forwarded
for large-scale projects, i.e. projects amounting to
more than 130,000 . The application should contain information on background, purpose, preliminary
investigations, co-operative partners, national interest and a specified budget. Most major projects are
undertaken by the state forest districts, but also many
counties apply for nature management grants. Thus,
for lake restoration purposes a county may typically
apply for 13,000-27,000 annually for a sequence of
years. These funds will cover the necessary costs of
consultancy assistance required in connection with, for
instance, fish manipulation initiatives (cf. Chapter 6.3).
Grants may also be obtained for small-scale projects
In principle, all may apply for financial support from

Aage V. Jensens Foundations. By way of example, the
Danish Society for Nature Conservation, Danish Birdlife
and Danish Society for Animal Protection have received
funding for the projects Endangered and rare breeding
birds and Save the stork and for the publication of
books, posters, folders, etc. Also the National Environmental Research Institute was awarded funds for the
25

projects Forestry and biodiversity and Investigations
in the Vejlerne, the latter involving also the counties of
Viborg and Northern Jutland, which are jointly responsible for the monitoring of Vejlerne. The Zoological
Museum of the University of Copenhagen was awarded
funds for the building of an annex to the museum and
for numerous other projects such as Danish Bird Migration Atlas and Danish Mammal Atlas authored in
cooperation with the Natural History Museum of Aarhus
University.(Website of Aage V. Jensens Fonde: http://
www.avjf.dk).
skovognatur.dk/Emne/Naturbeskyttelse/Naturpleje/LIFE/.
(in Danish); http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/life/

home.htm (in English)).
The EU INTERREG programmes provide support to
transnational cooperation projects that seek to improve
territorial development and cohesion in the EU region.
The INTERREG-programmes have existed since 1990
and are part of the European structural funds and
financed by the European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF). Regarding nature and environment, support
may be obtained for transnational cooperation projects
and the establishment of networks and other fora that
promote sustainable development, protect nature and
improve the regional environment.
EU-funds: the LIFE and INTERREG programmes

LIFE cofinances environmental initiatives in the European Union. LIFE contributes to the implementation,
development and enhancement of the Community
environmental policy and legislation, the integration of
the environment into other EU policies and promotes
sustainable development. The LIFE-programme has
three components:
To obtain funding, the projects must be additional,

implying that the funding cannot be used for activities
imposed by law or activities that the project partners
would have undertaken anyway. Eligible applicants for
INTERREG III support projects are public institutions
(state, counties, municipalities) or other operators undertaking public projects.
LIFE-Nature - supports projects designed to implement the Birds and Habitats directives, and in
particular the implementation of the European Unions Natura 2000 Network that aims to manage and
conserve natural habitats and the wild fauna and
flora and nature types of European Union interest.
LIFE-Environment supports the demonstration
and development of innovative and integrated
techniques and methods for the protection and
enhancement of the environment.
LIFE-Third countries supports the development
of environmental management capacities in third
countries with a coastline bordering the Mediterranean or the Baltic, excepting the Central and
Eastern European countries that have signed association agreements with the EU.
LAKEPROMO is partly financed by EU-funds via a 50 %

grant from the INTERREG IIIC North programme to
the LAKEPROMO project whose estimated total budget
amounts to 1,470,000 distributed between 11 partners from 7 countries. The total budget of the County
of Northern Jutland amounts to 150.000 of which
50 % is financed by EU. (Additional information can be
found at: http://www.nja.dk/Serviceomraader/NaturOgMiljoe/Soeer/LAKEPROMO.htm (in Danish); http://webd.
savonia-amk.fi/projektit/markkinointi/lakepromo/uk/
index_uk.html (in English)).
Companies, institutions, organisations and individuals

residing in an EU member country are eligible to apply
for LIFE funding. In Denmark, the Danish Forest and
Nature Agency is responsible for the management
of the Danish LIFE projects. Several Danish projects
have received LIFE support: the Skjern River Restoration project, the Wetland Restoration Project in Vest
Stadil, Fjord, the Restoration of Dune Habitats along
the Danish West Coast, the Image project in the coastal lagoon Tryggelev Nor (County of Funen) and the
Restoration of Lake Fures (Frederiksborg County).
(Additional information can be found at: http://www.
26
5. Restoration planning and implementation

procedures
As mentioned in section 1.4 various biological and
physico-chemical methods of lake restoration exist, the
most popular being those involving fish manipulation.
However, a joint characteristic of all types of restoration is the preliminary and planning work required to
ensure that the project is successful and the expected
effects are obtained. Figure 5 depicts the five phases
of restoration actions, involving 1) desire and initiative
to improve the environmental state, 2) preliminary
investigations, 3) planning, 4) implementation and 5)
estimation of effects and monitoring. The figure focuses in particular on biomanipulation that normally involves both removal of non-predatory fish and stocking
of predatory fish. The tool of fish stock intervention is
described in detail in chapter 6, which also provides
a real-life example of such a five-step restoration
project. The duration of a restoration project may vary
from six months to several years, depending particularly on lake size and potential problems concerning
accept from land owners, financing, etc.
to do something to improve the state of their local

lake may also induce local citizens, land owners and
organisations to raise an initiative. Finally, the initiative
may come from the municipality. No matter who takes
the initiative, the counties, which are the implementing
authority within the area of lake restoration, will act as
project coordinator and manager during the restoration
process.
Phase 2. Preliminary investigations and potential reduction of external phosphorus loading

Well-planned and thorough preliminary investigations are a prerequisite for successful restoration. In
this connection knowledge is required on the phosphorus dynamics of the lake, the composition of the
fish stock, the internal phosphorus loading from the
lake sediment, submerged macrophyte coverage, the
phytoplankton composition, etc. When the lake has an
inlet and an outlet and/or other types of inflow (drains,
wastewater, rain water, etc.), information on the size of
external catchment loading is essential too. Most often,
several of these parameters are known already, implying that only supplementary investigations are needed.
Phase 1. Initiative
phase 3 3 phase 2
phase
phase 4
phase 5
course of restoration
phase 1
Most frequently, the Danish counties take the initiative to undertake biomanipulation in a lake as their
monitoring activities have supplied them with detailed
knowledge of the lakes environmental state. The desire
county municipality citizens

associations landowners
initiative
external
P reduction
prestudies
permissions,
exemptions
To obtain permanent effects of biomanipulation in shallow lakes, the external phosphorus input must be lowe-
funding
dialogue
actionplans
implementation
effect
assessment
monitoring
Figure 5. Illustrates the course of restoration from the iniative to the subsequent effect assessment and monitoring
27

red to a level corresponding to a lake water phosphorus
concentration of approx. 50-100 g P/l. If the external
loading remains high during the restoration process,
the effect will most probably be limited. An additional
prerequisite is, of course, that the fish stock is unbalanced with dominance of non-predatory fish and low
abundance of piscivorous fish. When these conditions
are fulfilled or may be fulfilled by introducing phosphorus-reducing activities in the catchment, the prerequisite for obtaining successful restoration in the present
phase of restoration is met.
objections may be raised by societies and organisations. Generally, the need for dialogue increases with the
number of private individuals and/or interest organisations involved. Usually agreement between all parties
is given high priority; however, if this is not possible
land owner objections must be accepted and fishing in
his/her part of the lake must be avoided (an example
being Lake Stubbe, cf. Chapter 6, section 6.3).
Chapter 2, section 2.2, describes the exemptions and
permits needed with regard to the actual undertaking
of lake restoration, and Chapter 4 treats the funding
of restoration projects. It should be added, however,
that stocking of piscivores requires approval from The
Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, as stocking
implies a risk of transfer of infectious fish diseases.
Phase 3. Planning
This phase tends to be the most time-consuming
aspect of the lake restoration process. In fact, many
restoration projects never go beyond this planning
stage. It may appear, for instance, that funding or
permissions were more difficult to obtain than anticipated. Resistance from land owners is another issue and
Mass removal of planktivorous fish by electrofishing as part of a restoration project in Lake Poulstrup in 2003. The lake is situated in the
conservation area Dall Heath and is a popular recreational area.
Photo: County of North Jutland.
28
Mass removal of planktivorous fish

by dragnet in Lake Poulstrup in
2003. The catch consisted mainly
of crucian.
The planning phase should include the following

aspects:
the county (or the consultancy company) may elaborate a detailed project plan. The plan should contain a
detailed description of the timing of project activities,
how they will be performed and by whom as well as a
description of the project background and its expected
outcome.
selection of fishing tools and methods depending

on time of year, fish species present and lake size,
depth and bottom structure, etc.
establishment of a quantitative measure for the
extent of the fish removal. Minimum 70-80% of the
non-predatory fish stock must be removed during
a short time interval to obtain an adequate effect (Jeppesen & Sammalkorpi, 2002). Insufficient
removal is often the reason for a negative outcome
of restoration projects.
timing of fry stocking with water temperatures and
thus the hatching of non-predatory fry to ensure
the frys food supply.
prevention of immigration of fish from non-biomanipulated sites, for instance via watercourses and
drains.
planning of logistics, as several tonnes of fish are
to be removed, disposed of or exploited in biogas
plants or as animal feed.
Phase 4. Implementation
Correctly done, fish removal is fast and intensive (maximum 1-2 years), whereas the stocking of predators
may endure for several years. During the removal process, progress will be discussed and possible adjustments of tools and methods may be made to ensure
optimum efficiency.
Usually, the actual fish removal will be conducted
by the county and/or private consultancy companies, these often being assisted by the municipalities
and/or local citizens and organisations; fish removal
is a large-scale, time-consuming task and all efforts
are appreciated. Furthermore, participation by local
citizens ensures their feeling of joint responsibility. The
counties may call for tenders on the project from consultancy firms. The stocking of pike fry lasts one day,
depending on lake size. It is undertaken in May, usually
by the counties.
When the various permits and approvals have been obtained, funding has been secured and agreement exists
between all project partners on the project content,
29
Phase 5. Effect assessment and monitoring
of large-sized species, for instance Daphnia, reduction

of phosphorus concentrations, increased density of
submerged macrophytes, etc.
When the restoration projects ends, the effects are

estimated. The most important tools in this connection are fish investigations to be undertaken both
before and after removal, analysis of water samples for
physico-chemical parameters to determine lake water
nutrient concentrations, measurement of Secchi depth
and investigations of the abundance and composition of
phyto- and zooplankton.
But when is a restoration project a success? How significant must the effects be and for how long should they
endure? How do you distinguish between the effects
of simultaneous interventions such as reduction of
loading, fish removal and pike stocking? What can you
learn from unsuccessful restorations? If repetition is
necessary, is it then restoration or maintenance of the
desired state?
The first criterion of success is enhanced water transparency as an immediate response to reduced nonpredatory fish abundance, implying improved growth
conditions for the large-sized zooplankton preying on
the phytoplankton. This criterion is often met straight
away, even in less successful restorations, but frequently the positive effect does not last. Other success
criteria are the establishment of a healthy population
of predatory fish, a zooplankton community composed
In conclusion, many questions remain unanswered and

many problems need to be addressed, but the experiences gained from evaluations of ongoing projects will
help tackle these important issues. Thus, prolonged
monitoring of restored lakes is crucial for the evaluation of the long-term effects of biomanipulation.
Monitoring of the environmental state of Lake

Poulstrup after ending the restoration project of fish
manipulation in the lake.
Photo: County of North Jutland..
30
6. National best practices and special expertise in

methods and projects
6.1 National special expertise biomanipulation
Denmark has many years of experience in lake restoration by biomanipulation i.e. removal of planktivorous
fish (particularly roach and bream), which in most
cases is done in combination with stocking of piscivorous fish (mainly pike). Removal of planktivorous fish
has shown to be a very effective method to actively
shift lakes from a turbid to a clearwater state.
distribution of the planktivorous fish stock together

with the bottom condition and morphometry of the
lake will determine when to initiate the removal of
planktivores and which method to use (Sndergaard et
al., 1998). The choice of method ought to be based on
the catch effectiveness in relation to time and energy
spent. Thus, during winter when fish are inactive, active tools like dragnets or trawls are preferred, whereas passive tools like gillnets, pound nets, traps and
electrofishing are preferred during spring and summer,
when fish are active.
This chapter describes removal of planktivorous fish

and stocking of piscivorous fish as methods for lake
restoration. Chapter 1.4 describes less frequently used
restoration methods.
During summer, pelagial trawling in deep lakes is a valuable supplement to gillnets and pound nets, because
fish will concentrate in the oxygen rich waters above
the thermocline. In addition, shoals of particularly large
bream can be located with echo sounders and, thereby,
caught with high level of efficiency.
Removal of planktivorous fish

Removal of planktivorous fish (particularly roach and
bream) has the goal of increasing the water quality of the
lake. Prior to restoration, an assessment of the specific lake in relation to the fish stock must be made. The
investigation evaluates the composition and biomass
of the fish species, and set the level of mass removal.
Mass removal of planktivorous fish is a relevant method,
if the biomass of planktivores constitute more than 80
% of the total fish biomass. It is well-known that the
annual concentration of phosphorus at equilibrium in
shallow lakes must be lower than 50-100 g P/l (in deep
lakes lower than 20-50 g P/l) to obtain more enduring
effects (Sndergaard et al., 1998, 2000; Jeppesen et al.,
1990). Another important factor is to ensure removal of
at least 70-80 % of the planktivorous fish stock within
1-2 years or to the point where the fish stock is reduced
to less than 100 kg ha-1. It is crucial for a successful and
enduring result that the intensive fishing is followed by
supplementary fish removal in the subsequent years
until the piscivorous fish stock has been strengthen in
order to control the biomass of planktivorous fish (Sndergaard et al., 1998, 2000). If the stock of planktivorous
fish is not sufficiently reduced during the first couple of
years, the biomass of planktivores is likely to increase,
whereby the effect of mass removal may be lost.
In medium deep (2-4 meters), smaller sized (10-400

hectare) and shallow lakes (< 3 meters) dragnet is a
valuable and effective tool due to the fact that dragnets
are designed to be used with single pulls in relatively
large areas. The dragnets have to be adjusted to the
physical conditions in the lake and the fish stock. Effective use of dragnets demands a lake bottom without
submerged obstacles.
If the lake has a complex morphometry or many
submerged obstacles, the use of pound nets is preferred. The pound nets are placed near the banks of the
lake or, in lakes with complex morphometry, on submerged tongues or reefs, which are spawning ground
for bream. The use of pound nets is optimal in spring
when planktivorous fish are swimming towards their
spawning ground. Gillnets (mesh size: 60-90 mm)
have proofed successful in catching bream during their
spawning period in May/June but as these nets demand
great effort in checking and cleaning, gillnets are not
considered a preferable tool outside the spawning season or to use for smaller species of planktivores.
Methods
Electrofishing is another effective method in defined

areas where fish crowd. By closing off the area with
fine nets, the effectiveness of fish removal using electrofishing is increased significantly.
Mass removal of planktivorous fish can be done using

dragnet or trawl (from boad or bank), gillnets, pound
nets, traps and/or electrofishing. The composition and
31
Results
enhanced recruitment of planktivores, increased fecundity of the remaining adults and high survival and density
of the planktivorous fry themselves are central problems
of mass removal of planktivores (Jeppesen & Sammalkorpi, 2002). Release of pike fry (0+, 20-50 mm) in large
densities (>0.1 individual/m2) has been used to control
small individuals of planktivores in the short-term and to
strengthen the piscivorous fish stock in the long-term.
Removal of planktivorous fish, particularly roach and

bream, will in the short-term strengthen the zooplankton community, especially large cladoceran species as
Daphnia. The increase in zooplankton biomass will enable zooplankton to control phytoplankton and thereby
improve the transparency of the water. Furthermore,
removal of bream may reduce the resuspension of the
sediment and the internal nutrient loading, which will
contribute to the improvement of the water quality.
The purpose is to promote the re-establishment and
development of submerged macrophytes, as clear
water is of vital importance to their existence. In many
lakes, an increased distribution of submerged macrophytes has been observed within 1-2 years after mass
removal. In many situations, however, there has been a
resilience towards a shift to the clearwater state.
Stocking of pike fry

The mass removal of planktivorous fish will leave behind
a large amount of small planktivorous fish as well as
planktivorous fish fry as they often escape the nets. The
Stocking of pike fry in Lake Poulstrup in May. A total of 1,000 pike

fry were stocked in the lake (size: 0.6 hectares) in 2003, 2004 and
2005, respectively.
Method
Only a few fish farms produce pike fry for stocking.
However, it can be done with a fairly good survival rate
and at a reasonable cost (approx. 0.13 per individual).
The 0+ pikes are transported to their destination in well
aerated water containers. The stocking is done from
boat using small jugs and are spread carefully along the
edge of the reed to avoid stress and cannibalism. The
stocking of pike fry must be ended before the native
pike fry become bigger than the stocked ones to avoid
further cannibalism. Likewise, stocking must coincide
with the hatching of the planktivorous fish fry as these
are the primary food source for the pike fry. Today in
Denmark, it is recommended to stock before May 25.
The result of the mass removal of planktivorous fish in Lake Klokkeholm Mlle in 2003.
32
Results
Stocking of pike fry has been used in many Danish
lakes (Berg et al., 1997; Sndergaard et al., 1997; Skov
et al., 2003a,b) but the stocking densities and methods
(time etc.) have differed widely, making it difficult to
estimate whether effects are completely absent or, if
negligible, relate to the scale of intervention. Experiences are therefore mixed, but the most recent collection of data on pike stocking experiments indicates
that the effect is overall poor (C. Skov, DIFRES, personal communication). At best, stocking only affects
the water quality the first year, possible reasons being
high mortality caused by cannibalism, the size of the
0+ pikes, time of stocking, risk of predation from perch
and birds, lack of hiding places and other stressful
physical factors. Also the frys choice of food items can
constitute a problem, as fry do not commence to prey
until they reach a length of 100-120 mm (Grnkjr et
al., 2004, http://www.fiskepleje.dk/, Skov et al., 2002,
Skov et al., 2003). The effect on the structure of the
lake ecosystem is likely to increase if stocking of 0+
pike is continued until a healthy piscivorous fish stock
is achieved together with more stable clearwater conditions with increased coverage of submerged macrophytes (Sndergaard et al., 2000).
Perch.
Stocking of perch
A strong stock of piscivorous perch is a precondition
of the regulation of the planktivorous fish stock, and
stocking is therefore a possible method in lakes where
the native perch stock is small or the number of large
piscivorous perch is low. Few attempts have been done
in Denmark, and they have been based purely upon
perch from other lakes. DIFRES has been able to farm
perch with success, which gives opportunities for future stocking. The farmed perch did not originate from
a native Danish strain as they turned out to be quite
resistant to stress in relation to farming and transportation (H. Paulsen, DIFRES, personal communication;
Overton & Paulsen, 2005). Stocking of marked perch is
experimentally conducted in two Put-and-Take lakes in
order to follow their growth and survival (L. Overton,
DIFRES, personal communication).
6.2 New methods for lake restoration in

Denmark
During recent years, new methods for lake restoration
have been tried out in Denmark. These experiments
have been based upon a scientific and political desire to
develop other suitable and less expensive restoration
methods. This section describes these new methods
and their effects.
Pines and plastic plants
Removal of planktivorous fish fry
In combination with stocking projects, conifers have

been placed in lakes to provide hiding places for the
pike fry and, thereby, enhance their survival in lakes
where natural hiding places are limited. In other projects, plastic plants have been used instead. A method
of placing conifers upside down, has recently been used
with great success as part of a large restoration project
in the Inner Lakes of Copenhagen (capital of Denmark).
The success may, however, reflect a combination of methods, as mass removal of planktivorous fish and planting
of submerges macrophytes were also conducted.
In some lakes there is a tendency towards accumulation of small individuals of planktivorous fish in certain
areas and certain periods of the year, for example in
inlets and outlets of lakes during winter from where
they can be collected in high amounts by electrofishing
(up to several tons). The effect of this removal is not
yet known, but is it believed that mass removal of small
planktivorous fish has a positive effect on the water
quality of the lake. The method is currently being used
in Lake Stubbe (see section 6.3).
33
Mass removal of mainly small roach by electrofishing in Brook

Gravlev. The mass removal was one of several methods used in a
comprehensive restoration project in Lake Stubbe (Chapter 6.3).
Photo: County of Aarhus.
Eggs on spawning nests.

Photo: County of Viborg.
Spawning nests
forces phosphorous to precipitate on the lake bottom.

The Municipality of Copenhagen has recently initiated
a restoration project in Lake Emdrup, where lake water
is purified by the use of an Actino treatment plant. The
plant pumps in water from the lake, removes phosphorus by adding sand, iron and a polymer and returns the
water back into the lake.
The use of spawning nests has experimentally been

tried out as a tool of regulating fish fry from particularly bream and roach. After spawning on the nests in
April/May, nests are collected and destroyed together
with the eggs. The effect is not yet validated, but there
seems to be a good effect on the water quality and it
is therefore planned to continue the experiment in the
years to come (T. Jakobsen, County of Viborg, personal
communication).
Use of ultrasound
According to the theory, ultrasound destroys the vacuoles and other structural organelles in the cells of phytoplankton causing these to die and sink to the bottom
of the lake. A transducer (20-30 watts) is placed under
the surface creating an effect upon phytoplankton
within 10-150 m from the transducer. The ultrasound
is allegedly not harmful to humans, animals or plants.
The method has been used in the two Put-and-Take
lakes. However, there is not yet any documentation of
the effect.
Treatment of lake water

A high internal concentration of phosphorus in the
bottom layer can be reduced by biological water treatment. The treatment plant is supplied with bottom
water from the lake, cleans the water and returns it
to the lake. The great advantage of this method is the
permanent removal of phosphorus from the ecosystem,
in contrast to the method of adding aluminium, which
34
6.3 Lake Stubbe an example of a completed restoration project

The restoration project in Lake Stubbe comprises both
mass removal of planktivorous fish and stocking of
pike fry and therefore, excellently illustrates the most
common restoration methods applied in Denmark.
Moreover, several actions for decreasing the external
nutrient loading to Lake Stubbe have been carried out
prior to the fish manipulation.
nish standards. The lake has a water volume of 11 M m3.

The retention time is approx. 0.9 years and the catchment
area is 62 km2. The largest inlet is Brook ksenmlle
followed by Brook Ulstrup in the eastern part and Brook
Gravlev in the western part. Some small inlets are entering the lake in the southern part. The surroundings of the
lake are replanted with conifers. Large parts of the catchment area consist of meadow, fen and moor habitats. In
the northern and western part several summer cottages
are built and smaller parts of the catchment area in the
northern part are cultivated. Two other lakes are situated
in the catchment area, Lake je and Lake Ulstrup Langs,
which are both non-polluted clearwater lakes.
Description of the lake

Lake Stubbe is situated in Jutland, Denmark (10o40N,
56o15E) (Figure 6.3.1), and is a large (376 ha) and shallow lake (maximum depth 6 m, mean depth 2.9 m) by Da-
Figure 6.3.1. Map over Denmark showing Lake Stubbe and its
catchment area.
35

Lake Stubbe/year
72
73
75
76
78
Water chemistry in inlet/outlet

Water chemistry in the lake
84
91
97
12
19
19
98
01
02
19
10
10
Phytoplankton
X
X
04
10
12
Zooplankton
Sediment
03
05
Fish stock
Submerged macrophytes
00
7
X
Table 6.3.1. Review of the investigations conducted in Lake Stubbe in 1972-2005. X = one investigation conducted per year. Figures =
indicate the number of investigations conducted in a given year.
200
1,5
150
1
100
0,5
50
0
1984
1991
1997
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
100
80
1,5
60
1
40
0,5
20
a (g/l)
secchi depth (m)
total nitrogen (mg/l)
chlorophyll
total phosphorus (g/l)
250
0
1984
1991
1997
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
Figure 6.3.2. Top: Long-term changes in total amount of phosphorus (columns) and total amount of nitrogen (curves) in Lake Stubbe in
1984-2005. Bottom: Long-term changes in Secchi depth (columns) and chlorophyll a (curve) in the same period. All values are summer
means (May-September) (rhus Amt, 2005).
Initiative
The monitoring of the environmental state of Lake
Stubbe started in 1972 with monitoring of the water
chemistry. Since then the type and number of investigations have increased considerably (Table 6.3.1) forming the basis for a long and valuable series of chemical and biological data. The results of the investigations
are presented in several Danish reports (rhus Amt,
1980, 1982, 1986, 1993a, 1993b, 1998, 1999a,b).
The intense monitoring of the environmental state of

Lake Stubbe formed the basis for the decision to implement a restoration project in the lake. Data showed
that Secchi depth as an indicator of the water quality
remained poor (Figure 6.3.2) despite the fact that the
external nutrient loading already had been reduced.
In 1999, the County of Aarhus in co-operation with the
Municipality of Ebeltoft took the final decision to carry
out a restoration project in Lake Stubbe.
36
Preliminary investigations
Reduction of the external phosphorous loading
Prior to the decision to implement a restoration project

in Lake Stubbe, the Municipality of Ebeltoft examined
the catchment area for external pollutants by mapping
all point sources (see next section). Also, the fish stock
was investigated in 1998 according to the guidance
Fish investigations in lakes (in Danish) (Miljstyrelsen, 1990). The purpose of investigating the fish stock
was to find out whether the composition and the structure of the fish stock was an impediment to the water
quality of the lake, and also to assess the possibility of
improving the water quality through manipulation of
the fish stock.
Mapping of the point sources was conducted by the

Municipality of Ebeltoft and resulted in several actions
to reduce the pollution from the catchment (see below).
Today, probably no sewage is entering Lake Stubbe.
The most important historical actions to reduce the
external loading of the lake have been:
1989 New statutory order on the fish farming area
resulted in reduced discharge from a fish farm
at Brook ksenmlle upstream the inlet to Lake
Stubbe due to tightened requirements on amount
and type of feed
1991 Chemical precipitation of phosphorus at a
nearby treatment plant
1997 Seepage of treated sewage from a nearby
plant
1997 A fish farm at Brook ksenmlle was sold and
closed down afterwards
1998 Sewerage of sites build-up with summer cottages
1998 The family park in Ebeltoft established a
seepage plant
The investigation of the fish stock revealed that roach

was the dominant species (on a weight basis), whereas
perch was the second most abundant species. The calculated total biomass of fish was approx. 237 tonnes of
which 156 tonnes consisted of planktivorous fish. The
biomass of fish per hectare was found to be approx.
632 kg of which roach accounted for 51 %.
The percentage of piscivorous fish (piscivores:planktivores) was considered too low in order for the piscivorous fish to control the amount of planktivorous
fish. The water quality in Lake Stubbe would therefore
highly depend on the development of the composition
of the fish stock. As a consequence, it was estimated
that mass removal of planktivorous fish would be able
to actively shift the lake from a turbid to a clearwater
state.
In that way, the external phosphorus loading was reduced to what was believed to be an acceptable level,
at which the lake in a steady state (without internal
loading) would be expected to have an annual mean
phosphorus concentration of 50-100 g P/l - a level
View over Lake Stubbe.

37

recommended in order to achieve an enduring effect of
mass removal of planktivorous fish (Sndergaard et al.,
1998).
for instance for improving the public road system.

Others were afraid that the project would be the first
step towards a fully opening of the lake area to the
public, the next step being establishment of a trail system around the lake. Most of the landowners, though,
were positive and supportive.
Model calculations showed that the equilibrium concentration in Lake Stubbe should be approx. 40 g P/l.
The actual summer mean, however, was 100 g P/l in
1997. The difference is ascribed to the increased phosphorous release from the internal phosphorus pool in
the sediment during summer. The phosphorus concentration decreased further in the following years reaching a level of 80 g P/l in the summer of 2000 before
the mass removal of planktivorous fish started.
Financing
The project in Lake Stubbe obtained funding from the
state nature management funds applied by the County
of Aarhus to cover the costs of the technical consultancy assistance, i.e. the mass removal of planktivorous fish. The County of Aarhus and the Municipality
of Ebeltoft contributed staff in the implementation
phase and planning phase. Furthermore, the County
of Aarhus is responsible for the subsequent monitoring
of the environmental state of Lake Stubbe. Table 6.3.2
shows the budget for the practical part of the project
and also for the monitoring.
Permissions
Prior to the implementation of the fish manipulation in
Lake Stubbe, the following permissions were necessary:
Exemption from the Nature Protection Act, according to the acts section 3.
Permission (according to the Fisheries Act) from
the Danish Directorate of Fisheries to remove fish
using different equipments and to stock pike fry.
Permissions from the landowners of the lake.
Dialogue
In 1999 the County of Aarhus and the Municipality
of Ebeltof gave an official meeting inviting the public, landowners, NGOs and other interest groups. The
meeting had wide support and many local people
participated. The landowners and the townsmen put
special emphasis on the importance of the imperturbability of the surroundings in connection to the project.
Focus was also put on the recreational use of the lake,
One landowner was against the project and therefore

did not give permission to remove fish in his part of
the lake. The arguments against the project differed some meant that money could be used in better ways,
Budget for implementation of the restoration

project
AA
EUR
EK
EUR
BC
EUR
Total
EUR
18,331
18,331
140,421
154,265
6,007
6,007
29,603
29,603
Maintenance of equipment
2,521
2,521
Disposal of fish
6,705
6,705
Fish investigation in 1998 including reporting

Mass removal of planktivores
13,844
Project management and administration

Transport, gear renting etc.
Fish investigations in 2000, 2001 and 2002
10,951
10,951
Reporting
10,908
10,908
Discount
-18,357
-18,357
18,630
19,636
Fish removal in Brook Gravlev in 2003, 2004 and 2005

Monitoring
Total
1,006
27,000
1,006
27,000
13,844
225,720
267,570
Table 6.3.2. Estimate of the total costs of the restoration project in Lake Stubbe in 1998-2005 (excluding staff hours) and also the monitoring of the environmental state of the lake during and after the project. AA = the County of Aarhus, EK = the Municipality of Ebeltoft, BC =
Bio/consult (consultancy company).
38

2000
S O N D
2001
J
M A M
2002
S O N D
M A M
2003
S O N D
M A M
2004
S O N D
M A M
2005
S O N D
M A M
S O N D
Fishinvestigation
Seine
Electrofishing
Pelagic drag net
Gillnet
Other net
Stocking 0+ pike
Figure 6.3.3. Course of the practical activities during the restoration project in Lake Stubbe in 2000-2005.
i.e. swimming, hunting and ornithological interests.

Among other things, the Danish Bird Protection Foundation, which owns a part of Lake Stubbe, wished to
establish a bird watch tour in connection with a nature
trail. Based on this meeting the final decision to carry
through the restoration project in Lake Stubbe was
taken in 2000.
were also planned. Moreover, stocking of pike fry was

part of the agenda trying to increase the predation on
fry and small individuals of planktivorous fish.
The assessment of the effect of the mass removal of
planktivorous was to be based upon standardised fish
investigations carried out before (in 2000) and after
(in 2002) the mass removal of fish. The restoration
project was to be carried out following the imperialiterative principles (adaptive planning) enabling a
continuously adjustment of methods based upon the
experience gained during the implementation phase. As
an example, a reduced fish investigation was conducted
halfway through the implementation phase to follow
the changes in the fish stock in order to target the
subsequent actions.
In the starting phase of the project, the access to the

lake was improved by establishing a slope filled with
passable gravel in one of the plots. The ramp was
retained after closing the project to the delight of the
landowner, who is a professional fisherman. Moreover,
an access road in the eastern part of the lake at Brook
Gravlev was improved, and today tables and benches
are established for recreational use.
The stakeholder meeting in 1999 was followed up by
sending out information material on the progress of the
project to each landowner with reference to the website of the County of Aarhus. Furthermore, articles and
newspaper announcements were frequently published
and a television programme was broadcasted at the
beginning and at the end of the project.
Another good example of the use of imperial-iterative

principles is a restoration project in Lake Fure where
actions were adapted within the time span of the project (C.B. Hvidt, personal communication).
Action plan
Based on the preliminary investigations and inputs
from locals, the County of Aarhus worked out an
action plan for the project, which in the first place
was planned to run over two years (2000-2002). The
aim was to remove at least 80 % of the planktivorous
fish biomass. Drag seine was planned be the primary
fishing tool due to its effectiveness in shallow lakes and
because it makes it possible to set free the by-catch of
piscivorous fish. The use of electrofishing on the banks
and in the inlets and outlets and fishing by drag net
and gillnet, particularly aiming at bream and roach,
The result of the mass removal of planktivorous fish in Lake

Stubbe: approx. 130 tonnes of bream and roach.
39
Implementation
a negative effect on the water quality in shallow

lakes. Nets with 80 mm mesh size appeared to be
the most effective. The fishing was carried out with
40-55 nets at a time.
Electrofishing proved to be very effective in
catching bream during their spawning period. On
the contrary, electrofishing for roach during their
spawning period was not successful. Based on a
dialogue with the local fishermen, electrofishing
was carried out every winter in the inlets to the
lake. Only electrofishing in Brook Gravlev, though,
gave good results. To make the electrofishing effective, traps were set up to prevent the fish from
escaping the brook when first dragged up. In December 2005, electrofishing was carried out for the
last time in Brook Gravlev.
Stocking of pike fry, conducted by the County of Aarhus, took place in May 2001 and 2003, where 50,000
and 100,000 units of pike fry, respectively, were
stocked in vegetation rich areas of the bank. Subsequently, it was decided to stock another 100,000
units in May 2005, as an extra effort to increase the
predation on small bream (and promote the good
development in the pike stock, see next section).
The course of implementation actions is outlined in

figure 6.3.3, which depicts the timing of carrying out
the practical activities in Lake Stubbe, such as fish investigations, fish removal by different equipments and
stocking of pike fry. The implementation was initiated
in September 2000 with the planned preliminary fish
investigation followed by the first mass removal of
planktivorous fish one month later.
Due to some changes in the project specification
undertaken during the practical operation, the time of
closing of the restoration project was postponed. Thus,
mass removal of planktivorous fish in the lake was
continued until after the spawning period of bream in
spring 2003, mass removal of small roach by electrofishing in the inlet until the winter of 2005 and stocking
of pike fry until May 2005.
Drag seine was originally planned to be the primary
fishing tool, but after 61 catches the method revealed inefficient. The fishing was done day and night
during all times of the year at all accessible locations in the lake. Winch dragging, two boats and
use of two types of seine were also tried out. All
possible efforts only paid of a scanty yield. Fishing
with drag seine was therefore given up, although
relatively late in the project period.
Pelagic and fry drag net was tried out in a small
scale without good results and was soon given up.
Gillnet, however, was intensified when moving the
focus to bream as the focal catch species. That
is, during the spawning period of bream in 2001 it
appeared that the factual biomass of bream was
much larger than previously expected in the light
of the fish investigations in 1998 and 2000. Therefore, it was decided to concentrate more on bream
as high abundances of bream empirically have
Requirements / Applied
tools
Days
Gillnet
258
Particularly fishing by electricity and gillnets appeared

effective and gave the highest mean catch in relation
to the resource requirements. Table 6.3.3 lists the applied types of equipment during the practical operation
period and the corresponding cost-benefit level.
During the entire operation period of the project (20002005), approx. 131 tonnes of planktivorous fish was
removed. Bream and roach accounted for 72 % and 25
%, respectively, while other planktivores and piscivores
(i.e. perch and pike) made up approx. 1 %, respectively
(Figure 6.3.4).
Electrofishing
Seine
59
78
Pelagic
drag net
1
Other tools
Total
22
418
Catches
8,271
61
78
94
8,505
Resource requirements (hours)
2,057
799
719
14
118
3,707
34
14
63
19
35
Mean catch (kg/hour)
Table 6.3.3. Review of number of days, number of catches, resource requirements and mean catch of each applied tool in relation to time
spend at the mass removal of planktivorous fish in Lake Stubbe during 2000-2005. Other tools comprises fishing with pound net, fry drag
net etc.
40

Acc. catch (ton)
140
Roach
Bream
Ruff
Perch
Accumulated catch
130
120
110
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
o n d j f m a m j j a s o n d j f m a m j j a s o n d j f ma m j j a s o n d j f m a m j j a s o n d j f ma m j j a s o n d
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
Figure 6.3.4. Total accu
Caught fish was initially brought to a biogas plant for

destruction but as the heavy metal content of the fish
was unknown the delivery had to cease in June 2001.
Afterwards, first a fish transport and later on a mink
feed factory collected the fish. Small fish caught by
electrofishing was collected by an aquarium and a zoological garden and used for animal feed. The majority
of caught piscivorous fish was restocked.
the field. Besides the practical part Bio/consult was

in charge of the evaluation of the project, the quality
control of the data and the technical reporting on the
results of the fish investigations.
Effect assessment and monitoring

Immediately after the closing of the main part of the
practical operation, the project was considered successfully conducted as far as the total biomass of fish was
concerned. Models calculated on the basis of the fish
investigation in 1998 revealed that 64 tonnes of planktivorous fish ought to be removed in order to ensure
removal of at least 70-80 % of the planktivorous fish
stock. Thus, with a total fish biomass of approx. 131
tonnes removed in Lake Stubbe, the target biomass
was more than fulfilled. However, assessing the effect
on the basis of the calculated biomass for the most
important species of planktivorous fish in Lake Stubbe
(Figure 6.3.5), it came evident that bream was reduced by 82 % during 1998 to 2002, whereas roach only
was reduced by 27 % in the same period. The target
biomass was therefore not fulfilled for roach.
mulated catch in Lake Stubbe 2000-2005.
Persons involved in the project

During the course of the project, a total of nine people
was involved - three people from the County of Aarhus,
two people from the Municipality of Ebeltoft and four
people from the consultancy company Bio/consult. The
County of Aarhus and the Municipality of Ebeltoft managed the planning and administrative parts of the project
as well as the dialogue with other institutions, landowners, local people etc.
The practical part of the project was primary managed
by the consultancy company Bio/consult in co-operation with the Municipality of Ebeltoft. Occasionally,
people from the County of Aarhus also participated in
41
Calculated biomass (tonnes)
100
80
Ruffe
60
Bream
40
Roach
20
0
1998
2000
2001
2002
Figure 6.3.5. Calculated biomass for the most important species of planktivorous fish in Lake Stubbe. The biomass is calculated on
the basis of partly CPUE-values derived from the fish investigations in 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2002 and partly empirical results (rhus,
1999a,b?). The fish investigations were carried out according to the
guidance Fish investigations in lakes (in Danish) (Miljstyrelsen,
1990).
winter of 2005 Secchi depths of up to 4 m were observed, contrary to Secchi depths of approx. 1.5 to 2 m
during the winters before 2003 (H. Skovgaard, personal
communication).
Stocking of pike fry probably strengthen the pike stock

in the lake. This is supported by an investigation later
in 2001, which revealed an increase in the abundance
of pike fry in the size 15-30 cm compared to earlier
investigations in 1998 and 2000 (rhus Amt, 2003).
The importance of the internal phosphorus loading for

the less marked effect of the intervention is considered to be modest, as the phosphorus release from the
sediment during summer is moderate.
No clear signs of improved water quality were observed

during the first two years after mass removal of planktivorous fish in Lake Stubbe. The first marked effect was
observed during the first six months of 2003, revealed
as a long clear-water period with Secchi depths of up
to 4 m (Figure 6.3.2) and a distribution of submerged
macrophytes to a depth of 2.2 m. The improvements are
interpreted as a direct result of the fish manipulations.
Conclusion
Apparently the restoration project did not result in
marked and enduring improvements of the environmental state in Lake Stubbe, although brief and less
marked positive effects on the distribution of the submerged macrophytes, the Secchi depth during wither
and the piscivorous fish stock were observed. The
project was therefore not able to cause a fulfilment of
the environmental objectives for the lake demanding
a summer mean Secchi depth of minimum 2 m and a
summer mean phosphorus concentration of less than
0.040 mg P/l. These environmental objectives are set
to ensure growing conditions for a deep growing and
well-developed submerged vegetation.
However, in the summer of 2004 an increased algae

biomass (measured as chlorophyll a concentrations) and
a corresponding reduction in transparency was observed. This decline is ascribed to the insufficient removal
of roach, which probably resulted in improved growing
conditions and increased fecundity of the remaining roach
(Jeppesen & Sammalkorpi, 2002). In addition, 2004 might
have sustained a high recruitment of planktivorous fish
fry leading to an increased predation on zooplankton, followed by a decreased grazing on phytoplankton.
Future monitoring
Today, the external loading of nitrogen and phosphorus
to Lake Stubbe is presumed to be sufficiently low for the
lake to obtain good ecological status within a number of
years. In future, Lake Stubbe will be part of the national lake monitoring programme NOVANA because it is
designated to a Natura 2000 habitat site, according to the
Water Framework and Habitats Directives. Lake Stubbe
will probably be monitored every 3rd year including
measurements of physical, chemical and biological parameters. According to the Water Framework Directive, a
water plan (i.e. action plan) for the lake must be drawn up
After all, the algae biomass tended to decreased yet

again in the summer of 2005 compared to 2004 followed
by a corresponding increase in transparency. Moreover,
a tendency towards an increased distribution of submerged macrophytes was observed in August 2005 compared to 2004.
The most evident effect however is observed in the
transparency during winter. For instance, during the
42

Background and types of restoration interventions
During the past 30-40 years great efforts have been
made in Denmark to reduce the nutrient input to lakes.
The reason for this has been the growing awareness
of the worsening of eutrophication problems and the
impoverished water quality, shifts towards turbidity
and deteriorating biological diversity observed in
Danish lakes. Reduction of the nutrient input has most
frequently been obtained by treatment or cut-off of
point source sewage, but in recent years (for instance

via Aquatic Action Plan III, Sndergaard et al., 2003a)
also the more diffuse and difficult to manage nutrient
sources have come into focus. The type of restoration
intervention to be used depends on the type of nutrient
sources (Table 7).
Type/area
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Cut-off and
treatment
of sewage
- Identifiable sources
- If treatment: only to a
limit concentration
Further treatment and

improved technology;
however, removal of the
last kg P is costly
Overflow at heavy precipitation events (risk

increases in the future
due to climatic changes)
- Reduced fertilization
- The net phosphorus

loading to agricultural
soils is still higher than
the amount removed by
crops
Diffuse N
and P loading
- Effective technological
measures
High natural binding

capacity of phosphorus
in soil
- If cut-off, sewage may

impact other aquatic
areas instead
- Difficult definable
sources
- Conflicts with the wish
to increase/maintain high
agricultural production
Restoration
Several potential methods
- Uncertainty regarding
the duration of effects
- Only applicable at low
external nutrient loading
- Some restoration
methods are relatively
expensive
- Cultivation-free zones
along lakes/streams
- Exemption of soil from
agricultural cultivation,
e.g. according to identification of risk areas
- Risk of increased loading in the future due to

increased precipitation
- More knowledge will

lead to more focused
interventions
-Increased future loading

may diminish/destroy
positive effects
-Interventions may be
continuously adjusted to
the observed effects
- Accumulation of large
phosphorus pools in the
sediment increases the
risk of a shift from a
clear-water to a turbid
state
Table 7.1. Types and aspects to be considered in connection with restoration of eutrophicated lakes, here arranged according to the SWOT
method (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats).
the fish stock may have changed, precluding grazing

control of phytoplankton. Recent analyses of the reactions of fish stocks to reductions in external phosphorus
loading show, however, that fish stock composition and
biomass may quickly adapt to reduced nutrient concentrations (Jeppesen et al., 2005b).
Frequently a satisfactory water quality has not been

obtained despite vast investments in improved sewage
treatment and nutrient loading reductions (Sndergaard et al., 1999b). The reason may be that nutrient
reductions were insufficient or the response may be
delayed. Such a delay may be caused by the accumulation of a large pool of mobile phosphorus in the
sediment leading to internal phosphorus loading, thus
maintaining high lake water phosphorus concentrations
(Sndergaard et al., 2003b). Another explanation may
be that some of the biological parameters have changed towards states maintaining turbidity. For instance,
submerged macrophytes may have disappeared, their
re-establishment being difficult, or the composition of
Since the mid-1980s, and mainly during the 1990s,

several restoration projects have been undertaken in
Danish lakes. Thus, restoration has become a tool to
obtain improved water quality, primarily in lakes where
efforts have already been made to reduce the external
nutrient input (Table 7). Most frequently biological tools
have been applied, in approx. 50 Danish lakes, whe-
43

reas physico-chemical interventions have been used
more sparingly, in less than 10 lakes. The biological
tools have mostly comprised removal of planktivorous
fish (particularly roach and bream) and stocking of
piscivorous fish (mainly pike). The physico-chemical
methods include removal of nutrient-rich sediment or
different methods aimed to prevent release of phosphorus from the sediment (Table 1.4.1.).
priate intervention measures. Thus, fish manipulations

have been observed to impact strongly the remaining
trophic levels and general water quality. Many Danish
examples show that clear-water conditions occur in
shallow lakes at adequate fish removal. In the most
recent general survey of Danish restoration projects
conducted in 1998 including 21 fish-manipulated lakes,
the chlorophyll a content was shown to decrease by
more than 50 % in 8 of the lakes, while Secchi depth
improved by more than 50 % in 14 lakes (Sndergaard et al., 1998). The analysis was, though, based on
the effects observed in the first few years following
the intervention. In Meijer et al. (1999), Hansson et al.
(1998) and Jeppesen & Sammalkorpi (2002) international experiences regarding the use of biomanipulation
as a restoration tools are described.
In most cases the restoration projects have been

undertaken by the environmental departments of the
Danish counties, occasionally in collaboration with
local landowners or affected municipalities and interest
organisations. The practical part of the lake restoration
has often been undertaken in co-operation with private
consulting companies, which in some cases have also
been responsible for analysing and interpreting the results. Overall interpretation of results has mostly been
conducted by the counties involved, occasionally including several within-county restoration projects. Seen in
the national perspective the results have been analysed
by the National Environmental Research Institute, NERI
or regarding fish manipulations by the Danish Institute for Fisheries Research, DIFRES, sometimes in cooperation with national agencies and universities (e.g.
Sndergaard et al., 1998).
Also stocking of pike fry has been used in Danish lakes

to impact the fry of planktivorous fish (Berg et al.,
1997; Sndergaard et al., 1997; Skov et al., 2003a,b).
Stocking densities and methods (time etc.) have differed widely, making it difficult to estimate whether
effects are completely absent or, if negligible, relate
to the scale of intervention. Experiences are mixed,
but the most recent collection of data on pike stocking
experiments indicates that the effect is overall poor (C.
Skov, DIFRES, personal communication).
Effects and appraisal of restoration projects
The other types of restoration measures applied in

Denmark, including sediment removal, bottom water
oxidation and aluminium addition, have often also
led to improvements, albeit the effects have varied.
Sediment removal in Lake Brabrand (lake area: 150
ha) has so far been the only major project in Denmark
of its kind. The effects observed on water quality were
negligible due to the still high external nutrient loading,
but the impact of internal phosphorus loading diminished (Jrgensen, 1998). The most extensive project
involving hypolimnion oxidation was undertaken in Lake
Hald, in which oxygen has been added to the two deepest points in the lake since 1985 (Rasmussen, 1998).
The oxidation has not led to any major increase in average hypolimnion oxygen concentrations, but internal
phosphorus loading has declined considerably following
the intervention, from a net release of 1.5-3.7 tonnes P
annually to a net retention of 0.3-0.7 tonnes P annually
following the intervention. The only Danish aluminium
addition project so far was conducted in Lake Snderby
S (lake area: 8 ha) (Reitzel et al., 2003), today, 1-2
after the intervention, the results seem promising, but
long-term experience is lacking. More aluminium addition projects are planned for the future.
The results of the Danish restoration projects vary

widely, but overall there is no doubt that significant
effects on water quality may be obtained using appro-
Oxidation of the bottom water in Lake Hald has been going on

continuously since 1985. Here is one of the oxygen diffusors
depicted.
Photo: County of Viborg.
44
Common fish in the lake pike,

bream, perch and roach.
Photo: Thorsten Mller Olesen.
In most cases where restorative measures have not led

to improvements in lake environmental state the explanation is either that the intervention was inadequate or
that something went wrong somewhere, for instance
that, in an oxidation project, the thermocline was accidentally broken due to heavy bubbling. A limited effect
is often also observed at continuously high external
loading. Thus, to obtain more enduring effects in shallow lakes, the external phosphorus loading must be
reduced a level below 50-100 g P l-1. Another factor
complicating the interpretation of intervention results
is that external loading has often been reduced concurrently with the intervention or that, for instance, fish
removal has been conducted over a sequence of years,
rendering analysis of the before and after situation
difficult.
the pool accumulated in the sediment may be involved.

This pool may potentially contribute to maintaining the
system in an unstable state sensitive to climatically
induced changes, such as harsh winters impacting the
abundance of submerged macrophytes and fish in one
direction or another.
Also, to optimise lake restoration methods further
research and development of practical tools are needed. This applies both to the need for understanding
the mechanisms behind the benthic-pelagic coupling,
including the impact of the sediments nutrient pool,
and elucidation of how the biological structure influences nutrient retention. Numerous examples have
shown that shifts from turbid to clear-water conditions
lead to a considerable increase in the retention of both
phosphorus and nitrogen, but the mechanisms behind
remain unclear.
Future development and perspectives

The greatest uncertainty in lake restoration regards
the long-term effects. Most studies cover only the first
few years or a 5-6-year period following the intervention. However, the few existing Danish long-term
time series (e.g. Lake Vng, Sndergaard et al., 1998)
indicate that maintenance of intervention effects may
be difficult. Why this is so is not yet fully clear, but
factors such as internal loading of phosphorus from
Furthermore, there is a need to shed light on the relationships existing between the external nutrient input
and the (possibly lake-specific) conditions deciding
lake restoration interventions. Within this context the
role of nitrogen should be further explored. Normally,
phosphorus is regarded the decisive substance for lake
environmental state, but recent investigations suggest
that nitrogen may play an important role for the occur-
45

rence of submerged macrophytes and thereby for the
maintenance of the clear-water state (Jeppesen et al.,
2005a; Sagrario et al., 2005).
authorities. In consequence, restoration initiatives

will be conducted within another framework, involving
change of strategies and possibly also the formation of
new partnerships.
As to methods, there may be yet unexploited methods

for improving the state of Danish lakes, for instance the
use of aluminium to precipitate and bind phosphorus
in the sediment. This is a frequently applied method in
the US (Cook et al., 1993), but has only randomly been
used in Denmark. Also the biological methods may
be optimised, for instance regarding the time of pike
stocking and optimum conduction of removal. Many of
the interventions conducted so far have had a trial and
error character.
Also the implementation of the EU Water Framework

Directive will lead to an enhanced and changed focus
on lake restoration. In some respects restoration and
possible repeated restoration events may be regarded
as a method to obtain and maintain a good ecological
state.
Finally, climatic changes, implying increased temperatures and precipitation, may require a change of strategy. Which effects to expect from climatic changes are
yet uncertain, but increased precipitation will lead to
increased nutrient runoff, which will counteract earlier
efforts to reduce the nutrient loading of lakes (Jeppesen et al., 1992).
The structural reform of Danish municipal and country structure, to be implemented by January 1 2007,
implies that the counties will be dissolved and their
responsibilities delegated to municipal and national
View over Lake Hald surrounded by forest. Photo: County of Viborg.
46
References
Amsinck, S.L., Johansson, L.S., Bjerring, R., Jeppesen, E., Sndergaard, M., Jensen, J.P., Jensen, K.,
Bradshaw, E., Anderson, N.J., Bennike, O., Nielsen,
A.B., Rasmussen, P., Ryves, D., Stavngaard, B., Brodersen, K., McGowan, S., Odgaard, B.V. & Wolin, J.
2003. Vandrammedirektivet og danske ser. Del 2:
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Jeppesen, E., Jensen, J.P., Sndergaard, M., Gonslez

Sagrario, M.A. & Gom, J. 2005a. Spiller kvlstof
en strre rolle i lavvandede ser end hidtil antaget?
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D., Tatrai, I., Willn, E. & Winder, M. 2005b. Lake
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Andersen, J.M. (ed.), Bidstrup, J., Ellermann, T., Grant,

R., Grevy, I.T., Jensen, P.N., Jrgensen, L.F., Lauridsen, T., Laursen, K.D., Madsen, H.B., Olsen, H.M.,
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49
Title
Management and restoration of lakes in Denmark
Subtitle
LakePromo
Publisher
County of North Jutland
Niels Bohrs Vej 30
DK - 9220 Aalborg
DENMARK
Publication year
2006
Authors
Mette Bramm & Inge Christensen
County of North Jutland
Layout
Tommy Skov
Maps
Copyright : National Survey and Cadastre
Print
The printing office of the County of North Jutland
ISBN
87-7775-622-3
Number printed
50 copies
Front page photos
View over Lake Hrby; stocking of an adult pike in Lake Poulstrup; the result of
mass removal of planktivorous fish in Lake Klokkeholm Mlle; view over Lake Hannerup; sampling of water in Lake Poulstrup; mass removal of planktivorous fish by
drag net in Lake Poulstrup. Photos: County of North Jutland.

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Management and

The County of North Jutland

County of North Jutland Department of Aquaric Environment

land, Estonia, England, Germany, Hungary, Spain and

The County of Northern Jutland wishes to thank all

Finally, Chapter 7 provides a summary evaluating the

The characteristics of lakes suffering from eutrophication in Denmark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

2. Administrative structure and legislation in the lake area

2.1 Administrative structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

3.1 Involved actors and their tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

5. Restoration planning and implementation procedures

6. National best practices and special expertise in methods and projects

6.1 National special expertise biomanipulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Background and types of restoration interventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

or lake management is important when tracing the

To remedy this situation, comprehensive measures

Danish Institute for Fisheries Research) have provided

1.1 The characteristics of lakes suffering from

So far (i.e. before implementation of the structural

Box 1.1. Eutrophication

Oligotrophic lakes are

Mesotrophic lakes are

Eutrophic lakes are

Total phosphorus (g/l)

2001). If the phosphorus level in a Danish lake exceeds

Most Danish lakes are shallow. Half of them have an

1.2 Development of the condition of lakes

Past investigations and paleolimnological studies (i.e.

fewer and smaller

Phytoplankton abundance increases dramatically in

Increased nutrient loading also entails changes in the

Reasons for eutrophication

Untreated or only partly treated sewage was the main

Figure 1.2.2. Sources of phosphorus and nitrogen loading to

and treat the county data for the purpose of national

The implementation of Aquatic Action Plan I in 1987

The Danish restoration projects have produced widely

Large lakes > 5 ha

Extensive programme III

Mass balance and nutrient sources

Environmental hazardous substances

Water chemical analyses

Physical analyses (e.g. oxygen

1 (every 6th year)

7 (every 3rd year)

5 (every 6th year)

1 (every 6th year)

1 (every 6th year)

1 (every 3rd year)

1 (every 6th year)

1 (every 6th year)

1 (every 6th year)

1 (every 6th year)

description of the different methods can also be found

Long-term effects are not yet well documented, and

1.4 Current practices and methods available

Description of advantages and disadvantages

- particularly pike fry. Reduction of zooplanktivorous fish increased

- particularly zooplanktivorous roach and bream increased control

- to promote plant re-establishment and development reduced

Oxidation of bottom water/

- in stratified lakes reduced phosphorus release from the sediment

- removal of the source of internal phosphorus loading reduced

Addition of iron or aluminium salts