The Balaton LTSER Platform is dedicated to the study of the largest shallow lake in Eastern Europe, situated in the mid-western part of Hungary. The site, which is a popular holiday resort, consists of the lake and its watershed. Lake Balaton went through considerable changes in trophic state during the past decades. After a period of anthropogenic eutrophication from the late 1960s until the mid '90s, restoration measures aimed at reducing the nutrient load reaching the lake led to gradual reoligotrophication. The Balaton Limnological Institute of the MTA Centre for Ecological Research, situated on the Tihany peninsula, had an important role in improving the water quality and the ecological status of the lake by providing sound scientific knowledge for the decision-makers and the general public.

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General Characteristics, Purpose, History

Site Status:

existing

Year Site Established:

1927

Size :

59 400.00ha

Purpose of Site :

Research at the Balaton Limnological Institute focuses on aquatic ecology, with an emphasis on shifts in community structure and on causal relationships between the observed changes and ecosystem processes. The main areas of research include nutrient cycling, humic substances, phytoplankton and macrophyte ecophysiology, zooplankton and zoobenthos, food web relationships, fish population dynamics, invasive species and environmental toxicology. The institute also maintains an algal culture collection for laboratory experiments. Due to regular monitoring, there is an extensive data set on Lake Balaton covering the last 20 years. Phytoplankton research has yielded a particularly long data series dating back to the 1930s. Water samples are collected on a biweekly/monthly basis at two stations in the eastern and western part of the lake, or occasionally at five stations along the E-W axis.

History of Site:

The initial research directions have led to the development of the three present departments of the institute: the Department of Hidrobotany, the Department of Hidrozoology and the Department of Experimental Zoology.

Parameters:

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Geographic

Coordinates:

Latitude: 46.833300000000
Longitude: 17.700000000000

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Site Details

Ecosystem and Environmental Characteristics

Elevation Range FROM:

104.00msl

Elevation Range TO:

104.00msl

Elevation - Average:

104.00msl

Air Temperature Range (Monthly Minimum) FROM:

-2.00°C

Air Temperature Range (Monthly Maximum) TO :

24.00°C

Air Temperature: Average Annual:

10.40°C

Precipitation Minimum Monthly :

35.00mm

Precipitation Annual :

621.00mm

Precipitation Maximum Monthly :

78.00mm

Biome :

Fresh Water Lakes

GEO-BON Biome:

Fresh water lakes

Ecosystem and Land Use:

Lakes
Fresh Water Lakes
Large lakes

Biogeographical Region:

Pannonian

Geology:

Geology of the catchment area is detailed at Balaton LTSER.

Hydrology:

The Zala River provides the largest inflow of water to the lake, and the canalized Sió is the only outflow.

eLTER Parameters

eLTER Parameters:

Network Affiliation and Network Specific Information

Affiliation:

LTER
eLTER (H2020)
ALTER-Net
Living Lakes
Natura 2000
Ramsar

LTER related

LTER Site Code:

LTER_EU_HU_005

LTER Site Classification/Category:

Master

Accreditation Status by LTER Member Network:

Accredited formal LTER facility

ExpeER Classification:

Highly Instrumented Observational AND Experimental Site

Protection Status and Resource Management

Natura 2000 site

75 - 100%

Ramsar site

75 - 100%

Drinking water reservoir

75 - 100%

Management of Resources - Percent of Site:

75 - 100%

Design and Scale of Site

Site Type (Spatial Design):

Complex Site

Scale of Observation:

entire catchment

Design of Observation:

partly observation

Scale of Experiments:

plot scale

Design of Experiments:

partly experimentation

Infrastructure

Accessible All Year :

Yes

All parts of Site Accessible:

Yes

Access Type:

boat

Permanent Power Supply:

Yes

Infrastructure:

Energy and data infrastructure › Data transmission › Data Transmission Type (within site) › Cable based
Energy and data infrastructure › Data transmission › Data Transmission Type (within site) › Telephone line
Energy and data infrastructure › Data transmission › Data Transmission Type (from Site) › Telephone line
Energy and data infrastructure › Data transmission › Data Transmission Type (from Site) › Cable based
Energy and data infrastructure › Energy supply › Permanent Power Supply Location › Central station(s)
Supporting infrastructure › Lodging at site › > 10 beds
Supporting infrastructure › Staff room at site › > 5 places
Supporting infrastructure › Transportation › Boat
Supporting infrastructure › Transportation › Vehicle 2WD
Supporting infrastructure › Transportation › Vehicle 4WD
Data infrastructure › Data storage › Paper
Data infrastructure › Data storage › Unstructured file
Data infrastructure › Data storage › Structured file
Data infrastructure › Data storage › Spatial data file (GIS)
Data infrastructure › Data storage › Relational database
Data infrastructure › Data storage › Spatial database (GIS)
Data infrastructure › Data services › Other data services

Operation

Permanent Operation:

Yes

Site Visit Interval:

Every 14 days

Maintenance Interval:

Every 14 days

Data Management

General Data Policy:

Co-authorship on publications resulting from use of the dataset

The opportunity to collaborate on the project using the dataset

Mutual agreement on reciprocal sharing of data

Data Storage Location :

Distributed within Institution

Data services :

Other data service

Data Notes:

Data providers have to be included as co-authors in any publication using the requested data.

Associated Data

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