Post-mining lakes - Czechia

Large-scale opencast mining of brown coal represents a significant and devastating intervention in the natural environment. As a close to nature and economically acceptable method of reclamation of residual mine pits, the hydric method of reclamation is used, when lakes are created from quarries. The creation of a new lake in a former mining area essentially represents a large-scale ecological experiment, during which a number of specific factors are involved with impacts on individual organisms, multiple trophic levels and interactions, even entire food chains, and ultimately the lake water quality. Post-mining lakes (Medard Lake – 490 ha, max. depth 50 m, 400 m a.s.l., Milada Lake – 245 ha, max. depth 25 m, 145 m a.s.l., Most ...