Erken

Many Swedish lakes have become greener and browner over the past century, largely due to human activities such as land use change and modern forestry. These changes are likely to have major consequences for lake ecosystems, yet many questions remain unanswered. To help close this knowledge gap, Magnus Huss (SLU, Uppsala) and Karin Nilsson (SLU, Umeå) are investigating how forest fertilizers and dissolved organic matter (DOM) leaking from soils affect plankton communities in Swedish lakes.

Recent news has highlighted the impact of strong winds this summer on drinking water in the Stockholm area; SVT Stockholm on 20 Aug: Så har blåsiga sommaren tvingat stockholmare att snåla med vatten (translation: This is how the windy summer has forced Stockholmers to be frugal with water) and 

All ecosystems including lakes are teeming with viruses that infect bacteria. These specific type of viruses are known as phages. Despite being very small, phages play a considerable role in modulating nutrient cycling in the lake environment through the impact they have on their bacterial hosts. Phages also contribute to transferring genes within the bacterial community and by doing so they affect evolutionary and ecological dynamics of their bacterial host. Many aspects of phage-bacteria interactions are still unknown and need specifically developed datasets.

As of 1st of January 2025, Dolly Kothawala is the new Station Manager of the Erken Laboratory. Welcome Dolly to the SITES Community!

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Are you interested in conducting mesocosm experiments on lakes? SITES AquaNet provides a standardized infrastructure for running mesocosm studies across various lakes. This system features floating platforms with mesocosm enclosures, automatic sensors linked to a data-logging system, and handheld sensors for precise measurements. In this video you can find more information about SITES AquaNet!

As part of the IUFRO World Congress in Stockholm this week, Erken Laboratory hosted an excursion, where around 150 IUFRO participants visited the station to learn about environmental monitoring and field-based research infrastructure.