Salt lakes under threat from climate change

An international study has found that climate change and excessive water use threaten salt lakes that are home to 200 species classified as threatened or near threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.

The study, titled The Overlooked Conservation Values of Saline Lakes, was published in the journal Nature Communications in September and co-authored by 26 scientists from around the world.

The study examined threatened species and ecosystem services in 85 salt lakes worldwide.

The researchers focused on lakes with a long-term average salinity exceeding 1 gram per liter.

The study found that these lakes account for more than 45% of the global volume of lake water and 23% of the total surface area of lakes worldwide.

The researchers assessed 27 soda lakes, 40 inland sulfate and chloride lakes, and 18 coastal lakes of marine origin. The salinity levels of the lakes studied ranged from 1 gram to 375 grams per liter.

According to the study, 200 species classified as threatened or near threatened on the IUCN Red List are associated with the 85 salt lakes examined. Birds account for 53% of these species, while the list also includes fish, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates.

Climate change poses greatest threat

Speaking to Anadolu, Nurgul Balci, head of the Geomicrobiology and Biogeochemistry Laboratory at Istanbul Technical University and a member of the team that conducted the international study, said one of the study’s most important findings was that saline and alkaline lakes have significantly greater biodiversity and ecological value than previously assumed.

Balci noted that these lakes are not merely bodies of water inhabited by a limited number of organisms capable of tolerating high salinity. Instead, they support extensive food webs ranging from microorganisms and invertebrates to fish and birds. They also serve as feeding, resting and breeding grounds, particularly for migratory birds.

Stressing that salt lakes are among the world's most vulnerable aquatic ecosystems to climate change, Balci said one of the main reasons for their vulnerability is their location in closed drainage basins.

“Water levels in these lakes depend on an extremely delicate balance between the water entering the basin and evaporation. Reduced precipitation, rising temperatures and increased evaporation, as well as excessive use of surface water and groundwater for agriculture, industry or settlements, can rapidly disrupt this balance,” she added.