Lakes and reservoirs represent key freshwater ecosystems that host diverse aquatic organisms and perform essential functions such as water cycling, nutrient retention, and ecosystem service provision. Due to their semi-closed hydrological structure and limited inflow-outflow dynamics, lakes exhibit complex biological communities shaped by regional climate, topography, and land use. However, these ecosystems are increasingly exposed to multifactorial stressors-including climate change, urbanization, nutrient enrichment, and invasive species-that are causing significant structural and functional shifts in aquatic biodiversity. This review provides an integrative overview of (1) the structural and ecological characteristics of lake ecosystems and the primary drivers of biodiversity alteration, (2) the ecological functions and bioindicator potential of key organism groups including phytoplankton, zooplankton, aquatic macrophytes, benthic macroinvertebrates, and fish, and (3) the emerging role of environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding in lake biodiversity monitoring. We highlight both the technical principles and challenges of eDNA analysis and discuss its potential to complement traditional survey methods for the development of integrated ecosystem health assessments. Positioned at the forefront of the 2025 special issue of Ecology and Environment, this article establishes a conceptual and methodological foundation for a national-scale freshwater biodiversity monitoring framework in Korean lakes.

The cost of treating water purification plant water treatment residuals is high, with a low recovery rate and unstable effluent water quality, particularly in plants using lake and reservoir water sources in severe cold regions. Maximizing water resource utilization requires integrating water treatment residuals concentration and treatment effectively. Here, ceramic membrane technology was employed to separate supernatant and substrate after pretreatment. Optimal settling was achieved using 75 μm magnetic powder at 200 and 4 mg/L of nonionic polyacrylamide co-injection. Approximately 65% of the separated supernatant was processed by 0.1–0.2 μm Al2O3 ceramic membranes, yielding a membrane flux of 50 L/m2h and a water recovery rate of 99.8%. This resulted in removal rates of 99.3% for turbidity, 98.2% for color, and 87.7% for color and permanganate index (chemical oxygen demand, COD). Furthermore, 35% of the separated substrate underwent treatment with 0.1–0.2 μm mixed ceramic membranes of Al2O3 and SiC, achieving a membrane flux of 40 L/m2h and a water recovery rate of 73.8%. The removal rates for turbidity, color, and COD were 99.9%, 99.9%, and 82%, respectively. Overall, this process enables comprehensive concentration and treatment integration, achieving a water recovery rate of 90.7% with safe and stable effluent water quality.

해수유통 중인 화성호에서 수문학적 변동이 식물플랑크톤 군집과 적응전략에 미치는 영향을 파악하기 위하여 2012년 5월부터 10월까지 7회에 걸쳐 식물플랑크톤 종조성, 생물량, 환경변수를 조사하였다. 수문학적 이벤트 (해수유통, 강수량)는 화성호의 급격한 염분변동 (2.9~29.1 psu)과 함께 영양염, 투명도를 조절하였다. 식물플랑크톤 종조성은 매 조사마다 강 (class) 수준에서 급격히 변하였고, 클로로필-a는 9.7~104.1 μg L-1의 범위로 6월에 낮고 9월에 높았다. 다변량 분석결과, 식물플랑크톤 천이는 4개의 시기로 구분되었다. Phase I (5~6월)은 해수유통이 빈번한 고염-중온 시기로, 작은 크기의 Gymnodinium sp., Heterosigma akashiwo이 우점하였다. Phase II (7월, 9월)에는 집중호우와 바람의 영향으로 Cylindrotheca closterium가 우점하였고, Phase III (8월)에는 저염-고온 시기로 Oscillatoria spp.가 우점하였으며, Phase IV (10월)는 해수유통이 다시 증가하고 수온이 급감하면서 작은 편모조류인 unid. cryptomonad가 우점하였다. 화성호 식물플랑크톤 군집은 형태적, 생리적 특성에 따라 구분되는 세가지 적응전략, 즉 C (colonistinvasives), S (stress-tolerants), R (ruderals)전략에 따라 구분되었다. Phase I와 IV의 우점종은 CR-전략종으로써, 약한 성층조건을 선호하는 작은 크기의 기회종이였고, Phase II와 III의 우점종은 R-전략종으로써, 유입하천수의 교란에 적응된 중간 크기의 종이다. 이 결과는 향후 해수유통차단에 의한 성층강화가 현재의 식물플랑크톤군집을 더 작은 편모조류의 극우점으로 변화시킬 수 있음을 보여주었다. 결론적으로 화성호의 수문학적 이벤트(해수유통, 강수량)는 염분, 영양염, 성층환경 교란을 조절함으로써 식물플랑크톤의 천이와 대발생을 이끄는 중요한 요인임을 제시한다.