Trophic status of Manasbal Lake: A high altitude deep lake water body of Kashmir, India

Water is one of the precious natural resources present on earth and it is very important for survival of flora and fauna. Human-driven loads of water-borne nutrients to aquatic ecosystem have led to worldwide eutrophication. To understand the eutrophication processes, the present study was planned to investigate the impact of nutrient-related water quality conditions over a period of six months at three different sites in Manasbal lake, located in Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir. Significant increase in free carbon dioxide (10.17±1.01mg/l); nitrate-nitrogen (252.5±30.41μg/l); ammoniacal-nitrogen (52.72±12.41μg/l) and total phosphorus (231.11±14.42 μg/l) indicating increased levels of eutrophic conditions were seen. The observed increase of these nutrients could be attributed to anthropogenic activities in the immediate catchment, like agricultural practices and discharge of sewage resulting in deterioration of water quality and decreased fish yield. Further, the amount of dissolved oxygen in the lake water was low, posing a direct threat to lake ecosystem. The study provides the baseline information signaling to frame effective management strategies for improving the water quality.