Articles | Volume 23, issue 21
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-7849-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-7849-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
05 Nov 2026
Research article |
| 05 Nov 2026
| 05 Nov 2026
Quantifying the impact of groundwater fauna and temperature on the ecosystem service of microbial carbon degradation; a proof-of-principle approach
Susanne I. Schmidt
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Lake Research, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), 39114 Magdeburg, Germany
SIDATA, Birkenweg 2, 54587 Lissendorf, Germany
Nora Rütz
Institute of Animal Ecology, Justus Liebig University, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26 (IFZ), 35392 Giessen, Germany
Jürgen Marxsen
Institute of Animal Ecology, Justus Liebig University, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26 (IFZ), 35392 Giessen, Germany
Limnological River Station of the Max Planck Institute for Limnology, 36110 Schlitz, Germany
Related authors
Alexander Wachholz, Susanne I. Schmidt, Jens Arle, and Jeanette Völker
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 18, 117–129, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-117-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-117-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Small lakes and ponds provide many functions for the environment. Because of their size they are often not considered in scientific studies. We collected all the information on those lakes and ponds for Germany and combined it to a database. We described the ponds in detail, for example how deep they might by, how much water they can store or if they are connected to rivers. We found more than 260.000 lakes and ponds in Germany.
Alexander Wachholz, Susanne I. Schmidt, Jens Arle, and Jeanette Völker
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 18, 117–129, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-117-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-117-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Small lakes and ponds provide many functions for the environment. Because of their size they are often not considered in scientific studies. We collected all the information on those lakes and ponds for Germany and combined it to a database. We described the ponds in detail, for example how deep they might by, how much water they can store or if they are connected to rivers. We found more than 260.000 lakes and ponds in Germany.
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Short summary
The groundwater ecosystem fulfils functions that enable drinking water production. Here, we used a computational model to quantify one such services, namely the degradation or organic carbon. We ran scenarios with and without fauna and scenarios with (additionally) temperature elevated by 1.5 °C and 3 °C. Biodegradable organic carbon increased in scenarios without fauna. This may create problems in drinking water production. Fauna fulfils a service by promoting microbial carbon degradation.
The groundwater ecosystem fulfils functions that enable drinking water production. Here, we used...
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