Why should we protect saline lakes: a global analysis of ecosystem services

The study identifies saline lakes as critical aquatic resources that support a high number of threatened species but remain underrepresented in policy and research. Based on a survey of 47 international experts, the research finds that lake size and remoteness are the primary determinants of the provision of multiple ecosystem services. The author argues that the climate crisis and resource exploitation are exacerbating the natural variability of these lakes, necessitating protective strategies and adaptive management to prevent complete degradation.

• Saline lakes globally support a significant number of endangered species, with 66 studied lakes collectively supporting 155 IUCN threatened species.
• The ability of a saline lake to provide multiple ecosystem services is primarily determined by its size and its remoteness.
• Saline lakes are currently threatened by human impacts, specifically resource exploitation and the climate crisis, which increase the lakes' natural variability.
• Due to their remoteness, saline lakes are underappreciated in both policy and research, which increases the risk of their complete degradation.

APA

Ramesh (2021). Why should we protect saline lakes: a global analysis of ecosystem services. ClimaTalk. https://climatalk.org/2021/06/15/why-should-we-protect-saline-lakes-a-global-analysis-of-ecosystem-services/

Chicago

Ramesh. Why should we protect saline lakes: a global analysis of ecosystem services. ClimaTalk, 2021. https://climatalk.org/2021/06/15/why-should-we-protect-saline-lakes-a-global-analysis-of-ecosystem-services/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ramesh |title=Why should we protect saline lakes: a global analysis of ecosystem services |publisher=ClimaTalk |date=15 June 2021 |url=https://climatalk.org/2021/06/15/why-should-we-protect-saline-lakes-a-global-analysis-of-ecosystem-services/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ramesh2021why, author = {Ramesh}, title = {{Why should we protect saline lakes: a global analysis of ecosystem services}}, institution = {ClimaTalk}, year = {2021}, month = jun, url = {https://climatalk.org/2021/06/15/why-should-we-protect-saline-lakes-a-global-analysis-of-ecosystem-services/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }