Established in March 2012, Limno Consulting provides diagnostic, conceptual, and hands-on support to professionals, environmental managers, public officers, river catchment authorities, policy makers, and citizens interested in any aspect of limnology.
Limnology is the study of inland, fresh waters. Though lakes and rivers account for barely 0.01% of the total water in the biosphere, they provide the bulk of the freshwater that humans use for agricultural, industrial and domestic purposes, drinking water, and recreation. The freshwater stored in polar ice and glaciers and in deep groundwater aquifers is either impractical or environmentally unsound to extract, as this fossil water reserves have renewal times of hundreds to thousand years and would not be replaced at rates comparable to consumption.
Freshwater ecosystems also host a variety of life forms, with some lakes, streams, and wetlands supporting a high biodiversity. Lakes and wetlands also may serve as transient or final destinations for migratory waterbirds such as swans and geese. Pollution-sensitive salmons migrate upstream in mountain rivers to reproduce.
Light-sensitive aquatic plants require clear water to thrive and provide oxygen, food, and spawning areas for many game and ecologically important fish. The biomass and type of suspended phytoplankton tend to be influenced by the input of excess nutrients, with typical dominance of nuisance — sometimes even toxin-producing — cyanobacteria (usually known as "blue-green algae") at high nutrient loadings, and potential negative impacts on drinking water and livestock or human health. Last but not least, an impacted lake or river loses its attractiveness and value as a recreational site. All these considerations make clean freshwater a fundamental resource for humans and their planet.
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The late Robert G. Wetzel, one of the fathers of modern limnology and one of the most preeminent limnologists and scientists of the last century, lamented that modern limnologists are under an ever increasing pressure to produce quick answers to complex questions. Such a pressure has resulted in the sidelining of the in-depth scientific knowledge necessary to produce such answers, leading to some setbacks and failures in the field of applied limnology. Limno Consulting fully agrees with this line of thought and has made the application of state-of-the-art limnological and ecological knowledge to applied problem-oriented projects as its basic tenet. Practical, problem-solving projects are integrated with basic and applied research in limnology and aquatic ecology. To this end, Limno Consulting maintains and continuously updates its library of specialized literature, including ~6000 journal articles, mostly stored in environmentally friendly electronic format.
Though Limno Consulting is specialized on biological limnology, abiotic aspects are integrated in a comprehensive, holistic way to provide as wide and encompassing a picture as possible. Expertise covers all limnological ecosystems, with an emphasis on lakes and ponds, and secondarily on streams and rivers. A strong background in basic and applied, quantitative aquatic ecology allows Limno Consulting to expand its horizon to shallow groundwater and estuarine and marine coastal ecosystems as well.
Limno Consulting is based in Rome, Italy, but its geographical range of expertise, partnerships, and project interests span throughout Europe, and beyond. Working language is English. To contact or receive more information on Limno Consulting, please e-mail your queries at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . We will strive to reply in the shortest possible time.
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