Kolloquium: Elisa Calamita

Climate change significantly affects freshwater systems like lakes, triggering responses that range from gradual to abrupt transitions. Once critical tipping points are reached, these lake ecosystems may undergo major transformations, sparking a cascade of effects that ripple through the entire ecosystem and affect human communities. Despite the importance of lake regime shifts, there is a lack of systematic, comprehensive monitoring and alert systems to detect and communicate impending shifts. Such systems are crucial for enabling timely action by individuals, communities, governments, and businesses to mitigate associated risks. Additionally, it is essential to recognize that the management of lakes and reservoirs directly affects water quality and carbon transfer within the land-ocean aquatic continuum, influencing freshwater-climate feedbacks. Thus, effective management presents a key opportunity to develop adaptive, sustainable strategies for freshwater systems.