TYPOLOGY OF LAKES IN THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE BEFORE E. NAUMANN (ON THE OCCASION OF 105TH ANNIVERSARY OF PUBLICATION OF “FUNDAMENTALS OF FISHERY VALUATION OF LAKES” BY M. P. SOMOV)
- Authors: Rizhinashvili A.L1
-
Affiliations:
- S. I. Vavilov Institute for the History of Science and Technology, Russian Academy of Sciences
- Issue: Vol 46, No 4 (2025)
- Pages: 617–633
- Section: From the History of Science
- URL: https://ogarev-online.ru/0205-9606/article/view/361627
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.7868/S2713041X25060023
- ID: 361627
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Abstract
The challenges of modern ecological science include creating a classification of ecosystems of water bodies, based on their trophic status, i. e. the level of their productivity. The reconstruction of historical development of ideas about eutrophication and trophic status of water bodies may help resolving the issue of criteria for categorizing the types of reservoirs. In the 1910s, M. P. Somov attempted to develop a unified theoretical framework for classifying reservoirs in his book, “Fundamentals of Fishery Valuation of Lakes,” published in 1920. This is an important source that summarizes the early developments and ideas concerned with reservoir productivity. It was published when the well-known doctrine of lake typology by E. Naumann was still being developed. Somov’s approach to evaluating lakes as farmlands was based on the following ideas. First, regarding plankton abundance as an indicator of reservoir productivity. Second, understanding the need for chemical analysis of both the water and the plankton for better understanding of the ecosystem. Third, taking into account the characteristics of a water body such as its depth, location, and climatic conditions including temperature, precipitation, and wind patterns. Fourth, Somov believed that the main objective of reservoir valuation (“taxation”) was assessing the favorability of conditions for fish in a particular water body. Defining a lake description program, he believed that each lake ought to be considered as a system where all elements are interdependent. Somov’s review clearly demonstrates that the idea of “trophy” (productivity) in hydrobiology, expressed in his book (although the term “trophy” has not been used in it), has matured by the 1920s. This idea reflects the principle of minimalism and the unity of all the biocenoses in a reservoir.
About the authors
A. L Rizhinashvili
S. I. Vavilov Institute for the History of Science and Technology, Russian Academy of Sciences
Email: railway-ecology@yandex.ru
Moscow, Russia
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