Researcher
Chaozhong Tan
Interdisciplinary Research Center of Cities, Territories, Environment and Society, University of Tours, France
Supervisor: Prof. Dr Karl Matthias Wantzen
Overview
Urban lakes can support high biodiversity and provide critical ecosystem services. This research focuses on urban lakes, which are classified as a type of ‘urban stagnant water’ (USWs), and their ecological and social aspects. It aims to identify the drivers of macroinvertebrate diversity in urban lakes and explore how the public perceives naturalness in such areas. The study of three urban lakes in Tours, France (Lakes Bretonnieres, Bergeonnerie, and Peupleraies), and one in Wuhan (Lake Donghu), China, provides evidence to contribute to the sustainable management of urban lakes that can simultaneously enhance aquatic biodiversity and improve the provision of ecosystem services. To that end, this research analyses how USWs can be strategically integrated into urban planning, designed, and maintained from an interdisciplinary vantage point in order to tackle the environmental and social challenges related to urban lakes. To support this study, an extensive review of the past and current status of USWs is undertaken to further our understanding of the ecological, social, and engineering aspects of USWs management.