The littoral zone extends zone extends towards the centre of the lake, from the natural high-water mark to the point where aquatic vegetation disappears. This zone with relatively shallow water nurtures a diversity of flora and wildlife.
The plants in the littoral zone are essential to the life of the lake. These absorb various dissolved substances in the water to fabricate organic matter which serves as nourishment to aquatic animals. They also protect aquatic wildlife from light, heat and natural enemies while housing a diversity of living entities. Without aquatic plants, fish would be deprived of a large portion of their food. Aquatic plants also mitigate the effect of waves and as such contribute to protecting the shoreline from erosion.
The littoral zone is the most diversified and nutrient-rich zone of any lake. It is home to most of the plant and animal life that resides in the lake. These life forms contribute to the system’s ecology. If we disturb this equilibrium, we are endangering the very life of our lake.
In order to prevent the degradation of our lake, it is essential to protect the integrity of the littoral zone. We need to ensure the free flow of water under our docks. As soon as an obstacle to the free flow of water in the littoral zone is created, a large number of degradation symptoms appear in the immediate area.
The rate of accumulation of sediments increases rapidly, nutrition elements accumulate and the littoral zone is progressively invaded by aquatic plants and algae.