2024Europa - The Fauna and Flora of the Lakes of the Tatra Mountains - Sheetlets

The organisms that inhabit the lakes of the Tatra Mountains must be adapted to the extreme conditions that are generally characterised by very low temperatures, a short ice-free growing season and a lack of nutrients. The lower-lying lakes show a greater degree of diversity, whereas in the high mountain environment there are significantly fewer species. If higher plant species occur here at all, they do so in communities that are simple in structure and very species-poor. One of the rarest species of vascular plants that can be found in the lakes of the Tatras is the narrowleaf bur-reed (Sparganium angustifolium), which, within Slovakia, occurs in monodominant communities within the two Roháče lakes in the Western Tatras and the "Nižné Žabie pleso" lake in the High Tatras. This glacial relic has remained within area-limited, suitable habitats as a remnant of the last ice age. In addition to several other vascular plants, species of bryophytes and abundant cyanobacteria and algae can be found in the waters of the Tatras. Some species are only found within the waters of the Tatra Mountains and many of them bear the generic name "tatricus", "tatrica" or "tatrensis".