Preface: paleolimnology and lake management

Paleolimnology uses information preserved in lake, river, and wetland sediments to understand past environmental conditions. Paleolimnologists access and analyze records of environmental change that have been temporally and spatially integrated over decades to centuries. These data provide a powerful complement to monitoring programs or shorter term studies that are unable to evaluate predisturbance conditions. The present-day environment is a product of the natural geologic setting and past human influences, and environmental stressors affect lakes over long time periods. Consequently, lake managers have recognized the value of paleolimnology for assessing long-term impacts from environmental stressors, and for establishing management baselines or reference conditions. This special issue on paleolimnology and lake management explores 7 examples from lakes across North America that show the value of paleolimnology in providing a long-term perspective on environmental change.