Rapid ecosystem recovery from diffuse pollution after the Great Irish Famine

Remarkably little is known about the effectiveness or rates of recovery of aquatic ecosystems from reductions in human-associated pressures at landscape scales. The retention of anthropogenic contaminants within ecosystems can retard rates of recovery considerably, while the trajectories of recovery processes vary with the extent of disturbance and the resilience of biotic assemblages. The Great Irish Famine of 1845-1850 comprised one of the most significant human disasters of the 19th century, causing the death of approximately one million people and the emigration of a further two million from the country between 1845 and 1855. We found, through analysis of detailed historical census data combined with paleolimnological investigation of sedimentary nutrient concentrations, stable isotope ratios, and diatom assemblages, that the trophic level of Lough Carra, a largely shallow calcareous lake in the west of Ireland with no urban areas or point sources of any significance in its catchment, reduced considerably during and immediately after the Great Famine, shifting to new equilibria within just 2-10 years. Our results demonstrate that the reduction of human pressures from diffuse sources at landscape scales can result in the rapid and monotonic recovery of aquatic ecosystems. Moreover, the recovery of ecosystems from diffuse pollution need not necessarily take longer than recovery from pollution from point sources.