the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
| 27 Jan 2025
The German Small Lake and Pond Inventory
Abstract. Small lakes and ponds are hotspots of biodiversity, biogeochemical reactions, and hydrological interactions in the landscape. While mostly providing the same functions as larger lakes, they often do so at higher rates per unit area. Exponentially more abundant than larger lakes, small lakes, and ponds contribute significantly to biodiversity, nutrient retention, and the water budget, even at large spatial scales. However, they are rarely considered in regional or larger-scale environmental studies, partly due to a lack of data. To alleviate this, we developed the German Small Lake and Pond Inventory (GSLPI), a comprehensive database of over 260.000 small lakes and ponds ranging in size from 10 to 500.000 m2 (50 ha or 0.5 km2). Using only openly available data from Germany’s federal states, we provide information on lake or pond location, shape, depth, volume, and connectivity. With this database, we aim to facilitate the integration of small lakes and ponds into environmental research and enhance understanding of their roles within changing landscapes.
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RC1: 'Comment on essd-2024-563', Anonymous Referee #1, 25 Mar 2025
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The authors present the German Small Lake and Pond Inventory (GSLPI), a comprehensive database encompassing 262.433 lakes and ponds ranging from 10 to 500,000 m². The data was compiled by integrating publicly available information from various federal states in Germany. To verify its accuracy, the database was cross-checked with publicly available data from OpenStreetMap (OSM). The authors offer valuable insights into their findings, along with comprehensive explanations of their data collection and classification techniques. Additionally, the availability of all the Python scripts used in the research adds significant value. This database is a useful resource for researchers aiming to deepen their understanding of the environmental impacts of ponds and lakes.
The quality of the data and the description of the collected data are satisfactory. The comments provided above, though minor and specific, aim to further enhance the overall quality of the manuscript.
Minor comments:
- The introduction could benefit from additional context regarding the German lakes and ponds.
- From what I understand, the database only covers rivers within Germany's political boundaries. It would be helpful if the dataset also included the extended hydrological catchments that originate in neighboring countries.
- In the Depth and Volume section, Figure S3 is referenced. I believe this figure should be included in the manuscript. Additionally, Figures S1 and S4 could be combined into a single figure and moved from the Supplemental Material to the manuscript.
- Figures 3 and S6 are missing clarifications for the letters (a, b, c, etc.) in their figure legends.
- The title of Section 2.4, "Validation", might be reconsidered. While I recognize that OSM is an interesting data source, I wouldn't categorize the procedure as a validation.
Specific Comments:
- There are two sections (3.2.1 and 3.2.2) both titled "Depth and Volume." This needs to be corrected.
- In Section 3.2.2, line 239, it appears that an "enter" key was accidentally pressed, resulting in a second paragraph that doesn't make much sense on its own. This needs to be rewritten for better clarity and understanding.
- "OpenStreetMap" is not used consistently throughout the manuscript. I recommend adopting a consistent format for referring to it. You should choose either "openstreetmap" or "OpenStreetMaps," and I suggest using "OpenStreetMap".
- The reference in line 390 does not follow the correct citation format.
- There is insufficient space between references in line 445 (Seekell et al. 2022 and Seekell et al. 2013).
- The reference for "Völker et al. 2022" is missing.
- The text formatting needs to be checked, as the manuscript contains many blank spaces, particularly on pages 11, 12, 13, and 14.
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-563-RC1
Data sets
German small lake and pond inventory (GSLPI) Alexander Wachholz https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14228168
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