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Lake Donghu, China
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Lake Donghu is the largest inland lake that is enclosed by a town. The town in this case is Wuhan, with a population of about 7,000,000. The lake is multifunctional, being used for production of fish, plants, as well as having a significant recreational role. The lake is a catchment for small rivers, and typically has a high loading of organic matter and fine particles. The Chinese Academy of Sciences has a research centre, the Institue of Hydrobiology, based on the Lake. The image is of dawn redwoods (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) which produce woody knees, like those of their relative Taxodium distichum, some distance from the main stem. As with mangroves, these are believed to help supply gases to the trees. This is a Chinese native, said by some to be a 'living fossil'. Although described only in the 1940's, these trees have traditionally been used in China to stabilize banks of paddy fields and rivers. Image of dawn redwoods by D. J. Patterson. Image copyright: D. J. Patterson, used under license to MBL (micro*scope).
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