Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 August 2009
The shallow Lake Hornborga in southern Sweden has been used by Man for more than 9,000 years, primarily for fishing and hunting but latterly also for cattle-grazing and hay-making. The water-level of the Lake has varied considerably during climatically different periods of time. Changes between dry and wet periods have caused different vegetation-types to predominate, but have probably also effectively counterbalanced a tendency to become overgrown. During the last two centuries the water-level of the Lake has been lowered intentionally five times. Originally, the aim was to counteract spring flooding, but later the reason was to obtain more arable land. The Lake is, however, most famed for its abundance and diversity of bird-life, which is dependent on the local hydrological regime, vegetation, and land-use.