Structural and quantitative characteristics of Lake Baikal phytoplankton, as well as hydrochemical analysis for September 2019 to 2021 and 2023 to 2024, are presented. This study reveals that small-cell algae such as cryptoflagellates, haptoflagellates, and dinoflagellates dominate in the autumn phytoplankton. The diatom Cyclotella minuta Antip. is poor, 2000 to 10 000 cells per liter; it was more abundant (up to 400 000 cells per liter) in the 20th century. The decreased role of the former dominant C. minuta is a result of climate change and nutrients inflowing to the lake. Average concentrations of silicon in the water in September are found to equal 0.47 ± 0.10 mg/L, which is two to three time lower than in the 20th century. Phytoplankton biomasses are low due to the dominant small-cell algae, but they are distributed highly irregularly.
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Bondarenko et al. (2026) studied this question.
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