PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS: AN APPROPRIATE TOOL FOR TROPHIC PARAMETERS INTERACTION - APPLICATION IN LARGEST LAKE IN BALKAN

The Lake of Shkodra is the largest lake in the Balkans with Ramsar status, which offers a variety of important ecosystem services such as water sources for agriculture, rich biodiversity and providing habitat and nesting grounds for wildlife, and tourism development for Albania and Montenegro. During the last decade, different studies reported an increase macronutrient content, reporting the increase in the eutrophication in this lake which may reduce the biodiversity species. The aim of this study is to use the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) as a tool to define the relation of quality parameters with the TN: TP ratio. According to PCA, the TN: TP molar observed ratio can be related to anthropogenic activities and agricultural land use patterns around the catchment area indicating a high possibility untreated waste entering the lake through the active inlets.