The aim of this research was to analyse the effects of liming on the littoral benthonic fauna in the Phragmites communis macrophyte bank. Such effects were analysed on the basis of differences in faunal composition between a stressed and restored lake (Lake Orta) and an unaffected lake (Lake Mergozzo). The different chemical conditions (low pH, low alkalinity, high nitrates, toxic metals) are considered responsible for the impoverishment of the Lake Orta fauna. The liming has not yet restored it to its original condition. -Authors