Abstract
During summer stratification large amounts of phosphorus (P) accumulate in anoxic bottom waters of many lakes due to release of P from underlying sediments. The availability to phytoplankton of this P is inversely related to the Fe:P ratio in bottom waters. Using data from 51 lakes, we tested the hypothesis that sulfate concentration in lake water may be critical in controlling the Fe:P ratio in anoxic bottom waters. Results showed that Fe:P ratios in bottom waters of lakes were significantly (p< 0.001) related to surface water sulfate concentrations. The higher Fe:P ratios in low sulfate systems is due not only to higher iron concentrations in anoxic bottom waters but also to lower P concentrations in anoxic waters. Thus, our results suggest that anthropogenically induced increases in sulfate concentrations of waters (e.g. from fossil fuel burning) may have a double effect on P cycling in lakes. Higher sulfate concentrations can both increase the magnitude of P release from sediments as well as increase the availability of P released from sediments into anoxic bottom waters.
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Caraco, N.F., Cole, J.J., Likens, G.E. (1993). Sulfate control of phosphorus availability in lakes. In: Boers, P.C.M., Cappenberg, T.E., van Raaphorst, W. (eds) Proceedings of the Third International Workshop on Phosphorus in Sediments. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 84. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1598-8_31
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1598-8_31
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