Abstract
The role of nitrogen as a factor controlling phytoplankton biomass was studied in nutrient enrichment incubations in the laboratory using water from pelagic region of two mesotrophic lakes in eastern Finland, Lake Kallavesi (in year 1994) and Lake Juurusvesi (in year 1995). We used different combinations of phosphorus and nitrogen additions in a total of eight experiments. Furthermore, we included Daphnia grazing treatment to the experimental design in Lake Juurusvesi experiments. The nitrogen treatments did not increase chlorophyll a concentration in any of the experiments compared with the controls. Chlorophyll a content was highest in those nutrient treatments where phosphorus was added with or without nitrogen. Daphnia grazing decreased chlorophyll a concentration compared with non-grazed treatments. In some cases grazing also caused higher ammonium concentrations. These experiments, as well as the nutrient ratio of the lake water used, suggest that phosphorus is likely to control the amount of phytoplankton biomass.
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Karjalainen, H., Seppälä, S., Walls, M. (1998). Nitrogen, phosphorus and Daphnia grazing in controlling phytoplankton biomass and composition — an experimental study. In: Tamminen, T., Kuosa, H. (eds) Eutrophication in Planktonic Ecosystems: Food Web Dynamics and Elemental Cycling. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 127. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1493-8_26
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1493-8_26
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