Organic Phosphorus in Shallow Lake Sediments in Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River Area in China

doi:10.1016/S1002-0160(08)60030-2

Pedosphere

Volume 18, Issue 3, June 2008, Pages 394-400

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1002-0160(08)60030-2 Get rights and content

Abstract

Thirteen sediment core samples (0–10 cm) were taken from the seven lakes in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River to determine the contents and distributions of organic phosphorus (P) fractions in the sediments of the shallow lakes in the area. The organic P fractions in the sediments were in the order of moderately labile organic P (MLOP) > moderately resistant organic P (MROP) > highly resistant organic P (HROP) > labile organic P (LOP), with average proportional ratios of 13.2:2.8:1.3:1.0. LOP, MLOP, and MROP were signiflcantly related to the contents of total organic carbon (TOC), water-soluble P (WSP), algal-available P (AAP), NaHCO₃-extractable P (Olsen-P), total P (TP), organic P (OP), and inorganic P (IP). However, HROP was signiflcantly related to OP and weakly correlated with TOC, WSP, AAP, Olsen-P, TP or IP. This suggested that organic P, especially LOP and MLOP in sediments, deserved even greater attention than IP in regards to lake eutrophication. In terms of organic P, sediments were more hazardous than soils in lake eutrophication. Although OP concentrations were higher in moderately polluted sediment than those in heavily polluted sediment, LOP and MLOP were higher in the heavily polluted sediment, which indicated that heavily polluted sediment was more hazardous than moderately polluted sediment in lake eutrophication.

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Although OP levels in the sediment slightly declined after restoration, this was still a crucial source of bioavailable P in Lake Datong because half of the OP components can be transformed into bioavailable P (Rydin 2000). Owing to the relatively stable structure and complicated composition of OP, macrophytes are more difficult to use in the short-term (Jin et al., 2008). However, OP could undergo more significant changes over time and be an important pool of potentially releasable P. Previous studies have shown that OP is largely related to sedimentation of organic matter (OM) (e.g., the detritus of macrophytes and phytoplankton) (Yuan et al., 2020).
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In this study, we made the first estimate of the annual dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) load to Lake Erhai, a typical mesotrophic–eutrophic lake in China.
We also evaluated what proportion of DOP was bioavailable using enzymatically hydrolyzable phosphorus (EHP), and further assessed the potential impacts of DOP on lake water quality. We estimated that the annual DOP load into Lake Erhai accounted for nearly 50% of total dissolved phosphorus, while EHP accounted for about 30% of the bioavailable phosphorus (BAP) pool. The DOP load increased and accounted for a greater proportion of total dissolved phosphorus and BAP loads during the wet season, and helped maintain algal blooms. Inflowing rivers were the main source of DOP with high bioavailability to Lake Erhai, especially in the wet season. The EHP concentrations of the inflowing rivers were positively correlated with algal biomass. The observation suggests that, as a significant source of BAP, the contribution of the DOP load to eutrophication of the lake should not be ignored, especially given the low soluble reactive phosphorus concentrations in the lake water during the algal biomass period. Information on the contributions from different pollution sources is needed to support the development of effective P pollution control strategies. Short-term strategies to protect Lake Erhai include better management of the inflowing rivers, especially in the northern part during the wet season, while, over the long-term, strategies to decrease P release from lake sediments should be considered.
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Summarily, the labile OP pools were negatively correlated to ammonium and positively correlated to nitrate, the correlations were of the opposite direction for the less labile OP pools. Furthermore, similar results were reported that the decreasing percentage of LOP (NaHCO3-OP, extracted by NaHCO3) was found in oxidizing zone; while the increasing percentage of Re-OP and the transformation trend of HAOP to Re-OP were observed in anaerobic zone of the sediment profile, as well as the transformation of FAOP to HAOP (Jin et al., 2008; Zhang et al., 2008; Zan et al., 2011; Fan et al., 2013; Xu et al., 2013). As a result of the increasing recalcitrant of OP in the sediments as the early diagenetic processes proceeded (Fan et al., 2013; Xu et al., 2013), these findings may be explained by that the ammonification and mineralization govern the degradation of labile and moderate labile OP pools and thereby the accumulation of nonlabile OP pools.
The amount of organic phosphorus (OP) and its distribution among different pools in lake sediments depends on biotic and abiotic processes driving the OP fractionation. Key environmental factors governing these transformations processes between OP fractionations in sediments were studied on the basis of geochemical characteristics of OP pools in relation to environmental factors in the sediments. The results illustrate that the factors influencing the accumulation or depletion of different OP pools were intrinsically dependent on the composition of the deposited organic matter (OM). During the mineralization of the OM the microorganisms excrete the enzyme alkaline phosphatase, accelerating the OP hydrolysis, and thereby setting the grounds for the bacterially-mediated oxidation of OM. There are two main degradation products of the labile OP pool (LOP) and the moderately labile OP pool (MLOP): Either the OP is transformed to a dissolved organic or inorganic P form, and thereby released to water column, or OP is transformed to a non-labile OP pool and stored in the sediments. A comparative study showed that oxy-hydroxides of iron (Fe) and aluminum (Al) only played an important role in influencing OP fractionation in Lake Wuliangsuhai, while the complexation reactions of OP with calcium ions and sorption to its minerals are key factors governing the OP fractionation in the two alkaline lakes. It is worth noting that a significant correlation between the Fe–P pool and the pools of LOP and MLOP indicates that the degradation of the rather labile OP pools are highly dependent on the iron redox reaction.
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Sediments are ultimate sinks of nutrients in lakes that record the pollution history evolutionary processes, and anthropogenic activities of a lake. However, sediments are considered as inner sources of environmental factor changes such as the variation in hydrodynamic conditions because of the nutrients they release. How does this process happen? This study investigates a typical nutrient phosphorus (P) exchange among sediment, suspended particle matter (SPM), and water. Compared with numerical and experimental studies, this study confirms that the critical velocity that occurs at a lower flow rate state exists in the range of 7 to 15 cm/sec. Critical velocity below the critical flow rate promotes the migration of particulate phosphorus (PP) to the SPM. On the other hand, critical velocity above the critical flow rate promotes the release of PP in water.

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¹: Project supported by the China's National Basic Research Program: “Studies on the Process of Eutrophication of Lakes and the Mechanism of the Blooming of Blue Green Alga” (No. 2002CB412304).

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Organic Phosphorus in Shallow Lake Sediments in Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River Area in China1

Abstract

Continental Shelf Research

Applied Geochemistry

Science of the Total Environment.

Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment.

Water Science and Technology

Journal of Hydrology

Chemosphere

Toxicon