Primary producers are able to strongly affect calcium budget in hardwater lakes. The relative contribution of phytoplankton and charophytes to water decalcification (by precipitation of calcium carbonate) is, however, unclear. In this study we checked the effect of natural phytoplankton community and a charophyte (Nitellopsis obtusa) on the decline of calcium concentration in experimental outdoor conditions. The experiment was carried out in original lake water and two variants of enrichment with inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus to test the changing efficiency in decalcification by both primary producers. At low nutrient concentrations, N. obtusa was responsible for calcium decline in original lake water by 12 mg Ca+2 dm-3 during 20 days of experiment. In these conditions the effect of phytoplankton was negligible. In lake water enriched with nutrients, the exponential growth of phytoplankton led to the decrease of calcium concentration from initial 35 mg Ca+2 dm-3 to 9 mg Ca+2 dm-3 in the same time period. The maximum effect of N. obtusa was the same as in original lake water but manifested itself earlier to decline in the end of experiment. Supersaturation of water with calcium carbonate was always more than threefold and saturation index reached 27 in mixed cultures of phytoplankton and N. obtusa in lake water enriched with nutrients. In this context we hypothesise on a possible role of charophytes as nucleation sites necessary for calcite precipitation. Based on our own and literature data we also discuss expected immobilisation of phosphate incorporated in calcite precipitated by the growth of phytoplankton and N. obtusa.
2
Dostęp do pełnego tekstu na zewnętrznej witrynie WWW
The photosynthetic activity of phytoplankton (in pelagial) and macrophytes (in littoral) is considered to be one of the main factors affecting the carbon cycle in lakes. This concerns in particular hardwater ecosystems, where most of the carbon is available in the form of Ca- or Mg-bicarbonates. In such ecosystems charophytes (macroscopic green algae, forming dense meadows) are regarded as the most effective carbonate producer due to the HCO3 — utilization and the formation of thick CaCO3/sub> encrustations. Calcium carbonate and biomass production of charophytes were studied in a small and shallow charophyte-dominated Lake Jasne (Western Poland). Fresh and dry weight of plants, percentage contribution of calcium carbonate and production of CaCO3 per 1 m2 were studied at three depths (1, 3 and 5 m) in three sample sites (each sampled area − 0.04 m2). Additionally, physical-chemical parameters of water samples were studied. It was found that the dry weight of charophytes and the values of calcium carbonate were similar for all sites but varied for depth of sampling. The dry weight exceeded 2000 g m-2 (average 1165 g m-2) at the most shallow sample sites. CaCO3 encrustations constituted from 39.5% at the depth of 5m, to over 82% of the charophyte dry weight at the depth of 1m. The maximum and average values of carbonates precipitated by charophytes were 1696 g m-2 and 891 g m-2, respectively, and exceeded results reported so far. The results of physical-chemical analyses revealed no statistically significant differences between all the sample sites. Nevertheless, distinct correlations were found between dry weight of charophytes, carbonates precipitated by charophytes and some physical-chemical properties of water from the sample sites. The results highlight the habitat engineering role of charophytes, evidenced in particular by great amounts of biomass influencing sedimentary processes and biogeochemical cycle within littoral zone.
JavaScript jest wyłączony w Twojej przeglądarce internetowej. Włącz go, a następnie odśwież stronę, aby móc w pełni z niej korzystać.