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Sedimentary carbon forms in relation to climate and phytoplankton biomass in a large, shallow, hard-water boreal lake

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Abstract

Carbon storage in lakes can have huge implications for the global carbon cycle, as lakes annually accumulate up to one half the amount of organic carbon buried in marine sediments. Yet little is known of the effect of recent climate change on carbon storage in lakes. We analyzed century-scale time series of climate variables (precipitation, temperature, NAO winter index) and profiles of sediment characteristics in a dated sediment core from shallow, eutrophic Lake Võrtsjärv, south Estonia. We used path analysis to evaluate the effect of climate conditions on phytoplankton biomass in the lake and accumulation of organic and inorganic carbon in the sediment. Changes in winter and spring climate influenced the lake’s phytoplankton growth significantly. Carbon pathways in hard-water Lake Võrtsjärv were influenced by both hydrological (most significant in colder periods) and biogeochemical processes. Increased nutrient and water input to Lake Võrtsjärv, anticipated with projected climate warming, favours greater in-lake productivity, larger accumulation of inorganic carbon in sediments, and an increase in organic carbon mineralisation, which fuels atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions from the lake.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by institutional research grants IUT21-2 and IUT1-8 from the Estonian Science Agency, by Estonian Science Foundation Grants No. ETF9031 and ETF9102 and by a Swiss Grant from the Programme “Enhancing public environmental monitoring capacities.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Limnology, Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Rannu, 61117, Tartu County, Estonia

    Kristiina Ehapalu, Ilmar Tõnno, Rene Freiberg & Peeter Nõges

  2. Institute of Geology, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate Tee 5, 19086, Tallinn, Estonia

    Triin Reitalu, Tiiu Alliksaar & Merlin Liiv

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  1. Kristiina Ehapalu
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  2. Ilmar Tõnno
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Correspondence to Ilmar Tõnno.

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Ehapalu, K., Tõnno, I., Reitalu, T. et al. Sedimentary carbon forms in relation to climate and phytoplankton biomass in a large, shallow, hard-water boreal lake. J Paleolimnol 57, 81–93 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-016-9931-1

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