Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Spatial distributions and environmental implications of diatom assemblages in surface sediments of Hulun Lake, China

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Environmental Earth Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We examined the spatial distributions of diatom assemblages in surface sediments of Hulun Lake and explored the potential relationships between diatom distributions and environmental variables using multivariate analyses. These results may provide a basis for fossil record interpretation. Surface sediment samples were taken at 30 sites throughout the lake to analyse diatom assemblages, and environmental variables potentially influencing diatom distributions were taken concurrently. Principal components analysis (PCA) and redundancy analysis (RDA) were conducted to explore the spatial characteristics of diatom assemblages in the lake surface sediment and their relationship with the main environmental variables. Analyses showed remarkable spatial differentiation such that epiphytic and benthic diatoms dominated surface sediments in the eastern littoral region, while planktonic diatoms were dominant in the central and western profundal region. Additionally, in the southern part of the central and west profundal region, Stephanodiscus neoastraea was more abundant than Aulacoseira perglabra. RDA showed that the total nitrogen of surface sediments (TNs), which acts as a nitrogen source and stays balanced with lake water nitrogen levels, is the primary environmental variable influencing diatom assemblages in the surface sediments. S. neoastraea and A. perglabra in particular may be boosted by high nitrogen content in the sediment. Additionally, correlations of water depth with the distribution of sample sites and the ratio of planktonic to benthic diatoms indicated an inherent relationship between diatom distribution and water depth, where deep water drove a high planktonic/benthic ratio. This result further supports the use of the planktonic/benthic ratio in the fossil record to reconstruct historical change in lake depth.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adler S, Hübener T (2007) Spatial variability of diatom assemblages in surface lake sediments and its implications for transfer functions. J Paleolimnol 37(4):573–590

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Battarbee RW (1986) Diatom analysis. Handbook of Holocene palaeoecology and palaeohydrology. Weley, Chichester, pp 527–570

    Google Scholar 

  • Battarbee RW (1999) The importance of palaeolimnology to lake restoration. Hydrobiologia 395:149–159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Battarbee RW, Kneen KJ (1982) The use of electronically counted microspheres in absolute diatom counts. Limnol Oceanogr 27:184–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Battarbee RW, Jones VJ, Folwer RJ, Cameron NG, Bennion H, Carvaloh L, Juggins S (2001) Diatoms. Tracking environmental change using lake sediments, 3. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht

    Google Scholar 

  • Birks H (1998) DG Frey and ES Deevey Review 1: numerical tools in palaeolimnology–Progress, potentialities, and problems. J Paleolimnol 20(4):307–332

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cantonati M, Scola S, Angeli N, Guella G, Frassanito R (2009) Environmental controls of epileptic diatom depth-distribution in an oligotrophic lake characterized by marked water-level fluctuations. Eur J Phycol 44(1):15–29

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Charles DF (1985) Relationships between surface sediment diatom assemblages and lake water characteristics in a dirondack lake. Ecology 66(3):994–1011

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dong XH, Yang XD, Pan HX (2004) Distribution of modern lake sediment diatoms in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River catchment. J Lake Sci 16(4):298–304 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Editorial Board of Climatological Atlas of the People’s Republic of China (2002) Climatological Atlas of the People’s Republic of China. China Meteorological Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Fritz SC, Kingston JC, Engstrom DR (1993) Quantitative trophic reconstruction from sedimentary diatom assemblages: a cautionary tale. Freshwat Biol 30(1):1–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gasse F, Lédée V, Massault M, Fontes JC (1989) Water-level fluctuations of Lake Tangayika in phase with oceanic changes during the last glaciation and deglaciation. Nature 342:57–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Häkansson H, Hickel B (1986) The morphology and taxonomy of the diatom S. neoastraea sp. nov. Br Phycol J 21:39–43

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall R, Smol JP (1999) Diatom as indicators of lake eutrophication. Cambridge University Press, London, pp 128–168

    Google Scholar 

  • Heggen M, Birks H, Heiri O, Grytnes J-A, Birks HJ (2012) Are fossil assemblages in a single sediment core from a small lake representative of total deposition of mite, chironomid, and plant macrofossil remains? J Paleolimnol 48(4):669–691

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill MO, Gauch HG (1980) Detrended correspondence analysis: an improved ordination technique. Vegetatio 42:47–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jansson M, Andersson R, Berggren H, Leonardson L (1994) Wetlands and lakes as nitrogen traps. Ambio:320–325

  • Ji L, Xia WL, Xiang L, Wang SM (1994) Mineral composition and sedimentation rate of surficial sediments in Hulun Lake, Inner Mongolia. J lake Sci 6(3):227–232 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jiang ZF, Li CY, Zhang S (2014) Zooplankton in Hulun Lake and the eutrophication evaluation. J Arid Land Resour Envrion 28(1):158–162

    Google Scholar 

  • Krammer K, Lange-Bertalot H (1986–1991) Bacilariophyceae. Susswasserflora von Mitteleuroa, 2. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart

  • Lepš J, Šmilauer P (2003) Multivariate analysis of ecological data using CANOCO. Cambridge university press

  • Li C, Ma W, Shi XX, Liao WG (2006) Reconstruction of the hydrology series and simulation of salinity in ungauged Lake Hulun. J Lake Sci 18(1):13–20

    Google Scholar 

  • Puusepp L, Punning JM (2011) Spatio temporal variability of diatom assemblages in surface sediments of Lake Peipsi. J Great Lakes Res 37(1):33–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryther JH, Yentsch CS, Hulburt EM, Vaccaro RF (1958) The dynamics of a diatom bloom. Biol Bull 115(2):257–268

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smol JP, Stoermer EF (2010) The diatoms: applications for the environmental and earth sciences. Cambridge University, Cambridge 667 pp

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Stoermer EF, Smol JP (1999) The diatoms: applications for the environmental and earth sciences. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Stone JR, Fritz SC (2004) Three-dimensional modeling of lacustrine diatom habitat areas: improving paleolimnological interpretation of planktonic: benthic ratios. Limnol Oceanogr 49:1540–1548

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ter Braak CT, Šmilauer P (2002) CANOCO reference manual and CanoDraw for Windows user’s guide: software for canonical community ordination (version 4.5). Section on Permutation Methods. Microcomputer Power, Ithaca

  • Wang WH (2005) A primary study on the influence of the Hulun lake level change to the water quality. Water Conserv Inner Mong 3:3–8 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang W, Feng Z (2013) Holocene moisture evolution across the Mongolian Plateau and its surrounding areas: a synthesis of climatic records. Earth Sci Rev 122:38–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang B, Lv CW, He J, Wang W, Zhang J (2012) Spatio-temporal monitoring of Hulun lake using remote sensing. Environ Sci Technol 35(9):94–99 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wen RL, Xiao J, Chang ZG, Zhai DY, Xu QH, Li YC, Itoh S (2010) Holocene precipitation and temperature variations in the East Asian monsoonal margin from pollen data from Hulun Lake in northeastern Inner Mongolia. China Boreas 39(2):262–272

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu ZJ, Jiang FY, Zhao HW, Zhang ZB, Sun L (1989) Annals of Hulun Lake. Jilin Literature and History Publishing House, Changchun, p 691 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Xue B, Qu WC, Wang SM, Ma Y, Dickman D (2003) Lake level changes documented by sediment properties and diatom of Hulun Lake, China since the late Glacial. Hydrobiologia 498:133–141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao HY, Wu LJ, Hao WJ (2008) Influences of climate change to ecological and environmental evolvement in the Hulun Lake wetland and its surrounding areas. Acta Ecologica Sinica 28(3):1064–1071 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Sincere thanks were given to reviewers for their constructive advices. This study was supported by two Chinese Nature Science Foundation grants (No. 41162004 and No. 41271207) and The Young Scientific Talents Foundation of Inner Mongolia, China (NJYT-14-A01).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environment and Resource, Inner Mongolia University, Huhhot, 010021, China

    Wei Wang, Lina Liu & Jiang He

  2. Institute of Environmental Geology, Inner Mongolia University, Huhhot, 010021, China

    Wei Wang, Lina Liu & Jiang He

  3. MOE Key Laboratory of Environmental Change and Natural Disaster, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Yuzhen Ma

Authors
  1. Wei Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lina Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yuzhen Ma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jiang He
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wei Wang.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, W., Liu, L., Ma, Y. et al. Spatial distributions and environmental implications of diatom assemblages in surface sediments of Hulun Lake, China. Environ Earth Sci 74, 1803–1813 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-4188-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-4188-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation