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Mitigating eutrophication and toxic cyanobacterial blooms in large lakes: The evolution of a dual nutrient (N and P) reduction paradigm

  • RESTORATION OF EUTROPHIC LAKES
  • Opinion Paper
  • Published:
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Abstract

Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CyanoHABs) are an increasingly common feature of large, eutrophic lakes. Non-N2-fixing CyanoHABs (e.g., Microcystis) appear to be proliferating relative to N2-fixing CyanoHABs in systems receiving increasing nutrient loads. This shift reflects increasing external nitrogen (N) inputs, and a > 50-year legacy of excessive phosphorus (P) and N loading. Phosphorus is effectively retained in legacy-impacted systems, while N may be retained or lost to the atmosphere in gaseous forms (e.g., N2, NH3, N2O). Biological control on N inputs versus outputs, or the balance between N2 fixation versus denitrification, favors the latter, especially in lakes undergoing accelerating eutrophication, although denitrification removal efficiency is inhibited by increasing external N loads. Phytoplankton in eutrophic lakes have become more responsive to N inputs relative to P, despite sustained increases in N loading. From a nutrient management perspective, this suggests a need to change the freshwater nutrient limitation and input reduction paradigms; a shift from an exclusive focus on P limitation to a dual N and P co-limitation and management strategy. The recent proliferation of toxic non-N2-fixing CyanoHABs, and ever-increasing N and P legacy stores, argues for such a strategy if we are to mitigate eutrophication and CyanoHAB expansion globally.

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(Data from Hampel et al., 2018)

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Acknowledgements

This manuscript is dedicated to co-author Karl Havens, who passed away during the preparation of this manuscript. We will miss Karl’s countless and tireless intellectual and personal contributions to freshwater and estuarine sciences. We appreciate the technical assistance of Felicia Osburn. The authors were supported by the National Science Foundation of China (41573076, 41830757, 41671494), the US National Science Foundation (OCE 07269989, 0812913, 0825466, 1840715, CBET 0826819, and Dimensions in Biodiversity 1831096), The National Institutes of Health (1P01ES028939-01, 1P01ES028942), the US Department of Agriculture (NRI Project 00-35101-9981), US EPA-STAR (Projects R82-5243-010 and R82867701), the NOAA/North Carolina Sea Grant Program (R/MER-43 and R/MER-47), and the NOAA/Ohio Sea Grant Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Morehead City, NC, 28557, USA

    Hans W. Paerl & Nathan S. Hall

  2. College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China

    Hans W. Paerl

  3. Florida Sea Grant, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Karl E. Havens

  4. Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Hai Xu, Guangwei Zhu & Boqiang Qin

  5. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Wright State University, Dayton, OH, 45435, USA

    Mark J. McCarthy & Silvia E. Newell

  6. Department of Biology and Center for Reservoir and Aquatic Systems Research, Baylor University, Waco, TX, 76798, USA

    J. Thad Scott

  7. Bend Genetics, 87 Scripps Drive, Ste. 301, Sacramento, CA, 95825, USA

    Timothy G. Otten

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Guest editors: Tom Jilbert, Raoul-Marie Couture, Brian J. Huser & Kalevi Salonen / Restoration of eutrophic lakes: current practices and future challenges

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Paerl, H.W., Havens, K.E., Xu, H. et al. Mitigating eutrophication and toxic cyanobacterial blooms in large lakes: The evolution of a dual nutrient (N and P) reduction paradigm. Hydrobiologia 847, 4359–4375 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-019-04087-y

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