Abstract
The effects of nutrient additions upon the epilithic diatom communities and the algal standing crop were investigated in the oligotrophic, softwater Lake Piccolo Naret, situated in the Swiss alps. Nutrient-diffusing flower pot substrates were filled with either N (0.15 mol NaNO3), P (0.015 mol Na2HPO4) or C (0.15 mol NaHCO3) or combinations of them. Twenty-five pots representing eight treatments were placed into the lake in July 1991 and sampled after 42 days of exposure.
On the surfaces of all pots containing P we measured higher algal biomasses as on the control pots. The chlorophyll-a maximum of 12.9 µg cm− 2 was obtained on NPC pots (0.47 µg cm− 2 on control pots). On pots with P, NP or NPC supply high amounts of green algae were detected, also reflected in an increased chl-b/chl-c ratio related to the controls which showed algal communities dominated by diatoms.
The diatom communities on the control pots as well as on the pots with N, P and NP had a structure similar to the epilithic community in Lake Piccolo Naret (dominance identity > 58 %). However, the community structures of the diatoms from pots with C addition (C, NC, PC and NPC) differed considerably. This is discussed in view of the cell densities of dominant diatom species. For further comparisons the results of two additional high-mountain lakes are used. By means of a cluster analysis it could be shown that epilithic diatom communities were considerably influenced by C addition, while N and P supply were of minor importance.
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Niederhauser, P., Schanz, F. Effects of nutrient (N, P, C) enrichment upon the littoral diatom community of an oligotrophic high-mountain lake. Hydrobiologia 269, 453–462 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00028043
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00028043