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Epilimnetic sulfate reduction and its relationship to lake acidification

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Abstract

Sulfate reduction occurred from 0–3 cm below the surface of the epilimnetic sediments of three northwestern Ontario lakes, including L.223, which has been experimentally acidified by additions of sulfuric acid. Shallow water sites were conducive to SO4 2− reduction because decomposition in these predominantly sandy sediments caused oxygen concentrations to decrease rapidly within mm below the interface. The occurrence of methanogenesis just below the depth of minimum SO4 2- concentration demonstrated that availability of organic carbon was not a limiting factor for sulphate reduction.

Laboratory studies showed that SO4 2- reduction rates in mixed sediments were lower at pH 4 than at pH 6. However, sulfate gradients in sediments indicated that there was no effect of acidification on sulfate reduction in situ. This was probably because microbial H+ consumption in the epilimnetic sediments maintained steep pH gradients below the sediment-water interface. The pH increased from = 5.0 to 6.5 or higher by a depth of 3.0 cm into the sediments.

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Kelly, C.A., Rudd, J.W.M. Epilimnetic sulfate reduction and its relationship to lake acidification. Biogeochemistry 1, 63–77 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02181121

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