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Nitrogen inputs enhance phytoplankton growth during sediment resuspension events: a mesocosm study

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Abstract

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are key factors that limit phytoplankton growth in freshwater lakes. Controlling external P loading is a widely recognized measure for reducing eutrophication, but the usefulness of limiting N inputs remains under debate. Shallow lakes with frequent sediment resuspension events exacerbate internal P loading and limit the potential for in-lake P reduction. A two-way factorial mesocosm experiment was carried out using two levels of N inputs (with and without addition of potassium nitrate as N source) and sediment resuspension (with and without resuspension) for 35 days in order to examine the effect of N inputs on phytoplankton growth during sediment resuspension events. N addition alone did not affect phytoplankton biomass in mesocosms in treatments without sediment resuspension, likely due to the P limitation. However, internal P loading, via sediment resuspension, shifted mesocosms from P- to N-limited systems in which N addition significantly boosted phytoplankton biomass. Our results suggested that external loading comprising N alone may enhance phytoplankton growth in shallow, eutrophic lakes with frequent resuspension events like Lake Taihu, China. In such lakes, P-only management is unlikely to usefully reduce eutrophication, and a strategy to reduce both N and P is needed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors express their gratitude to Xiaodan Di, Jinlei Yu, Ming Zhang, Yachan Ji, and Xiaoxia Chen for support in field and laboratory work, and Amy-Jane Beer for the English improvements of this manuscript. This study was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2012CB956100), the National Science Foundation of China (No. U1033602 and 41073057), the Key Project of 135 program of Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, and the CAS/SAFEA International Partnership Program for Creative Research Teams.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73 East Beijing Road, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Hu He & Zhengwen Liu

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing, 100049, China

    Hu He

  3. Hubei Water Resource Research Institute, 286 Luoshi Road, Wuhan, 430070, China

    Yuhui Kang

  4. Institute of Hydrobiology, Jinan University, 601 West Huangpu Street, Guangzhou, 510632, China

    Zhengwen Liu

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  1. Hu He
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  2. Yuhui Kang
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Correspondence to Zhengwen Liu.

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Handling editor: Boping Han

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He, H., Kang, Y. & Liu, Z. Nitrogen inputs enhance phytoplankton growth during sediment resuspension events: a mesocosm study. Hydrobiologia 744, 297–305 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-014-2085-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-014-2085-0

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