Abstract
The nutrient budget, phytoplankton primary productionand sedimentation rate were studied weekly in the large(270 km2) and shallow (mean depth 2.8 m)eutrophic Lake Võrtsjärv in 1995. The annualexternal loading was 7.7 g m™2 y™1 of totalnitrogen (TN) and 0.2 g m™2 y™1 of totalphosphorus (TP), including 7% of both inputs asdirect atmospheric precipitation. The external budgetrevealed a retention of 53% of TN and 28% of TPannual input. About 80% of the total loss of nitrogenwas accounted for by denitrification (3.3 g m™2 y™1) and only 20% was buried into the sediment.Wind-induced sediment resuspension played the majorrole in the upward nutrient flux formation and, thus,in the formation of the temporal pattern of nutrientconcentration during the ice-free season. Other fluxesas the external loading or new sedimentation ofautochthonous production were overcome and masked bythe powerful resuspension – sedimentation cycle,exceeding the former by one or two orders ofmagnitude. The intensity of upward flux of nutrients(mainly caused by resuspension) increased inaccordance to decreasing water level in autumn andcorrelated with the weekly average wind speed. Thesummer population of filamentous blue-greens dominatedby Limnothrix redekei was light-limited untilthe minima of TN:TP ratio (<10) and DIN:TN ratio(∼ 0) in July initiated a clear peak of N_2-fixingalgae (Aphanizomenon gracile, Anabaena spp.)which lasted until September.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahlgren, I., 1967. Limnological studies of Lake Norvikken a eutrophicated Swedish lake. Schweiz. Z. Hydrol. 29: 53–90.
Ahlgren, I., F. Sörensson, T. Waara & K. Vrede, 1994. Nitrogen budgets in relation to microbial transformations in lakes. Ambio 23: 367–377.
Andersen, J. M., 1974. Nitrogen and phosphorus budgets and the role of sediments in six shallow Danish lakes. Arch. Hydrobiol. 74: 528–550.
Andersen, F. Ø. & E. Lastein, 1981. Sedimentation and resuspension in shallow, eutrophic Lake Arreskov, Denmark. Verh. int. Ver Limnol. 21: 425–430.
Boers, P. & J. Uunk, 1991. Lake restoration: estimation of internal phosphorus loading after reduction of external loading from sediment data. In P. Boers, The release of dissolved phosphorus from lake sediments. Diss. Ph.d. Netherlands: 79–90.
Boström, B., M. Jansson & C. Forsberg, 1982. Phosphorus release from lake sediments. Arch. Hydrobiol. Beih. Ergeb. Limnol. 18: 5–59.
Dudel, G. & J.-G. Kohl, 1991. Contribution of dinitrogen fixation and denitrification to the N-budget of a shallow lake. Verh. int. Ver Limnol. 24: 884–888.
Downing, J. A. & E. McCauley, 1992. The nitrogen: phosphorus relationship in lakes. Limnol. Oceanogr. 37: 936–945.
Galicka, W., 1992. Total nitrogen and phosphorus budgets in the Lowland Sulejów Reservoir for the hydrological years 1985–1988. Arch. Hydrobiol./Suppl. 90: 159–169.
Hesslein, R. H., 1980. In situmeasurements of pore water diffusion coefficients using tritiated water. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sci. 37: 545–551.
Jaani, A., 1990. Võrtsjärve veerežiim ja -bilanss. Eesti Loodus 11: 743–747.
Jensen, J. P., P. Kristensen & E. Jeppesen, 1990. Relationships between nitrogen loading and in-lake nitrogen concentrations in shallow Danish lakes. Verh. int. Ver. Limnol. 24: 201–204.
Jensen, J. P., E. Jeppesen, P. Kristensen, P. B. Christensen & M. Søndergaard, 1992. Nitrogen loss and denitrification as studied in relation to reductions in nitrogen loading in a shallow, hypertrophic lake (Lake Søbygård, Denmark). Int. Revue ges. Hydrobiol. 77: 29–42.
Klein, G. & I. Chorus, 1991. Nutrient balances and phytoplankton dynamics in Schlachtensee during oligotrophication. Verh. Int. Ver. Limnol. 24: 873–878.
Kört, M. & O. Roots, 1996. Õ hu saasteainete kauglevi seire. In O. Roots & R. Talkop (eds), Keskkonnaseire 1995. Keskkonnaministeeriumi Info-ja Tehnokeskus, Tallinn: 12–15.
Kozerski, H.-P., J. Gelbrecht & R. Stellmacher, 1993. Seasonal and long-term variability of nutrients in Lake Müggelsee. Int. Rev. ges. Hydrobiol. 78: 423–438.
Laugaste, R., 1994. The state, the origin of nutrients and the measures necessary for recovering Lake Verevi. In A. Järvekülg (ed), Eesti jõgede ja järvede seisund ning kaitse. Teaduste Akadeemia Kirjastus, Tallinn: 47–63.
Löfgren, S., 1987. Phosphorus retention in sediments–implications for aerobic phosphorus release in shallow lakes. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science 100, 24 pp.
Martinova, M. V., 1993. Nitrogen and phosphor compounds in bottom sediments: mechanisms of accumulation, transformation and release. Hydrobiologia 252: 1–22.
Nõges, P. & A. Järvet, 1995. Water level control over light conditions in shallow lakes. Report Series in Geophysics. University of Helsinki 32, 81–92.
Nõges, T., 1997. Different fractions of primary production in the large, shallow eutrophic Lake Võrtsjärv. Ann. Limnol., in press.
Nõges, T., 1998. Zooplankton-phytoplankton interactions in lakes Võrtsjärv, Peipsi (Estonia) and Yaskhan (Turkmenia). Hydrobiologia, 342/343: 175–183.
Redfield, A. S., 1958. The biological control of chemical factors in the environment. Am. Sci. 46: 205–211.
Seitziger, S. P., 1988. Denitrification in freshwater and coastal marine ecosystems: Ecological and geochemical significance. Limnol. Oceanogr. 33: 702–724.
Søndergaard, M., P. Kristensen & E. Jeppesen, 1992. Phosphorus release from resuspended sediment in the shallow and wind-exposed Lake Arreso, Denmark. Hydrobiologia 228: 91–99.
Steeman-Nielsen, E., 1952. The use of radioactive carbon (14C) for measuring primary production in the sea. Journal du Conseil permanent international pour l’exploration del la mer. 18: 117–140.
Wisniewski, R., 1995. The regulatory role of sediment resuspension in seston and phosphorus dynamics in shallow Lake Druzno. Proc. 6th Inrernat. Conf. on the Conservation and Management of Lakes–Kasumigaura’95: 917–920.
Vollenweider, R. A., 1969. Möglichkeiten und Grenzen elementarer Modelle der Stoffbilanz von Seen. Arch. Hydrobiol. 66: 1–36.
Vollenweider, R. A., 1976. Advances in defining critical loading levels for phosphorus in lake eutrophication. Mem. Ist. Ital. Idrobiol. 33: 53–83.
Vollenveider, R. A., 1989. Assessment of mass balance. In S. E. Jørgensen & R. A. Vollenweider (eds), Guidelines of Lake Management I. Principles of Lake Management. ILEC, UNEP, Japan: 53–69.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nõges, P., Järvet, A., Tuvikene, L. et al. The budgets of nitrogen and phosphorus in shallow eutrophic Lake Võrtsjärv (Estonia). Hydrobiologia 363, 219–227 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003165419934
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003165419934