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Sedimentary losses of phosphorus in some natural and artificial Iowa lakes

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Abstract

Phosphorus sedimentation in four natural and four artificial Iowa lakes was measured by using sediment traps to determine if sedimentary phosphorus losses were greater in artificial lakes than in natural lakes and the limnological factors influencing phosphorus loss rates. Mean phosphorus sedimentation rates ranged from 13.3 to 218 mg · m−2 day−1. Although phosphorus sedimentation rates for the natural lakes as a group did not differ significantly from the rates for artificial lakes, there were significant differences among individual lakes. Phosphorus sedimentation rates also varied significantly during different seasons at different locations within a lake and at different depths within a location. Despite the variance, phosphorus sedimentation rates were strongly correlated with inorganic sediment concentrations and inorganic matter sedimentation rates, thus suggesting that inorganic sediments influence phosphorus sedimentation rates. When Iowa data were combined with data from published studies, mean sedimentation rates were directly correlated with mean chlorophyll a concentrations of the lakes. These data strongly suggest that sedimentation rates as measured by sediment traps are strongly influenced by the trophic status of a lake. Though sedimentation rates were higher in the more productive lakes, it is suggested that these rates represent only gross sedimentation rates rather than net sedimentation rates because of resuspension and resedimentation of bottom sediments.

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Author notes

  1. Daniel E. Canfield Jr.

    Present address: School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, 32611, Gainesville, FL, U.S.A.

  2. John R. Jones

    Present address: School of Forestry, Fisheries and Wildlife, University of Missouri, 65211, Columbia, MO, U.S.A.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Ecology, Iowa State University, 50011, Ames, IA, U.S.A.

    Daniel E. Canfield Jr., John R. Jones & Roger W. Bachmann

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  1. Daniel E. Canfield Jr.
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  2. John R. Jones
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  3. Roger W. Bachmann
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Canfield, D.E., Jones, J.R. & Bachmann, R.W. Sedimentary losses of phosphorus in some natural and artificial Iowa lakes. Hydrobiologia 87, 65–76 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00016663

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