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Biological availability and humic properties of dissolved organic carbon in Lake Balaton (Hungary)

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Abstract

The biological availability of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was experimentally studied in water samples collected at the mouth of the River Zala and in the western and eastern basin of Lake Balaton (Hungary) in four seasons. The water samples were filter-sterilized and inoculated with the in situ bacterial population. The concentration of fulvic and humic acids were analyzed at the beginning of the experiment. The bacterioplankton biomass and DOC concentration were measured on day 0 and 28. The decrease in the DOC concentration and the ratio of the bacterial C/initial DOC concentration showed the microbial utilization of DOC. No seasonal changes in DOC availability were found at any of the sampling stations. The DOC bioavailability was higher in the river than in the lake water. A strong positive correlation was found between the bioavailability and the humic properties of DOC. The observed changes in the organic matter composition of Lake Balaton support the view that much of the not readily utilizable ‘refractory’ DOM resides in the non-humic pool in standing waters.

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Acknowledgements

This work has been financially supported by the Balaton Project grant of the Office of the Prime Minister (MeH). We wish to thank the Central Transdanubian Environmental and Water Authority and the West Transdanubian Environmental and Water Authority for the PO4-P, NO3-N and NH4-N values and to Kati Vörös for correcting the English text.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Balaton Limnological Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 35, 8237, Tihany, Hungary

    Noémi Tóth, Lajos Vörös & Katalin V.-Balogh

  2. Faculty of Science, PhD School, Experimental Plant Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

    Andrea Mózes

Authors
  1. Noémi Tóth
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  2. Lajos Vörös
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  3. Andrea Mózes
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  4. Katalin V.-Balogh
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Correspondence to Katalin V.-Balogh.

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Handling editor: J. Cole

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Tóth, N., Vörös, L., Mózes, A. et al. Biological availability and humic properties of dissolved organic carbon in Lake Balaton (Hungary). Hydrobiologia 592, 281–290 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-007-0768-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-007-0768-5

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