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Mechanism of phosphorus mobility in sediments with larval (Propsilocerus akamusi) bioturbation

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Abstract

The effects of chironomid larval (Propsilocerus akamusi) bioturbation on sediment phosphorus (P) mobility were studied over the course of 34 days using the indoor larval cultivation method on in situ sediment cores. High-resolution dialysis (HR-Peeper) and diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) techniques were used to record fine-scale changes of soluble and DGT-labile P and iron (Fe) concentrations in the sediment. The larval-driven irrigation of the overlying water into their burrows significantly increased the oxygen penetration depth (OPD) and redox state (Eh) in sediments. In addition, the soluble and DGT-labile P and Fe decreased with the increase of OPD and Eh in larval-bioturbated sediments. The greatest decrease in the mean concentration of SRP, soluble Fe, and DGT-labile P in the Propsilocerus group was observed on Day 15 of the experiment, with a decrease by over half of the mean concentration of the control group. Furthermore, two-dimensional measurements of DGT-labile P concentration showed notable reductions of DGT-labile P around larval burrows. The DGT-induced fluxes in sediments (DIFS) model also exhibited a much longer response time (420 s) and a much higher rate of P adsorption (0.002 s−1) in the bioturbation sediments than those in the control sediments (116 s and 0.009 s−1, respectively). A significant correlation was shown for DGT-labile P and DGT-labile Fe. We conclude that Fe(II) oxidation and its enhanced adsorption were the major mechanisms responsible for the decrease of soluble and DGT-labile P in sediments.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2017YFC0405205); National Natural Science Foundation of China (41701568, 41301531, 51279060, and 41673123); Key Research Program of Frontier Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (QYZDJSSWDQC008); the “One-Three-Five” Strategic Planning of Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGLAS2017GH04); Hubei Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (2017CFB312); and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2017B20514).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China

    Wenming Yan, Ling Liu, Yi Zhang & Han Wang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Musong Chen, Tingfeng Wu & Han Wang

  3. General Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Planning and Design, Ministry of Water Resources, Beijing, 100120, China

    Xigang Xing

  4. The Huaihe River Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources P.R.C, Anhui Province, Bengbu, 233000, China

    Kongming Fan

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  1. Wenming Yan
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  2. Musong Chen
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  3. Ling Liu
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  4. Tingfeng Wu
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  5. Yi Zhang
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  7. Xigang Xing
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  8. Kongming Fan
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Correspondence to Musong Chen.

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Yan, W., Chen, M., Liu, L. et al. Mechanism of phosphorus mobility in sediments with larval (Propsilocerus akamusi) bioturbation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 7538–7548 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-07404-z

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