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Fractions and transformation of organic phosphorus in sediments from a eutrophic lake in China

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Abstract

Several organic phosphorus compounds (Po) in sediment from a representative eutrophic lake were surveyed using a sequential fractionation procedure, which included microbial biomass phosphorus (Biomass-P), fulvic acid phosphorus (FA-P), humic acid phosphorus (HU-P), and residual phosphorus (Res-P). In addition, several organic compounds including orthophosphate monoesters, orthophosphate diesters, and pyrophosphate were simultaneously measured using 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (31P NMR). Results showed that Po contributed over 50% of total phosphorus (TP), and the average concentration of Po species generally decreased from Res-P > FA-P > HU-P > Biomass-P. Additionally, the relative proportions of phosphorus compounds in the sediment followed the decreasing order of orthophosphate monoesters > orthophosphate diesters > pyrophosphate. In general, Po was the dominant phosphorus species. Residual P was not a single species but comprised of a group of species, and tended to be stable. Although orthophosphate monoesters had the highest concentrations and ratios in Po, orthophosphate diesters displayed a more distinct remineralization trend. Principal component analysis (PCA) coupled with correlation analysis suggested that a greater amount of orthophosphate diesters resided in Res-P, than HU-P or FA-P.

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Acknowledgements

We express our gratitude to the anonymous reviewers and editors for their constructive comments on the manuscript.

Funding

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41503099, 41271214), National Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20150902), National Fundamental Research Project for Science and Technology (2014FY110400), State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment (2014SKL014), Top-notch Academic Programs Project of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (TAPP), and China Scholarship Council (CSC NO. 201608320063).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control and Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology (CICAEET), School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, 210044, People’s Republic of China

    Yuan Hezhong, Chen Liang & Wang Cheng

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

    Liu Enfeng, Lin Qi & Zhang Enlou

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  1. Yuan Hezhong
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  2. Chen Liang
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  3. Liu Enfeng
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  4. Lin Qi
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  5. Wang Cheng
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  6. Zhang Enlou
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Correspondence to Yuan Hezhong or Zhang Enlou.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Hezhong, Y., Liang, C., Enfeng, L. et al. Fractions and transformation of organic phosphorus in sediments from a eutrophic lake in China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 27314–27325 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0337-z

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