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Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus load reduction on benthic phosphorus release in a riverine lake

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Abstract

The Lower Havel in Berlin is a polymictic riverine lake, thermally stratified for some days or weeks in summer. It is characterized by a relatively high mean total phosphorus concentration (145 µg l−1) and frequent cyanobacteria mass development in summer. We quantified the potentially mobile P pool in sediments, determined P fluxes based on conventional dialysis sampler-, gel probe- and benthic chamber measurements, and combined this with column experiments and P budget calculations to evaluate whether a) a reduction of P loading would be counterbalanced by P release from sediment, and b) release of redox sensitive P would even increase with reduction of nitrogen loading. The potentially mobile P pool was relatively small (228 t) compared to mean annual external load (190 t a−1) and gross P release (1.2–36 mg m−2 day−1), and was thus of little relevance for long-term P availability. Despite 38 % of P in the sediment being redox sensitive, the seasonal course of P gross release was mainly driven by redox independent organic matter mineralization of diagenetically young surface sediment. Under anoxic conditions, P release was higher than under oxic conditions and to some extent controlled by nitrate under laboratory conditions. However, ambient nitrate availability was too low to affect P release which was more dependent on mineralization and Fe availability than on redox. Therefore, the Lower Havel would benefit from P load reduction but internal P loading would be largely unaffected from further N load reduction.

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Acknowledgments

We sincerely thank all persons who directly or indirectly contributed to this study. Ingo Henschke, Thomas Wolburg and Dagmar Steubing helped in lake sampling. Sabine Natusch, Ute Abel and Gudrun Lippert performed chemical analysis at the BTUC, and Dagmar Steubing and Simone Troßen at the BfG. Annette Becker supplied sediment samples and basic data of the 2014 mapping. We thank Kurt Friese from the UFZ Magdeburg for providing lab facilities for sulfur analysis. Water quantity and quality data where supplied by the Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development and the Environment. We thank Thomas Petzoldt, Brigitte Nixdorf, David Kneis and Andrew Dolman for statistics support and helpful comments on the manuscript. This work was performed as part of the research project NITROLIMIT and funded by the framework program Research for Sustainable Development (Grant Number: 033L041A) of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

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  1. T. Dadi

    Present address: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Brückstraße 3a, 39114, Magdeburg, Germany

  2. C. Lindim

    Present address: ITM - Department of Applied Environmental Science, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 8, 114 18, Stockholm, Sweden

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus–Senftenberg, Seestr. 45, 15526, Bad Saarow, Germany

    B. Grüneberg & T. Dadi

  2. Federal Institute of Hydrology, Am Mainzer Tor 1, 56068, Koblenz, Germany

    C. Lindim & H. Fischer

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  1. B. Grüneberg
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Correspondence to B. Grüneberg.

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Grüneberg, B., Dadi, T., Lindim, C. et al. Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus load reduction on benthic phosphorus release in a riverine lake. Biogeochemistry 123, 185–202 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-014-0062-3

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