Throughout the freshwater continuum, Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) and the colored fraction, Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Material (CDOM), are continuously being added, removed, and transformed, resulting in changes in the chromophoricity and lability of organic matter over time. We examined, experimentally, the effect of increasing irradiation-intensities on the combined photochemical and microbial degradation of CDOM and DOC. This was done by using a simulated mixed water column: aged water from a humic lake was exposed to four irradiation-intensities - representing winter, early and late spring, and summer conditions (0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith ever greater frequency, wetlands and shallow lakes that had been diverted for agriculture are being re-established to reduce nutrient loss and greenhouse gas emission, as well as to increase biodiversity. Here, we investigate drivers of water column light attenuation (K) at multiple time scales and locations in Lake Fil, Denmark, during the first five years after its re-establishment in 2012. We found that K was generally high (overall mean: 3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBicarbonate and calcium set bounds on photosynthesis and degradation processes in calcareous freshwaters. Charophytic algae use bicarbonate in photosynthesis, and direct variable proportions to assimilate organic carbon and to precipitate calcium carbonate on their surfaces. To evaluate pools of organic carbon (C), carbonate carbon (C), and phosphorus (P) in dense charophyte vegetation, we studied apical and basal tissue and carbonate surface precipitates, as well as underlying sediments in ten calcareous ponds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFish kills are a recurring phenomenon in hypereutrophic lakes. The effects of a sudden injection of anoxic bottom water into surface waters are well known, as well as the degradation of phytoplankton blooms and the release of phytoplankton toxins. However, in this study we report on a new, climate-related cause of fish kills in a shallow lake.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Submerged plants composed of charophytes (green algae) and angiosperms develop dense vegetation in small, shallow lakes and in littoral zones of large lakes. Many small, oligotrophic plant species have declined due to drainage and fertilization of lakes, while some tall, eutrophic species have increased. Although plant distribution has been thoroughly studied, the physiochemical dynamics and biological challenges in plant-dominated lakes have been grossly understudied, even though they may offer the key to species persistence.
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