Controlling cyanobacterial blooms in hypertrophic Lake Taihu, China: will nitrogen reductions cause replacement of non-N2 fixing by N2 fixing taxa?

Excessive anthropogenic nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) inputs have caused an alarming increase in harmful cyanobacterial blooms, threatening sustainability of lakes and reservoirs worldwide. Hypertrophic Lake Taihu, China's third largest freshwater lake, typifies this predicament, with toxic blooms of the non-N2 fixing cyanobacteria Microcystis spp. dominating from spring through fall.