In eutrophic lakes, the decay of settled algal biomass generates organic carbon and consumes oxygen, favoring sediment nitrogen loss via denitrification. However, persistent winds can cause algae to accumulate into dense mats, with uncertain impacts on sediment nitrogen removal. In this study, we investigated the effects of algal accumulation on sediment nitrogen removal in a shallow and eutrophic Chinese lake, Taihu. We found that experimental treatments of increased algal accumulation were associated with decreased sediment nitrogen losses, indicating the potential for a break in coupled nitrification-denitrification. Likewise, field measurements indicated similar decreases in sediment nitrogen losses when algal accumulation occurred. It is possibly caused by the decay of excess algal biomass, which likely depleted dissolved oxygen, and could have inhibited nitrification and thereby denitrification in sediments. We estimate that if such algal accumulations occurred over 20% or 10% of lake area in Taihu, sediment nitrogen removal rates decreased from 835.6 to 167.2 and 77.2 μmol N mh, respectively, during algal accumulation period. While nitrogen removal may recover later, the apparent nitrogen removal decrease may create a window for algal proliferation and intensification. This study advances our knowledge on the impacts of algal blooms on nitrogen removal in shallow eutrophic lakes.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b05549 | DOI Listing |
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int
January 2025
Centre of Research for Development, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, 190006, India.
The fate and degradation of organic matter in aquatic systems is a vital link in nutrient cycling and sedimentation processes influenced by exogenous and endogenous factors, such as inputs from upstream sources, sediment suspension, and the decomposition of aquatic organisms. The interplay of organic carbon, microbes, and environmental factors shapes the distribution and degradation of organic matter. Characterizing the source distribution of sedimentary organic matter in aquatic systems using novel proxies can unravel new insights into the mechanisms that control its dispersal, preservation and fate, which is essential to understanding the global carbon and nitrogen cycles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWater Res
January 2025
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, PR China; Key Laboratory of Arable Land Quality Monitoring and Evaluation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, PR China; Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety of Ministry of Education of China, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, Jiangsu, PR China; Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, PR China. Electronic address:
Endogenous nitrogen (N) release from lake sediments is one of main causes affecting water quality, which can be affected by the presence of iron (Fe) minerals and organic matter, especially low-molecular-weight organic acids (LMWOAs). Although these substances always coexist in sediments, their interaction effect on N fate is not yet clear. In this study, the role and mechanisms of the coexistence of iron mineral (ferrihydrite, Fh) and LMWOAs, i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
February 2025
Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Den Burg 1790 AB, The Netherlands.
Heterocytes, specialized cells for nitrogen fixation in cyanobacteria, are surrounded by heterocyte glycolipids (HGs), which contribute to protection of the nitrogenase enzyme from oxygen. Diverse HGs preserve in the sediment and have been widely used as evidence of past nitrogen fixation, and structural variation has been suggested to preserve taxonomic information and reflect paleoenvironmental conditions. Here, by comprehensive HG identification and screening of HG biosynthetic gene clusters throughout cyanobacteria, we reconstruct the convergent evolutionary history of HG structure, in which different clades produce the same HGs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Environ Manage
January 2025
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, PR China. Electronic address:
The control of internal pollution was important throughout the restoration of the lake, especially the removal of sediment internal nitrogen. Experiments involving incubation were conducted in this study to investigate the effects of iron remediation on nitrogen in both water and sediment. Adding iron with varying dosage had different effects on the nutrients content and other properties of water and sediment in remediation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Hazard Mater
January 2025
CAS Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266404, China; Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao 266237, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266404, China.
Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are emerging environmental pollutants, posing an escalating threat to public health and environmental security worldwide. However, the relationship between ARGs and microbial communities in the environment, as well as their ecological effects on the microbe-mediated materials cycle remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the spatial distribution pattern, influence mechanism, relationship with microorganisms, and their effects on the elemental cycling of ARGs in East China Sea sediments.
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