Development of zooplankton in relation to lime treatment in two acidified lakes

Zooplankton has been studied in Lakes Östra Nedsjön and Ömmern (1974–94), two acidified lakes in South-Western Sweden. The former lake was first limed in 1971–73, and secondly in 1982. The first liming increased the pH-level from ca. 5.3 to 6, and the second one from ca. 5.8 to 7–7.5. The pH-value in Lake Ömmern was about 6.1 in 1973, but decreased to 5.3 in 1981, when liming raised the value to 6.5–7. After the first liming in Lake Ö. Nedsjön, the rotatorians represented in average 1% of the total volume of zooplankton. Among the copepods, which made up ca. 22% of the volume, Cyclops was frequent, and both Eudiaptomus gracilis and Heterocope appendiculata were recorded. After the second liming on the other hand the rotatorians increased to in average 28% of the total volume, while the volume of copepods was only ca. 6%. Heterocope disappeared, and Eudiaptomus and Cyclops, usually favoured by liming, were rare. Consequently the supply of larger forms of crustaceans, suitable as fish food was severely reduced. In Lake Ömmern the effects of acidification within the zooplankton were moderate. The species richness was about the same as in unacidified lakes. After liming the development of zooplankton was similar to that in most other limed lakes, i. e. increased frequency of rotatorians, cladocerans and Cyclops spp. In Lake Ö. Nedsjön, however, the small zooplankton volumes and the elimination of copepods was in contrast to the zooplankton development in other limed lakes and in unacidified ones.     

Structure and productivity of epiphytic algal communities onLobelia dortmanna L. in acidified and limed lakes

The epiphytic algal community growing onLobelia dortmanna L. was studied in two acidified lakes in southwestern Sweden from May through October 1980; Lake Gårdsjön (pH 4.3 to 4.7) and L. Högsjön (pH 6.3 to 6.7 after liming in 1978/79). In both lakes a layer of firmly attached diatoms,Eunotia veneris andE. rhomboidea, covered theLobelia leaves. Scanning electron microscope study revealed a mucoid matrix, and in L. Gårdsjön, heavy cover of detritus. The spring period in L. Gårdsjön was characterized by red algaBatrachospermum sp., which was followed by the appearance ofBinuclearia sp., andMougeotia spp. Blue-green algae appeared during the warmer period of the year. The spring period in L. Högsjön was characterized by the development of desmids. Diatoms dominated the community in the summer while green algae appeared in autumn. The biomass in L. Gårdsjön showed spring and late summer maxima, while in L. Högsjön it increased gradually reaching a maximum in autumn. Chlorophylla concentration was highest in L. Gårdsjön in late summer. Primary productivity rates calculated per unit substrate surface area at 1.0 m depth were highest in early summer and decreased in late summer. The results suggest that the liming of L. Högsjön caused significant structural changes in the epiphytic community, favoring diatoms and green algae, especially desmids. Blue-green algae were characteristic for L. Gårdsjön despite that lake's low pH. Productivity rates at 1.0 m depth show similar trends in both lakes.     

Lake Kinneret (Israel) Ecosystem: Long-term Instability or Resiliency?

The Kinneret ecosystem has undergone significant man-made modifications. These include, among others: construction of the south dam (1932); drying of Hula Lake and swamps (1950s); salty springs diversion (1964); lake water salinity decline from 395 (1961) to 210 ppm chlorid; deepening of the Jordan River near Bnot-Yaacov bridge (1971) with consequent high loads of suspended matter; National Water Carrier (NWC) operation (1964); sewage removal and fishpond restriction in the catchment; implementation of the Hula Project (1994–1998); introduction of native and exotic fishes; an amplitude of water level fluctuations of 4.8 m. Natural fluctuations occurred as well: heavy floods with high nutrient loads in 1968/69 and 1991/92 and droughts in 1973, 1989–1991 and 1998–1999; 4.6 m water level fluctuations; low temperatures (12.3°C) and fish kill in 1971/72 and 1991/92; no mixing period in 1984; low (1975, 1996–1997) and high biomass of Peridinium (1994, 1998); N₂-fixing cyanobacterium bloom (1994, 1995); high stock of Lavnun (Acanthobrama) fishes (1990s); zooplankton biomass decline (1969–1993) and increase afterwards. Although man made changes and natural environmental changes were significant, the lake ecosystem did not deviate from the level of resilient fluctuations and the classification of long-term instability in Lake Kinneret is probably an overestimation. In this paper I use long-term (31 years) distribution data of plankton, nutrients, and water level in Lake Kinneret to distinguish between resiliency and instability.     

The role of aluminium contamination in determining phytoplankton and zooplankton responses to acidification

A bioassay was performed at neutral pH Lake O' Woods, West Virginia using in situ enclosures. Replicated enclosures were either (a) untreated controls, (b) acidified to pH 4.7, or (c) acidified and spiked with 300 μg L^?1 Al. Algal and zooplankton responses to the treatments were compared to determine whether the impacts of acidification are influenced by Al concentration. With acidification, chlorophyll a concentration increased but zooplankton abundance did not change. The phytoplankton became dominated by the dinoflagellate Peridinium inconspicuum, while in the control, diatoms, euglenophytes and chlorophytes were dominant. Acidification did not result in succession in the zooplankton because all of the dominant species at the start of the experiment were acid tolerant. Aluminium addition resulted in reduced chlorophyll a concentration and zooplankton abundance. The same phytoplankton and zooplankton became dominant in the acid and acid plus Al treatments. This suggests a linkage between the ability to tolerate elevated H⁺ and elevated Al levels.     

Sulfate Adsorption-Desorption in a Swedish Forest Soil

The Forest Roof project at Lake Gårdsjön located on the Swedish Southwest coast near Gothenburg was established to assess the response of the ecosystem following a major reduction in loading of sulfur acidic deposition. The objective of the study was to describe the adsorption-desorption processes of sulfate in Haplorthod soils at the Gårdsjön site. A sequential batch technique was used to sequentially leach the upper three mineral horizons with forest floor leachate containing different concentrations of sulfate. Results showed that adsorption-desorption processes were highly irreversible and hysterestic in nature. Moreover, the soil solution SO₄ ^2-, pH and DOC were interrelated. These findings suggest that improvements in the prediction capability of models for acidified surface waters, lakes and soils are needed. Therefore, existing sulfate models with fully reversible Langmuir or Freundlich approaches need to account for additional irreversible reactions.     

Cycling of methyl mercury and mercury — Responses in the forest roof catchment to three years of decreased atmospheric deposition

Studies of the biogeochemistry of total mercury (Hg) and methyl mercury (MeHg) in the Lake Gårdsjön watershed have shown that the atmosphere is the most important source of Hg and MeHg in the ecosystem. Soils are accumulating most of the deposited Hg and MeHg, but transport of Hg and MeHg from the forested catchments into the lake ecosystems is enough to explain elevated concentrations of MeHg in fish in more than 10 000 Swedish lakes. An experimental roof was constructed to study effects of decreased atmospheric input on an entire forested catchment. The experiment started in April 1991, and decreases in the output of both MeHg and Hg occurred during 1991, 1992 and 1993. Runoff fluxes from the control catchment during the pre-treatment period were related to the experimental catchment using regression analyses. Since April 1991, after three year experiment, predicted compared to measured fluxes showed that Hg output decreased by 32% and MeHg by 28%. The decrease in Hg was most obvious during high water flows in winter/spring while MeHg decreased during all seasons of the year. The decreased input of Hg and MeHg to the Forest Roof Catchment is the most probable explanation to the rapid decrease in output of Hg and MeHg by runoff from the catchment basin.     

Mercury in fish muscle in acidified and limed lakes

The concentration of Hg in muscle was monitored during 10 to 12 years in different size and age groups of pike (Esox lucius) and perch (Perca fluviatilis). The study was performed in one reference and five lime treated lakes. Before liming, the highest levels of Hg in fish were measured in a lake with an annual mean pH just above 5.0. Lower levels were obtained both in lakes which were more acidified and in those which were less acidified. After the start of liming, the fastest and largest changes were obtained in the lakes which were moderately acid before liming (mean pH 5.4–5.8). In small perch, the Hg-concentration was markedly reduced in two years and showed an 80 % decrease in ten years. A slower response was registered in the lakes originally having about 0.5 units lower pH. In the most acidified lake (pH 4.9) the concentrations even increased the first years after liming, but decreased again later on. The possible mechanisms involved are discussed.     

Modelling geochemistry and Lake pH since glaciation at Lake Gårdsjön

The soil acidification model SAFE was modified to calculate historical changes in geochemistry and runoff since the last glaciation ended at the Lake Gårdsjön F1 catchment 12 000 B.P. Changes in runoff pH and ANC, soil weathering rate, soil mineralogy, soil texture and base saturation was also calculated. The changes in mineralogy compared favorable to data. Modeled historic weathering rates were slightly higher than data suggest, while present weathering rate was somewhat to low, 37 mmol_c m^?2 yr^?1. The weathering rate was very high immediately after the last glaciation, and decreased as the smaller particles were consumed by weathering. The calculated runoff pH follows the pattern of the paleo-inferred pH. SAFE suggests a natural depletion of base cations in the C-layer.     

Retention and release of dissolved organic matter in Podzol B horizons

The main objectives were to study the effects of pH on the retention and release of organic matter in acid soil, and to determine the main differences in results obtained from batch experiments and experiments in columns. We took soil material from the B horizons of a Podzol at Skånes Värsjö (southern Sweden). In batch experiments, soil was equilibrated with solutions varying in pH and concentration of dissolved organic C. In Bh samples, the release of dissolved C gradually increased with increase in pH. In the Bs1 material there was a minimum at pH 4.1, and in the Bs2 soil the minimum occurred at pH 4.6. The ability to retain added dissolved C increased in the order Bh < Bs1 < Bs2. The column experiment was run for 160 days under unsaturated flow conditions. Columns were packed with Bh, Bh + Bs1 or Bh + Bs1 + Bs2 samples to calculate mass balances for each horizon. Solutions either without any dissolved organic C or ones containing 49 mg C dm^?3 with pH of 4.0 or 3.6 were used to leach columns. The pH of input solutions only little affected the concentration of dissolved C in the effluent. Relative proportions of hydrophobic substances decreased with increasing column length and decreasing pH. For input solutions containing dissolved C, near steady state was achieved for both the Bs1 and Bs2 horizons with approximately 25% dissolved organic matter retention. Thus, no maximum sorption capacity for dissolved C could be defined for these horizons. This behaviour could not have been predicted by batch data, showing that column experiments provide useful additional information on interactions between organic compounds and solid soil material.     

Liming and reacidification reactions of a forest lake ecosystem,lake Lysevatten,in SW Sweden

Long-term monitoring, 1973 to 1987, of reactions to liming and reacidification of a forest lake ecosystem near the Swedish west coast is reported in this study. Treatment of Lake Lysevatten with a slag product of limestone in 1974 resulted in neutralization and a positive alkalinity. Prolonged dissolution proceeded for about 7 yr whereby 86% dissolved. During 1984–86 Lake Lysevatten approached maximum reacidification with high Al concentrations and an affected biota. Asellus aquaticus L. decreased and dominance within chironomid groups approached preliming conditions. However, the most obvious biological change was the development of the filamentous algal genus Mougeotia and increased growth of Sphagnum. Populations of both plants increased notably when pH declined to about 5. Our study suggests that extensive reacidification (pH < 6.0) of limed lakes should be avoided by successive treatments to prevent development of destabilized lake ecosystems.     

Mercury in zooplankton of Northern Wisconsin Lakes: taxonomic and site-specific trends

Mercury content and speciation were determined in freshwater zooplankton from twelve northern Wisconsin (USA) lakes that spanned gradients of dissolved organic carbon (DOC, 1.6 to 20.9 mg/L) and pH (4.6 to 7.2). MeHg in crustacean taxa ranged from 1 to 479 ng/g dry weight, and from 2 to 45 ng/g in the invertebrate predators. Total Hg in the predators ranged from 20 to 153 ng/g. Although the highest MeHg values were found in the herbivores from high DOC lakes (and the experimentally acidified basin of Little Rock Lake), we observed considerable variation in the relationship between MeHg content of zooplankton and lakewater DOC. Bioconcentration factors (BCF) for both MeHg (3.5 to 7.1 log units) and Hg (3.7 to 5.4 log units) decreased with increasing lake DOC, while pH effects were not as apparent. Bioconcentration of MeHg was higher than Hg indicating that MeHg increases while non-methyl Hg declines in progressively higher trophic levels. Biomagnification factors (BMF) for Hg and MeHg were low relative to BCF. The BMF for crustaceans averaged 0.4 log units for MeHg and ?0.5 log units for Hg, indicating that MeHg increased 2.5-fold from seston to crustacean herbivores, while non-MeHg concentrations declined. Unlike BCF, BMF were not related to DOC or pH. In contrast to studies of vertebrate predators, both BCF and BMF in the invertebrate predatorChaoborus, were lower than those in presumed prey. These observations point toward several complexities in the transport of Hg species in the lower levels of aquatic foodwebs.     

Developing a kinetic alternative in modeling soil aluminium

Soil chemistry models often use gibbsite solubility and similar equilibrium models to predict Al concentrations in soil solution. A kinetic alternative was developed with the goal of finding universal rate constants instead of the site- and depth-specific solubility constants usually associated with the equilibrium approach. The behavior of the two approaches was studied within the framework of the steady-state soil chemistry model PROFILE using data from Solling, Germany and Gårdsjön, Sweden, two sites with different mineralogy and land use history. The kinetic alternative uses a mass balance to predict Al concentrations. The sources of Al in soil water are deposition, weathering and mineralization. The sinks are leaching and the formation of an aluminosilicate precursor. The precursor slowly transforms into an ordinary clay mineral. Both formation and transformation of the precursor are treated as irreversible processes. The kinetic model introduces a new relationship between pH and Al and produces a systematic pattern of different apparent gibbsite equilibrium constants at different depths. Results show that the kinetic model systematically underestimates Al concentration in the upper horizons, which indicates that there may be additional sources of Al in the upper horizons not accounted for in the model. Predicted values of pH and Al concentrations are comparable with field observations.     

Are ion exchange processes important in controlling the cation chemistry of soil- and runoff waters ?

Soil- and stream water elemental concentrations from a subcatchment in the Lake Gårdsjön area have been used to evaluate the importance of ion exchange processes on the transport of cations to aquatic ecosystems. The importance of cation exchange processes in the upper organic and upper B soil horizons was demonstrated using lysimeter water data from a recharge area and soil water flow simulated with SOIL model during winter rain events with high sea-salt concentration. The importance of the hydrological conditions, such as water flow and water pathway, silicate weathering and the ion exchange of Al with H⁺ on the streambed materials in controlling cation concentrations in soil and stream waters are also discussed. With the SAFE model, the contribution of cations from ion exchange by depletion of base cations from the exchange matrixes compared to from weathering was also assessed. SAFE calculations indicate that the release rate of base cation by ion exchange to runoff water has decreased since 1945 and is very low, approx. 0.1 keq/ha per year, at present time as a result of soil acidification due to S and N inputs.     

The Importance of Including the pH Dependence of Sulfate Adsorption in a Dynamic Soil Chemistry Model

Sulfate adsorption is an important process when modeling the dynamics of recovery from acidification. In the dynamic soil chemistry model SAFE sulfate adsorption is modeled by a pH and sulfate concentration dependent isotherm. This isotherm has been parameterized by fitting it to data from batch experiments on soil samples using multiple linear regression. The soil samples were from the B-horizon from three sites, two from the Lake Gårdsjön area in south-west Sweden and one from southern Poland. The pH dependency of sulfate adsorption is important. The batch experiments show that the adsorbed amount, at a specific sulfate concentration, increases considerably with decreasing pH. This implies that the adsorbed pool of anthropogenic sulfate in soils may remain fairly high during the recovery phase. Although a decrease of sulfate concentration is commonly seen, the modeled pH increase is often slow, and thus delays in the modeled desorption of anthropogenic sulfate can be expected.     

Surface-water Acidification and Reproducibility of Sediment Cores from Kejimkujik Lake, Nova Scotia, Canada

A total of nine sediment cores were collected from the five deep basins of Kejimkujik Lake, located in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada, in order to track changes related to surface-water acidification and to test reproducibility of results between sediment cores from different basins in a large lake. Present-day and pre-industrial (c. 1850) samples were analyzed from all cores and detailed diatom profiles were undertaken on three cores to determine the timing of acidification. All three detailed diatom profiles show declines in inferred pH starting in the early 1930–1940s. Since the 1940s, diatom-inferred lakewater pH has declined from a background pH of ～5.8 (± 0.4) to a current diatom-inferred pH of ～4.9 (± 0.1). This corresponds to the current (2001–2002) range of measured lakewater pH?=?4.7–5.2 with a mean pH?=?4.9. Species diversity of diatoms also declines markedly in all cores with the Hill’s N2 index decreasing from ～5 to near 1. The pre-impact diatom assemblages were dominated by Aulacoseira spp. and have since changed to dominance by Asterionella ralfsii var. americana (>45 μm). All nine sediment cores showed similar changes in diatom assemblages, diatom-inferred pH, and timing of the onset of acidification. Thus, paleolimnological inferences from deepwater sediment cores were highly reproducible in this large, morphometrically complex lake system.     

Comparison of paleolimnological with magic model reconstructions of water acidification

In sensitive areas receiving acidic deposition, paleolimnolgical data indicate changes in lake pH over 1 to 3 decades during the past century. Estimates of deposition of SOx and NOx over this same period suggest that deposition rates changed (1) earlier and (2) more slowly than did changes in lake chemistry. Clearly chemical and biological processes in the terrestrial catchment damp, delay, and moderate the response of surface water pH to deposition of acidifying compounds. This response is controlled by key terrestrial processes that include chemical weathering, sulfate adsorption, cation exchange, dissolution and precipitation of Al compounds, and dissolution and dissociation of inorganic C. MAGIC (Model of Acidifcation of Groundwater In Catchments) provides a tool by which these processes can be simultaneously and quantitatively linked to examine the impact of acid deposition on surface water chemistry. We have applied MAGIC to 4 lakes from which paleolimnological reconstructions are available — Big Moose Lake in the Adirondacks, Loch Grannoch in Scotland, Lake Gårdsjøn in Sweden, and Lake Hovvatn in Norway. The results indicate that the processes linked in MAGIC can account for temporal trends in pH and alkalinity such as those obtained from paleolimnological data.     

Zooplankton communities and acidification processes (a review)

A review of the literature which deals the with zooplankton of acid-stressed ecosystems revealed several strong patterns, weaker patterns, areas of controversy or inconsistency, and poorly understood but potentially important factors. Those patterns which are strong, but not necessarily universal, include a general response to short term pH shocks suggesting that daphnids are least tolerant followed by other cladocerans, copepods, and chaoborids. In addition, the numbers of both crustacean and rotifer species are decreased, and the importance of daphnids is reduced in acidic lakes, while limnetic hemipterans are greatly increased in acidic fishless lakes. Weaker patterns include reduced zooplankton biomass, reduced importance of cyclopoids, and increased representation of generalist species in acidic lakes, and intraspecies differences in pH tolerance indicating that populations of acid-stressed ecosystems are more tolerant. But, zooplankton biomass is apparently a result of system productivity as opposed to pH per se. Inconsistencies within the literature exist as to whether chaoborids are more abundant in acidic fishless lakes, the influence of physiological stress contra predation in determining community structure, the immediate response of the zooplankton to lake neutralization, and the toxicity of Al. The importance of metals, humic substances, and the fauna in determining community dynamics is poorly understood. Although both phyto- and zooplankton communities can be severely simplified in acidic lakes, the influence of the phytoplankton on the zooplankton, beyond the relation edible biomass vs zooplankton standing stock, in these ecosystems is unclear. From the literature it is apparent that direct physiological influences of acid-stress are important, but that indirect (biotic) influences and variables which correlate with pH are often as important if not more so to the zooplankton.     

Aluminum toxicity and high bulk density: Role in limiting shoot and root growth of selected aluminum indicator plants and eastern gamagrass in an acid soil

Abstract

Shallow rooting and susceptibility to drought are believed to be caused, at least in part, by strongly acidic (pH <5.5, 1:1 soil‐water), aluminum (Al)‐toxic subsoils. However, this hypothesis has not been clearly confirmed under field conditions. The Al toxicity hypothesis was tested on a map unit of Matawan‐Hammonton loam (0–2% slope) on unlimed and limed field plots (pH range 5.1 to 5.8) at Beltsville, MD, during 1994 to 1998. Aluminum‐tolerant and sensitive pairs of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), wheat [Triticum aestivum (L.)], snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] cultivars were used as indicator plants. Eastern gamagrass [Tripsacum dactyloides (L.) L.], cultivar ‘Pete’, reported to tolerate both chemical and physical stress factors in soils, was grown for comparison. Shoots of Al‐sensitive ‘Romano’ snap beans showed a significant response to liming of the 0–15 cm surface layer, but those of Al‐tolerant ‘Dade’ did not, indicating that Al toxicity was a growth limiting factor in this acid soil at pH 5.1. Lime response of the Al‐tolerant and sensitive cultivars of barley, wheat, and soybean were in the same direction but not significant at the 5% level. Aluminum‐tolerant and sensitive cultivars did not differ in abilities to root in the 15–30 cm soil depth. Only 9 to 25% of total roots were in this layer, and 75 to 91% were in the 0–15 cm zone. No roots were found in the 30–45 cm zone which had a pH of 4.9. Soil bulk density values of 1.44 and 1.50 g cm^?3 in the 15–30 and 30–45 cm zones, respectively, indicated that mechanical impedance was a primary root barrier. Results indicated that restricted shoot growth and shallow rooting of the Al‐indicator plants studied in this acid soil were due to a combination of Al toxicity and high soil bulk density. Confounding of the two factors may have masked the expected response of indicator plants to Al. These two growth restricting factors likely occur in many, if not most acid, problem subsoils. Studies are needed to separate these factors and to develop plant genotypes that have tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses. Unlike the Al indicator cultivars, eastern gamagrass showed high tolerance to acid, compact soils in the field and did not respond to lime applications (pH 5.1–5.8).     

Ecological Risk Assessment for the Recent Case of DDT Pollution in Lake Maggiore (Northern Italy)

Contamination by DDT of industrial origin was detected in 1996 in Lake Maggiore (Northern Italy) causing concern for wildlife and human health. Starting from 1998 a monitoring programme involving different research laboratories was undertaken to establish the pollution level of the lake. In assessing the ecological risk to Lake Maggiore wildlife during this period, the present study integrates information provided by the Commission for the Protection of Italian and Swiss Waters with further analysis and ecotoxicological tests carried out on some autochthonous target species for this insecticide. Sediments collected at the end of 1997 in the most contaminated bay (total DDT 860.2 ng g^?1 dry weight) caused a decrease in fertility and growth of benthic oligochaetes and chironomids, while the 48 h IC₅₀ for Daphnia galeata (0.76 μg L^?1, c.i. 0.43–1.34) was much higher than the DDT concentration in the lake water. The risk of acute effects on zooplankton should therefore be excluded, while transfer through the trophic web and bioconcentration in fish and fish-eating birds are the most adverse consequences of DDT contamination in Lake Maggiore.     

Bewertung der nährstoffgehalte im statischen düngungsversuch bad lauchstädt

Der Statische Düngungsversuch Bad Lauchstädt wurde 1902 auf Löß‐Schwarzerde (21% Ton, 8,7°C Jahresdurchschnittstemperatur und 484 mm Jahresniederschlag) angelegt. Nach 96 Versuchsjahren wurde im Jahre 1998 auf Schlag I von allen Varianten der Gehalt an Gesamt‐P, doppellaktatlöslichem P und K, Mg, Cu, Zn, Mn und pH‐Wert bestimmt. Die P‐Entzüge liegen zwischen 9 kg/ha.a (ungedüngt) und 30 kg/ha.a. Die Gehalte an Gesamt‐P liegen zwischen 47 und 100 mg/100g Boden. Mit 10t/ha.a Stalldung wird bereits eine optimale Zufuhr an den Nährstoffen P, K und Mg erreicht bzw. überschritten. Mg und Zn reagieren deutlich auf die Stalldunggabe, weniger Cu. Die pH‐Werte liegen mit Kalkdüngung im Mittel aller Prüfglieder bei 7,3 (Spannweite 7,2 bis 7,5), ohne Kalk bei 6,6 (6,3–7,3). Stalldung wirkt nicht auf die pH‐Werte. Es besteht eine deutliche Wechselwirkung zwischen pH‐Wert und Mn. Mit Kalk wird Mn festgelegt und liegt zwischen 27 und 40 ppm, ohne Kalk zwischen 32 und 100 ppm.