Evidence for the Importance of Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition to Eutrophic Lake Dianchi, China

Elevated atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition has significantly influenced aquatic ecosystems, especially with regard to their N budgets and phytoplankton growth potentials. Compared to a considerable number of studies on oligotrophic lakes and oceanic waters, little evidence for the importance of N...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2017-06, Vol.51 (12), p.6699-6708
Main Authors: Zhan, Xiaoying, Bo, Yan, Zhou, Feng, Liu, Xuejun, Paerl, Hans W., Shen, Jianlin, Wang, Rong, Li, Farong, Tao, Shu, Dong, Yanjun, Tang, Xiaoyan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ammonia
Aquatic ecosystems
Atmosphere
China
Cyanobacteria
Deposition
Eutrophic lakes
Eutrophication
Freshwater lakes
High resolution
Lakes
Loads (forces)
Microcystis
Nitrates
Nitrogen
Oligotrophic lakes
Phytoplankton
Precipitation
Rainfall
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Summary:Elevated atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition has significantly influenced aquatic ecosystems, especially with regard to their N budgets and phytoplankton growth potentials. Compared to a considerable number of studies on oligotrophic lakes and oceanic waters, little evidence for the importance of N deposition has been generated for eutrophic lakes, even though emphasis has been placed on reducing external N inputs to control eutrophication in these lakes. Our high-resolution observations of atmospheric depositions and riverine inputs of biologically reactive N species into eutrophic Lake Dianchi (the sixth largest freshwater lake in China) shed new light onto the contribution of N deposition to total N loads. Annual N deposition accounted for 15.7% to 16.6% of total N loads under variable precipitation conditions, 2-fold higher than previous estimates (7.6%) for the Lake Dianchi. The proportion of N deposition to total N loads further increased to 27–48% in May and June when toxic blooms of the ubiquitous non-N2 fixing cyanobacteria Microcystis spp. are initiated and proliferate. Our observations reveal that reduced N (59%) contributes a greater amount than oxidized N to total N deposition, reaching 56–83% from late spring to summer. Progress toward mitigating eutrophication in Lake Dianchi and other bloom-impacted eutrophic lakes will be difficult without reductions in ammonia emissions and subsequent N deposition.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/acs.est.6b06135