Lars Leonardson

Summer inputs of riverine nutrients to the Baltic Sea: Bioavailability and eutrophication relevance

Most nitrogen and phosphorus transported by world rivers to the oceans is associated with dissolved organic matter. However, organic matter as a potential source of N and P has hitherto been largely neglected in studies of coastal microbial food webs. We examined 50 rivers, draining a major part of the Baltic Sea watershed, with respect to summer concentrations, chemical composition, and biological availability of N and P. The broad spectrum of rivers studied enabled us to assess whether the input of terrigenous organic matter can be an important nutrient source, at various levels of anthropogenic loading of inorganic N and P. Concentrations of total N and P ranged from 9 to 220 mumol/L and from 0.14 to 5.56 mumol/L, respectively, with the highest concentrations in the southern part of the Baltic Sea drainage area and in several rivers on the Finnish western coast. Urea and dissolved combined amino acids (DCAA) each constituted 4-20% of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), while dissolved free amino acids (DFAA) made up <3% of DON. The contribution of urea and amino acids to the DON pool was inversely correlated with DON concentration. Bacterial regrowth bioassays in selected rivers demonstrated that similar to30% of DON and similar to75% of dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) was potentially available to the indigenous bacterial assemblage of the Baltic Sea, and hence susceptible to mineralization within the pelagic food web. Our study is among the first to demonstrate that bacterioplankton are able to utilize a major part of DON and DOP from a broad spectrum of natural waters. The C:N ratio, absorbance spectra, and fluorescence properties of the organic matter suggest that the observed high bioavailability of DON and DOP was due to a large contribution of organic matter from riverine primary production compared to the humic matter derived from terrestrial vascular plants. In addition, algal and bacterial cells dominated the transport of particulate organic material, further enhancing productivity of coastal waters. No correlations were found between DON bioavailability and the fraction of DON bound in urea and amino acids, indicating a utilization of other N compounds (e.g., amides) by the bacteria. We estimate that the input of summer riverine N to the Baltic Sea consists of 48% dissolved inorganic N, 41 % DON, and 11 % particulate N. Corresponding values for phosphorus are 46%, 18%, and 36% of dissolved inorganic P, DOP, and particulate P, respectively. During the thermal summer stratification, when freshwater inputs are trapped in the surface layer, rivers contribute similar to30% of N and similar to5% of P needed to support the export production (plankton sedimenting out of the photic layer) in the Baltic Sea. The high availability to bacteria suggests that DOP is a major stimulator of pelagic productivity in the P-limited northern part of the Baltic Sea. Based on reported concentrations in other areas, we suggest that the global contribution of riverine organic N and P to the primary production of coastal waters is comparable to the contribution of inorganic nutrients. (Less)

How nitrogen and sulphur addition, and a single drought event affect root phosphatase activity in Phalaris arundinacea

Conservation and restoration of fens and fen meadows often aim to reduce soil nutrients, mainly nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). The biogeochemistry of P has received much attention as P-enrichment is expected to negatively impact on species diversity in wetlands. It is known that N, sulphur (S) and hydrological conditions affect the biogeochemistry of P, yet their interactive effects on P-dynamics are largely unknown. Additionally, in Europe, climate change has been predicted to lead to increases in summer drought. We performed a greenhouse experiment to elucidate the interactive effects of N, S and a single drought event on the P-availability for Phalaris arundinacea. Additionally, the response of plant phosphatase activity to these factors was measured over the two year experimental period. In contrast to results from earlier experiments, our treatments hardly affected soil P-availability. This may be explained by the higher pH in our soils, hampering the formation of Fe-P or Fe-Al complexes. Addition of S, however, decreased the plants N:P ratio, indicating an effect of S on the N:P stoichiometry and an effect on the plants P-demand. Phosphatase activity increased significantly after addition of S, but was not affected by the addition of N or a single drought event. Root phosphatase activity was also positively related to plant tissue N and P concentrations, plant N and P uptake, and plant aboveground biomass, suggesting that the phosphatase enzyme influences P-biogeochemistry. Our results demonstrated that it is difficult to predict the effects of wetland restoration, since the involved mechanisms are not fully understood. Short-term and long-term effects on root phosphatase activity may differ considerably. Additionally, the addition of S can lead to unexpected effects on the biogeochemistry of P. Our results showed that natural resource managers should be careful when restoring degraded fens or preventing desiccation of fen ecosystems.

Does N2 fixation meet the nitrogen requirements of heterocystous blue-green algae in shallow eutrophic lakes?

SummaryPhytoplankton net carbon uptake and nitrogen fixation were studied in two shallow, eutrophic lakes in South Sweden. Ranges of diurnal net carbon uptake were estimated by subtracting 24-h respiration rates corresponding to 5–20% of Pmax, respectively, from daytime carbon uptake values. total nitrogen requirement of the phytoplankton assemblage was determined from the diurnal net carbon uptake, assuming a phytoplankton C:N ratio of 9.5:1. Nitrogen supplied by nitrogen fixation only occasionally corresponded to the demands of the total phytoplankton assemblage. When heterocystous algae made up a substantial proportion (≥10%) of the total phytoplankton biomass, nitrogen fixation could meet the requirements of heterocystous blue-green algae on c. 50% of the sampling occasions. Nitrogen deficiencies in heterocystous algae were most probably balanced by the simultaneous or sequential assimilation of dissolved inorganic nitrogen. It was concluded that uptake of ammonium or nitrate, regenerated from lake seston and sediment, is the main process by which growth of phytoplankton is maintained during summer in the lake ecosystems studied.