Effects of Acidic Deposition on in-Lake Phosphorus Availability: A Lesson from Lakes Recovering from Acidification

Lake water concentrations of phosphorus (P) recently increased in some mountain areas due to elevated atmospheric input of P rich dust. We show that increasing P concentrations also occur during stable atmospheric P inputs in central European alpine lakes recovering from atmospheric acidification. T...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2015-03, Vol.49 (5), p.2895-2903
Main Authors: Kopáček, Jiří, Hejzlar, Josef, Kaňa, Jiří, Norton, Stephen A, Stuchlík, Evžen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acid Rain - adverse effects
Acidification
Adsorption
Effects
Lakes
Lakes - chemistry
Leaching
Phosphorus
Phosphorus - analysis
Sedimentation & deposition
Soil - chemistry
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Summary:Lake water concentrations of phosphorus (P) recently increased in some mountain areas due to elevated atmospheric input of P rich dust. We show that increasing P concentrations also occur during stable atmospheric P inputs in central European alpine lakes recovering from atmospheric acidification. The elevated P availability in the lakes results from (1) increasing terrestrial export of P accompanying elevated leaching of dissolved organic carbon and decreasing phosphate-adsorption ability of soils due to their increasing pH, and (2) decreasing in-lake P immobilization by aluminum (Al) hydroxide due to decreasing leaching of ionic Al from the recovering soils. The P availability in the recovering lakes is modified by the extent of soil acidification, soil composition, and proportion of till and meadow soils in the catchment. These mechanisms explain several conflicting observations of the acid rain effects on surface water P concentrations.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/es5058743