Lepori, Fabio and Capelli, Camilla and Foresti, Danilo (2021) Changes in phytoplankton composition hinder the recovery from eutrophication in a perialpine lake (Lake Lugano, Switzerland and Italy). Journal of Plankton Research. ISSN 0142-7873
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)Abstract
We investigated the factors shaping the response of summer phytoplankton biomass to declining phosphorus (P) concentrations in a lake undergoing restoration (South basin of Lake Lugano, Switzerland and Italy). During 1989–2019, summer P concentrations declined from values typical of eutrophic lakes (>30 μg L−1) to values typical of mesotrophic lakes (10–30 μg L−1). Contrary to expectations, this decline was not followed by a decline in phytoplankton biomass. Instead, phytoplankton biomass showed the highest values in summers with lowest P concentrations. This paradoxical effect was associated with a change in phytoplankton composition. Higher P concentrations were associated with higher relative biomass of green algae, lower P concentrations with higher biomass of cyanobacteria and diatoms. We interpreted this change as a shift from edible and P-demanding phytoplankton to inedible and P-efficient phytoplankton, leading to different trophic structures. The pattern observed may be prompted by the particular conditions of deep lakes approaching mesotrophy, including occurrence of deep-water P reserves and high N concentrations, which can benefit inedible metalimnetic cyanobacteria. To attain reductions in summer phytoplankton biomass, restoration efforts may need to further reduce P concentrations and, possibly, address N enrichment.
| Item Type: | Scientific journal article, Newspaper article or Magazine article |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | Biological Sciences > Biology > Environmental biology Biological Sciences > Biology > Marine/Freshwater biology > Freshwater biology Biological Sciences > Biology > Ecology Biological Sciences > Biology > Ecology > Community ecology Biological Sciences > Biology > Ecology > Ecosystem ecology & land use Biological Sciences > Others in Biological Sciences > Applied biological sciences |
| Department/unit: | Dipartimento ambiente costruzioni e design > Istituto scienze della terra |
| Depositing User: | Fabio Lepori |
| Date Deposited: | 17 Dec 2021 13:25 |
| Last Modified: | 17 Dec 2021 13:29 |
| URI: | http://repository.supsi.ch/id/eprint/13106 |
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