A Holocene Sediment Record of Phosphorus Accumulation in Shallow Lake Harris, Florida (USA) Offers New Perspectives on Recent Cultural Eutrophication.

We studied a complete Holocene sediment record from shallow (zmax = 9.7 m) Lake Harris, Florida (USA) to infer the historical development of the lake and its current eutrophic status. We used (210)Pb and (14)C to date the 5.9-m sediment sequence (core LH-6-13) and determined accumulation rates for bulk sediment, organic matter, calcium carbonate, phosphorus fractions and biogenic silica fractions. The chronology of changes in sediment characteristics for LH-6-13 is consistent with the general paleoenvironmental framework established by core studies from other Florida lakes. Lake Harris began to fill with water in the early Holocene, ca. 10,680 cal a BP. A shift from carbonate-dominated to organic-rich sediments ca. 5,540 cal a BP corresponds to a transition to wetter climate in the middle Holocene. A rapid increase in diatom biogenic silica concentrations and accumulation rates ca. 2,600 cal a BP signals that the lake had deepened to its modern limnetic state. In LH-6-13, an up-core decrease in rates of accumulation for several sediment variables indicates time-course oligotrophication of the lake through the Holocene. In near-surface sediments, abrupt increases in the accumulation rates of these same variables indicate progressive cultural eutrophication after ca. AD 1900. Comparison of the modern state of Lake Harris to its condition 50-100 years ago provides a measure of the impact of recent cultural eutrophication. Because the pre-disturbance trajectory of this lake was one of oligotrophication, the true impact of cultural eutrophication is even greater than what is inferred from the changes over the past century.

Patterns and controls of seasonal variability of carbon stable isotopes of particulate organic matter in lakes.

Carbon stable isotopes (δ(13)C) of particulate organic matter (POM) have been used as indicators for energy flow, primary productivity and carbon dioxide concentration in individual lakes. Here, we provide a synthesis of literature data from 32 freshwater lakes around the world to assess the variability of δ(13)C(POM) along latitudinal, morphometric and biogeochemical gradients. Seasonal mean δ(13)C(POM), a temporally integrated measure of the δ(13)C(POM), displayed weak relationships with all trophic state indices [total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), and chlorophyll a (Chl a)], but decreased significantly with the increase in latitude, presumably in response to the corresponding decrease in water temperature and increase in CO(2) concentration. The seasonal minimum δ(13)C(POM) also correlated negatively with latitude while seasonal maximum δ(13)C(POM) correlated positively with all trophic state indices, pH, and δ(13)C of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). Seasonal amplitude of δ(13)C(POM) (the difference between seasonal maximum and minimum values) correlated significantly with pH, TP and Chl a concentrations and displayed small variations in oligotrophic, mesotrophic and low latitude eutrophic lakes, which is attributed to low primary productivity and abundant non-living POM in the low trophic state lakes and relatively stable environmental conditions in the subtropics. Seasonal amplitude of δ(13)C(POM) was the greatest in high latitude eutrophic lakes. Greater seasonal changes in solar energy and light regime may be responsible for the large seasonal variability in high latitude productive lakes. This synthesis provides new insights on the factors controlling variations in stable carbon isotopes of POM among lakes on the global scale.

Exploitation and destabilization of a warm, freshwater ecosystem through engineered hydrological change.

Exploitation of freshwater resources is having catastrophic effects on the ecological dynamics, stability, and quality of those water resources on a global scale, especially in arid and semiarid regions. Lake Kinneret, Israel (the Biblical Sea of Galilee), the only major natural freshwater lake in the Middle East, has been transformed functionally into a reservoir over the course of approximately 70 years of hydrological alterations aimed mostly at producing electrical power and increasing domestic and agricultural water supply. Historical changes in lake chemistry and biology were reconstructed using analysis of sedimentary nutrient content, stable and radioisotope composition, biochemical and morphological fossils from algae, remains of aquatic invertebrates, and chemical indices of past light regimes. Together, these paleolimnological analyses of the lake's bottom sediments revealed that this transformation has been accompanied by acceleration in the rate of eutrophication, as indicated by increased accumulation rates of phosphorus, nitrogen, organic matter, phytoplankton and bacterial pigments, and remains of phytoplankton and zooplankton. Substantial increases in these indices of eutrophication coincide with periods of increased water-level fluctuations and drainage of a major upstream wetland in the early to middle 20th century and suggest that management of the lake for increased water supply has degraded water quality to the point that ecosystem stability and sustainability are threatened. Such destabilization may be a model for eutrophication of freshwater lakes in other arid regions of the world in which management emphasizes water quantity over quality.

Abrupt biological response to hydrologic and land-use changes in Lake Apopka, Florida, USA.

Lake Apopka is a shallow, hypereutrophic lake in north-central Florida that experienced an abrupt shift in primary producer community structure (PPCS) in 1947. The PPCS shift was so abrupt anecdotal accounts report that dominant, submersed aquatic vegetation was uprooted by a hurricane in 1947 and replaced by phytoplankton within weeks. Here we propose two hypotheses to explain the sudden shift to phytoplankton. First, hydrologic modification of the drainage basin in the late 1800s lowered the lake level ca. 1.0 m, allowing the ecosystem to accommodate moderate, anthropogenic nutrient enrichment through enhanced production in the macrophyte community. Second, additional hydrologic changes and large-scale agricultural development of floodplain wetlands began in 1942 and altered the pattern and scale of phosphorus loading to the lake that triggered the rapid shift to phytoplankton dominance in 1947. Historic land-use changes and paleolimnological data on biological responses to nutrient loading support these hypotheses.

Effects of historical lake level and land use on sediment and phosphorus accumulation rates in Lake Kinneret.

Current paradigms of reservoir ontogeny suggest that water-level fluctuations may increase sedimentary nutrient release, causing long-term eutrophication of water bodies formed by dryland flooding. Less is known of the changes in nutrient status following conversion of natural lakes into reservoirs. Here, we use historical hydrological and limnological data and paleolimnological records of sedimentary P accumulation to evaluate changes in nutrient storage in Lake Kinneret, Israel since approximately 1860. Impoundment in 1932 increased water level fluctuations and altered seasonal hydrologic patterns in the lake. Geochemical analysis of sediment deposits indicated that bulk sediment and P accumulation rates in the central lake increased >600% following dam installation (1930s), draining of Lake Hula wetlands (1951-1957), and diversion of surface water outflow (1964 to present). Further, comparison of sedimentary P stratigraphies with long-term chemical records showed that the period of maximum P deposition corresponds to observed increases in whole-lake and in hypolimnetic P content, as well as epilimnetic biological changes indicative of ongoing eutrophication. Together, these patterns suggest that hydrologic management of natural lakes can increase sedimentary nutrient flux under circumstances where lake volume and water levels become more variable.