High-Resolution Profiles of Dissolved Reactive Phosphorus in the Porewaters of Lake Sediments Assessed by DGT Technique

The technique of DGT (diffusive gradients in thin films) was applied to obtain high-resolution vertical profiles of dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) in sediment porewater of Lake Chaohu, a shallow eutrophication lake. Three kinds of DGT probes (with three thicknesses of diffusive gel: 0.38 mm, 0.78 mm and 1.18 mm) measured vertical concentration and induced flux from solid to solution phase which had intricate variations with depth. The results indicated that higher concentrations and induced fluxes of DRP were achieved by using DGT probe with thicker diffusion layer (CDGT1.18 > CDGT0.78 > CDGT0.38) and relatively stable DRP concentration profiles using DGT probes with 0.78 mm diffusive gel were obtained in each sediment core. The DRP concentrations displayed a clear gradient from Core C1 to Core C3 in sediment porewaters due to different sources and exchange degrees of reactive phosphorus. Compared to the concentrations obtained by the centrifugation technique, the concentrations of DRP resulting from the DGT technique were higher because some dissolved reactive phosphorus compounds have always been neglected using conventional centrifugation method.

Establishing eutrophication assessment standards for four lake regions, China

The trophic status assessment of lakes in different lake regions may provide important and fundamental information for lake trophic state classification and eutrophication control. In this study, a region-specific lake eutrophication assessment standard was established through a frequency distribution method based on chlorophyll-a concentration. The assessment standards under the oligotrophic state for lakes in the Eastern plain, Yungui Plateau, Northeast Plain and Mountain Mongolia-Xinjiang regions are total phosphorus of 0.068, 0.005, 0.011, 0.005 mg/L; total nitrogen of 1.00, 0.16, 0.37, 0.60 mg/L; Secchi depth of 0.60, 8.00, 1.55, 3.00 m; and CODMn of 2.24, 1.00, 5.1 l, 4.00 mg/L, respectively. Moreover, a region-specific comprehensive trophic level index was developed to provide an understandable assessment method for the public. The results indicated that the frequency distribution analysis based on chlorophyll-a combined with trophic level index provided a useful metric for the assessment of the lake trophic status. In addition, the difference of eutrophication assessment standards in different lake regions was analyzed, which suggested that the sensitivities of algae to nutrients and the assessment standard of trophic status possessed significant regional differences for the four lake ecoregions. Lake eutrophication assessment standards would contribute to maximizing the effectiveness of future management strategies, to control and minimize lake eutrophication problems.

A 60-year sedimentary record of natural and anthropogenic impacts on Lake Chenghai,China

Recent sediments from Lake Chenghai, China, were investigated at high temporal resolution to trace both natural and anthropogenic effects on the lake using total organic carbon （TOC）, total nitrogen （TN）, total phosphorus （TP）, organic phosphorus （Po）, inorganic phosphorus （Pi） and organic carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes （~13Corg and 615N） in a 137Cs-dated sediment core. The results indicated that the sedimentary record covers the last 60 years, during which the lake had undergone apparent changes in nutrient sources and productivity in response to nutrient loading. Prior to the late 1980s, the nutrient contents in sediments mainly originated from algae and lake productivity was relatively stable. Since the late 1980s, increasing TOC, TN and TP concentrations together with the change of 613Corg and 615N suggested anthropogenic perturbations in nutrient loading and lake productivity. Endogenic nutrients derived from algae and anthropogenic inputs were two important sources of sedimentary nutrients. The anthropogenic nutrients mainly originated from the discharge of industrial wastewater and artificial cultivation of Spirulina after the middle 1980s, and domestic wastewater discharged from Yongsheng County since 1993.

Determining reference conditions for TN,TP,SD and Chl-a in eastern plain ecoregion lakes,China

Establishing the nutrient reference condition（baseline environmental condition） of lakes in an ecoregion is a critical consideration in the development of scientifically defensible aquatic nutrient criteria.Three methods were applied to determine reference conditions in the Eastern plain ecoregion lakes with respect to total phosphorus（TP）,total nitrogen（TN）,planktonic chlorophyll a（Chl-a） and Secchi depth（SD）.The reference condition value for the lakes in the Eastern plain ecoregion by the trisection method is TP of 0.029 mg/L,TN of 0.67 mg/L,Chl-a of 3.92 mg/m 3,SD of 0.85 m,and the reference condition range by the lake population distribution approach is TP of 0.014-0.043 mg/L,TN of 0.360-0.785 mg/L,Chl-a of 1.78-4.73 mg/m 3,SD of 0.68-1.21 m.Additionally,empirical models were developed for estimating the reference Chl-a concentration and SD successfully for lakes in the Eastern plain ecoregion.Overall,the data suggest that multiple methods can be used to determine reference conditions and that in Eastern plain ecoregion lakes the reference condition corresponds to a mesotrophic status.

Arsenic fractionation and contamination assessment in sediments of thirteen lakes from the East Plain and Yungui Plateau Ecoregions, China

Arsenic（As） fractions in the sediments of seven lakes from East Plain Ecoregion and six lakes from Yungui Plateau Ecoregion, China, were investigated. Results indicated that the total As concentrations in sediment samples of lakes of the East Plain Lake Ecoregion are higher than those of Yungui Plateau Lake Ecoregion. Residual As is the main fraction in sediment samples of lakes from both ecoregions, followed by reducible As and soluble or oxidizable As. The total As is correlated to oxidizable As and residual As in sediment samples from both lake ecoregions. As distribution in sediment samples of lakes of the East Plain Ecoregion appears to be affected by human activity, while the As origin mainly comes from natural sources in sediment samples of lakes in the Yungui Plateau Ecoregion. The potential ecological risk index and geoaccumulation index values suggest ＂low to moderate＂ risk degree and ＂unpolluted to moderately polluted＂ for As in the studied lake sediments.

Microbial bioavailability of dissolved organic nitrogen(DON) in the sediments of Lake Shankou,Northeastern China

Dissolved organic nitrogen（DON）extracted from Lake Shankou sediments using KCl was isolated into hydrophobic and hydrophilic fractions.The bioavailabilities of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic fractions to three types of bacterial communities collected from sediments,activated sludge and compost products were examined.The DON recoveries obtained by DAX-8 and cation exchange resins treatment were 96.17% ± 1.58% and 98.14% ±0% for the samples obtained from N4 and N14 stations,respectively.After 25 days of incubation at 25℃,most DON（59% to 96%）was degraded.Hydrophilic DON exhibited a higher reduction rate than hydrophobic DON during the growth phase.Untreated wastewater from Changshuihe town was the main degradable DON source to station N4,and 93% of hydrophilic DON and 80% of hydrophobic DON were degraded.Station N14 received a large amount of refractory DON from forest soils and exhibited DON degradation rates of 82% and 71% for the hydrophilic and hydrophobic fractions,respectively.Amino acid contents and fluorescence intensities were also analyzed.Approximately 27% to 74% of amino acids were taken up by day 5,and their concentration gradually increased in the following days due to the decomposition of dissolved proteins.Parallel factor analysis resulted in identification of tryptophan-like proteins,tyrosine-like proteins and FA-like substances.During the growth phase,40%–51% of the tryptophan-like proteins were taken up by bacteria,and the accumulation of tyrosine-like proteins was attributed to the release of biotic substances.The concentration of the FA-like substances decreased due to microbial decomposition.

Biosorption of Cd2＋ and CU2＋ on immobilized Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The biosorption of Cd2＋ and CH2＋ onto the immobilized Saccharomyces cerevisiae （S. cerevisiae） was investigated in this study. Adsorption kinetics, isotherms and the effect ofpH were studied. The results indicated that the biosorption of Cd^2＋ and Cu^2＋ on the immobilized S. cerevisiae was fast at initial stage and then became slow. The maximum biosorption of heavy metal ions on immobilized S. cerevisiae were observed at pH 4 for Cde＋ and Cu^2＋. by the pseudo-second-order model described the sorption kinetic data well according to the high correlation coefficient （R2） obtained. The biosorption isotherm was fitted well by the Langmuir model, indicating possible mono-layer biosorption of Cd^2＋ and Cu^2＋ on the immobilized S. cerevisiae. Moreover, the immobilized S. cerevisiae after the sorption of Cd^2＋ and Cu^2＋ could be regenerated and reused.