Effects of pollen leaching and microbial degradation on organic carbon and nutrient availability in lake water |
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Authors: | Stefan?R?sel Anna?Rych?a Christian?Wurzbacher Email author" target="_blank">Hans-Peter?GrossartEmail author |
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Institution: | 1.Department of Limnology of Stratified Lakes,Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin,Stechlin,Germany |
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Abstract: | Nutrient fluxes across terrestrial-aquatic boundaries and their subsequent integration into lake nutrient cycles are currently
a major topic of aquatic research. Although pollen represents a good substrate for microorganisms, it has been neglected as
a terrestrial source of organic matter in lakes. In laboratory experiments, we incubated pollen grains of Pinus sylvestris in water of lakes with different trophy and pH to estimate effects of pollen input and its subsequent microbial degradation
on nutrient dynamics. In this ex situ experiment, we measured concentrations of organic carbon, phosphorus and nitrogen in the surrounding water as well as microbial
dynamics (bacteria and fungal sporangia) at well-controlled conditions. Besides leaching, chemical and microbial decomposition
of pollen was strongest within the first week of incubation. This led to a marked increase of soluble reactive phosphorus
and total dissolved nitrogen (up to 0.04 and 1.5 mg L−1, respectively, after 5 days of incubation) in the ambient water. In parallel, pollen grains were rapidly colonized by heterotrophic
bacteria and aquatic fungi. Leaching and microbial degradation of pollen accounted for ≥80, ≥40, ≥50% for organic C, N and
P, respectively, and did not significantly differ among water samples from the studied lakes. Thus, pollen introduces high
amounts of bio-available terrestrial organic matter and nutrients into surface waters within a short time. A rough calculation
on P input into oligotrophic Lake Stechlin indicates that pollen plays an important ecological role in nutrient cycling of
temperate lakes. This requires further attention in aquatic ecology. |
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