The pre-Colombian footprint on terrestrial nutrient cycling in Costa Rica: insights from phosphorus in a lake sediment record

The impact of pre-Columbian subsistence agriculture on soil nutrient cycling in the American tropics is poorly quantified. Paleolimnological research can address this deficit by documenting the temporal evolution of nutrient cycling in lake watersheds over different time scales. Here we describe our use of a chemical sequential extraction technique adapted from soil fertility research to discern geochemical fractions of phosphorus (P) in lake sediments that serve as proxies for landscape-scale soil nutrient status. These P fractions are mineral P (the original lithic source of bioavailable P), occluded P (mainly bound to soil oxides), and organic P (remains of organic matter production by plants). We applied the P fractionation technique to a lake sediment core from a small lake in southern Costa Rica, Laguna Zoncho. Prior analyses of microfossils and stable carbon isotopes in this core documented an approximately 3,000 year history of human occupation and agricultural activity in the Zoncho watershed, and shifts in diatom communities in the lake associated both with human impacts and with climate-driven changes in lake level. Our P analyses revealed relatively constant P geochemistry during the first approximately 2,500 years of the record, when other sedimentary proxies reveal forest clearance and maize agriculture of varying intensity. However, the period from approximately 500 to 100 years BP is marked by a drastic shift toward a P geochemistry dominated by occluded forms, with a concomitant decrease in the relative content of both the organic and mineral P forms. This interval coincides with post-Conquest depopulation and forest regeneration at the site, and with an apparent deepening of the lake caused by a shift toward a wetter climate. The dominance of the occluded P fraction during this interval is the opposite of the trend expected with such a climate shift, implicating human dynamics as the principal driver of the changes in soil nutrient status indicated by the P fractions in the Zoncho core. We propose that the entire P geochemical record is dominated by human-induced alteration of the soil nutrient cycles via agriculture and occupation, and that the only interval that reveals the “natural” nutrient status in the region is the short interval when the site is abandoned and surrounding forests regrow. These results for Laguna Zoncho reveal the close connection between even relatively low-technology human activities and soil nutrient status.     

Variability of diatom-inferred phosphorus profiles in a small lake basin and its implications for histories of lake eutrophication

Diatom analyses were undertaken of sediment cores covering a range of water depths in a small eutrophic lake (Lough Augher, Co. Tyrone, N. Ireland). The significance of between-core variability in diatom relative frequency stratigraphy was assessed by Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) where the ordination axes were constrained to external environmental variables (sediment depth, core location coordinates, water depth, effective fetch, distance-from-shore and distance-from-inflow). After the removal of the effect of sediment age by partialling it out, the resultant first two axes from the partial-CCA were significantly correlated with water depth and distance-from-shore, indicating non-uniform diatom stratigraphies across the lake. Despite this variability, all cores show the same succession of species and, therefore, record the eutrophication of the lake. Diatom-inferred total phosphorus (DI-TP) was inferred for six cores using weighted averaging regression and calibration. Apart from considerable differences of DI-TP in surficial sediment samples, there was good between-core repeatability of DI-TP profiles. These data support the use of DI-TP for establishing background nutrient concentrations for lakes, and associated implications for lake restoration schemes using single cores. Comparisons of DI-TP profiles and total diatom accumulation rate data for the individual cores indicate that diatom production peaked prior to the maximum TP concentrations in the lake.     

Differential post-depositional mobility of phosphorus species in lake sediments

Historically, paleolimnologists have been cautious about interpreting sedimentary total phosphorus (P) profiles because of the well-documented post-depositional mobility of P. There is recent new attention given to the interpretation of component P fractions that are generally indicative of broad categories of chemical P species in sediments. Using homogenized sediments collected from 5 lakes with differing characteristics, the mobilities of total P, and of NH₄Cl-, BD-, NaOH-, and HCl-extractible P were measured in short term incubations (15?C24?weeks). Almost all of the observed mobility of total P could be explained by the mobility of reductant-soluble BD?CP, with a smaller contribution from NaOH?CP. In contrast, HCl?CP (apatite) and organic-P showed no significant movement. These results reaffirm that sedimentary TP profiles should be interpreted with caution, and that component P species, particularly NH₄Cl-, BD-, and NaOH?CP are also prone to post-depositional mobility. In contrast, HCl?CP and organic-P appear to be more reliable proxies for paleolimnological reconstructions.     

A record of phosphorus dynamics in oligotrophic lake sediment

Historical phosphorus (P) dynamics were studied using sediment cores from three oligotrophic, acidic lakes in Maine, USA. Long-term oligotrophy of these lakes is consistent with high sediment aluminum (as Al(OH)₃) concentrations, as Al inhibits internal P loading, even under reducing conditions. The role of microbially-mediated reactions in controlling redox conditions was evaluated by estimating microbial biomass and relative abundance of specific functional groups. Sediments were fractionated using a sequential chemical extraction technique and all lakes met criteria for P retention based on threshold sediment concentrations of Al, Fe, and P fractions as determined by (Kopáček et al. (2005) Limnol Oceanogr 52: 1147–1155). Sediment NaOH-extractable molybdate-reactive P (rP) and non-reactive P (nrP) represent P associated with non-reducible phases, and organic matter-related P, respectively. Total P (TP) does not decrease with sediment depth, as is typical of eutrophic lake sediments; however, nrP/TP decreases and rP/TP increases for all three lakes, indicating nrP mineralization without any significant upward diffusion and release into the hypolimnion; i.e. diagenesis of P is conservative within the sediment. Two diagenetic models were developed based on nrP and rP concentrations as a function of sediment age. The first model assumes a first-order decay of nrP, the rate coefficient being a function of time, and represents irreversible nrP mineralization, where the produced PO₄ is permanently sequestered by the sediment. The second model assumes a first-order reversible transformation between nrP and rP, representing biotic mineralization of organic P followed by incorporation of inorganic P into microbial biomass. Both models reflect preservation of TP with no loss to overlying water. The rate coefficients give us insight into qualities of the sediment that have affected mineralization and sequestration of phosphorus throughout the ²¹⁰Pb-dateable history of each lake. Similar models could be constructed for other lakes to help reconstruct their trophic histories. Paleolimnological reconstruction of the sediment P record in oligotrophic lakes shows mineralization of nrP to rP, but unlike the case in eutrophic lake sediments, sediment TP is preserved in these sediments.     

末次冰消期以来冰岛周边海域古海洋环境及海冰研究进展

冰岛位于北大西洋北部地区,是对全球气候变化最为敏感的区域之一,对其周边海域古海洋环境的深入研究是全球气候变化研究的重要组成部分。海冰的大面积分布是该地区的显著特点之一,对全球气候系统产生较大的影响意义。此外,冰岛周边海域大量火山灰沉积,也为古海洋环境研究提供了可靠的年代资料。本文以冰岛为中心,回顾了冰岛周边海域末次冰消期以来古海洋环境及海冰研究的现状,探讨了该海域不同记录之间的差异,并通过分析末次冰消期以来古环境研究的不足,提出了相应的展望。     

Inflow and lake controls on short-term mass accumulation and sedimentary particle size in a High Arctic lake: implications for interpreting varved lacustrine sedimentary records

Sedimentary processes were monitored in a varved lake in the Canadian High Arctic through three melt seasons and revealed that seasonal sediment deposition rates were highly dependent on short-lived inflow events driven by high suspended sediment concentrations that varied with runoff intensity. Our results illustrate that in accordance with the suspended sediment discharge into the lake, the rate of sediment accumulation changed over short distances down-lake, in a given year. This result indicates that there is a rate and accumulation dependence on short-lived, intense inflow conditions. In addition, there was strong evidence for substantial decoupling between deposition rate and mean grain size of sedimentary deposits. These results have important implications for paleoclimate interpretation of annually laminated sedimentary records from dynamic lake environments and suggest that grain size measures may not be representative proxies of inflow competence. Grain size indices based on a measure of the coarser fraction, rather than the bulk sediment, may be more appropriate to use as a link between contemporary runoff processes and sedimentary characteristics.     

Baptiste Lake,Alberta — A late Holocene history of changes in a lake and its catchment in the southern Boreal forest

Lead-210 assay and dating are subject to several sources of error, including natural variation, the statistical nature of measuring radioactivity, and estimation of the supported fraction. These measurable errors are considered in calculating confidence intervals for ²¹⁰Pb dates. Several sources of error, including the effect of blunders or misapplication of the mathematical model, are not included in the quantitative analysis. First-order error analysis and Monte Carlo simulation (of cores from Florida PIRLA lakes) are used as independent estimates of dating uncertainty. CRS-model dates average less than 1% older than Monte Carlo median dates, but the difference increases non-linearly with age to a maximum of 11% at 160 years. First-order errors increase exponentially with calculated CRS-model dates, with the largest 95% confidence interval in the bottommost datable section being 155±90 years, and the smallest being 128±8 years. Monte Carlo intervals also increase exponentially with age, but the largest 95% occurrence interval is 152±44 years. Confidence intervals calculated by first-order methods and ranges of Monte Carlo dates agree fairly well until the ²¹⁰Pb date is about 130 years old. Older dates are unreliable because of this divergence. Ninety-five per cent confidence intervals range from about 1–2 years at 10 years of age, 10–20 at 100 years, and 8–90 at 150 years old.This is the third of a series of papers to be published by this journal which is a contribution of the Paleoecological Investigation of Recent Lake Acidification (PIRLA) project. Drs. D.F. Charles and D.R. Whitehead are guest editors for this series.     

Spatial and temporal patterns across an ecological boundary: Allochthonous effects of a young saltwater lake on a desert ecosystem

We documented changes in the abundance and composition of terrestrial flora and fauna with respect to distance from the sea edge and timing of large allochthonous inputs from the Salton Sea, California. We found significant effects that were most pronounced within 300 m of the shore, but extended 3 km inland via coyote scat deposition. The zone within 300 m of the sea had a higher density of vegetation with a distinctly different plant composition. The denser vegetation supported higher abundances of birds and reptiles. Coyotes exhibited spatial and temporal responses to marine subsidies of fish, while birds were likely subsidized by aquatic aerial insects. Top-down control, as well as dietary and habitat preferences, may have resulted in reduced number of ants, beetles, and small mammals near the sea. Species responses to the habitat edge appeared to be associated with life history, as the near shore habitat favored habitat generalists and shore specialists, while inland desert habitat favored many sand and open desert specialists. Ecosystem responses support current theories of allochthonous spatial subsidies and consumer-resource dynamics but were limited in scope, magnitude, and distance.     

Prescribed fire in a Great Basin sagebrush ecosystem: Dynamics of soil extractable nitrogen and phosphorus

Pinyon and juniper have been expanding into sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) ecosystems since settlement of the Great Basin around 1860. Herbaceous understory vegetation is eliminated as stand densities increase and the potential for catastrophic fires increases. Prescribed fire is increasingly used to remove trees and promote recovery of sagebrush ecosystems. We quantified the effects of prescribed fire, vegetation type, and time following fire on soil KCl extractable nitrogen and NaHCO₃ extractable phosphorus in a pinyon–juniper woodland and its associated sagebrush ecosystem immediately before and for 4 years after a spring prescribed burn. Potassium chloride extractable NH₄⁺ and total inorganic-N increased immediately following prescribed fire, and extractable NO₃⁻ decreased immediately after the burn. In the surface layer (top 8 cm), extractable NH₄⁺ remained elevated compared to the control through year 2 after the burn. By the first fall post-burn extractable NO₃⁻ and total extractable inorganic-N increased and remained elevated over the control through year 3 after the burn in the surface layer. For the entire soil profile (52 cm), the burn had no effect on NH₄⁺, and the effects on total extractable inorganic-N were no longer significant after year 1. However, NO₃⁻ remained elevated over the control through year 2 post-fire for the soil profile. Near surface NaHCO₃ extractable ortho-P increased immediately following fire, and remained elevated through year 2 post-fire. No fire effects were observed for extractable ortho-P in deeper horizons. Our data show that plant available nitrogen can remain elevated for extended periods following prescribed fire. This can influence regrowth and seedling establishment of native plant species, invasion of exotic plant species and, ultimately, site recovery potential.     

Regional controls on geomorphology, hydrology, and ecosystem integrity in the Orinoco Delta, Venezuela

Interacting river discharge, tidal oscillation, and tropical rainfall across the 22,000 km² Orinoco delta plain support diverse fresh and brackish water ecosystems. To develop environmental baseline information for this largely unpopulated region, we evaluate major coastal plain, shallow marine, and river systems of northeastern South America, which serves to identify principal sources and controls of water and sediment flow into, through, and out of the Orinoco Delta.The regional analysis includes a summary of the geology, hydrodynamics, sediment dynamics, and geomorphic characteristics of the Orinoco drainage basin, river, and delta system. Because the Amazon River is a major source of sediment deposited along the Orinoco coast, we summarize Amazon water and sediment input to the northeastern South American littoral zone. We investigate sediment dynamics and geomorphology of the Guiana coast, where marine processes and Holocene history are similar to the Orinoco coast.Major factors controlling Orinoco Delta water and sediment dynamics include the pronounced annual flood discharge; the uneven distribution of water and sediment discharge across the delta plain; discharge of large volumes of water with low sediment concentrations through the Río Grande and Araguao distributaries; water and sediment dynamics associated with the Guayana littoral current along the northeastern South American coast; inflow of large volumes of Amazon sediment to the Orinoco coast; development of a fresh water plume seaward of Boca Grande; disruption of the Guayana Current by Trinidad, Boca de Serpientes, and Gulf of Paria; and the constriction at Boca de Serpientes.     

Natural and anthropogenic forcing of Holocene lake ecosystem development at Lake Uddelermeer (The Netherlands)

Lake Uddelermeer (The Netherlands) is characterized by turbid conditions and annual blooms of toxic cyanobacteria, which are supposed to be the result of increased agricultural activity in the twentieth century AD. We applied a combination of classic palaeoecological proxies and novel geochemical proxies to the Holocene sediment record of Lake Uddelermeer (The Netherlands) in order to reconstruct the natural variability of the lake ecosystem and to identify the drivers of the change to the turbid conditions that currently characterize this lake. We show that the lake ecosystem was characterized by a mix of aquatic macrophytes and abundant phytoplankton between 11,500 and 6000 cal year BP. A transition to a lake ecosystem with clear-water conditions and relatively high abundances of ‘isoetids’ coincides with the first signs of human impact on the landscape around Lake Uddelermeer during the Early Neolithic (ca. 6000 cal year BP). An abrupt and dramatic ecosystem shift can be seen at ca. 1030 cal year BP when increases in the abundance of algal microfossils and concentrations of sedimentary pigments indicate a transition to a turbid phytoplankton-dominated state. Finally, a strong increase in concentrations of plant and faecal biomarkers is observed around 1950 AD. Canonical Correspondence Analysis suggests that reconstructed lake ecosystem changes are best explained by environmental drivers that show long-term gradual changes (sediment age, water depth). These combined results document the long-term anthropogenic impact on the ecosystem of Lake Uddelermeer and provide evidence for pre-Industrial Era signs of eutrophication.     

Pulp and paper mill pollution and subsequent ecosystem recovery of a large boreal lake in Finland: a paleolimnological analysis

Sedimentary diatom frustules and chironomid remains, in addition to the chemical stratigraphy of 32 elements and resin acids, were studied from short-core samples taken from two basins and a sheltered bay of Lake Päijänne in southern Finland (about 61 °10–62 °15 N, 25 °30 E). The lake was formerly oligotrophic but has been subject to effluent loading from pulp and paper mills during the past century since the opening of the first pulp mill in the 1880s. Four developmental phases were distinguished and named mainly according to the effects found in the basin close to the pollution source: (1) the pre-industrial phase (from the 1800s to ca. 1920), including the early years of industrialization, with low impacts; (2) the phase of increasing pollution (ca. 1920–1969); (3) the phase of severe pollution (1970–1981); and (4) the water protection phase (1982 onwards).Distinct differences were observed between pelagic (diatoms) and benthic (chironomid) ecosystems in their response to pollution. Effluent loading from the pulp and paper mills had a pronounced impact on chironomid assemblages, but only a slight influence on diatoms in the basin close to the pollution source. In the southern basin, approximately 60 km downstream, an increase in acidophilous species was observed in the diatom assemblages during the early years of pollution, but changes in chironomids in this basin were negligible. The water protection work of the past 30 years, which has led to an improvement in water quality and a marked recovery of the profundal biota, has also resulted in a slight increase in primary production of the lake. The decrease in brown-coloured effluent water has led to an increase in thickness of the lake's photic productive layer, while the toxicity of the water has simultaneously diminished. Rapid changes in chironomid assemblages and sedimentation observed in the sheltered bay highlight the importance of local land-use activities as causes of environmental change in this area, and especially their effects on sedimentation and benthic life.     

末次盛冰期以来中国湖泊记录对环流系统及气候类型的响应

为了探讨中国长时间尺度湖泊时空演变规律和潜在的驱动机制,本文在柯本气候分区和中国季风—非季风区的划分基础上,对中国34个有明确数据的典型湖泊运行CCSM 3.0气候模拟系统和水量能量平衡模型模拟其水位变化,同时利用NCEP/NCAR再分析资料对中国按水汽输送划分的季风区进行验证。结果表明,末次盛冰期以来中国湖泊演化主要受千年尺度大气环流的驱动影响,在各个柯本气候区内没有明显的规律性。末次盛冰期以来,在季风区中国湖泊演化主要有早中全新世湖泊水位相对较高以及末次盛冰期和早全新世湖泊水位均较高2种演变规律;在东亚干旱区主要有中晚全新世期间湖泊水位相对较高以及末次盛冰期和中全新世湖泊水位均较高2种演变规律。本文为中国过去气候变化及湖泊演化机制研究提供新的证据,同时为人类全面认识末次盛冰期以来湖泊水位变化提供了新的视角。     

Climatic implications of hydrologic changes in two lake catchments on the central Tibetan Plateau since the last glacial

The numerous and widespread lakes of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) constitute the largest group of alpine lakes on Earth. Some of the lakes are fed mainly by glacier meltwater and others by precipitation and groundwater. Past changes in the environments of these lakes differed because of differences in lake hydrological regimes and the complex pattern of climate change on the TP. Here we present records of scanning XRF, inorganic carbon (IC) concentration n-alkanoic acid average chain length (ACL) and percent aquatic inputs (Paq) in sediment cores from two non-glaciated lakes on the central TP (Dagze Co and Jiang Co), which span the past 19,000 years. We used these measures to investigate past changes in catchment hydrology, climate and environment. Variations in the concentration of Ti and other lithogenic elements at the two sites were influenced mainly by surface runoff, which is supported by the variation of IC, Ca/(Al, Ti, Fe) (reflecting authigenic carbonate precipitation), Rb/Sr (a chemical weathering proxy), and ACL and Paq. We attribute variations in surface runoff to changes in the precipitation/evaporation ratio, caused by the pattern of climate change on the central TP since the late Pleistocene. During the late Pleistocene, stronger runoff (indicated by higher Ti, higher Rb/Sr and Paq, lower IC, Ca/(Al, Ti, Fe) and ACL) likely resulted from lower temperatures. Lower runoff during the Holocene may reflect intensified evaporation caused by higher temperatures. Comparison with records from glaciated lakes in the region reveals opposite trends in catchment hydrology. Overall, our results suggest that since the late Pleistocene the central TP was influenced mainly by the Indian Summer Monsoon.     

The influence of Holocene tree-line advance and retreat on an arctic lake ecosystem: a multi-proxy study from Kharinei Lake,North Eastern European Russia

A consequence of predicted climate warming will be tree-line advance over large areas of the Russian tundra. Palaeolimnological techniques can be used to provide analogues of how such changes in tree-line advance and subsequent retreat affected lake ecosystems in the past. A Holocene sediment core taken from Kharinei Lake (Russia) was dated radiometrically and used for multi-proxy analyses with the aim of determining how climate and tree-line dynamics affected the productivity, community structure, carbon cycling and light regime in the lake. Pollen and macrofossil analyses were used to determine the dates of the arrival and retreat of birch and spruce forest. C:N ratios and percent loss-on-ignition were used to infer past changes in sediment organic matter. Visible-near-infrared spectroscopy and diatom analysis were used to infer past changes in lake-water carbon. Algal pigments and aquatic macrophytes were used to determine changes in lake productivity and light. Chironomids together with remains of the aquatic flora and fauna were used to provide information on past July temperature and continentality. Lake sedimentation was initiated shortly before 11,000 cal. years BP, when both chironomid- and pollen-inferred temperature reconstructions suggest higher summer temperatures than present, between 1 and 2°C warmer, and lake productivity was relatively high. A few trees were already present at this time. The spruce forest expanded at 8,000 cal. year BP remaining in the vicinity of the lake until 3,500 cal. year BP. This period coincided with a high concentration of organic material in the water column, and relatively high benthic productivity, as indicated by a high benthic: planktonic diatom ratio. After tree-line retreat, the optical transparency of the lake increased, and it became more open and exposed, and was thus subject to greater water-column mixing resulting in a higher abundance of diatom phytoplankton, especially heavily silicified Aulocoseira species. The colder climate resulted in a shorter ice-free period, the lake was less productive and there was a loss of aquatic macrophytes. Increased wind-induced mixing following forest retreat had a greater influence on the lake ecosystem than the effects of decreasing organic matter concentration and increased light penetration.     

Holocene climate change and its effect on lake ecosystem production on Northern Victoria Island, Canadian Arctic

A multi-proxy paleoenvironmental study from Lake WB02 (72.29°N, 109.87°W) on Northern Victoria Island, Nunavut, Canada provides an 8.4-ka record of chironomid and ecosystem production. Mean July air temperatures for this region during the Holocene were inferred from the fossil record. The chironomid assemblages contained 33 taxa and were dominated by Paracladius and Heterotrissocladius maeaeri-type. Primary production and chironomid food availability inferred from sediment biogenic silica and loss on ignition at 550°C, and chironomid concentrations, all exhibited synchronous patterns of change through time. Similar to other climate records from across the Arctic, the sediment and fossil data from Lake WB02 support the hypothesis of a warm and productive early to middle Holocene, a cool and generally unproductive middle to late Holocene and a return to a warmer, more productive environment in the past 100 years. Mean July air temperature reconstructions based on both the modern analogue technique (MAT) and weighted averaging partial least squares regression (WAPLS), however, failed to reflect these same changes. The difference between the qualitative and quantitative environmental reconstructions may be due to the restrictions associated with the use of these inference tools, the effects of which are more significant in unproductive ecosystems such as Arctic lakes.     

Adsorption-desorption of phosphate and its availability in the sediment of a saline lake (Fuente de Piedra,southern Spain)

Seasonal changes of soluble reactive phosphorus concentrations in sediments of Fuente de Piedra, a saline lake, have been observed and linked to salinity changes. Phosphate availability in sediments was studied in the laboratory under different salinities, from 10 to 70 g L⁻¹. Changes in adsorption of dissolved phosphate appear to be controlled by salinity variations. The adsorption coefficient increases with salinity and the amount of phosphorus adsorbed ranged between 10 and 30 per cent of the total. Salinity-modulated adsorption is proposed as the primary mechanism explaining the seasonal dynamics of phosphorus in this saline lake and its effects on progressive eutrophication.     

Lake Shira, a Siberian salt lake: ecosystem structure and function. 3. The use of bioluminescent biotests to monitor ecological status

The specific composition, vertical distribution and daily migration of plankton in a meromictic salt lake, Lake Shira, have been investigated. The main structural components of the ecosystem are bacteria, algae and crustaceans. Since the late 1970s, blue-green algae are reported as dominant. Nowadays the phytoplankton is dominated byLyngbya contorta, Microcystis ichtyoblabe (Cyanophyta),Cyclotella tuberculata (Bacillariophyta) andDictyosphaerium tetrachotomum (Chlorophyta). The zooplankton of Lake Shira comprisesArctodiaptomus salinus (Copepoda),Brachionus plicatilis andHexarthra oxiuris (Rotatoria). Investigation revealed a stratified vertical distribution of all dominant species exceptCyclotella with a maximum at a depth of 12–15 m during the summer growth period. Zooplanktons differ in the pattern of distribution and daily migration, but most zooplankton tend to concentrate near the surface. The possible reasons for the vertical distribution of the plankton are discussed.     

A diatom-based inference model for autumn epilimnetic total phosphorus concentration and its application to a presently eutrophic boreal lake

A diatom transfer function to infer epilimnetic total phosphorus (TP) concentration was derived using surface sediment diatom data from 68 medium-sized (10–1000 ha) lakes in Southern Finland. Publicly available monitoring records were used in lake selection to avoid gradients caused by pH and humic substances. Constrained and partially constrained ordinations indicated that TP was an important variable influencing diatom assemblages. A long floristic gradient in relation to TP was also apparent and therefore an inference model was developed for TP using unimodal-based regression and calibration methods. The final model included 61 lakes with epilimnetic TP concentrations between 3 and 89 g P l^–1, measured during the autumnal circulation period. It has a jackknifed-estimated root mean squared error of prediction of 0.16 log g P l^–1, a maximum bias of 0.28 log g P l^–1, and an r² _jack of 0.76.The model was tested in the presently eutrophic Lake Valkjärvi (epilimnetic [TP] 60–85 g P l^–1), located in Southern Finland. It successfully predicted the measured autumnal epilimnetic TP concentration for the past twenty years and the changes in inferred [TP] reflected disturbances known to have occurred before that time. The diatom-based inferences show that Lake Valkjärvi was oligo-mesotrophic as late as the 1930's and has become eutrophic because of nutrient inputs from agriculture and, especially, municipalities. However, epilimnetic TP concentration has not increased further.     

Lake Shira, a Siberian salt lake: ecosystem structure and function. 1. Major physico-chemical and biological features

The specific composition, vertical distribution and daily migration of plankton in a meromictic salt lake, Lake Shira, have been investigated. The main structural components of the ecosystem are bacteria, algae and crustaceans. Since the late 1970s, blue-green algae are reported as dominant. Nowadays the phytoplankton is dominated by Lyngbya contorta, Microcystis ichtyoblabe (Cyanophyta), Cyclotella tuberculata (Bacillariophyta) and Dictyosphaerium tetrachotomum (Chlorophyta). The zooplankton of Lake Shira comprises Arctodiaptomus salinus (Copepoda), Brachionus plicatilis and Hexarthra oxiuris (Rotatoria). Investigation revealed a stratified vertical distribution of all dominant species except Cyclotella with a maximum at a depth of 12--15 m during the summer growth period. Zooplanktons differ in the pattern of distribution and daily migration, but most zooplankton tend to concentrate near the surface. The possible reasons for the vertical distribution of the plankton are discussed.