Seasonal variations in phytoplankton biomass and primary production in the Ethiopian Rift Valley lakes Ziway, Awassa and Chamo – The basis for fish production

Seasonal variations in the biomass (Chl a) and primary production (¹⁴C-method) of phytoplankton were studied during 12 months of 2005 in the three Ethiopian Rift Valley Lakes (ERVL) Ziway, Awassa and Chamo. Chl a showed an average value of 40, 20, and 30 mg m⁻³ for the three lakes, respectively. Integrated areal primary production for the total phytoplankton (g C m⁻² d⁻¹) varied 2-fold in the three lakes but on different levels, from 0.67–1.8 in L. Ziway, 1.8–4.6 in L. Awassa, and 1.0–2.6 in L. Chamo. The overall photosynthetic efficiency of utilizing photosynthetically active radiation by the phytoplankton on molar basis (mmol C mol of photons⁻¹) resulted in an average value of 1.4 for L. Ziway, 3.5 for L. Awassa and 1.6 for L. Chamo. Among the different factors regulating phytoplankton primary productivity, light penetration and nutrients were the most important in the three lakes. The seasonal variations of incident radiation (most values between 5 and 7 E m⁻² h⁻¹) and water temperature (most values between 22 and 24 °C) were small and unlikely to result in the marked differences in phytoplankton primary production. Although relative increase in nutrient concentrations occurred following the rainy periods, the major algal nutrients were either consistently low (nitrate and/or silicate) or high (phosphate and/or ammonium) and remained within a narrow range for most of the study period in all the three lakes. Consequently, phytoplankton biomass and primary production seem to be maintained more by nutrient regeneration or turnover (facilitated by high temperature) than by allochthonous nutrient input. This would be coupled with wind-induced mixing that would play an important role in determining hydrographic characteristics (water column structure) and the associated redistribution of nutrients and phytoplankton, the availability of light and subsequently the spatial (vertical) and temporal patterns of phytoplankton production in these three ERVL. Phytoplankton production (PP) is regarded as a good predictor of fish yield in lakes and seasonal measurements of PP is a prerequisite for good such estimates.     

Global change revealed by palaeolimnological records from remote lakes: a review

Over recent decades, palaeolimnological records from remote sites have provided convincing evidence for the onset and development of several facets of global environmental change. Remote lakes, defined here as those occurring in high latitude or high altitude regions, have the advantage of not being overprinted by local anthropogenic processes. As such, many of these sites record broad-scale environmental changes, frequently driven by regime shifts in the Earth system. Here, we review a selection of studies from North America and Europe and discuss their broader implications. The history of investigation has evolved synchronously with the scope and awareness of environmental problems. An initial focus on acid deposition switched to metal and other types of pollutants, then climate change and eventually to atmospheric deposition-fertilising effects. However, none of these topics is independent of the other, and all of them affect ecosystem function and biodiversity in profound ways. Currently, remote lake palaeolimnology is developing unique datasets for each region investigated that benchmark current trends with respect to past, purely natural variability in lake systems. Fostering conceptual and methodological bridges with other environmental disciplines will upturn contribution of remote lake palaeolimnology in solving existing and emerging questions in global change science and planetary stewardship.     

A tripod piston corer for taking a meter-long sediment core with an undisturbed sediment–water interface

We present a design for a piston corer that can take a sediment core up to 1 m long, with an undisturbed sediment–water interface. The coring device possesses a tripod unit and a core-tube unit, the latter comprised of a core tube, a piston with a wire, a drive weight in which the core tube is mounted and a steel rod. The tripod stands on the sediment surface during coring, stabilizing the system and serving as an anchor point for the piston wire. A ball clamp, the critical component of the design, is mounted on top of the tripod. The steel rod runs through the ball clamp and at its lower end, holds the drive weight and the core tube. The ball clamp allows the core tube to slide downward, while the piston is held in a fixed vertical position by the wire connected to the tripod. When the corer is lifted, however, the ball clamp locks. This makes it possible to operate the corer with a single cable, because the piston is not subject to any lifting force when the corer is retrieved. The piston remains in position in the core tube even if the collected sediment core is very short. The piston corer can be deployed from a raft or a boat.     

Establishing natural sediment reference conditions for metals and the legacy of long-range and local pollution on lakes in Europe

The intention of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the national guidelines that implement the WFD is that present-day conditions and future management strategies are to be based on an understanding of reference conditions for the particular water body of interest. In the context of non-synthetic pollutants such as lead, mercury and cadmium, the criteria for a high ecological status are that “concentrations [are] within the range normally associated with undisturbed conditions”. How this normal range is to be defined is open to interpretation; for example, in Sweden reference conditions based on sediment records are defined as the conditions prior to modern industrialization, i.e. prior to the mid-1800’s. These pre-industrial reference conditions would correspond to sediments 15–30 cm depth. However, ‘reference conditions’ are not always synonymous with ‘natural background conditions’. Analyses of long sediment profiles from Swedish lakes and from a few other areas, however, have shown that pre-industrial pollution—at least with regard to lead—was extensive. Atmospheric lead pollution has its origin in antiquity, with a small, well-defined peak already during the Greek-Roman period 2,000 years ago. Sediments deposited 300–500 years in Sweden and Scotland, for example, show a dominance of pollution lead, and in some sediment records also cadmium and copper pollution was extensive. Thus, in order to characterize natural background concentrations of metals, long sediment profiles are needed to reach sediments unaffected by pollution (>3,000 years BP); this can correspond to sediments below 50 cm in some lakes, but in others sediments below 300 cm or more.     

The HTH sediment corer

Gravity corers have been in use for a long time and in many different configurations. There are, however, reasons for improvements since new manufacturing materials have become available, and demands for accurate coring and sub-sampling in both research and environmental monitoring have increased. The HTH-coring equipment, which has been tested for >10 years by several users, is a further development of the Kajak-corer concept and has some unique features which are described here. To avoid contamination in pollution studies, the equipment is made of stainless steel and plastic (polyoxymethylene and polyethylene), and the use of these materials also makes the equipment more durable. The extruding device is the main improvement over previous versions. It consists of a piston that seals perfectly to the core tube wall, a threaded rod that can be mounted on a foot plate, and an extruder head with a stationary upper-half and a rotatable lower-half that is screwed along the rod. One 360°-turn gives a 5-mm thick sediment increment that is scraped off using the sectioning tray. Sub-sampling is quick and accurate and can be performed by one person. The equipment is constructed to allow coring and sub-sampling both in summer and winter.     

Heavy metal pollution and lake acidity changes caused by one thousand years of copper mining at Falun, central Sweden

One thousand years of mining of sulfurous ores at the Falun copper mine, central Sweden, and the resulting atmospheric emissions of metals and sulfur dioxide, gives a unique opportunity to study long-term responses to acid deposition. Copper production peaked in the 17^th century, when Falun supplied 2/3 of the world's copper production. Thereafter production and associated emissions have declined, and the mine was closed in the 1990's. Sediment cores from 14 lakes situated between 3-27 km from the mine have been analyzed for Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, S and ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb isotope ratios to study the historical and geographical distribution of airborne pollutants. Diatoms have been analyzed to infer past lake acidity and to assess whether lake acidification has occurred and, if so, whether any recovery from acidification has occurred following the reduction in sulfur emissions. Eight of the fourteen lakes have acidified, beginning as early as the late 17^th century, when the estimated annual emissions of SO₂ amounted to 40,000 tons. This is perhaps the earliest known record of anthropogenic lake acidification. Despite the large historical deposition of sulfur, the pH has only decreased by 0.4–0.8 units, with the lowest diatom-inferred pH being 5.8. Effects of agriculture and forestry following the expanding mining industry may have counteracted acidification. Despite the 300 yrs of lowered emissions the diatom record shows no recovery in pH. There are still large amounts of sulfur accumulated in the soils in the area that may delay recovery from lake acidification. Afforestation in the area over the last 100 yrs may also play an important role in delaying the recovery process.     

Seasonal dynamics of a cyanobacteria-dominated microbial community in surface sediments of a shallow,eutrophic lake

The seasonal variation of microbial biomass and activity in the surface sediments (0–10 cm) of the shallow, eutrophic Lake Vallentunasjön was followed during one year. OverwinteringMicrocystis colonies dominated the microbial community during all seasons, constituting 60–90% of the total microbial biomass. Expressed on an areal basis, the benthic biomass was, throughout the year, larger than or similar to the planktonic biomass during the peak of the summer bloom, indicating an ability of the colonies to survive in the sediments for extended periods. Abundance of other, non-photosynthetic bacteria varied in the range 3.0–15.5 · 10¹⁰ cells g^–1 d. w. over the year with minimum values in summer and maximum values in autumn in connection with the sedimentation of theMicrocystis bloom. A substantial part of the non-photosynthetic bacteria, up to circa 40%, was associated with the mucilage of healthyMicrocystis colonies. Bacterial production (³H-thymidine incorporation) appeared to be strongly temperature dependent and less influenced by the seasonal sedimentation pattern. Our data indicate an increasing proportion of non-growing cells in autumn and winter. Biomass-bound phosphorus constituted a significant portion, circa 10%, of the phosphorus content in Lake Vallentunasjön sediments. This pool has normally been overlooked in studies on phosphorus dynamics in lake sediments. Different mechanisms whereby organic phosphorus can be released from the sediments are discussed.