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Effects of hydrogen ion and sulphate on the phosphorus cycle of a Precambrian Shield lake

Nature volume 337, pages 156–158 (1989)Cite this article

Abstract

The possible deleterious effect of sulphuric acid in rain on algal abundance and productivity, by altering phosphorus recycling from sediments, has received considerable attention1–3 Here I test contradictory hypotheses which predict inhibited recycling of phosphorus in response to elevated H+ concentration, and enhanced recycling in response to elevated SO2−4. The concentrations of these ions were manipulated over two years in enclosures placed in the seasonally anoxic hypolimnion of a small Precambrian Shield lake. Seasonal releases of phosphorus from sediments in enclosures were not affected by acidification with either HC1 or H2SO4 but increased by a factor of five in enclosures amended with sulphate salt (Na2SO4). The data suggests that enhanced phosphorus release was due to net alkalinity gain (alkalization) from reduction of sodium sulphate to sodium sulphide. Hence, lakes can be indirectly fertilized by addition of sulphate salts but not by addition of sulphuric acid.

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  1. Freshwater Institute, 501 University Crescent, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N6, Canada

    Paul Jefferson Curtis

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Curtis, P. Effects of hydrogen ion and sulphate on the phosphorus cycle of a Precambrian Shield lake. Nature 337, 156–158 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/337156a0

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