Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Light limitation of nutrient-poor lake ecosystems

Nature volume 460, pages 506–509 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Productivity denotes the rate of biomass synthesis in ecosystems and is a fundamental characteristic that frames ecosystem function and management. Limitation of productivity by nutrient availability is an established paradigm for lake ecosystems1,2,3. Here, we assess the relevance of this paradigm for a majority of the world’s small, nutrient-poor lakes, with different concentrations of coloured organic matter4,5. By comparing small unproductive lakes along a water colour gradient, we show that coloured terrestrial organic matter controls the key process for new biomass synthesis (the benthic primary production) through its effects on light attenuation. We also show that this translates into effects on production and biomass of higher trophic levels (benthic invertebrates and fish). These results are inconsistent with the idea that nutrient supply primarily controls lake productivity, and we propose that a large share of the world’s unproductive lakes, within natural variations of organic carbon and nutrient input, are limited by light and not by nutrients. We anticipate that our result will have implications for understanding lake ecosystem function and responses to environmental change. Catchment export of coloured organic matter is sensitive to short-term natural variability and long-term, large-scale changes, driven by climate and different anthropogenic influences6,7. Consequently, changes in terrestrial carbon cycling will have pronounced effects on most lake ecosystems by mediating changes in light climate and productivity of lakes.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Fish biomass and yield in temperate lakes.
Figure 2: Production as a function of nutrients.
Figure 3: Fish resource use.
Figure 4: Fish production and biomass as a function of light.

References

  1. Schindler, D. W. Evolution of phosphorus limitation in lakes. Science 195, 260–262 (1977)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Sterner, R. W. On the phosphorus limitation paradigm for lakes. Int. Rev. Hydrobiol. 93, 433–445 (2008)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Carpenter, S. R. Phosphorus control is critical to mitigating eutrophication. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 105, 11039–11040 (2008)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Downing, J. A. et al. The global abundance and size distribution of lakes, ponds, and impoundments. Limnol. Oceanogr. 51, 2388–2397 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Sobek, S., Tranvik, L. J., Prairie, Y. T., Kortelainen, P. & Cole, J. J. Patterns and regulation of dissolved organic carbon: An analysis of 7,500 widely distributed lakes. Limnol. Oceanogr. 52, 1208–1219 (2007)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Tranvik, L. J. & Jansson, M. Climate change — terrestrial export of organic carbon. Nature 415, 861–862 (2002)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Roulet, N. & Moore, T. R. Environmental chemistry: browning the waters. Nature 444, 283–284 (2006)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Vadeboncoeur, Y. et al. From Greenland to green lakes: cultural eutrophication and the loss of benthic pathways in lakes. Limnol. Oceanogr. 48, 1408–1418 (2003)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Hanson, J. M. & Leggett, W. C. Empirical predictions of fish biomass and yield. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 39, 257–263 (1982)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Jeppesen, E. et al. Lake and catchment management in Denmark. Hydrobiologia 395/396, 419–432 (1999)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Vander Zanden, M. J. & Vadeboncoeur, Y. Fishes as integrators of benthic and pelagic food webs in lakes. Ecology 83, 2152–2161 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Karlsson, J. & Byström, P. Littoral energy mobilization dominates energy supply for top consumers in subarctic lakes. Limnol. Oceanogr. 50, 538–543 (2005)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Jones, R. I. The influence of humic substances on lacustrine planktonic food-chains. Hydrobiologia 229, 73–91 (1992)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Meili, M. Sources, concentrations and characteristics of organic matter in softwater lakes and streams of the Swedish forest region. Hydrobiologia 229, 23–41 (1992)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Carpenter, S. R., Cole, J. J., Kitchell, J. F. & Pace, M. L. Impact of dissolved organic carbon, phosphorus, and grazing on phytoplankton biomass and production in experimental lakes. Limnol. Oceanogr. 43, 73–80 (1998)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Karlsson, J., Jonsson, A., Meili, M. & Jansson, M. Control of zooplankton dependence on allochthonous organic carbon in humic and clear-water lakes in northern Sweden. Limnol. Oceanogr. 48, 269–276 (2003)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. Ask, J. et al. Whole-lake estimates of carbon flux through algae and bacteria in benthic and pelagic habitats of clear-water lakes. Ecology. 90, 1923–1932 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Jansson, M., Persson, L., De Roos, A. M., Jones, R. I. & Tranvik, L. J. Terrestrial carbon and intraspecific size-variation shape lake ecosystems. Trends Ecol. Evol. 22, 316–322 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Carpenter, S. R. et al. Ecosystem subsidies: Terrestrial support of aquatic food webs from 13C addition to contrasting lakes. Ecology 86, 2737–2750 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Svärdson, G. Interspecific Population Dominance in Fish Communities of Scandinavian Lakes. Report No. 55, 144–171 (Institute of Freshwater Research, 1976)

    Google Scholar 

  21. Hansson, L.-A. Factors regulating periphytic algal biomass. Limnol. Oceanogr. 37, 322–328 (1992)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Mulholland, P. J. in Aquatic Ecosystems: Interactivity of Dissolved Organic Matter (eds Findlay, S. & Sinsabaugh R. L.) Ch. 6, 139–159 (Academic, 2003)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  23. Hope, D., Billett, M. F. & Cresser, M. S. A review of the export of carbon in river water: fluxes and processes. Environ. Pollut. 84, 301–324 (1994)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Karlsson, J., Jansson, M. & Jonsson, A. Similar relationships between pelagic primary and bacterial production in clearwater and humic lakes. Ecology 83, 2902–2910 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. McCauley, E. in A Manual on Methods for the Assessment of Secondary Productivity in Fresh Waters 2nd edn (eds Downing, J. A. & Riegler, F. H.) 228–265 (Blackwell Scientific, 1984)

    Google Scholar 

  26. Persson, L., Andersson, J., Wahlstrom, E. & Eklov, P. Size-specific interactions in lake systems: predator gape limitation and prey growth rate and mortality. Ecology 77, 900–911 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Cuthbert, I. D. & del Giorgio, P. Towards a standard method of measuring color in freshwater. Limnol. Oceanogr. 37, 1319–1326 (1992)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Eloranta, P. Light penetration in different types of lakes in Central Finland. Holarct. Ecol. 1, 362–366 (1978)

    Google Scholar 

  29. Blenckner, T., Jarvinen, M. & Weyhenmeyer, G. A. Atmospheric circulation and its impact on ice phenology in Scandinavia. Boreal Environ. Res. 9, 371–380 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  30. McQuarrie, A. D. R. & Tsai, C.-L. Regression and Time Series Model Selection (World Scientific, 1998)

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The study was part of the research environment LEREC (Lake Ecosystem Response to Environmental Change), financially supported by Formas (the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning). We thank the Abisko Scientific Research Station, the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute and the Umeå Marine Sciences Centre for providing PAR data, M. Mörth and J. Johansson for chemical analysis and C. Hein for language editing.

Author Contributions J.K., P.B., L.P. and M.J. contributed to study design. J.K., P.B., J.A. and P.A. contributed to sampling and analysis of data. J.K. and M.J. wrote the paper. All authors commented on the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Climate Impacts Research Centre (CIRC), Umeå University, Box 62, SE-981 07 Abisko, Sweden,

    Jan Karlsson

  2. Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden

    Pär Byström, Jenny Ask, Per Ask, Lennart Persson & Mats Jansson

Authors
  1. Jan Karlsson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Pär Byström
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jenny Ask
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Per Ask
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Lennart Persson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Mats Jansson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jan Karlsson.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

This file contains Supplementary Tables 1-4, Supplementary Figure 1 with Legend and Supplementary References. (PDF 186 kb)

PowerPoint slides

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Karlsson, J., Byström, P., Ask, J. et al. Light limitation of nutrient-poor lake ecosystems. Nature 460, 506–509 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08179

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08179

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing