Phosphorus retention in a mesotrophic lake under transient loading conditions: insights from a sediment phosphorus binding form study

Abstract

Phosphorus retention in sediments has been estimated for three basins in Lake Simcoe, a mesotrophic lake in Ontario, Canada. Total phosphorous (TP) fractionation was used to examine the concentration of phosphorus (P) binding forms in the sediments of Cook's Bay, Kempenfelt Bay, and the Main Basin. The extended sequential extractions allowed us to differentiate between organic-, inorganic-, carbonate-bounded and redox-sensitive phosphorus. Our results showed different mechanisms of P release in each of the three investigated basins, which may be linked to their distinct loading histories, present land-uses and morphology of the sampling sites. In the deep Main Basin, where moderate changes in P loading have been induced by deforestation, sediments are not an important long-term source of diagenetically mobile P, as almost 75% of P is released within a short time scale. P release is predominantly generated by a continuous epilimnetic P flux, rather than a large inventory of temporary P stored in the sediments. Diagenesis in the upper sediment layers is fast enough to prevent a large accumulation of temporary P. In the much deeper glacially formed Kempenfelt Bay with a highly urbanized catchment, P release from the sediments is dominated by the redox-sensitive P fraction, representing up to 40% and 57% of long- and short-term sediment P release, respectively. In the shallow and agriculturally-impacted Cook's Bay, the main P binding form that can be mobilized through diagenesis is carbonate-bound P. This fraction contributes 40.1% and 37.6% to the long- and short-term P sediment release, respectively. Although different mechanisms of P release have been revealed for the three basins in Lake Simcoe, the vertical profiles indicate that the sediments throughout the system are still able to bind deposited P.