Effects of Exogenous Carbon Addition on Equilibrium Phosphate Concentration and Risk of Phosphorus Release from Sediments in the Shiwuli River, Chaohu Lake Basin

Abstract

Five surface sediment samples were collected every two months from the Shiwuli River along an urban-rural gradient, Chaohu Lake Basin, from July 2017 to May 2018. Sediment phosphorus fractions were investigated, and equilibrium phosphate concentration (EPC0) and its response to exogenous carbon (sodium acetate) addition were explored. Moreover, the risk of phosphorus release from sediment into water column was also evaluated. Results show that the Shiwuli River was seriously polluted by phosphorus. The average values of total phosphorus content in sediments ranged from 915.04 to 1205.31 mg·kg-1, and it decreased slowly along the urban-rural gradient, while the bio-available phosphorus content remained stable. Exogenous carbon addition not only reduced the EPC0 values of sediments (about 29%), but changed the order of EPC0 values among the five sampling sites as well. In general, the ratio of overlying water SRP (soluble reactive phosphorus) concentration to EPC0 value was 66.7%, and phosphorus adsorption-desorption equilibrium saturation EPCsat<-20% accounted for about 60.0%, indicating that the surface sediments in the Shiwuli River were dominated by phosphorus adsorption, namely, keeping the phosphorus "sink" state. The inputs of exogenous carbon addition increased the proportion of EPCsat<-20% from 60.0% to 73.3%, which lowered the risk of phosphorus release from sediments.