Settling flux and sinking velocity of Seston in Lago di Mergozzo (Northern Italy) and influence of microbial activity on the decomposition of entrapped organic material

Abstract

Settling flux and velocity of seston, Particulate Organic Carbon (POC) and chlorophyll a were measured at three depths during 8 seven-day exposure periods in Lago di Mergozzo (Northern Italy). Sedimentation rates of seston varied from 250 to 1200 mg m−2 d−1 with a prevalence of the inorganic fraction (130–900 mg m−2 d−1) over the organic (160–320 mg m−2 d−1). The percentage of organic fraction inside the traps was always lower than outside. The comparison of preserved and unpreserved traps showed no significant difference in both organic matter content and bacterial numbers. We inferred from this result that bacterial activity in the traps did not cause a measurable POC loss during the seven day exposures. Therefore, the higher settling velocity of the inorganic particles was responsible for the higher percentage of this fraction in the traps. The settling velocity of sestonic particles increased, during the stratification period, with increasing depth and reached a maximum value of 2.5 m d−1.