Spatial and seasonal variation in greenhouse gas and nutrient dynamics and their interactions in the sediments of a boreal eutrophic lake

Abstract

Dynamics of greenhouse gases, CH4, CO2 and N2O, and nutrients, NO 2 − + NO 3 − , NH 4 + and P, were studied in the sediments of the eutrophic, boreal Lake Kevaton in Finland. Undisturbed sediment cores taken in the summer, autumn and winter from the deep and shallow profundal and from the littoral were incubated in laboratory microcosms under aerobic and anaerobic water flow conditions. An increase in the availability of oxygen in water overlying the sediments reduced the release of CH4, NH 4 + and P, increased the flux of N2O and NO 2 − + NO 3 − , but did not affect CO2 production. The littoral sediments produced CO2 and CH4 at high rates, but released only negligible amounts of nutrients. The deep profundal sediments, with highest carbon content, possessed the greatest release rates of CO2, CH4, NH 4 + and P. The higher fluxes of these gases in summer and autumn than in winter were probably due to the supply of fresh organic matter from primary production. From the shallow profundal sediments fluxes of CH4, NH4 + and P were low, but, in contrast, production of N2O was the highest among the different sampling sites. Due to the large areal extension, the littoral and shallow profundal zones had the greatest importance in the overall gas and nutrient budgets in the lake. Methane emissions, especially the ebullition of CH4 (up to 84% of the total flux), were closely related to the sediment P and NH 4 + release. The high production and ebullition of CH4, enhances the internal loading of nutrients, lake eutrophication status and the impact of boreal lakes to trophospheric gas budgets.