Toxicity and Accumulation of Al in the Acid Water of Small Lakes and Watercourses in Finnish Lapland

Abstract

On the basis of a study of the hydrochemical regime and the status of benthic acidophobic species in the acidified watercourses and small lakes of Finnish Lapland, humic compounds are demonstrated to be the principal factors controlling both pH and the proportions of different forms of Al in water. It is found that the concentration of labile aluminum, i.e., that form of aluminum which is most toxic for aquatic organisms, increases only in acid water (pH 4.8–6.5) with a low and extremely low humic content of water (with a color of 5–60 mg Pt/l). Humic and other organic substances that fix Al in an inert or another stable form are demonstrated to be able to decrease the toxic properties of aluminum for acidophobic species and the capacity of aluminum to be accumulated in the bodies of aquatic organisms. Aluminum is shown to have no tendency to an increased rate of accumulation in the bodies of aquatic organisms that form the highest trophic level of secondary predators.