Consistent stoichiometric long-term relationships between nutrients and chlorophyll-a across shallow lakes

Daniel Graeber; Mark J. McCarthy; Tom Shatwell; Dietrich Borchardt; Erik Jeppesen; Martin Søndergaard; Torben L. Lauridsen; Thomas A. Davidson

doi:10.1038/s41467-024-45115-3

Consistent stoichiometric long-term relationships between nutrients and chlorophyll-a across shallow lakes

Daniel Graeber^*, Mark J. McCarthy, Tom Shatwell, Dietrich Borchardt, Erik Jeppesen, Martin Søndergaard, Torben L. Lauridsen, Thomas A. Davidson

^*Corresponding author af dette arbejde

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift/Konferencebidrag i tidsskrift /Bidrag til avis › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › peer review

11 Citationer (Scopus)

Abstract

Aquatic ecosystems are threatened by eutrophication from nutrient pollution. In lakes, eutrophication causes a plethora of deleterious effects, such as harmful algal blooms, fish kills and increased methane emissions. However, lake-specific responses to nutrient changes are highly variable, complicating eutrophication management. These lake-specific responses could result from short-term stochastic drivers overshadowing lake-independent, long-term relationships between phytoplankton and nutrients. Here, we show that strong stoichiometric long-term relationships exist between nutrients and chlorophyll a (Chla) for 5-year simple moving averages (SMA, median R² = 0.87) along a gradient of total nitrogen to total phosphorus (TN:TP) ratios. These stoichiometric relationships are consistent across 159 shallow lakes (defined as average depth < 6 m) from a cross-continental, open-access database. We calculate 5-year SMA residuals to assess short-term variability and find substantial short-term Chla variation which is weakly related to nutrient concentrations (median R² = 0.12). With shallow lakes representing 89% of the world’s lakes, the identified stoichiometric long-term relationships can globally improve quantitative nutrient management in both lakes and their catchments through a nutrient-ratio-based strategy.

Originalsprog	Engelsk
Artikelnummer	809
Tidsskrift	Nature Communications
Vol/bind	15
ISSN	2041-1723
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45115-3
Status	Udgivet - 27 jan. 2024

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10.1038/s41467-024-45115-3Licens: CC BY

Citationsformater

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abstract = "Aquatic ecosystems are threatened by eutrophication from nutrient pollution. In lakes, eutrophication causes a plethora of deleterious effects, such as harmful algal blooms, fish kills and increased methane emissions. However, lake-specific responses to nutrient changes are highly variable, complicating eutrophication management. These lake-specific responses could result from short-term stochastic drivers overshadowing lake-independent, long-term relationships between phytoplankton and nutrients. Here, we show that strong stoichiometric long-term relationships exist between nutrients and chlorophyll a (Chla) for 5-year simple moving averages (SMA, median R² = 0.87) along a gradient of total nitrogen to total phosphorus (TN:TP) ratios. These stoichiometric relationships are consistent across 159 shallow lakes (defined as average depth < 6 m) from a cross-continental, open-access database. We calculate 5-year SMA residuals to assess short-term variability and find substantial short-term Chla variation which is weakly related to nutrient concentrations (median R² = 0.12). With shallow lakes representing 89% of the world{\textquoteright}s lakes, the identified stoichiometric long-term relationships can globally improve quantitative nutrient management in both lakes and their catchments through a nutrient-ratio-based strategy.",

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T1 - Consistent stoichiometric long-term relationships between nutrients and chlorophyll-a across shallow lakes

AU - Graeber, Daniel

AU - McCarthy, Mark J.

AU - Shatwell, Tom

AU - Borchardt, Dietrich

AU - Jeppesen, Erik

AU - Søndergaard, Martin

AU - Lauridsen, Torben L.

AU - Davidson, Thomas A.

PY - 2024/1/27

Y1 - 2024/1/27

N2 - Aquatic ecosystems are threatened by eutrophication from nutrient pollution. In lakes, eutrophication causes a plethora of deleterious effects, such as harmful algal blooms, fish kills and increased methane emissions. However, lake-specific responses to nutrient changes are highly variable, complicating eutrophication management. These lake-specific responses could result from short-term stochastic drivers overshadowing lake-independent, long-term relationships between phytoplankton and nutrients. Here, we show that strong stoichiometric long-term relationships exist between nutrients and chlorophyll a (Chla) for 5-year simple moving averages (SMA, median R² = 0.87) along a gradient of total nitrogen to total phosphorus (TN:TP) ratios. These stoichiometric relationships are consistent across 159 shallow lakes (defined as average depth < 6 m) from a cross-continental, open-access database. We calculate 5-year SMA residuals to assess short-term variability and find substantial short-term Chla variation which is weakly related to nutrient concentrations (median R² = 0.12). With shallow lakes representing 89% of the world’s lakes, the identified stoichiometric long-term relationships can globally improve quantitative nutrient management in both lakes and their catchments through a nutrient-ratio-based strategy.

AB - Aquatic ecosystems are threatened by eutrophication from nutrient pollution. In lakes, eutrophication causes a plethora of deleterious effects, such as harmful algal blooms, fish kills and increased methane emissions. However, lake-specific responses to nutrient changes are highly variable, complicating eutrophication management. These lake-specific responses could result from short-term stochastic drivers overshadowing lake-independent, long-term relationships between phytoplankton and nutrients. Here, we show that strong stoichiometric long-term relationships exist between nutrients and chlorophyll a (Chla) for 5-year simple moving averages (SMA, median R² = 0.87) along a gradient of total nitrogen to total phosphorus (TN:TP) ratios. These stoichiometric relationships are consistent across 159 shallow lakes (defined as average depth < 6 m) from a cross-continental, open-access database. We calculate 5-year SMA residuals to assess short-term variability and find substantial short-term Chla variation which is weakly related to nutrient concentrations (median R² = 0.12). With shallow lakes representing 89% of the world’s lakes, the identified stoichiometric long-term relationships can globally improve quantitative nutrient management in both lakes and their catchments through a nutrient-ratio-based strategy.

U2 - 10.1038/s41467-024-45115-3

DO - 10.1038/s41467-024-45115-3

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 38280872

AN - SCOPUS:85183388066

SN - 2041-1723

VL - 15

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

M1 - 809

ER -

Consistent stoichiometric long-term relationships between nutrients and chlorophyll-a across shallow lakes

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