A wave flume simulator was used to study internal nitrogen release from the surface sediment collected from Taihu Lake, China. Particulate nitrogen concentrations were positively correlated with the concentrations of suspended solids, primarily from surface erosion related to the shear stress and duration of wave action. In response to 4 cm- and 10 cm-high wave production representing waves generated in Taihu Lake by gentle and gusty winds, respectively, the mean dynamic release rate of ammonium （NH4＋） from the sediment to the overlying water was 1 × 10-3 mg/（m2.s） and the NH4＋ concentration in the overlying water increased by 0.016 mg/L, indicating that waves resulting from strong wind can induce the rapid release of dissolved nitrogen from Taihu Lake sediments. The decrease in interstitial NH4＋ concentrations at all sediment depths was associated with an increase in NH4＋ concentrations in the overlying water by 0.01 mg/L, showing that sediment below the eroded layer was the main source of internal nitrogen release. Changes in the interstitial dissolved oxygen and NH4＋ concentrations showed that wave-induced pore water movement can greatly increase the diffusion rate, and that these 15 cm. Diffusion induced by pore water movement sediment layer in Taihu Lake. effects can influence the sediment to a depth of at least may be very important for the formation of an active
China is a country with many lakes,about one-third of which are freshwater mainly distributed in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.Currently most of the lakes are mesotrophic or eutrophic.Lake eutrophication has become one of the major ecological and environmental problems faced by lakes in China and can lead to a series of abnormal ecosystem responses,including extinction of submerged plants,frequent occurrence of cyanobacterial blooms,increased microbial biomass and productivity,decreased biodiversity,accelerated cycles,and a change in the efficient use of nutrients.With development of eutrophication,the whole lake ecosystem suffers decreased biodiversity,simplification of biotic community structure,instability of the ecosystem,and ultimately the clear-water,macrophyte-dominated ecosystem gradually shifts to a turbid-water,algae-dominated ecosystem.This ecosystem succession mechanism is speculated to be caused by different nutrient utilization efficiencies of macrophytes and phytoplankton.The ultimate ecosystem succession trend of seriously eutrophic lakes is that a phytoplankton-dominated autotrophic lake shifts to a heterotrophic lake dominated by micro-organisms,protozoans.
To evaluate the response of phytoplankton from Lake Taihu to different types of nutrients, the phytoplankton responses were measured after adding inorganic nitrogen （N） and phosphorus （P） or decomposed algal scum （Microcystis spp.） into the lake water. Both types of nutrients promoted an increase in phytoplankton biomass as determined by chlorophyll a and algal wet weight. The addition of decomposed algal scum resulted in a significantly greater phytoplankton response than the addition of inorganic N and P alone. The dissolved inorganic N and P in the inorganic nutrient treatment were found not limit phytoplankton growth. The higher algal biomass obtained in the treatment with decomposed algal scum indicated the importance of other organic nutrients besides N and P such as trace elements, as well as the importance of the form of N since the levels of ammonia nitrogen （NH4^＋-N） from the decomposed algal treatment were actually higher than that of the inorganic N and P addition. Microcystis spp. （Cyanobacteria）, Scenedesmus spp. （Chlorophyta） and Synechocystis spp. （Cyanobacteria） were the dominant taxa in the control, inorganic N and P treatment, and the decomposed algal scum treatment, respectively. Microcystis never bloomed in response to both types of nutrient additions indicating that the bloom propagation is not solely related to nutrient additions, but may be related to the absence of selective grazing from zooplankton.
