title: The influence of macrophytes on sediment resuspension and the effect of associated nutrients in a shallow and large lake (Lake Taihu, China).
abstract: A yearlong campaign to examine sediment resuspension was conducted in large, shallow and eutrophic Lake Taihu, China, to investigate the influence of vegetation on sediment resuspension and its nutrient effects. The study was conducted at 6 sites located in both phytoplankton-dominated zone and macrophyte-dominated zone of the lake, lasting for a total of 13 months, with collections made at two-week intervals. Sediment resuspension in Taihu, with a two-week high average rate of 1771 g·m(-2)·d(-1) and a yearly average rate of 377 g·m(-2)·d(-1), is much stronger than in many other lakes worldwide, as Taihu is quite shallow and contains a long fetch. The occurrence of macrophytes, however, provided quite strong abatement of sediment resuspension, which may reduce the sediment resuspension rate up to 29-fold. The contribution of nitrogen and phosphorus to the water column from sediment resuspension was estimated as 0.34 mg·L(-1) and 0.051 mg·L(-1) in the phytoplankton-dominated zone. Sediment resuspension also largely reduced transparency and then stimulated phytoplankton growth. Therefore, sediment resuspension may be one of the most important factors delaying the recovery of eutrophic Lake Taihu, and the influence of sediment resuspension on water quality must also be taken into account by the lake managers when they determine the restoration target.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China.
authors.forename: Mengyuan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China.
authors.forename: Guangwei
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, 00014, Finland.
authors.forename: Leena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nurminen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China.
authors.forename: Tingfeng
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China.
authors.forename: Jianming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China.
authors.forename: Yunlin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China.
authors.forename: Boqiang
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: Pyhäjärvi Institute, Kauttua, 27500, Finland.
authors.forename: Anne-Mari
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ventelä
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005068:Eutrophication; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis*; D060106:Lakes; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D010758:Phosphorus; D009584:Nitrogen