Nitrogen Loading: Influence on Dissolved Inorganic Carbon in Natural Waters

摘要

One of the links between physiological activities of phytoplankton and the dissolved inorganic carbon in natural waters is more subtle than the CO2-producing and CO2-consuming processes of respiration and photosynthesis. When phytoplankton absorb nutrients, particularly inorganic nitrogen, they can alter the alkalinity of the water thereby directly affecting the capacity of the system to retain inorganic carbon in solution. This can lead to large differences in both standing stocks and maximal sustained rates of primary production depending on the chemical form of N that is supplied. The experimental work is supplemented with analyses of lakes that have experienced severe changes in nitrogen loading.