Phosphorus Retention Mechanisms in the Sediment of an Eutrophic Mining Lake

Abstract

A small, highly eutrophic mining lake (Golpa IV) in eastern Germany with a continuous input of nutrients and metals was used to study the mechanisms of phosphorus (P) fixation in the sediment. The sediment (0-15 cm) is characterised by high contents of iron (96 mg g-1 DW), aluminium (37.3 mg g-1 DW) and sulphur (54.3 mg g-1 DW) and an extreme accumulation of some trace metals. Despite oxygen free conditions in the hypolimnion and intensive sulphate reduction in the sediment, high P retention rates could be calculated from dated sediment cores (1986-1995: 11 g P m-2 a-1). The lake has shown a rapid response to reduction of P loading.

In some sediment layers unusually high total sediment P concentrations with more than 24 mg P g-1 DW were observed. More than 80% of total sediment P was bound in the BD-SRP and NaOH-SRP fractions (extraction scheme according to Psenner et al., 1984) which indicates that a substantial portion of deposited P is immobilised in an Fe or Al bound form. This corresponds well with the presence of oxidised Fe species at all sediment depths. Furthermore thermodynamic calculations indicate that vivianite precipitation is favourable in deeper anoxic sediment layers. The inventory or input of Fe or Al seems to be more important for the permanent P immobilisation in the sediment of the investigated mining lake than redox forced mobilisation processes (e.g. iron or sulphate reduction).