Sediment lipid biomarkers record phytoplankton dynamics of Lake Heihai (Yunnan Province, SW China) driven by climate warming since the 1980s

Abstract

Increased phosphorus (P) export from sediments to the overlying water column is a significant factor driving the variation of phytoplankton in productivity and community structure in lakes. However, the lack of long-term instrumental data often impeded analyses attempting to associate dynamics of phytoplankton with variation of internal P loading. Here, elements and lipid biomarkers were analyzed in a sediment core from Lake Heihai, a small, deep, and ultraoligotrophic alpine lake in Haba Mountain, Yunnan Province, SW China. The data document incredible enrichment of element iron (Fe) in the sediment, whose concentrations are much higher than those of other common major elements including titanium (Ti), aluminum (Al), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg). This finding, together with the abundance correlation between P and Fe (n = 30, R ²  = 0.783) suggested that P was probably retained in sediments through sorption with micro-layer of FeOOH at the sediment-water interface. The P/Ti ratios, P/Fe ratios, and P/total organic carbon (TOC) ratios all declined in the sediment since 1980, perhaps indicating increased P release from sediments to the overlying water column initiated by hypolimnion anoxia and sulfidic, which is presumably triggered by regional climate warming since the 1980s. The P-rich bottom water can be injected into photic zone during wind-driven mixing and overturn of the water column, although its frequency and intensity might decline due to stronger water column stratification in warming climate. In response, diatoms exhibited a rapid increase of productivity at this time, because diatoms have a storage vacuole and thereby nutrients such as P can be concentrated and used for cell division long after they are depleted in the bulk fluid. Elevated diatom biomass produced shading of light penetration, allowing for a low productivity for dinoflagellates. This study deepens our understanding of the impact of climate warming on lake systems and highlights the element biogeochemical cycle contributing to the variation of nutrients in the lake water column.

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