Increased UV-B penetration in a lake owing to drought-induced acidification

Yan, Norman D.; Keller, W.; Scully, Norman M.; Lean, D. R. S.; Dillon, Peter J.

doi:10.1038/381141a0

Cited by 273 publications

(204 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…4). These patterns of biological change are consistent with the effects of wetland-mediated reacidification on water chemistry that increase external loads of sulfate and DOC and depress pH (Schindler et al 1996;Yan et al 1996;Dillon and Evans 2001). Because similar patterns of change were not observed in Blue Chalk Lake, we conclude that wetlands, specifically their ability to store and then release sulfur during ensuing wet years after drought, exert a discernible effect on diatom communities in at least this one acid-sensitive lake in central Ontario.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Effects of drought‐induced acidification on diatom communities in acid‐sensitive Ontario lakes

Faulkenham

Hall

Dillon

et al. 2003

Limnology & Oceanography

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Chemical recovery of many acidified lakes in North America has been delayed or reversed as a result of interactions between climatic variability (alterations between drought and nondrought periods) and previously deposited acids stored in wetlands, but effects of this wetland-mediated reacidification phenomenon on aquatic biota remain unknown. We compare changes in diatom assemblages in 200-yr-long sediment cores from two lakes with similar basin characteristics but different wetland area (4.4% of catchment at Chub Lake, 0% at Blue Chalk Lake) to evaluate the role of wetland-mediated interactions among acid deposition and climatic variability on algal communities in acid-sensitive lakes. Diatom assemblages were significantly more variable in Chub Lake than in Blue Chalk Lake. Variance partitioning analysis of approximately annually resolved sedimentary diatom analyses identified that unique effects of water chemistry, independent of acid deposition and climatic factors, accounted for the greatest amount of variation (25%) in diatom assemblages at Chub Lake. Acid deposition (24%) and climatic factors (22%) accounted for similar, significant amounts of variation in diatom communities. Complex interactions among all three factors, which are attributable to wetland-mediated drought-induced reacidification, explained an additional 10% of the variation in diatoms at Chub Lake but only 1% at Blue Chalk Lake. Droughtrelated reacidification effects on water chemistry might thus cause important effects on algal communities in acidsensitive lakes with modest wetland coverage, but not in lakes without wetlands.Despite the implementation of sulfur emission control programs in North America and a 60% decrease in bulk sulfate deposition in eastern Ontario since the late 1970s (Clair et al. 1995;Schindler 1998), recent evidence has shown that chemical recovery of acidified lakes has been delayed or reversed as a result of interactions between climatic variability and previously deposited acids stored in wetland(s) (Clair et al. 1995; Schindler et al. 1997;Eimers and Dillon 2002). This delay in recovery has been well documented in several acid-sensitive Precambrian Shield lakes in Ontario, where the anticipated recovery of pH, dissolved organic carbon concentrations ([DOC]), and [sulfate] has not occurred (Dillon et

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Effects of drought‐induced acidification on diatom communities in acid‐sensitive Ontario lakes

Faulkenham

Hall

Dillon

et al. 2003

Limnology & Oceanography

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“…In general, reoxidation of reduced sulfur in wetlands, wet soils, and littoral areas of lakes is responsible for acidification (Bayley et al 1992a,b, Lazerte 1993, Schindler et al 1996bYan et al 1996.…”

Section: Climate Warmingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The relationship is a negative exponential, so that effects are particularly acute in lakes where DOC is low. In general, boreal lakes with <300 micromol/L DOC are very vulnerable to UV as a result of DOC decreases (Schindler et al 1996b, Yan et al 1996. About 20% of the Conservation Ecology: Sustaining Aquatic Ecosystems in Boreal Regions http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol2/iss2/art18/ lakes in Ontario would fall into this DOC range.…”

Section: Stratospheric Ozone Depletionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustaining Aquatic Ecosystems in Boreal Regions

Schindler¹

1998

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Few boreal waters are managed in a sustainable manner, because cumulative effects of a variety of human activities are not considered. Fisheries and water quality have declined in most large water bodies of the southern boreal zone. Some of the reasons are direct, including overexploitation of fisheries, alteration of flow patterns, introductions of non-native species, and discharge of eutrophying nutrients and persistent contaminants. However, improper management of watersheds and airsheds also causes degradation of aquatic ecosystems. Clear-cut logging, climatic warming, acid precipitation, and stratospheric ozone depletion are among the more important of these indirect stressors. There are important interactions among these stressors, requiring that they not be treated in isolation. Ecological sustainability of boreal waters would require that exploitation of all parts of the boreal landscape be much lower than it is at present. Unfortunately, management for sustainability is lagging far behind scientific understanding in most countries.

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“…Recent studies of lake ecosystems have demonstrated that changes in inputs of terrestrial dissolved organic matter (DOM) are a more important control of UVR penetration into lakes than are variations in UVR flux to surface waters (Schindler et al 1996b;Yan et al 1996). Consistent with this idea, paleoecological analyses have demonstrated that changes in forest and soil development following climate change control DOM export to lakes and, thus, the exposure of aquatic biota to UVR (Leavitt et al 1997;Pienitz and Vincent 2000).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Climatic control of ultraviolet radiation effects on lakes

Leavitt

Cumming

Smol

et al. 2003

Limnology & Oceanography

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Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) damages most biota, yet little evidence exists for its long-term effects on natural ecosystems. We used paleoecological techniques at three low-elevation lakes to show that algal abundance in lakes was depressed 10-fold by UVR during the first millennium of lake existence. Likewise, analysis of data from a lake near treeline showed that algal biomass declined 10-25-fold both early in the lake history and during the last ϳ4000 yr, when inputs of UVR-absorbing dissolved organic matter (DOM) declined despite constant nutrient levels since ϳ10,000 14 C yr before the present. This rapid (Ϫ1.25% yr Ϫ1 ), sustained (Ͼ600 yr) suppression of algal abundance arose from directional climate change that reduced DOM inputs and occurred despite initial reservoirs of photoprotective DOM that are typical of most boreal lakes. Hence, we conclude that many lakes may be vulnerable to order-of-magnitude declines in algal abundance arising from future climate-DOM-UVR interactions.

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Increased UV-B penetration in a lake owing to drought-induced acidification

Cited by 273 publications

References 21 publications

Effects of drought‐induced acidification on diatom communities in acid‐sensitive Ontario lakes

Effects of drought‐induced acidification on diatom communities in acid‐sensitive Ontario lakes

Sustaining Aquatic Ecosystems in Boreal Regions

Climatic control of ultraviolet radiation effects on lakes

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