Phosphorus enrichment of the oligotrophic River Rede (Northumberland, UK) has no effect on periphyton growth rate
McCall, Stephanie J.; Bowes, Michael J. 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0673-1934; Warnaars, Tanya A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5146-4946; Hale, Michelle S.; Smith, James T.; Warwick, Alan; Barrett, Cyril.
2014
Phosphorus enrichment of the oligotrophic River Rede (Northumberland, UK) has no effect on periphyton growth rate.
Inland Waters, 4 (2).
121-132.
10.5268/IW-4.2.692
Abstract/Summary
Reducing phosphorus (P) loading to rivers is seen as a key mitigation measure to improve aquatic ecology and control excessive algal growth, as P is widely assumed to be the limiting nutrient in most rivers. Nutrient enrichment experiments using within-river flume mesocosms were conducted in the oligotrophic River Rede, to determine how periphyton accrual was affected by increasing P concentrations. Increasing the soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) concentration from the ambient concentration of 15 µg L-1 to concentrations ranging from 30 µg L-1 to 130 µg L-1 had no significant effect of periphyton growth rate, demonstrating that the periphyton was not P limited, even in this nutrient poor river. However, at SRP concentrations greater than 100 µg L-1, diatom communities shifted to species that were more tolerant of higher nutrient concentrations. Elemental analysis showed that there was a positive linear relationship between biofilm P content and the SRP concentration in the overlying water. This ability to store P suggests that periphyton growth is being limited by a secondary factor (such as nitrogen (N)) and may provide a mechanism by which future periodic increases in N concentration may stimulate periphyton growth. Flow velocity, light, and invertebrate grazing pressure also have important roles in controlling periphyton biomass in the River Rede.
| Item Type: | Publication - Article |
|---|---|
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI): | 10.5268/IW-4.2.692 |
| Programmes: | CEH Topics & Objectives 2009 - 2012 > Water |
| UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas: | Boorman (to September 2014) Acreman Reynard |
| ISSN: | 2044-2041 |
| Additional Keywords: | algae, biofilm, eutrophication, flume mesocosms, phosphorus limitation |
| NORA Subject Terms: | Ecology and Environment |
| Date made live: | 14 May 2014 13:22 +0 (UTC) |
| URI: | https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/505434 |
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