Reducing Phosphorus to Curb Lake Eutrophication is a Success
- PMID: 27494041
- DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b02204
Reducing Phosphorus to Curb Lake Eutrophication is a Success
Abstract
As human populations increase and land-use intensifies, toxic and unsightly nuisance blooms of algae are becoming larger and more frequent in freshwater lakes. In most cases, the blooms are predominantly blue-green algae (Cyanobacteria), which are favored by low ratios of nitrogen to phosphorus. In the past half century, aquatic scientists have devoted much effort to understanding the causes of such blooms and how they can be prevented or reduced. Here we review the evidence, finding that numerous long-term studies of lake ecosystems in Europe and North America show that controlling algal blooms and other symptoms of eutrophication depends on reducing inputs of a single nutrient: phosphorus. In contrast, small-scale experiments of short duration, where nutrients are added rather than removed, often give spurious and confusing results that bear little relevance to solving the problem of cyanobacteria blooms in lakes.
Comment in
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Nitrogen is Not a 'House of Cards'.Environ Sci Technol. 2017 Jan 3;51(1):3. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.6b04890. Epub 2016 Dec 21. Environ Sci Technol. 2017. PMID: 28001049 No abstract available.
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Response to the Letter, Nitrogen is Not a "House of Cards".Environ Sci Technol. 2017 Feb 21;51(4):1943. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.6b06106. Epub 2017 Jan 5. Environ Sci Technol. 2017. PMID: 28055192 No abstract available.
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