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The p CO 2 dynamics in lakes in the boreal region of northern Québec, Canada
Author(s) -
Roehm Charlotte L.,
Prairie Yves T.,
del Giorgio Paul A.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
global biogeochemical cycles
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.512
H-Index - 187
eISSN - 1944-9224
pISSN - 0886-6236
DOI - 10.1029/2008gb003297
Subject(s) - boreal , environmental science , trophic level , dissolved organic carbon , lake ecosystem , co occurrence , precipitation , drainage basin , ecology , water quality , phytoplankton , chlorophyll a , taiga , physical geography , hydrology (agriculture) , ecosystem , nutrient , geology , geography , chemistry , biology , biochemistry , cartography , geotechnical engineering , artificial intelligence , meteorology , computer science
In this study, we examine the magnitude and temporal variability of surface water p CO 2 in a set of lakes in boreal Québec, and explore the links between lake and catchment properties. The study lakes were consistently supersaturated in CO 2 , with the mean lake p CO 2 ranging from 400 to over 1800 μ atm. There was significant interannual variability in p CO 2 , apparently driven by regional patterns in precipitation. The best multivariate model of average p CO 2 included dissolved organic carbon (DOC), lake area and chlorophyll as independent variables, suggesting that external carbon (C) loading to lakes plays a central role in lake CO 2 dynamics and that lake trophic status may modulate the influence of external C loading. We show that even if the key drivers of lake p CO 2 are similar, they interact differently among regions and the resulting models may be dramatically different. In particular, we show that although p CO 2 is invariably correlated to DOC, the shape of this relationship varies greatly among regions, suggesting large‐scale regional differences in C delivery, quality, and in‐lake processing. As a consequence, current models cannot be extrapolated across regions unless we apply region‐specific variables.