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Within‐lake and watershed determinants of carbon dioxide in surface water: A comparative analysis of a variety of lakes in the Japanese Islands
Author(s) -
Urabe Jotaro,
Iwata Tomoya,
Yagami Yosuke,
Kato Eriko,
Suzuki Takao,
Hino Shuji,
Ban Syuhei
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.2011.56.1.0049
Subject(s) - environmental science , hydrology (agriculture) , watershed , phytoplankton , carbon dioxide , deciduous , autotroph , biomass (ecology) , surface water , vegetation (pathology) , ecology , nutrient , geology , biology , medicine , paleontology , geotechnical engineering , pathology , machine learning , environmental engineering , computer science , bacteria
To identify lake properties and watershed environments regulating partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO 2 ) at the surface water, a field survey was performed in summer for 77 lakes. These lakes were located at latitudes between 35 and 43°N with altitudes from 5 to 2700 m in Japanese islands and differed largely with respect to trophic conditions, basin morphometries, and land use and land cover in the watersheds. Among the lakes, pCO 2 in the surface water varied more than three orders of magnitude (1.4–4749.7 Pa) and was higher than that at atmospheric levels in 73% of the lakes, suggesting that the majority of the lakes were net heterotrophic. Among the within‐lake variables, biomass of both zooplankton and phytoplankton as well as the sediment area of mixed layer were important predictors of pCO2 at the surface. Thus, lake CO 2 concentrations are regulated by the balance of autotrophic and heterotrophic activities, and sediment respiration is a crucial source of CO 2 supersaturation, especially in shallow isothermal lakes. The best model for pCO 2 at the lake surface water included relative size of deciduous forests, grasslands, and urban areas in the watershed. The balance of autotrophic and heterotrophic activities in lakes depends highly on land use and cover in the watershed. Changes in terrestrial vegetation can affect carbon metabolism, even if local anthropogenic activities in the watersheds are unchanged.