Phosphorus balance in a tropical shallow urban pond in Southeast Brazil: implications for eutrophication management

Author(s)

Miranda, Marcela ^{[1, 2]} ; Marinho, Marcelo Manzi ^[3] ; Noyma, Natalia ^[3] ; Huszar, Vera L. M. ^[4] ; van Oosterhout, Frank ^[5] ; Lurling, Miquel ^[5] ; Ometto, Jean P. ^[2] ; Pacheco, Felipe S. ^[2]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Juiz de Fora, Grad Program Ecol, BR-36036330 Juiz De Fora, MG - Brazil

^[2] Natl Inst Space Res INPE, Earth Syst Sci Ctr CCST, Av Astronautas 1-758, BR-12227010 Sao Jose Dos Campos, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Estado Rio De Janeiro, Dept Plant Biol, Lab Ecol & Physiol Phytoplankton, Rio De Janeiro - Brazil

^[4] Univ Fed Rio de Janeiro, Natl Museum, Lab Phycol, Rio De Janeiro - Brazil

^[5] Wageningen Univ, Dept Environm Sci, Aquat Ecol & Water Qual Management Grp, Wageningen - Netherlands

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: INLAND WATERS; JUL 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

A detailed mass balance that evaluates nutrient inputs and outputs is fundamental to determining the most promising strategies to mitigate eutrophication and its undesirable effects. However, such analyses are rare in Brazilian urban ponds where water quality impairment remains a significant issue. We performed a mass balance to identify the main phosphorus (P) sources in a hypereutrophic tropical shallow urban pond. We used the PCLake model to estimate the P loading required to reduce phytoplankton biomass. The water column was considered the primary unit in the model. The P balance was calculated from external inputs, internal inputs from bed sediment to the water column, and outputs from the water column through surface water outflow and to the bed sediments over a full hydrological year. The total P input into the pond water (external and internal) was 35.3 mg m(-2) d(-1) and the output was 35.2 mg m(-2) d(-1). The P balance revealed that contributions to the water column from external and internal sources were 82.5% and 17.5%, respectively. Birds were the main contributor to P input (76.0%). The highest P loss from the water column was to the sediment (97.6%). Most of the P leaving the water column to the sediment was retained in the sediment, and part was returned to the water column through internal loading. Measures to reduce eutrophication in this pond should focus on integrated management to decrease both the external and internal P sources by managing birds and avoiding P release from sediment, and to decrease water residence time in the pond. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/50420-9 - Secondary metabolites from aquatic microrganisms and their impact on seafood and freshwater fish aquaculture
• Grantee: Ernani Pinto Junior
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 14/06556-3 - Influence of land use changes in the nitrogen cycle in aquatic systems: a catchment scale approach
• Grantee: Felipe Siqueira Pacheco
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral