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Dynamic sulfur–iron cycle promoted phosphorus mobilization in sediments driven by the algae decomposition

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Abstract

Direct evidence of the algae bloom in eutrophic freshwater lakes on sulfur cycle and the subsequent iron oxide reduction and the iron oxides-bound phosphate (Fe–P) release in sediments is lacking. In this study, microcosms experiment was carried out to investigate the dynamic variations of S, Fe and P species in the water column and sediments as well as the sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) abundance variation in the sediments during algae decomposition. The sulfate reduction was stimulated by the algae decomposition, which resulted in dramatic sulfate decline, sulfide increase and SRB growth. In addition, large amounts of acid volatile sulfide (AVS), pyrite sulfur (Pyrite–S) and elemental sulfur (S0) accumulated in the sediment. In particular, the contents of sedimentary Fe(II) and Pyrite–S in surface sediments continuously accumulated until the end of the experiment. Moreover, the terminal Fe–P content reduced by 35.4% compared with the initial concentration at high algae density group. These results suggested the irreversible reduction of iron oxides and revealed iron chemical reduction mediated by sulfide during algae decomposition. In addition, the connection of sulfur–iron cycle and the significant promotion of Fe–P mobilization in sediments was established, which should be paid more attention in the eutrophic freshwater ecosystems.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41573061, 21407076), the Natural Science Foundation of the Higher Education Institutions of Jiangsu Province, China (No. 18KJB610011), and the Major Science and Technology Program for Water Pollution Control and Treatment (No. 2017ZX07203-003).

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Siyuan Zhang, Yanping Zhao

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment, Nanjing Normal University, Jiangsu Center for Collaborative Innovation in Geographical Information Resource Development and Application, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Environmental Change and Ecological Construction, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Siyuan Zhang, Yanping Zhao, Chuanqiao Zhou, Haixin Duan & Guoxiang Wang

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  1. Siyuan Zhang
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  2. Yanping Zhao
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  3. Chuanqiao Zhou
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Contributions

SZ is the main participant of the experiment and wrote the article. YZ is the corresponding author and the co-first author of the article responsible for the research ideas, the design of the research program, the overall implementation of the experiment, and the revision of the article. CZ and HD undertook the construction of experimental systems and the testing of samples. GW mainly participated in the discussion of the experimental results and applied helpful suggestions during the writing of the article.

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Correspondence to Yanping Zhao or Guoxiang Wang.

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Zhang, S., Zhao, Y., Zhou, C. et al. Dynamic sulfur–iron cycle promoted phosphorus mobilization in sediments driven by the algae decomposition. Ecotoxicology 30, 1662–1671 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-020-02316-y

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