Abstract
Biogenic phosphorus (P) compounds in lake sediments are of great environmental importance as they in many areas regulate the amount of nutrients in the overlaying water, and thus also affect eutrophication and related environmental problems. How the occurrence and amount of these compounds vary with different characteristics of the water body and its surrounding is however not known. The aim of this project is to compare the P composition in the sediments in a large number of lakes, differing in for example trophic status, anthropogenic influence and catchment characteristics and composition, and to determine which of the identified P compounds have the potential to be released to the water at these differing conditions. This will be accomplished be the use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, the most powerful analysis method for identifying biogenic P compounds today, in addition to laboratory release experiments and multivariate statistical evaluation of the results. This will answer questions regarding which lakes are in the risk of becoming eutrophicated, which P compounds are involved in this process and where they origin.
Sweden