Study

Plankton community response to the chemical neutralization of three acidified waters in the Adirondack mountain region of New York State

  • Published source details Siegfried C.A., Sutherland J.W. & Quinn S.O. (1987) Plankton community response to the chemical neutralization of three acidified waters in the Adirondack mountain region of New York State. Lake and Reservoir Management, 3, 444-451.

Summary

Action: Add lime or similar chemicals

A replicated, before-and-after study in 1982–1985 of three small lakes in New York, USA (Siegfried et al. 1987) reported that adding lime strongly affected phytoplankton richness and abundance in the short term, with smaller increases over the longer term. Statistical significance was not assessed. Before liming, the lakes contained 8–10 phytoplankton species and 1.8–7.6 µg chl a/L during the growing season. In the short term (exact timescale not clear, but probably within two months of liming), species richness had declined in all three lakes (4–8 species/lake). Phytoplankton abundance had declined in two lakes (0.2–0.9 µg chl a/L) but increased in the other (27.5 µg chl a/L). Over the longer term (2–18 months after liming), phytoplankton richness and abundance fluctuated around or above pre-treatment levels (6–25 species/sample/lake; 0.5–32.2 µg chl a/L). Methods: Between September 1982 and March 1984, lime was added to three small, acidified lakes (4–6 ha, average depth 3–8 m). One dose of soda lime or agricultural limestone was added to each lake. Water samples were taken for up to one year before liming, and monthly or bimonthly for up to 18 months after. Phytoplankton abundance was estimated from chlorophyll a concentrations.

Output references
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