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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 59(12)

Sediment and nutrient accumulation rates in sediments of twelve New Zealand lakes: influence of lake morphology, catchment characteristics and trophic state

Dennis Trolle A C , David P. Hamilton A , Chris Hendy B and Conrad Pilditch A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Biological Sciences, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand.

B Department of Chemistry, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand.

C Corresponding author. Email: dennistrolle@gmail.com

Marine and Freshwater Research 59(12) 1067-1078 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF08131
Submitted: 24 April 2008  Accepted: 5 September 2008   Published: 18 December 2008

Abstract

Intact sediment cores were collected from the deepest basins of 12 lakes in the Rotorua District, New Zealand, to test for effects of morphological features, catchment characteristics and lake trophic state on net sedimentation rates and sediment nutrient concentrations. Multiple linear regression was used to show that 68% of the variation in net sedimentation rates across the lakes could be explained by lake trophic state and catchment area. Comparison of 2006 data with results from a survey in 1995 showed that surficial sediment (0–2 cm) total phosphorus concentrations (TP) have increased in three of the 12 lakes, at rates ranging from 27.5 to 114.4 mg P kg–1 dry wt y–1. Total nitrogen (TN) concentrations in surficial sediments have increased in nine of the 12 lakes at rates ranging from 51.8 to 869.2 mg N kg–1 dry wt y–1. Temporal changes in sediment TP and TN concentrations were not significantly linearly related (P = 0.12–0.88) to catchment area or different water column indices considered to reflect lake trophic state, including annual mean water column concentrations of TP, TN or chlorophyll a. It is concluded that between-lake variations in sediment TP and TN concentrations are influenced by a range of complex interacting factors, such as sediment redox conditions (and periodic anoxia in the hypolimnion of some lakes) as well as variations in sediment mineral composition (which influences retention and release of various sediment phosphorus and nitrogen species). Subsequently, these factors cause sediment TP and TN concentrations across the 12 lakes to respond differently to temporal changes in water column TP and TN concentrations.

Additional keywords: carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, Rotorua lakes, sedimentation rates.


Acknowledgements

The first author was funded with a Ph.D. scholarship within the Lake Biodiversity Restoration program funded by the NZ Foundation of Research, Science and Technology (Contract UOWX0505). We gratefully acknowledge Environment Bay of Plenty for additional funding and provision of data. We also thank John Whiteman, Hills Laboratories, for guidance on analytical digestion procedures and Lisa Pearson and Olivia Motion, who provided data for Lake Rotorua.


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