Lake 227, a small lake in the Precambrian Shield at the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA), has been fertilized for 37 years with constant annual inputs of phosphorus and decreasing inputs of nitrogen to test the theory that controlling nitrogen inputs can control eutrophication. For the final 16 years (1990 -2005), the lake was fertilized with phosphorus alone. Reducing nitrogen inputs increasingly favored nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria as a response by the phytoplankton community to extreme seasonal nitrogen limitation. Nitrogen fixation was sufficient to allow biomass to continue to be produced in proportion to phosphorus, and the lake remained highly eutrophic, despite showing indications of extreme nitrogen limitation seasonally. To reduce eutrophication, the focus of management must be on decreasing inputs of phosphorus.cyanobacteria blooms ͉ Experimental Lakes ͉ nutrient limitation ͉ phosphorus

A period of prolonged warmer, drier-than-normal weather in northwestern Ontario during the 1970s and 1980s resulted in severe forest fires that caused dramatic changes to lake and stream catchments. The changed interactions of weather with catchments and hydrological processes caused unexpected changes in physical, chemical, and biological processes in lakes and streams. Permanent first-order streams became ephemeral. Flows at spring melt were lower, and chemical exports from catchments were reduced. Although catchments burned by forest fire had slightly higher flows and chemical exports than unburned basins in the years following fires, chemical exports generally declined due to lower streamflow. Decreased exports of silica indicated lower rates of weathering. Base cation exports also decreased, as did the ratio of base cations to strong acid anions in streams.Changes in lakes included warmer temperatures, clearer waters, deeper thermoclines and euphotic zones, higher alkalinities, and higher concentrations of base cations and nitrogen, but lower concentrations of dissolved organic C, silica, and P. The increase in alkalinity was caused by increases in the ratio of base cations to strong acid anions, resulting from the interaction of increased water retention, microbial sulfate reduction, and exchanges of cations between water and sediments. Declines in chlorophyll and increases in phytoplankton biomass were observed, but there was no detectable effect on areal phytoplankton production. Summer subthermocline habitats for cold stenotherms were reduced slightly in extent as the results of thermocline deepening and lower hypolimnetic oxygen. There is considerable potential for interaction between climatic change and other human perturbations affecting boreal lakes, including acidification, increased incident UV radiation, eutrophication, and overharvesting.

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Here, we show that alpine lake ecosystems are responsive to interannual variation in climate, based on long-term limnological and meteorological data from the Canadian Rockies. In the 2000s, in years with colder winter temperatures, higher winter snowfall, later snowmelt, shorter ice-free seasons, and dryer summers, relative to the 1990s, alpine lakes became clearer, warmer, and mixed to deeper depths. Further, lakes became more dilute and nutrient-poor, the latter leading to significant declines in total phytoplankton biomass. However, increased concentrations of dissolved organic carbon in lake water stimulated the appearance of small mixotrophic algal species, partially offsetting the decline in autotrophic phytoplankton biomass and increasing algal species richness. The climate regime in the 2000s altered the physical, chemical, and biological character and the function of high-elevation aquatic ecosystems. Forecasts of increased climatic variability in the future pose serious ramifications for both the biodiversity and ecosystem function of high-elevation lakes.function ͉ biodiversity ͉ plankton ͉ global change

Stainton. 1992. Effects of multiple fires on nutrient yields from streams draining boreal forest and fen watersheds: nitrogen and phosphorus. Can. ). Fish. Aquat. Sci, Wildfire in the boreal forests at the Experimental Lakes Area in Ontario caused significant losses of nitrogen and phosphorus in streams. Both watershed type and fire intensity appear to determine the extent of losses. The Northeastwetland basin lost more N and P, especially TDN, TDP, TN, and TP, thaw did terrestrial basins, although nitrate losses were higher from terrestrial basins. Losses of nutrients after the second fire generally were not as high as after the first fire. In the East basin, which burned twice with a high fire intensity, stream concentrations of NO3-, TDN, and TN were elevated for 6 yr between the fires and remained elevated for 9 yr after the second fire. In contrast, the Northwest basin burned with a lower intensity and had no significant increase in annual concentrations of P or most forms of N in the first 3 yr after the fire; only NO,-concentrations increased during this period. Despite the increases in export after wildfire, net retention of TN and TP over the 18-yr period was high. In the Northeast, East, and Northwest basins, retention of TN averaged 77, 80, and 87% compared with TP retention of 5 1 , 67, and 84%.Bes feux 6chappes dans les for& boreales de la zone des lacs experimentaux de IIOntario ont entralwk des pertes importantes d'anote et de phosphore dans les cours d'eau. Le type de bassin versant et I'intensite du feu sernblent tous deux dkterrniner I'arnpleur des pertes. Le bassin norel-est des terres humides a perdu une plus grande quantite de N et de PI surtout du NDT, du PDT, du NT et du PT, que les bassins terrestres, qusique les pertes de nitrate ktaient plus importantes dans ies bassins terrestres. Les pertes de bio6l6rnents apres le deuxiPme feu ktaient en general moins klevkes qu'apres le premier feu. Dans le bassin est, qui a 6tk deux fois l'objet d'un feu de forte intensit6, les concentrations de NO3-, de NDT et de NT ont et6 6lev6es pendant les 6 ans separant les feux, et le ssnt demeut-ees pendant 9 ans aprits le deuxiPme feu. Par contre, le bassin nord-suest a 6te I'objet d'un feu de moindre intensite et n'a pas rnontr6 d'augmentation marquee des concentrations annuelles de P ou de la plupart des formes de N au csurs des trois annbes apres le feu; seules les concentrations de NO3--ont augment6 pendant cette p6riode. Malgre I'augrnentation des teneurs en bioel6ments export6s aprPs les feux kchappes, la retention nette de NT et de PT pendant ces 18 ans a 6tt5 elevke. Bans les bassins nord-est, est et nord-suest, la retention de NT a atteint en moyenne 77, 80 et 87 %, respectivernent, pour une retention de PT de 51, 67 et 84 %.