Global patterns of light saturation and photoinhibition of lake primary production

Stæhr, Peter A.; Brighenti, Ludmila Silva; Honti, Márk; Christensen, Jesper B.; Rose, Kevin C.

doi:10.1080/iw-6.4.888

Cited by 35 publications

(41 citation statements)

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“…The dependence of photosynthesis on light is a major feature of most model-based studies of lake metabolism, either in the form of linear relationships (e.g., Batt and Carpenter 2012;Solomon et al 2013;Richardson et al 2017) or nonlinear P-I curves (e.g., Holtgrieve et al 2010;Obrador et al 2014;Staehr et al 2016;Schindler et al 2017). However, in previous applications the main function of P-I relationships has been to partition NEP into contributions from GPP and ER (but see Holtgrieve and Schindler 2011;Staehr et al 2016), which are then used as the main response variables in subsequent analyses to identify drivers of metabolism (e.g., Coloso et al 2011;Solomon et al 2013). In contrast, the present study places emphasis on the P-I curve itself, which helps to clarify the temporal patterns driven by physical and biological processes other than light and temperature (Staehr et al 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, in previous applications the main function of P-I relationships has been to partition NEP into contributions from GPP and ER (but see Holtgrieve and Schindler 2011;Staehr et al 2016), which are then used as the main response variables in subsequent analyses to identify drivers of metabolism (e.g., Coloso et al 2011;Solomon et al 2013). In contrast, the present study places emphasis on the P-I curve itself, which helps to clarify the temporal patterns driven by physical and biological processes other than light and temperature (Staehr et al 2016). For example, the maximum GPP can be understood as the overall photosynthetic potential of the ecosystem (Jassby and Platt 1976;Behrenfeld and Falkowski 1997) that is directly connected to drivers such as primary producer biomass or nutrient limitation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Light is a fundamental requirement of photosynthesis, and the dependence of ecosystem metabolism on light is often characterized by photosynthesis-irradiance or "P-I" curves (Jassby and Platt 1976;Behrenfeld and Falkowski 1997;Staehr et al 2016) (Fig. 1).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Time‐varying responses of lake metabolism to light and temperature

Phillips

2019

Limnology & Oceanography

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Light is a primary driver of lake ecosystem metabolism, and the dependence of primary production on light is often quantified as a photosynthesis‐irradiance or “P‐I” curve. The parameters of the P‐I curve (e.g., the maximum primary production when light is in excess) can change through time due to a variety of biological factors (e.g., changes in biomass or community composition), which themselves are subject to external drivers (e.g., herbivory or nutrient availability). However, the relative contribution of variation in the P‐I curve to overall ecosystem metabolism is largely unknown. I developed a statistical model of ecosystem metabolism with time‐varying parameters governing the P‐I curve, while also accounting for the influence of temperature. I parameterized the model with dissolved oxygen time series spanning six summers from Lake Mývatn, a shallow eutrophic lake in northern Iceland with large temporal variability in ecosystem metabolism. All of the estimated parameters of the P‐I curve varied substantially through time. The sensitivity of primary production to light under light‐limiting conditions was particularly variable (>15‐fold) and had a compensatory relationship with ambient light levels. However, the 3.5‐fold variation in the maximum potential primary production made the largest contribution to variation in ecosystem metabolism, accounting for around 90% of the variance in net ecosystem production. Much of the variation in maximum primary production was attributable to cyanobacterial blooms, which occur in some but not all years in Mývatn. Overall, these results illustrate how changes in the P‐I curve contribute substantially to temporal variation in lake ecosystem metabolism.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Time‐varying responses of lake metabolism to light and temperature

Phillips

2019

Limnology & Oceanography

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“…Under lower light conditions compensatory increases in chlorophyll can occur as phytoplankton produce more chlorophyll per unit biomass (Fennel & Boss, ). This photo adaptation may have contributed to increases in chlorophyll independent of increases in phytoplankton biomass as high DOM and associated low light levels are known to limit primary production (Karlsson et al, ; Staehr, Brighenti, Honti, Christensen, & Rose, ). Additionally, sub‐epilimnetic peaks in chlorophyll are common when the euphotic zone extends below the thermocline (Brentrup et al, ; Leach, Beisner et al, ), a condition common in our study lakes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decoupled trophic responses to long‐term recovery from acidification and associated browning in lakes

Leach

Winslow

Hayes

et al. 2019

Global Change Biology

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Increases in the concentration of dissolved organic matter (DOM) have been documented in many inland waters in recent decades, a process known as “browning”. Previous studies have often used space‐for‐time substitution to examine the direct consequences of increased DOM on lake ecosystems. However, browning often occurs concomitant with other ecologically important water chemistry changes that may interact with or overwhelm any potential ecological response to browning itself. Here we examine a long‐term (~20 year) dataset of 28 lakes in the Adirondack Park, New York, USA, that have undergone strong browning in response to recovery from acidification. With these data, we explored how primary producer and zooplankton consumer populations changed during this time and what physical and chemical changes best predicted these long‐term ecosystem changes. Our results indicate that changes in primary producers are likely driven by reduced water clarity due to browning, independent of changes in nutrients, counter to previously hypothesized primary producer response to browning. In contrast, declines in calcium concomitant with browning play an important role in driving long‐term declines in zooplankton biomass. Our results indicate that responses to browning at different trophic levels are decoupled from one another. Concomitant chemical changes have important implications for our understanding of the response of aquatic ecosystems to browning.

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“…Light interacts with nutrient concentrations to drive the magnitude and temporal variability of GPP. Across 7500 lakes globally, daily GPP rates in Northern Hemisphere temperate lakes increased with increased surface irradiance, whereas daily GPP in tropical lakes decreased with increased light availability due to photoinhibition (Staehr et al 2016). Greater irradiance warmed lakes and weakened thermal stratification in tropical lakes relative to temperate lakes (Lewis 1996).…”

Section: Ecosystem Ratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The freshwater biome gradient framework: predicting macroscale properties based on latitude, altitude, and precipitation

et al. 2019

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Understanding global ecological patterns and processes, from biogeochemical to biogeographical, requires broad‐scale macrosystems context for comparing and contrasting ecosystems. Climate gradients (precipitation and temperature) and other continental‐scale patterns shape freshwater environments due to their influences on terrestrial environments and their direct and indirect effects on the abiotic and biotic characteristics of lakes, streams, and wetlands. We combined literature review, analyses of open access data, and logical argument to assess abiotic and biotic characters of freshwater systems across gradients of latitude and elevation that drive precipitation, temperature, and other variability. We explored the predictive value of analyzing patterns in freshwater ecosystems at the global macrosystems scale. We found many patterns based on climate, particularly those dependent upon hydrologic characteristics and linked to characteristics of terrestrial biomes. For example, continental waters of dry areas will generally be widely dispersed and have higher probability of drying and network disconnection, greater temperatures, greater inorganic turbidity, greater salinity, and lower riparian canopy cover relative to areas with high precipitation. These factors will influence local community composition and ecosystem rates. Enough studies are now available at the continental or global scale to start to characterize patterns under a coherent conceptual framework, though considerable gaps exist in the tropics and less developed regions. We present illustrative global‐scale trends of abiotic, biotic, and anthropogenic impacts in freshwater ecosystems across gradients of precipitation and temperature to further understanding of broad‐scale trends and to aid prediction in the face of global change. We view freshwater systems as occurring across arrays of multiple gradients (including latitude, altitude, and precipitation) rather than areas with specific boundaries. While terrestrial biomes capture some variability along these gradients that influence freshwaters, other features such as, slope, geology, and historical glaciation also influence freshwaters. Our conceptual framework is not so much a single hypothesis as a way to logically characterize patterns in freshwaters at scales relevant to (1) evolutionary processes that give rise to freshwater biodiversity, (2) regulatory units that influence freshwater ecosystems, and (3) the current scope of anthropogenic impacts on freshwaters and the vital ecosystem services they provide.

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Global patterns of light saturation and photoinhibition of lake primary production

Cited by 35 publications

References 2 publications

Time‐varying responses of lake metabolism to light and temperature

Time‐varying responses of lake metabolism to light and temperature

Decoupled trophic responses to long‐term recovery from acidification and associated browning in lakes

The freshwater biome gradient framework: predicting macroscale properties based on latitude, altitude, and precipitation

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