Trade-offs Between Light and Nutrient Availability Across Gradients of Dissolved Organic Carbon Lead to Spatially and Temporally Variable Responses of Lake Phytoplankton Biomass to Browning

Northern lakes are experiencing widespread increases in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) that are likely to lead to changes in pelagic phytoplankton biomass. Pelagic phytoplankton biomass responds to trade-offs between light and nutrient availability. However, the influence of DOC light absorbing properties and carbon-nutrient stoichiometry on phytoplankton biomass across seasonal or spatial gradients has not been assessed. Here, we analyzed data from almost 5000 lakes to examine how the carbon-phytoplankton biomass relationship is influenced by seasonal changes in light availability, DOC light absorbing properties (carbon-specific visual absorbance, SVA(420)), and DOC-nutrient [total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP)] stoichiometry, using TOC as a proxy for DOC. We found evidence for trade-offs between light and nutrient availability in the relationship between DOC and phytoplankton biomass [chlorophyll (chl)-a], with the shape of the relationship varying with season. A clear unimodal relationship was found only in the fall, particularly in the subsets of lakes with the highest TOC:TP. Observed trends of increasing TOC:TP and decreasing TOC:TN suggest that the effects of future browning will be contingent on future changes in carbon-nutrient stoichiometry. If browning continues, phytoplankton biomass will likely increase in most northern lakes, with increases of up to 76% for a 1.7 mg L-1 increase in DOC expected in subarctic regions, where DOC, SVA(420), DOC:TN, and DOC:TP are all low. In boreal regions with higher DOC and higher SVA(420), and thus lower light availability, lakes may experience only moderate increases or even decreases in phytoplankton biomass with future browning.

Automated summary

The study found that increasing dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in northern lakes will likely lead to increases in phytoplankton biomass, but its effects depend on the trade-offs between light availability and nutrient supply; seasonal changes play a crucial role in the relationship between DOC and phytoplankton biomass, with a clear unimodal relationship observed in the fall.