Does Manganese Influence Phosphorus Cycling under Suboxic Lake Water Conditions?

The comparative roles of iron and manganese in internal phosphorus loading were examined in a managed lake. Sediments and the water column of Irondequoit Bay, an embayment along Lake Ontario's southern shore, were sampled monthly during summer thermal stratification. Total phosphorus, total iron, and total manganese concentrations in the sediment averaged 1.389 ± 0.150 g/kg dry wt, 24.415 ± 0.760 g/kg dry wt, and 1.727 ± 0.053 g/kg dry wt, respectively. Elevated total phosphorus (maximum = 0.915 mg P/L) and soluble reactive phosphorus (maximum = 0.749 mg P/L) concentrations were observed in the hypolimnion. Sequential extraction of phosphorus fractions from the top 25 cm of deepwater sediment revealed that approximately 25% of phosphorus was stored in a redox-sensitive form, most likely associated with iron and manganese oxyhydroxides. Typically, phosphorus released from sediments is associated with iron, not manganese. However, iron and manganese profiles from the water column indicated that manganese from the sediment was cycling with phosphorus into the overlying waters, while iron did not demonstrate evidence of cycling. Although reductive dissolution of iron likely occurs in the sediment, iron was retained in the sediment and kept out of the water column by the maintenance of low concentrations of dissolved oxygen in the hypolimnion.