Dynamics of dissolved organic carbon after a cyanobacterial bloom in hypereutrophic Lake Taihu (China)

To establish the influence of the cyanobacterial bloom collapse on the characteristics of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in Lake Taihu, high-molecular-weight dissolved organic matter (HMW-DOM), with sizes between 1 kDa and 0.5 μm, were collected using cross-flow ultrafiltration, from three different eutrophic regions. Isolated HMW-DOM was further characterized by atomic carbon to nitrogen ratio and neutral sugars composition by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The results indicated that the cyanobacterial cell lysis induced by nitrate depletion is the likely mechanism for DOC release. The relatively high DOC level was associated with the high chlorophyll a concentration in Meiliang Bay, one of the most eutrophic bays in the northern part of the lake. However, no significant correlations were observed between chlorophyll a concentration and HMW-DOC concentration during the demise of the cyanobacterial bloom in Lake Taihu. No significant differences were found in the HMW-DOC concentration among the three sampling sites, which were selected to represent different eutrophic status. However, a significant difference in the HMW-DOC concentration was found between October 2009 and January 2010 in all three sampling sites (p = 0.02). The HMW-DOC release may be attributed to the cyanobacterial cell lysis after the peak of summer bloom. The similarity in neutral sugar composition between the HMW-DOM and cyanobacterial exopolysaccharides suggests that the cyanobacterial bloom is the source of HMW-DOM. However, the significant correlation between the carbon to nitrogen ratio in HMW-DOM and chlorophyll a concentration was only observed in Meiliang Bay, which implies that apart from the cyanobacteria-derived DOC, a fraction of DOC was from riverine input. The decline of the cyanobacterial bloom also changed the overall DOM pool, leading to a shift in the component of HMW-DOM from a C-enriched material to an N-enriched material, as revealed by the variation in the carbon to nitrogen ratios. Overall, these results demonstrate that the quantitative and qualitative DOM is affected by the post-cyanobacterial bloom in Lake Taihu.