PHOSPHORUS FLUX FROM THE SEDIMENTS IN THE KISSIMMEE CHAIN OF LAKES By CHAKESHA S. MARTIN A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2004 Copyright 2004 by Chakesha S. Martin This thesis is dedicated to my parents and brothers. I thank them all for their continued patience, love, and support. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to especially thank my committee chair, Dr. John R. White, for giving me the opportunity to study under him and learn so much from his wisdom and guidance. AN additional thanks go to my committee members, Dr. Jana Newman and Dr. K.R. Reddy, for their support and encouragement. I appreciate Matt Fisher’s expertise in the field and for creating the maps used for this project. I am grateful for Dr. Marco Belmont’s help in the field, as well as Paul Washington. Special thanks go to Ms. Yu Wang for her guidance in the laboratory. I would also like to especially thank Alicia Callery for her invaluable assistance with experiments. This project would not have been possible without funding from the South Florida Water Management District. I really appreciate all the encouragement I have received from my fellow graduate students, professors and friends. Special thanks go to my family for being so instrumental in shaping the person I am today. Above all, I would like to thank God, who without, none of this would have been achievable. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... xii ABSTRACT.......................................................................................................................xv CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................1 Study Rationale.............................................................................................................6 Objectives .....................................................................................................................8 Site Description ............................................................................................................8 2 SEDIMENT CHARACTERIZATION.......................................................................13 Introduction.................................................................................................................13 Hypothesis ..................................................................................................................16 Objective.....................................................................................................................16 Field Methods .............................................................................................................16 Laboratory Techniques ...............................................................................................21 Physical and Chemical ........................................................................................21 Inorganic P Fractionation ....................................................................................23 Data Analysis..............................................................................................................25 Results.........................................................................................................................26 Physical and Chemical ........................................................................................26 Metals ..................................................................................................................27 Inorganic P Fractionation ....................................................................................28 Discussion...................................................................................................................33 Physical and Chemical ........................................................................................33 Metals ..................................................................................................................39 Inorganic P Fractionation ....................................................................................45 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................49 v 3 PHOSPHORUS FLUX OF SEDIMENTS UNDER DIFFERENT SIMULATED LOADING CONDITIONS.........................................................................................51 Introduction.................................................................................................................51 Hypothesis ...........................................................................................................54 Objectives............................................................................................................54 Site Selection.......................................................................................................54 Materials and Methods ...............................................................................................60 Data Analysis..............................................................................................................61 Results.........................................................................................................................61 Discussion...................................................................................................................83 Overall Conclusion .....................................................................................................94 APPENDIX A PHOSPHORUS FRACTIONATION DATA.............................................................98 B METALS DATA......................................................................................................101 C NUTRIENTS ............................................................................................................103 D AEROBIC WATER COLUMN SRP DATA...........................................................106 E PRELIMINARY SURVEY......................................................................................116 F SEDIMENT TYPE AND COORDINATES ............................................................126 LIST OF REFERENCES.................................................................................................129 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ...........................................................................................135 vi LIST OF TABLES Table page 2-1 Average Bulk Density (BD), Loss on Ignition (LOI), Total C, Total N, and Total P for Lakes Tohopekaliga, Cypress, Hatchineha, Kissimmee, and Istokpoga. n=10 per lake............................................................................................................27 2-2 HCl extractable Ca and Mg concentrations and oxalae extractable Fe and Al concentrations for Lakes Tohopekaliga, Istokpoga, Cypress, Kissimmee, and Hatchineha. Values are reported as mean and standard deviation (n=10) per lake.28 2-3 Mean and standard deviations for P forms: KCl- Pi, NaOH Pi, HCl-Pi, TPi, NaOH Pi, residue P, total Po and total P (n=10) for each lake in mg kg-1 for all P forms.........................................................................................................................32 2-4 Mean and standard deviations for P forms for sand sediments: bulk density (BD), mass loss on ignition (LOI), total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP) per lake in mg kg-1 for all P forms................................................34 2-5 Mean and standard deviations for P forms for mud sediments: bulk density (BD), mass loss on ignition (LOI), total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP) per lake in mg kg-1 for all P forms................................................35 2-6 Pearson correlations for selected metals and total P ................................................40 2-7 Mean and standard deviations for P forms for sand sediments: HCl-Ca and Mg and Oxalate Fe and Al mg kg-1 for all lakes.............................................................41 2-8 Mean and standard deviations for P forms for mud sediments: HCl-Ca and Mg and Oxalate Fe and Al mg kg-1 for all lakes.............................................................41 2-9 Mean and standard deviations for P forms for sand sediments: KCl- Pi, NaOH Pi, HCl-Pi, TPi, NaOH Pi, residue P, total Po and total P per lake in mg kg-1 for all P forms. ....................................................................................................................47 2-10 Mean and standard deviations for P forms for mud sediments: KCl- Pi, NaOH Pi, HCl-Pi, TPi, NaOH Pi, residue P, total Po and total P ............................................47 3-1. X and Y coordinates of each station. All coordinates are Universal Mercator, North American Datum 1983, Units meters, UTM Zone 17. ..................................59 vii 3-2. Percent change in Water Column SRP (mg L-1) under no P additions, for all lakes, at day 2, 7, and 25. A negative (-) percent (%) change indicates a decrease in SRP concentration while a positive (+) percent change indicates an increase in SRP