Spatial methane pattern in a deep freshwater lake: Relation to water depth and topography.

Freshwater lakes are regarded as important methane (CH4) sources, accounting for ~20% of natural emission. To improve the assessment of the global greenhouse effect, it is necessary to consider spatial variability within lakes. Here, CH4 concentrations in the water column and sediment layers, as well as the sediment CH4 production potentials and diffusive fluxes, were studied in the littoral, intermediate, and profundal zones of the medium-sized (425 ha), deep (maximum depth 69.5 m) Lake Stechlin (Germany). Sediment CH4 concentrations, production potentials and sediment-water interface diffusive fluxes showed significant spatial heterogeneity and were highest in the profundal zone. CH4 concentrations in the surface water did not differ among the studied locations, indicating a decoupling from the production sites in the sediment. The high amount of CH4 in profundal sediments that might potentially be released to the atmosphere is either trapped or oxidized within the water column, while the surface water dissolved CH4 is more related to the dynamics in the epilimnion. The divergence in sediment physical (water content, grain size) and chemical (organic matter quantity or quality, sulfate) properties across the lake leads to variations in CH4 dynamics which are restricted to deeper habitats in this type of lake.

Long-Read Amplicon Sequencing of Nitric Oxide Dismutase (nod) Genes Reveal Diverse Oxygenic Denitrifiers in Agricultural Soils and Lake Sediments.

Microorganisms play an essential role in nitrogen cycling and greenhouse gas emissions in soils and sediments. The recently discovered oxygenic denitrifiers are proposed to reduce nitrate and nitrite via nitric oxide dismutation directly to N2 and O2. So far, the ecological role of these microbes is not well understood. The only available tool for a targeted study of oxygenic denitrifiers is their respective maker gene, nitric oxide dismutase (nod). Here, we established the use of PacBio long-read sequencing of nod gene amplicons to study the diversity and community structure of oxygenic denitrifiers. Two distinct sets of environmental samples, agricultural soil and lake sediment, were investigated as examples. The circular consensus sequences (ca 1.0 kb) obtained covered most substitution characteristic of NO dismutase and allowed for reliable classification of oxygenic denitrifiers. Distinct nod gene pools and community structure were revealed for the different habitats, with most sequence types affiliated to yet unidentified environmental nod lineages. The abundance of nod genes ranged 2.2 × 106-3.2 × 107 gene copies g-1 soil or sediment, accounting for up to 3% of total bacterial 16S rRNA gene counts. This study indicates that nod-gene-targeted long-read sequencing can be a powerful tool for studying the ecology of these novel microbes, and the results also suggest that oxygenic denitrifiers are prevalent and abundant in different terrestrial samples, where they could play an important, but yet overlooked role in nitrogen transformations.

Methane emissions from contrasting urban freshwaters: Rates, drivers, and a whole-city footprint.

Global urbanization trends impose major alterations on surface waters. This includes impacts on ecosystem functioning that can involve feedbacks on climate through changes in rates of greenhouse gas emissions. The combination of high nutrient supply and shallow depth typical of urban freshwaters is particularly conducive to high rates of methane (CH4 ) production and emission, suggesting a potentially important role in the global CH4 cycle. However, there is a lack of comprehensive flux data from diverse urban water bodies, of information on the underlying drivers, and of estimates for whole cities. Based on measurements over four seasons in a total of 32 water bodies in the city of Berlin, Germany, we calculate the total CH4 emission from various types of surface waters of a large city in temperate climate at 2.6 ± 1.7 Gg CH4 /year. The average total emission was 219 ± 490 mg CH4  m-2  day-1 . Water chemical variables were surprisingly poor predictors of total CH4 emissions, and proxies of productivity and oxygen conditions had low explanatory power as well, suggesting a complex combination of factors governing CH4 fluxes from urban surface waters. However, small water bodies (area <1 ha) typically located in urban green spaces were identified as emission hotspots. These results help constrain assessments of CH4 emissions from freshwaters in the world's growing cities, facilitating extrapolation of urban emissions to large areas, including at the global scale.

Ubiquitous and significant anaerobic oxidation of methane in freshwater lake sediments.

Anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) is a microbial process that consumes dissolved methane (CH4) in anoxic sediments and soils and mitigates CH4 release to the atmosphere. The degree to which AOM limits global biospheric CH4 emissions is not fully understood. In marine sediments, where the process was first described, AOM is responsible for oxidizing >90% of the CH4 produced. More recently, AOM has been observed in soils, peatlands, and freshwater ecosystems. In lakes, where sediment anoxia, organic carbon turnover, and CH4 production are common, AOM is not well studied but could represent a significant CH4 sink and constraint on emissions. Here, we present evidence for the occurrence of AOM in the sediment of thirteen lakes that span a global climatic and trophic gradient. We further quantified and modeled AOM patterns and studied potential microbial controls of AOM using laboratory incubations of sediment and stable isotope measurements in three of the thirteen lakes. We demonstrate that AOM is widespread in freshwater lake sediments and accounts for 29%-34% (95% confidence interval) of the mean total CH4 produced in surface and near-surface lake sediments.

Eutrophication exacerbates the impact of climate warming on lake methane emission.

Net methane (CH4) emission from lakes depends on two antagonistic processes: CH4 production (methanogenesis) and CH4 oxidation (methanotrophy). It is unclear how climate warming will affect the balance between these processes, particularly among lakes of different trophic status. Here we show that methanogenesis is more sensitive to temperature than methanotrophy, and that eutrophication magnifies this temperature sensitivity. Using laboratory incubations of water and sediment from ten tropical, temperate and subarctic lakes with contrasting trophic states, ranging from oligotrophic to hypereutrophic, we explored the temperature sensitivity of methanogenesis and methanotrophy. We found that both processes presented a higher temperature sensitivity in tropical lakes, followed by temperate, and subarctic lakes; but more importantly, we found that eutrophication triggered a higher temperature sensitivity. A model fed by our empirical data revealed that increasing lake water temperature by 2 °C leads to a net increase in CH4 emissions by 101-183% in hypereutrophic lakes and 47-56% in oligotrophic lakes. We conclude that climate warming will tilt the CH4 balance towards higher lake emission and that this impact will be exacerbated by the eutrophication of the lakes.

Shifts among Eukaryota, Bacteria, and Archaea define the vertical organization of a lake sediment.

BACKGROUND: Lake sediments harbor diverse microbial communities that cycle carbon and nutrients while being constantly colonized and potentially buried by organic matter sinking from the water column. The interaction of activity and burial remained largely unexplored in aquatic sediments. We aimed to relate taxonomic composition to sediment biogeochemical parameters, test whether community turnover with depth resulted from taxonomic replacement or from richness effects, and to provide a basic model for the vertical community structure in sediments. METHODS: We analyzed four replicate sediment cores taken from 30-m depth in oligo-mesotrophic Lake Stechlin in northern Germany. Each 30-cm core spanned ca. 170 years of sediment accumulation according to 137Cs dating and was sectioned into layers 1-4 cm thick. We examined a full suite of biogeochemical parameters and used DNA metabarcoding to examine community composition of microbial Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukaryota. RESULTS: Community ß-diversity indicated nearly complete turnover within the uppermost 30 cm. We observed a pronounced shift from Eukaryota- and Bacteria-dominated upper layers (<5 cm) to Bacteria-dominated intermediate layers (5-14 cm) and to deep layers (>14 cm) dominated by enigmatic Archaea that typically occur in deep-sea sediments. Taxonomic replacement was the prevalent mechanism in structuring the community composition and was linked to parameters indicative of microbial activity (e.g., CO2 and CH4 concentration, bacterial protein production). Richness loss played a lesser role but was linked to conservative parameters (e.g., C, N, P) indicative of past conditions. CONCLUSIONS: By including all three domains, we were able to directly link the exponential decay of eukaryotes with the active sediment microbial community. The dominance of Archaea in deeper layers confirms earlier findings from marine systems and establishes freshwater sediments as a potential low-energy environment, similar to deep sea sediments. We propose a general model of sediment structure and function based on microbial characteristics and burial processes. An upper "replacement horizon" is dominated by rapid taxonomic turnover with depth, high microbial activity, and biotic interactions. A lower "depauperate horizon" is characterized by low taxonomic richness, more stable "low-energy" conditions, and a dominance of enigmatic Archaea.

Thermocline deepening boosts ecosystem metabolism: evidence from a large-scale lake enclosure experiment simulating a summer storm.

Extreme weather events can pervasively influence ecosystems. Observations in lakes indicate that severe storms in particular can have pronounced ecosystem-scale consequences, but the underlying mechanisms have not been rigorously assessed in experiments. One major effect of storms on lakes is the redistribution of mineral resources and plankton communities as a result of abrupt thermocline deepening. We aimed at elucidating the importance of this effect by mimicking in replicated large enclosures (each 9 m in diameter, ca. 20 m deep, ca. 1300 m3 in volume) a mixing event caused by a severe natural storm that was previously observed in a deep clear-water lake. Metabolic rates were derived from diel changes in vertical profiles of dissolved oxygen concentrations using a Bayesian modelling approach, based on high-frequency measurements. Experimental thermocline deepening stimulated daily gross primary production (GPP) in surface waters by an average of 63% for >4 weeks even though thermal stratification re-established within 5 days. Ecosystem respiration (ER) was tightly coupled to GPP, exceeding that in control enclosures by 53% over the same period. As GPP responded more strongly than ER, net ecosystem productivity (NEP) of the entire water column was also increased. These protracted increases in ecosystem metabolism and autotrophy were driven by a proliferation of inedible filamentous cyanobacteria released from light and nutrient limitation after they were entrained from below the thermocline into the surface water. Thus, thermocline deepening by a single severe storm can induce prolonged responses of lake ecosystem metabolism independent of other storm-induced effects, such as inputs of terrestrial materials by increased catchment run-off. This highlights that future shifts in frequency, severity or timing of storms are an important component of climate change, whose impacts on lake thermal structure will superimpose upon climate trends to influence algal dynamics and organic matter cycling in clear-water lakes.

Enhancing surface methane fluxes from an oligotrophic lake: exploring the microbubble hypothesis.

Exchange of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) across inland water surfaces is an important component of the terrestrial carbon (C) balance. We investigated the fluxes of these two gases across the surface of oligotrophic Lake Stechlin using a floating chamber approach. The normalized gas transfer rate for CH4 (k600,CH4) was on average 2.5 times higher than that for CO2 (k600,CO2) and consequently higher than Fickian transport. Because of its low solubility relative to CO2, the enhanced CH4 flux is possibly explained by the presence of microbubbles in the lake's surface layer. These microbubbles may originate from atmospheric bubble entrainment or gas supersaturation (i.e., O2) or both. Irrespective of the source, we determined that an average of 145 L m(­2) d(­1) of gas is required to exit the surface layer via microbubbles to produce the observed elevated k600,CH4. As k600 values are used to estimate CH4 pathways in aquatic systems, the presence of microbubbles could alter the resulting CH4 and perhaps C balances. These microbubbles will also affect the surface fluxes of other sparingly soluble gases in inland waters, including O2 and N2.

Presence of potential toxin-producing cyanobacteria in an oligo-mesotrophic lake in Baltic Lake District, Germany: an ecological, genetic and toxicological survey.

Massive developments of potentially toxic cyanobacteria in Lake Stechlin, an oligo-mesotrophic lake in the Baltic Lake District of Germany raised concerns about toxic contamination of these important ecosystems. Field samples in the phase of mass developments of cyanobacteria were used for genetic and toxicological analyses. Microcystins and microcystin genes were detected in field samples of the lake for the first time. However, the toxins were not produced by the dominant taxa (Dolichospermum circinale and Aphanizomenon flos-aquae) but by taxa, which were present only in low biomass in the samples (Microcystis cf. aeruginosa and Planktothrix rubescens). The phytoplankton successions during the study period revealed an increase of cyanobacterial populations. The findings contribute to the changes that have been investigated in Lake Stechlin since the mid-1990s. The possible reasons behind these developments may be climate change, special weather conditions and an increased nutrient pool.

Assessing the effect of litter species on the dynamic of bacterial and fungal communities during leaf decomposition in microcosm by molecular techniques.

Although bacteria and fungi are well-known to be decomposers of leaf litter, few studies have examined their compositions and diversities during the decomposition process in tropical stream water. Xishuangbanna is a tropical region preserving one of the highest floristic diversity areas in China. In this study, leaf litter of four dominant plant species in Xishuangbanna was incubated in stream water for 42 days during which samples were taken regularly. Following DNA extraction, PCR-DGGE (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis) and clone-sequencing analyses were performed using bacterial and fungal specific primers. Leaf species have slightly influences on bacterial community rather than fungal community. The richness and diversity of bacteria was higher than that of fungi, which increased towards the end of the 42-day-incubation. The bacterial community was initially more specific upon the type of leaves and gradually became similar at the later stage of decomposition with alpha-proteobacteria as major component. Sequences affiliated to methanotrophs were obtained that indicates potentially occurrence of methane oxidation and methanogenesis. For the fungal community, sequences affiliated to Aspergillus were predominant at the beginning and then shifted to Pleosporales. Our results suggest that the microorganisms colonizing leaf biofilm in tropical stream water were mostly generalists that could exploit the resources of leaves of various species equally well.

Using stable isotope probing to obtain a targeted metatranscriptome of aerobic methanotrophs in lake sediment.

In this study, we demonstrate the possibility of obtaining a targeted metatranscriptome from a functional group of microorganisms using a stable isotope probing (SIP) approach. Methanotrophs in lake sediment were labelled using (13)CH4, and both labelled and unlabelled-RNA were isolated and sequenced by 454 pyrosequencing. The unlabelled metatranscriptome had a large diversity of bacterial, archaeal, eukaryotic and viral sequences as expected from a diverse sediment community. In contrast, the labelled-RNA metatranscriptome was dominated by methanotroph sequences, particularly from Methylococcaceae. Transcripts of the methane monooxygenase genes pmoCAB were the most abundant in this metatranscriptome, and the pathway of methane oxidation to CO2 could be traced, as well as many steps in the ribulose monophosphate pathway for carbon assimilation. A high abundance of mRNA transcripts for proteins related to motility was detected, suggesting an importance for methanotrophs in lake sediments. This combination of SIP and metatranscriptomics should be broadly applicable, and will enhance the detection and identification of mRNA from target organisms.

Cyanobacterial diversity in the hot spring, pelagic and benthic habitats of a tropical soda lake.

Hot springs and saline-alkaline lakes of East Africa are extreme habitats regarding temperature, or salinity and pH, respectively. This study examines whether divergent habitats of Lake Bogoria, Kenya, impacts cyanobacterial community structure. Samples from the hot springs, pelagic zone and sediment were analysed by light microscopy, multilocus 454-amplicons sequencing and metagenomics to compare the cyanobacterial diversity. Most of the phylogenetic lineages of Cyanobacteria occurred exclusively in the Bogoria hot springs suggesting a high degree of endemism. The prevalent phylotypes were mainly members of the Oscillatoriales (Leptolyngbya, Spirulina, Oscillatoria-like and Planktothricoides). The Chroococcales were represented by different clades of Synechococcus but not a single phylotype clustered with any of the lineages described earlier from different continents. In contrast, we found that the pelagic zone and the sediments were inhabited by only a few taxa, dominated by Arthrospira and Anabaenopsis. Arthrospira, the main food base of Lesser Flamingo, was detected in all three habitats by amplicons pyrosequencing, indicating its resilience and key role as a primary producer. Despite the close connection between the three habitats studied, the cyanobacterial communities in the hot springs and lake differed considerably, suggesting that they are unable to adapt to the extreme conditions of the neighbouring habitat.

Chemolithotrophic nitrate-dependent Fe(II)-oxidizing nature of actinobacterial subdivision lineage TM3.

Anaerobic nitrate-dependent Fe(II) oxidation is widespread in various environments and is known to be performed by both heterotrophic and autotrophic microorganisms. Although Fe(II) oxidation is predominantly biological under acidic conditions, to date most of the studies on nitrate-dependent Fe(II) oxidation were from environments of circumneutral pH. The present study was conducted in Lake Grosse Fuchskuhle, a moderately acidic ecosystem receiving humic acids from an adjacent bog, with the objective of identifying, characterizing and enumerating the microorganisms responsible for this process. The incubations of sediment under chemolithotrophic nitrate-dependent Fe(II)-oxidizing conditions have shown the enrichment of TM3 group of uncultured Actinobacteria. A time-course experiment done on these Actinobacteria showed a consumption of Fe(II) and nitrate in accordance with the expected stoichiometry (1:0.2) required for nitrate-dependent Fe(II) oxidation. Quantifications done by most probable number showed the presence of 1 × 10(4) autotrophic and 1 × 10(7) heterotrophic nitrate-dependent Fe(II) oxidizers per gram fresh weight of sediment. The analysis of microbial community by 16S rRNA gene amplicon pyrosequencing showed that these actinobacterial sequences correspond to ~0.6% of bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences. Stable isotope probing using (13)CO2 was performed with the lake sediment and showed labeling of these Actinobacteria. This indicated that they might be important autotrophs in this environment. Although these Actinobacteria are not dominant members of the sediment microbial community, they could be of functional significance due to their contribution to the regeneration of Fe(III), which has a critical role as an electron acceptor for anaerobic microorganisms mineralizing sediment organic matter. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study to show the autotrophic nitrate-dependent Fe(II)-oxidizing nature of TM3 group of uncultured Actinobacteria.

DNA-, rRNA- and mRNA-based stable isotope probing of aerobic methanotrophs in lake sediment.

A stable isotope probing (SIP) approach was used to study aerobic methane-oxidizing bacteria (methanotrophs) in lake sediment. Oligotrophic Lake Stechlin was chosen because it has a permanently oxic sediment surface. 16S rRNA and the pmoA gene, which encodes a subunit of the methane monooxygenase enzyme, were analysed following the incubation of sediment with (13) CH(4) and the separation of (13) C-labelled DNA and RNA from unlabelled nucleic acids. The incubation with (13) CH(4) was performed over a 4-day time-course and the pmoA genes and transcripts became progressively labelled such that approximately 70% of the pmoA genes and 80% of the transcripts were labelled at 96 h. The labelling of pmoA mRNA was quicker than pmoA genes, demonstrating that mRNA-SIP is more sensitive than DNA-SIP; however, the general rate of pmoA transcript labelling was comparable to that of the pmoA genes, indicating that the incorporation of (13) C into ribonucleic acids of methanotrophs was a gradual process. Labelling of Betaproteobacteria was clearly seen in analyses of 16S rRNA by DNA-SIP and not by RNA-SIP, suggesting that cross-feeding of the (13) C was primarily detected by DNA-SIP. In general, we show that the combination of SIP approaches provided valuable information about the activity and growth of the methanotrophic populations and the cross-feeding of methanotroph metabolites by other microorganisms.

Molecular detection of uncultured cyanobacteria and aminotransferase domains for cyanotoxin production in sediments of different Kenyan lakes.

PCR-based denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of 16S rRNA gene fragments was used to identify the cyanobacterial phylotypes in sediments and plankton of saline-alkaline and freshwater lakes of Kenya. The detection of the aminotransferase domain located on modules mcyE and ndaF using specific molecular markers confirmed the presence of potential toxin-producing cyanobacteria. The eight nucleotide sequences obtained from DGGE bands were placed in three divergent cyanobacterial clusters. Five nucleotide sequences were close to members of the genera Anabaenopsis and Umezakia (Nostocales), two sequences fell in the cluster with Arthrospira sp. (Oscillatoriales) and one sequence was related to Chroococcidiopsis sp. (Pleurocapsales). The presence of the latter taxon was demonstrated de novo in the investigated lakes. All nine attained nucleotide sequences of the aminotransferase region belonged to the mcyE module. Five sequences of the aminotransferase domain were included in the cluster having the nucleotide sequence of Anabaena sp. but showed a separate lineage. Other four aminotransferases were placed in the cluster represented by nucleotide sequence of Microcystis aeruginosa. To our knowledge, this is the first report on molecular detection of cyanobacterial phylotypes in sediments of African lakes and aminotransferase domains for cyanotoxin production from sediment samples in general.

Vegetation cover of forest, shrub and pasture strongly influences soil bacterial community structure as revealed by 16S rRNA gene T-RFLP analysis.

Bacterial community structure is influenced by vegetation, climate and soil chemical properties. To evaluate these influences, terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) and cloning of the 16S rRNA gene were used to analyze the soil bacterial communities in different ecosystems in southwestern China. We compared (1) broad-leaved forest, shrub and pastures in a high-plateau region, (2) three broad-leaved forests representing a climate gradient from high-plateau temperate to subtropical and tropical regions and (3) the humus and mineral soil layers of forests, shrub lands and pastures with open and restricted grazing activities, having varied soil carbon and nutrient contents. Principal component analysis of the T-RFLP patterns revealed that soil bacterial communities of the three vegetation types were distinct. The broad-leaved forests in different climates clustered together, and relatively minor differences were observed between the soil layers or the grazing regimes. Acidobacteria dominated the broad-leaved forests (comprising 62% of the total clone sequences), but exhibited lower relative abundances in the soils of shrub (31%) and pasture (23%). Betaproteobacteria was another dominant taxa of shrub land (31%), whereas Alpha- (19%) and Gammaproteobacteria (13%) and Bacteriodetes (16%) were major components of pasture. Vegetation exerted more pronounced influences than climate and soil chemical properties.

16S rRNA gene analyses of bacterial community structures in the soils of evergreen broad-leaved forests in south-west China.

Bacterial community structure was studied in humus and mineral soils of evergreen broad-leaved forests in Ailaoshan and Xishuangbanna, representing subtropical and tropical ecosystems, respectively, in south-west China using sequence analysis and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis of 16S rRNA genes. Clone sequences affiliated to Acidobacteria were retrieved as the predominant bacterial phylum in both forest soils, followed by those affiliated to members of the Proteobacteria, Planctomycete and Verrucomicrobia. Despite higher floristic richness at the Xishuangbanna forest than at the Ailaoshan forest, soil at Xishuangbanna harbored a distinctly high relative abundance of Acidobacteria-affiliated sequences (80% of the total clones), which led to a lower overall bacterial diversity than at Ailaoshan. Bacterial communities in humus and mineral soils of the two forests appeared to be well differentiated, based on 16S rRNA gene phylogeny, and correlations were found between the bacterial T-RFLP community patterns and the organic carbon and nutrient contents of the soil samples. The data reveal that Acidobacteria dominate soil bacterial communities in the evergreen broad-leaved forests studied here and suggest that bacterial diversity may be influenced by soil carbon and nutrient levels, but is not related to floristic richness along the climatic gradient from subtropical to tropical forests in south-west China.

Carbon isotope fractionation during acetoclastic methanogenesis by Methanosaeta concilii in culture and a lake sediment.

The isotope enrichment factors (epsilon) in Methanosaeta concilii and in a lake sediment, where acetate was consumed only by Methanosaeta spp., were clearly less negative than the epsilon usually observed for Methanosarcina spp. The fraction of methane produced from acetate in the sediment, as determined by using stable isotope signatures, was 10 to 15% lower when the appropriate epsilon of Methanosaeta spp. was used.

Vertical distribution of structure and function of the methanogenic archaeal community in Lake Dagow sediment.

Detailed studies on the relation of structure and function of microbial communities in a sediment depth profile scarcely exist. We determined as functional aspect the vertical distribution of the acetotrophic and hydrogenotrophic CH4 production activity by measuring production rates and stable 13C/12C-isotopic signatures of CH4 in the profundal sediment of Lake Dagow. The structural aspect was determined by the composition of the methanogenic community by quantifying the abundance of different archaeal groups using 'real-time' polymerase chain reaction and analysis of terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP). Methane production rates in the surface sediment (0-3 cm depth) were higher in August than in May, but strongly decreased with depth (down to 20 cm). The delta13C of the produced CH4 and CO2 indicated an increase in isotopic fractionation with sediment depth. The relative contribution of hydrogenotrophic to total methanogenesis, which was calculated from the isotopic signatures, increased with depth from about 22% to 38%. Total numbers of microorganisms were higher in August than in May, but strongly decreased with depth. The increase of microorganisms from May to August mainly resulted from Bacteria. The Archaea, on the other hand, exhibited a rather constant abundance, but also decreased with depth from about 1 x 10(8) copies of the archaeal 16S rRNA gene per gram of dry sediment at the surface to 4 x 10(7) copies per gram at 15-20 cm depth. T-RFLP analysis combined with phylogenetic analysis of cloned sequences of the archaeal 16S rRNA genes showed that the methanogenic community consisted mainly of Methanomicrobiales and Methanosaetaceae. The relative abundance of Methanosaetaceae decreased with depth, whereas that of Methanomicrobiales slightly increased. Hence, the vertical distribution of the functional characteristics (CH4 production from acetate versus H2/CO2) was reflected in the structure of the community consisting of acetotrophic (Methanosaetaceae) versus hydrogenotrophic (Methanomicrobiales) phenotypes.

Sediment treatment with a nitrate-storing compound to reduce phosphorus release.

The application of Fe(III), in combination with sediment oxidation by NO(3)(-), is an accepted procedure to manage stratified eutrophic lakes by controlling the phosphorus release from sediments into overlying water. Depox(R), a newly developed compound, consisting of Fe(III) and NO(3)(-), has a storage effect for NO(3)(-). NO(3)(-) is released slowly, hence the disadvantageous high solubility of NO(3)(-) in water can be retarded. The compound was added to water as a suspension which quickly flocculated and precipitated. Within 3 weeks, NO(3)(-) was desorbed from the Depox(R) compound in deionized water. After application in lakes, the NO(3)(-) availability on the sediment surface was prolonged for 2 months. After treatment, P release from the sediment and microbial metabolism were investigated under laboratory conditions as well as in the mesocosm. P release was almost stopped in both cases during the experiment. SO(4)(2-) consumption was significantly lower after Depox(R) addition, and CH(4) production was completely suppressed by Depox(R) treatment in the laboratory, whereas in the enclosures SO(4)(2-) and also CH(4) concentrations at the sediment water interface did not change significantly between treated enclosures and controls.