Carbon, phosphorus and nitrogen budgets of the littoral Equisetum belt in an oligotrophic lake

Stores and flows of carbon, phosphorus and nitrogen in a littoral Equisetum stand were studied in 1978-1980 in the oligotrophic, mesohumic lake Paeaejaervi, southern Finland. The major carbon and nutrient stores were sediment and Equisetum . The seasonal cycle of the macrophyte vegetation had a profound influence on the whole littoral ecosystem. In spring, when only dead remains of Equisetum were present above ground, there were few differences in nutrient, chlorophyll a and zooplantkon concentrations between the littoral and the open lake; phytoplankton and epiphytes were the major producers. In early June, when new shoots of Equisetum reached the water surface, water exchange between the littoral and the open lake started to diminish, and the characteristic features of a closed macrophyte zone gradually developed: by August the P, Chl a and zooplankton concentrations in the littoral were 5-10 times those in the open lake. From late June until autumn Equisetum was overwhelmingly dominant both in biomass and in production. The measured total primary production and respiration values indicated a high rate of internal cycling of carbon and nutrients. The P content of the annual production of Equisetum in Paeaejaervi was 2.3% of the mean annual P load, and 5.3% of the mean total P storage in the water volume of the lake.