Brian S. Kim

The concentration of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) is increasing in many northern hemisphere lakes, yet its use by phytoplankton and fate in the environment seldom have been quantified. We conducted 1 week, in situ, microcosm incubations across 25 lakes in northeastern North America to understand how DON, dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), and dissolved inorganic phosphorus (P) affected phytoplankton biomass. In addition, we tested whether lakes were limited by single macronutrients (N or P) or colimited by both. Phytoplankton biomass in 80% of lakes responded similarly to DON and DIN additions. Of the lakes where N form produced differential responses, the majority of phytoplankton communities exhibited greater biomass accumulation with DON than DIN. Colimitation was the most common type of nutrient limitation among the study lakes, followed by P limitation. Limitation type shifted with N form in 40% of the study lakes, but without consistent patterns explaining how shifts occurred. Regardless of N form, lakes with watersheds more dominated by agriculture and higher total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) tended to show P‐limited phytoplankton responses, while lakes with less agricultural watersheds and lower TDN tended to show colimited phytoplankton responses. Finally, ambient TDN and total phosphorus (TP) nutrient concentrations were stronger predictors of limitation type than ambient TDN : TP ratios. The different contributions of DON and DIN to phytoplankton biomass in some of our study lakes suggest that DON loading from surrounding watersheds may be an overlooked component in predicting phytoplankton productivity and nutrient limitation dynamics in freshwater ecosystems.

The limiting nutrient for freshwater phytoplankton productivity can vary within and between geographic regions. Understanding how local (i.e., lake and catchment) and regional (i.e., multiple catchment) factors shift the relative importance of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) limitation presents a key research challenge for freshwater ecosystems and may enhance our understanding of how lakes could be managed to control eutrophication. Here, we used in situ microcosm incubations with factorial N and P amendments to determine the type of limitation in 16 lakes across the northeastern United States. Study lakes had similar climate but varied in geography, trophic status, and chemistry. Limitation by both N and P was most common (colimitation n = 5 and serial limitation n = 3); however, we also observed single nutrient N (n = 3) and P limitation (n = 4). The type of limitation was related to background phytoplankton biomass, longitude, and land use. The magnitude of response to combined nutrient enrichment was negatively related to background P concentrations. This multi-lake experiment suggests that both N and P often play a role in regulating productivity and that local and regional characteristics affect nutrient limitation patterns.