Phosphorus fractions and the effect of pH on the phosphorus release of the sediments from different trophic areas in Taihu Lake, China

The sediment characteristics, different phosphorus (P) fraction concentrations and the effect of pH on P release were investigated in a shallow eutrophic lake in China. The total phosphorus (TP) concentrations in the sediments ranged greatly from 420 to 3408 mg kg−1 and inorganic P (IP) was the main P fraction. For the heavily eutrophic sediment, IP mainly consisted of NaOH-P; while for the mesotrophic sediments, IP mainly consisted of HCl-P. The rate of P release decreased as pH increased from 2 to 6. But it increased as pH increased from 8 to 12. It is suggested that high pH promoted the release of NaOH-P, and low pH promoted the release of HCl-P, and there was no P release occurring in the neutral condition.