Nitrate-depleted conditions on the increase in shallow northern European lakes

We determined relative nitrate-nitrogen (NO3- N) loss rates in 100 north-mid-European lakes from late spring to summer by using the exponential function N-2 5 N-1e(-k)( (t)(2) - (t)(2)), where N-1 and N-2 are NO3- N concentrations at the beginning (t(1)) and the end (t(2)) of the time interval, respectively, and k is the specific NO3- N loss rate. We found that k decreased with increasing lake depth. Adjusting k to the lake depth (k(adj)), we observed that k(adj) was positively related to spring NO3-N concentrations, but this relationship became insignificant at mean lake depths exceeding 12.5 m. A relationship between k(adj) and spring NO3- N concentrations in lakes shallower than 12.5 m implies that changes in spring NO3-N concentrations influence the NO3- N loss rate and thereby summer NO3- N concentrations. Time series from one Estonian, one German, and 14 Swedish lakes shallower than 12.5 m since 1988 revealed that May to August NO3-N concentrations have decreased over time everywhere, and the number of time periods exhibiting a NO3-N depleted condition, i.e., NO3-N levels below 10 mu g L-1, in these lakes has tripled since 1988. We explained the decreasing NO3-N concentrations by a reduction in external nitrogen loading including atmospheric deposition, and by changes in climate. The observed prolongation of NO3- N depleted conditions might be one possible explanation for the increasing occurrence of nitrogen- fixing cyanobacteria in a variety of lake ecosystems