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. 1989 Mar;55(3):754–757. doi: 10.1128/aem.55.3.754-757.1989

Microelectrode Measurements of Nitrate Gradients in the Littoral and Profundal Sediments of a Meso-Eutrophic Lake (Lake Vechten, The Netherlands)

Jean-Pierre R A Sweerts 1,*, Dirk de Beer 1
PMCID: PMC184192  PMID: 16347883

Abstract

NO3 concentration profiles were measured in the sediments of a meso-eutrophic lake with a newly developed microelectrode. The depth of penetration of NO3 varied from only 1.3 mm in organic-rich profundal silty sediments to 5 mm in organic-poor littoral sandy sediments. The thickness of the zone of denitrification in the organic-rich sediments was <500 μm. Oxygen profiles measured simultaneously revealed that the zone of denitrification was directly adjacent to the aerobic zone. The results demonstrate high denitrification rates (0.26 to 1.31 mmol m−2 day−1) at in situ nitrate concentrations in the overlying water (0.030 mmol liter−1) and limitation of denitrification by nitrate availability.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Hordijk C. A., Snieder M., van Engelen J. J., Cappenberg T. E. Estimation of bacterial nitrate reduction rates at in situ concentrations in freshwater sediments. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1987 Feb;53(2):217–223. doi: 10.1128/aem.53.2.217-223.1987. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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