Nitrogen and
Phosphorus
in Water
An Annotated Selected Bibliography
of Their Biological Effects
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE
Public Health Service
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Nitrogen and
Phosphorus
in Water
An Annotated Selected Bibliography
of Their Biological Effects
by
KENNETH M. MACKENTHUN, Biologist
Technical Advisory and Investigations Section
Technical Services Branch
Division of Water Supply and Pollution Control
Robert A. Taft Sanitary Engineering Center
Cincinnati, Ohio
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE
Public Health Service
Division of Water Supply and Pollution Control
1965
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C., 20402 - Price 65 cents
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Foreword
Now, as during no other time in history, public attention is being
focused more acutely on the water enrichment problem and attendant
nuisance biological growths. Because the developing megalopolis
and the expanding industry are pouring nutrients into the nation's
waterways at an alarming rate, algal and aquatic weed nuisances have
increased in areas where before they did not exist and have magnified
in areas where before their growth was tolerable. The public is de-
manding that remedial measures be taken to make public waters
bacteriologically safe and aesthetically pleasing for multiple recre-
ational use.
This book is written for persons faced with recognizing critical
nutrient concentration values for algal development and with predict-
ing the effects of nutrient loadings on aquatic life.
GORDON E. MCCALLTJM,
Assistant Surgeon General,
Chief, Division of Water Supply and Pollution Control
111
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Preface
For a great many years, man has been aware of the natural aging of
lakes, a slow process immeasurable within the normal span of human
life. Within the past quarter-century, however, the literature has
documented the awareness and concern for that portion of eutrophica-
tion that is attributable to man-associated pollution. Biological
nuisances including dense algal and aquatic weed growths have oc-
curred in waters which in the past have supported only incidental
populations of these plants. Plant growths in other waters have be-
come increasingly more dense within a period of a few years. The
public has become alarmed and has sought technical and sometimes
legal and legislative help in rectifying local problems.
Excessive nutrients are most often blamed for the creation of plant
nuisances. Among the nutrients, dominant roles have been assigned
to nitrogen and phosphorus. These elements occur in natural waters,
in soils, in plants and animals, and in precipitation. They are often
added to water in large quantities in both domestic and industrial
wastes. Wastes and fertilizers applied to land often enter water-
courses and ultimately enrich those standing bodies of water whose
natural physical and chemical properties encourage algal and aquatic
weed development. Such growths in turn often interfere with recrea-
tion and other intended uses of water.
Investigation and research have been directed toward a solution of
localized problems of accelerated eutrophication. Research and in-
vestigation will be intensified and expanded in future years. All levels
of government have become vitally interested. To meet the growing
needs of an expanding population, radical solutions must be found for
the problem that threatens recreational and many other uses of water.
This book compiles a selected bibliography of literature with annota-
tions specifically directed toward nitrogen and phosphorus and the
ramifications of these and closely associated elements in the aquatic
environment. Belated intimately to the aquatic environment is the
soil environment, the nutrients deposited thereon, and the atmosphere.
These have not been neglected. Freshwater investigations have re-
ceived preferential treatment but marine investigations and research
have been considered as such may relate or furnish clues to the solution
of problems in freshwater.
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This book was compiled for the engineer and the scientist who are
faced with predicting limnological changes resulting from nutrient
loadings to standing bodies of water, with recognizing critical con-
centration values for algal development, and with predicting the
effects of fertilizers on aquatic life. Information is given on. expected
contributions from various nutrient sources, aquatic standing crops
and production rates, and the nitrogen and phosphorus content or
concentration in plants and animals. This compilation is a beginning,
not an end. It will be supplemented as additional data are amassed.
Cincinnati, Ohio
May 1,1965
VI
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SUBJECT INDEX
ALGAE: Page
Biochemical Oxygen Demand of:
Lackey, 1958 49
Mackenthun et al., 1964 54
Bloom, Definition of:
Anon., 1949 10
Lackey, 1945, 1949 49
Chlorophyll, Chemical Content:
Anderson, 1961 8
Crude Protein in:
Phinney and Peek, 1961 80
Nitrogen and Phosphorus in:
Birge and Juday, 1922 15
Gerloff and Skoog, 1954 30
Phinney and Peek, 1961 80
Kedfield et al., 1963 86
Schuette and Alder, 1929b 97
Effects of:
Beneficial:
Lackey, 1958 49
Harmful:
Bennett, 1962 13
Lackey, 1958 49
Sylvester and Anderson, 1964 99
Iron and Manganese in:
Gerloff and Skoog, 1957a 31
Limiting Factors:
AUen, 1955 7
Chu, 1942, 1943 19
Gerloff and Skoog, 1957 31
Harvey, 1960 34
Hutchinson, 1957 41
Moore, 1958 72
Muller, 1953 73
Neess, 1949 73
Prescott, 1960 82
Provasoli, 1961 83
Sawyer, 1947, 1952, 1954 94,95
Whitford and Phillips, 1959 110
vu
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ALGAE—Continued
Kinds of:
Anabaena: Page
Birge and Juday, 1922 15
Dugdale and Dugdale, 1962 25
Dugdale et al., 1964 26
Goering and Neess, 1964 32
Prescott, 1960 82
Aphanizomenon:
Phinney and Peek, 1961 80
Prescott, 1960 82
Sawyer and Ferullo, 1961 96
Botryococcus braunii:
McRee, 1962 67
Ceratium:
Lackey, 1945 49
Cham:
Schuette and Alder, 1929b 97
Chloretta:
Allen, 1955 7
Cook, 1962 20
Lackey, 1945 49
McKee, 1962 67
Cladophora:
Birge and Juday, 1922 15
Prescott, 1960 82
Micractinum:
Lackey, 1958 49
Microcystis aeruginosa:
Birge and Juday, 1922 15
Gerloff and Skoog, 1954 30
Goering and Neess, 1964 32
Prescott, 1960 82
Nitzschia closterium:
McKee, 1962 67
Oscillatoria:
Mackenthun et al., 1960 57
Oscillatoria rubescens:
Anderson, 1961 8
Easier, 1947 35
McKee, 1962 67
Pandorina morum:
Lackey, 1945 49
viii
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ALGAE—Continued
Kinds of—Continued
Phaeodactylum: PttQt
Harvey, 1960 34
Rhizodonium:
Mackenthun et al., 1960 57
Scenedesmus:
Allen, 1955 7
Cook, 1962 20
Spirogyra:
Prescott, 1960 82
Stigeoclonium:
Mackenthun et al., 1960 57
Synechococcus cedrorum:
McKee, 1962 67
Trichodesmium:
Dugdale et al., 1964 26
Ulva:
Lackey, 1958 49
Volvox:
Birge and Juday, 1922 15
Nutrient Values Required for Blooms:
Gerloff and Skoog, 1954, 1957a 30,31
Prescott, 1960 82
Sawyer, 1947, 1952, 1954 94,95
Sylvester, 1961 98
Oxidation Ponds, Algae in:
Allen, 1955 7
Mackenthun, 1962 52
Porges and Mackenthun, 1963 80
Parker, 1962 79
Production:
Allen, 1955 7
Birge and Juday, 1922 15
Gerloff and Skoog, 1957 31
Gotaas, 1954 32
Lackey, 1958 49
Mackenthun et al., 1960 57
Parker, 1962 79
Vitamins required:
Burkholder and Burkholder, 1956 17
Cook, 1962 20
Guillard and Cassie, 1963 33
Menzel and Spaeth, 1962 68
Provasoli, 1961, 1963 83
ix
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ANIMALS:
Cyclops: Page
Birge and Juday, 1922 15
Glyptotendipes paripes:
Provost, 1958 84
Chironomus tentans:
Birge and Juday, 1922 15
Daphnia pulex:
Birge and Juday, 1922 15
CHEMISTRY:
Carbon-Nitrogen ratios:
Provasoli, 1963 83
Hypolimnetic Oxygen Deficit:
Anderson, 1961 8
Iron-Manganese:
Gerloff and Skoog, 1957a 31
Oxygen-Nutrients:
Millar, 1955 70
Tucker, 1957a 102
Phosphate, Definition of Terms:
Benoit, 1955 14
Phosphorus—Iron:
Hasler and Einsele, 1948 36
Tanner, 1960 101
Tucker, 1957a 102
Phosphorus—Arsenic:
Mackenthun, unpublished 53
Phosphorus, Utilization by Algae:
Krauss, 1958 47
Rice, 1953 87
EUTROPHICATION :
Cause:
Ohle, 1953 77
Definition:
Hasler, 1947 35
History:
Hasler, 1947 35
Rate:
Hasler and Einsele, 1948 36
Tanner, 1960 101
FERTILIZATION, ARTIFICIAL:
Effects on:
Algae:
Ball, 1950 12
Ball and Tanner, 1951 13
Hooper and BaU, 1964 39
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FERTILIZATION, ARTIFICIAL—Continued
Effects on—Continued
Bottom Organisms: Page
Ball, 1949 12
Mclntire and Bond, 1962 66
Fish Production:
Andrews, 1947 8
Ball, 1949 12
Ball and Tanner, 1951 13
Bennett, 1962 13
Borgstrom, 1961 16
Odum, 1959 74
Swingle and Smith, 1939 98
Hypolimnetic Oxygen:
Tanner, 1960 101
Plankton:
Ball, 1949 12
Mclntire and Bond, 1962 66
Thermocline:
Tanner, 1960 101
Total Alkalinity:
Tanner, 1960 101
Winterkill:
Ball, 1950 12
Ball and Tanner, 1951 13
Rate of Application to Land:
Andrews, 1947 8
Anon., 1964a 11
Donahue, 1961 23
Ignatieff and Page, 1958 42
Lackey and Sawyer, 1945 50
Mikkelsen et al., 1962 69
Millar, 1955 70
Rate of Application to Water:
Andrews, 1947 8
Ball, 1949, 1950 12
Ball and Tanner, 1951 13
Easier and Einsele, 1948 36
Hooper and Ball, 1964 39
Tanner, 1960 101
FERTILIZATION BY DUCKS:
Lackey, 1958 49
Paloumpis and Starrett, 1960 79
Sanderson, 1953 93
Sylvester and Anderson, 1964 99
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LAKES:
Douglas Lake, Michigan: Page
Tucker, 1957, 1957a 102
Lake Erie:
Burkholder, 1929 17
Chandler and Weeks, 1945 18
Curl, 1959 21
Green Lake, Washington:
Sylvester, 1961 98
Sylvester and Anderson, 1964 99
Green Lake, Wisconsin:
Rickett 1924 89
Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon:
Phinney and Peek, 1961 80
Lake Mendota, Wisconsin:
Anon., 1949 10
Birge and Juday, 1922 15
Domogallaet al., 1925, 1926a 23
Schuette, 1918 97
Lake Michigan:
Domogalla et al., 1926a 23
Lake Superior:
Putnam and Olson, 1959, 1960 85
Lake Tahoe, California-Nevada:
Ludwig et al., 1964 52
Lake Washington, Washington:
Anderson, 1961 8
Lake Zoar, Connecticut:
Benoit and Curry, 1961 14
Curry and Wilson, 1955 21
MIDGES:
Cause and Control:
Provost, 1958 84
NITRATE POISONING:
Livestock:
Tucker et al., 1961 103
Winks et al., 1950 110
Methemoglobinemia:
Anon., 1950 11
Bosch etal., 1950 16
Campbell, 1952 18
Comly, 1945 20
Sattelmacher, 1962 93
Walton, 1951 108
XII
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NITROGEN FIXATION BY ALGAE:
Dugdale and Dugdale, 1962, 1965 25,26
Dugdale and Neess, 1961 26
Dugdale et al., 1964 26
Goering and Neess, 1964 32
Krauss, 1958 47
McKee, 1962 67
Sawyer and Ferullo, 1961 96
NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS:
Content of or Concentration in:
Agricultural Drainage:
Engelbrecht and Morgan, 1961 28
Sawyer, 1947 94
Basic Sources:
Mackenthun et al., 1964 54
Benthos:
Birge and Juday, 1922 15
Vallentyne, 1952 106
Crops:
Ignatieff and Page, 1958 42
Culture Solutions:
Douglas, 1959 25
Fitzgerald, 1965 29
Gerloff et al., 1950 30
Saunby, 1953 93
Fishes:
Beard, 1926 13
Borgstrom, 1961 16
Love et al., 1959 51
McGauhey et al., 1963 59
Sylvester and Anderson, 1964 99
Forest Streams:
Sylvester, 1961 98
Ground Water:
Juday and Birge, 1931 44
Irrigation Returns:
Sylvester, 1961 98
Sylvester and Seabloom, 1963 100
Lakes:
Anderson, 1961 8
Benoit, 1955 14
Benoit and Curry, 1961 14
Burkholder, 1929 17
Chandler and Weeks, 1945 18
Curl, 1959 21
Curry and Wilson, 1955 21
Xlll
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NITROGEN AND PHOSPHOKUS—Continued
Content of or Concentration in—Continued
Lakes—Continued Page
Domogalla and Fred, 1926 22
Domogalla et al., 1925, 1926a 23
Engelbrecht and Morgan, 1959 27
Hutchinson, 1957 41
Juday and Birge, 1931 44
Juday et al., 1927 44
Moyle, 1956 72
Putnam and Olson, 1959, 1960 85
Rigler, 1964 90
Sawyer, 1947 94
Sawyer et al., 1945 96
Sylvester, 1961 98
Tucker, 1957 102
Whipple et al., 1948 110
Land Drainage:
Abbott, 1957 7
Anon., 1949, 1964b 10, 11
Engelbrecht and Morgan, 1959 27
Mackenthun et al., 1964 54
Manures:
Andrews, 1947 8
Anon., 1964 11
Donahue, 1961 23
Ignatieff and Page, 1958 42
Millar, 1955 70
Rodale, 1960 90
VanVuran, 1948 106
Oceans:
Ryther, 1963 92
Plankton:
Birge and Juday, 1922 15
Harris and Riley, 1956 33
Schuette, 1918 97
Vaccaro, 1964 105
Plants, Algae:
Gerloff and Skoog, 1954 30
Kevern and Ball, 1965 45
Phinney and Peek, 1961 80
Prescott, 1960 82
Schuette and Alder, 1929b 97
xiv
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NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS—Continued
Content of or Concentration in—Continued
Plants, Other: Page
Harper and Daniel, 1939 33
Ignatieff and Page, 1958 42
Millar, 1955 70
Rodale, 1960 90
Schuette and Alder, 1928, 1929a 97
VanVuran, 1948 106
Pollens:
McGauhey et al., 1963 59
Precipitation :
Chalupa, 1960 18
Hutchinson, 1957 41
Matheson, 1951 58
McKee, 1962 67
Meyer and Pampfer, 1959 69
Miller, 1961 71
Moore, 1958 72
Putnam and Olson, 1960 85
Tamm, 1951, 1953 100, 101
Voigt, 1960 107
Sawdust:
Donahue, 1961 23
Sediments, Benthic:
Holden, 1961 39
Juday et al., 1941 45
Mackenthun et al., 1964 54
McGauhey et al., 1963 59
Sylvester and Anderson, 1964 99
Sewage:
Engelbrecht and Morgan, 1959 27
McGauhey et al., 1963 59
Owen, 1953 78
Parker, 1962 79
Rudolfs, 1947 92
Sawyer, 1947, 1952 94
Stumm and Morgan, 1962 98
VanVuran, 1948 106
Sewage Effluents:
Engelbrecht and Morgan, 1959 27
Mackenthun et al., 1960, 1964 54,57
Rudolfs, 1947 92
Sewage Sludge:
Rodale, 1960 90
xv
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NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS—Continued
Content of or Concentration in—Continued
Soils: Page
Deevey, 1940 22
Donahue, 1961 23
Juday and Birge, 1931 44
Mikkelsen et al., 1962 69
Millar, 1955 70
Ryther, 1963 92
Walton, 1951 108
Stabilization Ponds:
Forges and Mackenthun, 1963 80
Streams:
Engelbrecht and Morgan, 1959 27
Mackenthun, 1962 52
Mackenthun et al., 1960 57
Putnam and Olson, 1959, 1960 85
Street Drams:
Sylvester, 1961 98
Terms, Definition:
Benoit, 1955 14
Odum, 1959 74
Tree Leaves:
Donahue, 1961 23
Engelbrecht and Morgan, 1959 27
Urban Runoff:
Weibel et al., 1964 109
Critical Growth Values:
Gerloff and Skoog, 1954 30
Moore, 1958 72
Muller, 1953 73
Sawyer, 1947, 1952, 1954 94,95
Sylvester, 1961 98
Cycle in Lakes, Phosphorus:
Hutchinson, 1957 41
Effects on Fish Production:
Moyle, 1956 72
Excretion by Organisms:
Johannes, 1964a, 1964b, 1964c 43,44
Kuenzler, 1961 48
Millar, 1955 70
Pomeroy et al., 1963 80
Provasoli, 1963 83
Law of Minimum:
Millar, 1955 70
Redfield et al., 1963 86
xvi
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NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS—Continued
Loading to Lakes: Page
Anderson, 1961 8
Anon., 1949 10
Benoit and Curry, 1961 14
Curl, 1959 21
Easier, 1947 35
Lackey and Sawyer, 1945 50
Ludwig et al., 1964 52
Mackenthun, 1962 52
Sawyer, 1947 94
Sylvester and Anderson, 1964 99
Losses from Soils:
Andrews, 1947 8
Fippin, 1945 29
Production in United States:
Ignatieff and Page, 1958 42
McVicker et al., 1963 68
Retention in Lakes:
Easier, 1947 35
Ludwig et al., 1964 52
Mackenthun, 1962 52
Sawyer, 1947 94
Sylvester and Anderson, 1964 99
Released from Bottom Sediments:
Easier, 1957 35
Hayes et al., 1952 37
Bolden, 1961 39
Eooper and Elliott, 1953 40
MacPherson et al., 1958 58
Neess, 1949 73
Ohle, 1953 77
Sylvester and Anderson, 1964 99
Wurtz, 1962_.I 111
Zicker et al., 1956 111
Released from Decomposing Plankton:
Grill and Richards, 1964 32
Provasoli, 1963 83
Released from Bypolimnion:
Eayes and Beckett, 1956 36
Removal from Sewage:
Curry and Wilson, 1955 21
Easier and Einsele, 1948 36
Lea, Rohlicb and Katz, 1954 50
Malhotra et al., 1964 58
McGauhey et al., 1963 59
771-096-^65 2
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NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS—Continued
Removal from. Sewage—Continued Page
Neil, 1957 74
Ohle, 1953 77
Owen, 1953 78
Rohlich, 1961 91
Sawyer, 1952 94
VanVuran, 1948 106
Removal in Stabilization Ponds:
Porges and Mackenthun, 1963 80
Stumm and Morgan, 1962 98
Turnover Rate and Time:
Hayes etal., 1952 37
Odum, 1959 74
Rigler, 1956 89
Zilversmit et al., 1943 111
Utilization by Plankton:
Abbott, 1957 7
Chu, 1942, 1943 19
Dugdale and Dugdale, 1965 26
Flaigg and Reid, 1954 29
Harvey, 1960 34
Hoagland, 1944 38
Hoffman and Olive, 1961 38
Kratz and Myers, 1955 47
Krauss, 1958 47
McKee, 1962 67
Overbeck, 1961 78
Pratt, 1950 81
Provasoli and Pintner, 1960 84
Redfield et al., 1963 86
Rice, 1953 87
Rigler, 1956 89
Webster, 1959 109
ORGANISM STANDING CROPS:
Bottom. Organisms:
Ludwig et al., 1964 52
Mackenthun et al., 1964 54
Fish:
Moyle, 1956 72
Higher Aquatic Plants:
Low and Bellrose, 1944 51
Rickett, 1922, 1924 88,89
xvm
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ORGANISM STANDING CROPS—Continued
Plankton: Page
Anderson, 1961 8
Birge and Juday, 1922 15
Gotaas, 1954 32
Mackenthun et al., 1960 57
Prescott, 1960 82
Redfield et al., 1963 86
PLANTS, HIGHER AQUATIC:
Castalia odorata:
Schuette and Alder, 1929 97
Myriophyttum:
Birge and Juday, 1922 15
Najas flexilis:
Schuette and Alder, 1929 97
Potamogeton:
Schuette and Alder, 1928 97
Potamogeton americanus:
Low and Bellrose, 1944 51
Vattisneria:
Schuette and Alder, 1928 97
PRODUCTION:
Macrophytes:
Knight and Ball, 1962 46
Odum, 1959 74
Ryther, 1963 92
VanVuran, L948 106
Periphy ton :
Knight and Ball, 1962 46
Phytoplankton:
Knight and BaU, 1962 46
Krauss, 1958 47
Parker, 1962 79
Stumm and Morgan, 1962 98
Primary:
Ludwig et al., 1964 , 52
Odum, 1959 74
Ryther, 1963 92
xix
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Author Index
Abbott, W 1957*
Adeney, W. E 1908 (SeeLackey, 1958)
Alder, H 1928,1929a, 1929b
AlKholy, A. A 1956 (See Krauss, 1958)
Allee,W.C 1949 (See Moore, 1958)
Allen,M.B 1952 (See McKee, 1962; See Fitzgerald,
1965),1955*
Allum,M.O 1957 (See Odum, 1959)
Alway,F. J 1930 (SeeDonahue, 1961)
Anderson, G.C 1961*, 1964
Anderson, R.J 1964
Andrews, W.B 1947*
Anon 1949*, 1950*, 1964*, 1964a*, 1964b*
Ashton,F.M 1957 (See Odum, 1959)
Atkins, W.R.G 1923 and 1925 (See Prescott, 1960)
Ball,E.C 1949* (Also see Mackenthun et al., 1964),
1950*,1951*, 1962,1964,1965
Barnes, O.K 1942 (See Odum, 1959)
Bartscli,A.F 1957 (See Odum, 1959)
Bay,C.E 1957 (SeeMackenthun etal., 1964)
Beard, H.R 1926*
Beckett, N.R 1956
Bellrose, F. C., Jr 1944
Bennett, G.W 1962*
Benoit, R. J 1955*, 1961*
Berger,K. C 1956
Berry, L.J 1961
Bineau,A 1856 (SeeMcKee, 1962)
Birge, E. A 1922*, 1927,1931 (See Benoit, 1955), 1931,
1934 (See Provasoli, 1963), 1941
Bond,C.E 1962
Borgstrom,G 1961*
Bosch, H.M 1950*
Boury,M 1936 (See Borgstrom, 1961)
Brehmer,M.L 1960 (See Knight and Ball 1962)
•Sole or Senior Author.
XX
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Brenson, J.C 1962 ( See McGauheyetal., 1963)
Bridger, G. L 1963
Brodie, H. W 1957 (See Odum, 1959)
Bumpus,D.H 1949 (See Moore, 1958)
Burkholder, L.M 1956
Burkholder, P 1929*
Burkholder, P. E 1956*
Burlew, J.S 1953 (SeeFitzgerald, 1965)
Burr, G. O 1957 (SeeOdum, 1959)
Bush, A. F 1954 (See Mackenthun et al., 1964)
Cameron, M.L 1952
Campbell, J ; 1935 (See Borgstrom, 1961)
Campbell, W. A. B 1952*
Carter, E. C 1964
Cassie,V 1963
Chalupa,J 1960*
Chandler, D.C 1945*
Chandler, E.F.,Jr 1941,1943 (See Donahue, 1961)
Chu, S. P 1942* (Also see McKee, 1962), 1943*
Coleman, E. E 1957 (See Odum, 1959)
Comly,H.H 1945* (Also see Walton, 1951)
Cook,B.B 1962*
Cooper,L. H. 1ST 1941 (See Hooper and Elliott, 1953; Also
see Mackenthun et al., 1964)
Cooper, E. C 1962 (SeeMcGauhey et al., 1963)
Cordy,D.E 1961
Corlett,J 1957 (See Knight and Ball, 1962)
Cramer, M 1948
Cree, H. K 1962 (See McGauhey et al., 1963)
Curl,H 1959*
Curry, J. J 1955*, 1961
Cutting,C.L 1943 (See Borgstrom, 1961), 1952 (See
Odum, 1959)
Daniel, H. E 1939
De, P. K 1956 (See Krauss, 1958)
Deevey, E. S., Jr 1940*
Dietz, J. C 1958 (See Engelbrecht and Morgan, 1959)
Dineen, C. F 1953 (See Mackenthun et al., 1964)
Domogalla, B. P 1925*, 1926*, 1926a*
Donahue, E. L 1961*
Douglas, J. S 1959*
Dugdale, E. C 1961*, 1962,1964*, 1965
Dugdale, V. A 1962*, 1965*
'Sole or Senior Author.
xxi
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Eck, P 1957 (See Mackenthun et ah, 1964)
Einsele, W. G 1938 (See Tanner, 1960), 1941 (See Mc-
Kee, 1962), 1948
Eliassen, E 1963
Elliott, A. M 1953 (Also see Mackenthun et al, 1964)
Emerson, A. E 1949 (See Moore, 1958)
Engelbrecht, E. S 1959*, 1961*
Entenman, C 1943
Fair, G. M 1948
Fem.Uo, A. F 1961
Fippin, E. O 1945*
Fishier, M. C 1943
Fitzgerald, G. P 1950, 1952 (See Fitzgerald, 1965), 1961
(See McGauhey et al., 1963), 1965*
Flaigg, 1ST. G 1954*
Fogg, G. E 1951 (See Krauss, 1958), 1952 (See Pro-
vasoli, 1963), 1954 (SeeMcKee, 1962)
Frazier, W. C 1940 (See Walton, 1951)
Fred, E. B 1926, 1926a
Fuller, T. C 1961
Gerloff, G. C 1950*, 1952 (See Fitzgerald, 1965). 1954*,
1957*, 1957a*
Glancy, J. B 1949 (See Lackey, 1958)
Goering, J. J 1964* (2)
Golneke, C. G 1962 (See McGauhey et al., 1963)
Gorham, P. E 1958 (See Fitzgerald, 1965), 1961 (See
Fitzgerald, 1965)
Gotaas, H. B 1954*
Grill, E. V 1964*
Grzenda, A. E 1960 (See Knight and Ball, 1962)
Guillard, E. E. L 1963*
Harmenson, E. H 1958 (See Engelbrecht and Morgan, 1959)
Harper, H. J 1939*
Harris, E 1956* (Also see Vaccaro, 1946)
Hartt, H. E 1957 (See Odum, 1959)
Harvey, H. W 1926 (See Eedfield et al. 1963), 1953 (See
Krauss, 1958), 1960*
Harvey, W. A 1961
Hasler, A. D 1947*, 1948*, 1956,1957*
Hausteen, B 1899 (See McKee, 1962)
Hayes, F. E 1952*, 1956*, 1958
Hayes, O. E 1957 (See Mackenthun et al., 1964)
Helfri'ch, P 1957 (See Odum, 1959)
Hickling, C. F 1948 (See Odum, 1959)
•Sole or Senior Author.
XX11
-------
Hoagland, D. E 1944*
Hoffman, D. A 1961*
Hogetsu, K 1954 (See Odum, 1959)
Holden, A. V 1961*
Hooper, F. F 1953* (Also see Mackenthun et al., 1964),
1964*
Hughes, E. O 1958 (See Fitzgerald, 1965)
Hutchinson, G. E 1941 (See Benoit, 1955; Hooper and El-
liott, 1953), 1957*
Ichimura, S 1954 (See Odum, 1959)
Ignatieff, V 1958*
Ingram, W. M 1964
Jackson, M. L 1957 (See Mackenthun et al., 1964)
Johannes, E. E 1964a*, 1964b*, 1964c*
Jones, N. E 1959
Juday, C 1922,1925,1927*, 1931 (See Benoit, 1955),
1931*, 1934 (See Provasoli, 1963), 1940
(See Odum, 1959), 1941*
Kamen,M.D 1948
Katz,W.J 1954
Kazmierczak, E 1964
Kemmerer, G. I 1927
Ketchum, B. H 1939a, 1949 (See Kedfield et al., 1963) (See
Harvey, 1960; Eice, 1953), 1939b (See
Harvey, 1960; Eice, 1953), 1963
Kevern, N. E 1965*
Knight, A 1962*
Kohn,A. J 1957 (See Odum, 1959)
Kortschak, H. P 1957 (See Odum, 1959)
Krantz,B.A 1961
Kratz,W.A 1955* (Also see Krauss, 1958)
Krauss, E.W 1958*
Kuenzler, E. J 1961*
Kuhn,P.A 1956 (SeeMcGauhey et al., 1963)
Lackey, J.B 1945, 1945* (Also see Anon., 1949), 1949*
(Also see Lackey, 1958), 1958*
Lang,E 1942 (See Odum, 1959)
Lea, W.L 1950 (See Sawyer, 1952), 1954*
Lee,G.F 1964
Lenz,E.T 1945 (Also see Mackenthun et al., 1964)
Letts, E. A 1908 (See Lackey, 1958)
Liebig, J 1849 (SeeMillar, 1955)
Lindeman,E.L 1941 (See Odum, 1959)
Livingstone, D. A 1952
*Sole or Senior Author.
XXiii
-------
*
Love,R.M 1959*
Lovern, J. A 1959
Low,J.B 1944*
Ludwig, H. F 1963,1964
Lueck,B.F 1956 (See Mackenthun etal., 1964)
Lueschow, L. A 1960
Lund, H. A 1948 (SeeDonahue, 1961)
MacFarlane,C 1952 (See Odum, 1959)
MacPherson,L.B 1958*
Mackenthun, K. M I960,* 1961 (See Mackenthun et al., 1964),
1962,* Unpublished,* 1963, 1964*
Mackereth,F. J 1953 (See Krauss, 1958)
Malhotra,S.K 1964*
Mandal,L.N 1956 (See Krauss, 1958)
Martin, W.E 1962
Matheson,D.H 1951*
Mathews,H.M 1963
McCarter,J.A 1952
McCarter, J.R 1940 (See Walton, 1951)
McDermott, J. H 1961 (See Forges and Mackenthun, 1963)
McGauhey,P.H 1963*
McIntire,C.D 1962*
McKee,H.S 1962*
McLachlan, J 1961 (See Fitzgerald, 1965)
McNabb,C.D 1960 (SeeMackenthun etal., 1964)
McVicker,M 1963*
Meloche,V.W 1941
Menzel,D.W 1962*
Metz,L. J 1954 (See Donahue, 1961)
Metzler,D.F 1958 (See Mackenthun etal., 1964)
Meyer, J 1948 (SeeMcKee, 1962), 1959*
Mikkelsen,D.S 1962*
Millar, O.E 1955*
Miller, M.D 1962*
Miller, E.B 1961
Min,H.S 1963
Monday, C. A., Jr 1961 (See Forges and Mackenthun, 1963)
Moore, G.M 1939 (See Hooper and Elliott, 1953)
Moore, H.B 1958*
Morgan, J. J 1959,1961,1962
Mortimer, C. H 1941 (See Tanner, 1960)
Moyle, J. B 1940 (See Mackenthun et al., 1964), 1956*,
1961 (See Mackenthun et al., 1964)
Mulford, S. F 1954 (See Mackenthun et al., 1964)
•Sole or Senior Author.
xxiv
-------
Miiller, W 1953*
Myers, J 1955 (Also see Krauss, 1958)
Needham, P. E 1958 (See Mackenthun et al., 1964)
Neel, J. K 1961 (See Forges and Mackenthun, 1963)
Neess, J. C 1949*, 1961,1964
Negelein, E 1920 (See McKee, 1962)
Neil, J. H 1957
Nelson, L. B 1963
Nesselson, E. J 1954 (See McGauhey et al., 1963)
Odum, H. T 1957 (Also see Odum, 1959) (See Knight,
and Ball, 1962), 1959
Odum,E.P 1957 (SeeOdum, 1959), 1959*
Ohle, W 1953*
Olive, J. E 1961
Olson, T. A 1959,1960
Oswald, W. J 1962 (See McGauhey etal., 1963)
Overbeck, J 1961*
Ovington, J. D 1956 (See Odum, 1959), 1957 (See Odum,
1959)
Owen, E 1953 (Also see McGauhey etal., 1963)
Page, H. J 1958
Paloumpis, A. A 1960*
Pampfer, E 1959
Park, O 1949 (SeeMoore, 1958)
Park, T 1949 (See Moore, 1958)
Parker, C. D 1962* (Also see McGauhey etal., 1963)
Pearsall, W. H 1956 (See Odum, 1959)
Pearson, E. A 1963
Peek, C. A 1961
Penfound, W. T 1956 (SeeOdum, 1959)
Peterson, W. H 1925,1926a
Phillips, E. C 1959
Phinney, H. K 1961*
Pintner, I. J I960
Pomeroy, L. E 1963
Forges, E 1963*, 1964
Pratt, D. M 1950*
Prescott, G. W 1960*
Provasoli, L I960*, 1961*, 1963*
Provost, M. W 1958
Putnam, H. D 1959*, 1960*
Eawson, D. S 1952 (See Odum, 1959)
Eeay, G. A 1943 (SeeBorgstrom, 1961)
Eedfield, A. C 1963*
*Sole or Senior Author.
XXV
-------
Keid, G. W 1954
Eenn, C. E 1937 (See Hooper and Elliott, 1953)
Rice, T. B 1953* (Also see Krauss, 1958)
Bichards, F. A 1963,1964
Eickett,H. W 1922* (Also see Knight and Ball, 1962),
1924* (Also see Knight and Ball, 1962)
Eigler, F. H 1956* (AlsoseeEigler, 1964), 1964*
Eiley, G. A 1949 (SeeMoore, 1958), 1951 (SeeEyther,
1963), 1956 (Also see Vaccaro, 1964;
Also see Odum, 1959), 1957 (See Knight
and Ball, 1962; Also see Odum, 1959)
Eobinson, R. J 1927
Eodale, J. I 1960*
Eohde, W 1948 (See Moore, 1958)
Eohlich, G. A 1950 (See Sawyer, 1952), 1954,1961* (See
McGauhey et al., 1963), 1963, 1964
Eosenfield, A. B 1950
Eousenfell, G. A 1946 (SeeOdum, 1959)
Eudolfs, W 1947* (Also see Sawyer, 1952; Also see En-
gelbrecht and Morgan, 1959)
Eyther, J. H 1960 (See Eedfield et al., 1963) 1963*, 1964
Salisbury, E. M 1950
Sanderson, W. W 1953*
Sarles,W.B 1940 (See Walton, 1951)
Sattelmacher, P. G 1962*
Saunby,T 1953*
Sawyer, C.N 1944 (See Sawyer, 1952), 1945 (Also see
Anon., 1949), 1945*, 1947*, 1952*, 1954*
Schelske, C. L 1960 (See Knight and Ball, 1962)
Schmitt,K. P 1949 (See Moore, 1958)
Scott, E.H 1956 (See Mackenthun et al., 1964)
Schuette, H. A 1918*, 1928*, 1929a*, 1929b*
Shewan, J.M 1943 (See Borgstrom, 1961)
Shipman, H. E 1950
Silvey, J. K. G 1953 (See Engelbrecht and Morgan, 1959)
Sinclair, 1ST. E 1958
Skoog,F 1950, 1952 (See Fitzgerald, 1965), 1954,
1957,1957a
Smalley,A. E 1957 (See Odum, 1959)
Smith,E. V 1939,1947 (SeeOdum, 1959)
Solimorskaja-Bodins, A. 1940 (See Hooper and Elliott, 1953)
C.
Spaeth, J.P 1962
Spiegelman, S 1948
•Sole or Senior Author.
xxvi
-------
Starrett,W.C 1960
Steel, J. H 1957(See Knight and Ball, 1962)
Steeman,N.E 1954 (See Knight and Ball, 1962)
Stevenson, W 1949 (See Hooper and Elliott, 1953)
Stommel,H 1949 (See Moore, 1958)
Strickland, J. D. H 1960 (See Knight and Ball, 1962)
Stumm,W 1962*
Sutherland, A. K 1950
Swingle, H.S 1939*, 1947 (See Odum, 1959)
Sylvester, E. 0 1961*, 1963*, 1964*
Takahashi,D 1957 (See Odum, 1959)
Tamiya,H 1957 (See Odum, 1959), (See Knight and
Ball, 1962)
Tamm, C. O 1951*, 1953*
Tanimoto,T 1957 (See Odum, 1959)
Tanner, H. A 1951,1960*
Tebo, L. B 1955 (See Mackenthun et al., 1964)
Tucker, A 1957*,1957a*
Tucker, J.M 1961*
Vaccaro,E.F 1964*
Vallentyne,J.K 1952*
Vanderborgh, G., Jr 1949 (SeeLackey, 1958)
Van Slyke, L. L, 1932 (SeeMillar, 1955)
VanVuran, J. P. J 1948*
Verduin?J 1956 (See Odum, 1959)
Viosca,P 1935 (See Odum, 1959)
Voigt, G. K 1960*
Walton, G 1951*
Warburg, O 1920 (See McKee, 1962)
Watanabe,A 1951 and 1956 (See Krauss, 1958)
Weaver, J.E 1954 (See Odum, 1959)
Webster, G.C 1959
Weeks, O. B 1945
Weibel,S.R 1964*
Whipple, G. C 1948*
Whipple,M.C 1948
Whitford,L.A 1959*
Wielding, S 1941 (See Krauss, 1958)
Wiley, A. J 1956 (SeeMackenthunetal., 1964)
Wilson, S.L 1955
Winks, W.R 1950*
Wisniewski, T. F 1956 (SeeMackenthun etal., 1964)
Wolfe,M 1954 (SeeMcKee, 1962)
Woodward, E.L 1950,1960
*Sole or Senior Author.
xxvii
-------
Woytinsky, E. S 1953 (See Knight and Ball, 1962) (Also
see Odum, 1959)
Woytinsky,W.S 1953 (See Knight and Ball, 1962) (Also
see Odum, 1959)
Wuhrmann,K 1962 (See McGauhey et al., 1963), 1963
(SeeMcGauhey et al., 1963)
Wurtz,A.G 1962*
Zehnder,V.A 1958 (SeeFitzgerald, 1965)
Zicker, E. L 1956*
Zilversmit, D. B 1943*
Zon, R 1930 (See Donahue, 1961)
*Sole or Senior Author.
XXV111
-------
Introduction
In the press, around the conference table, and in the courts, thought-
ful and extensive attention has been directed to the excessive enrich-
ment of water, especially the standing water in recreational lakes and
ponds. At no time in history except the present has the focus of
public attention on the water enrichment problem been more acute,
or more demanding that remedial measures be taken to make the water
aesthetically pleasing for multiple recreational use. Such a public
reaction results either from a greater awareness of a chronic situation
that has existed over extended time or from recently produced, dynam-
ically acute, or rapidly accelerating biological nuisances. Although
it is well documented that many lakes throughout the country have
been fertile reservoirs for algal development for many years, it is
also equally obvious that the developing megalopolis and the expand-
ing industry are pouring nutrients into the nation's waterways at an
accelerating rate, and that aquatic weed growths and algal nuisances
have increased in areas where before they did not exist and have
magnified in areas where before there was a tolerable growth.
The scope of eutrophication or water enrichment is broad and the
ramifications are many. In this book consideration has been limited
principally to the nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorus, and to the role
that these elements play in lake aging. The process of lake aging has
been termed irreversible when measured by the clock of geologic time.
When the refuse and rejectamenta of civilization are the principal
accelerators of the process, corrective action can slow the eutrophi-
cation process, and perhaps temporarily revert it. Although they
sometimes require great effort and expenditure of monies, localized
nuisances may be abated. Even when nonnatural pollution may be
substantially removed from a watercourse, many years may be required
to effect a "flushing out" from the lake of those nutrients that have
been recycling with the biomass therein. It is usually safe to assume
that the lake will never again attain its crystal-clear, pristine appear-
ance that has been so well imprinted on the minds and in the thoughts
of long-time local residents. Unfortunately, in most instances, his-
toric scientific evidence is not available with which to compare recent
studies on a water body. Hopefully, as good data are amassed, this
will be corrected in the future.
-------
To properly assess a nutrient problem, consideration should be given
all of those sources that may contribute nutrients to the watercourse.
A partial list of these would include the nutrients in sewage, sewage
effluents, industrial wastes, land drainage, applied fertilizers, precipi-
tation, urban runoff, soils, and that which may be released from bottom
sediments and from decomposing plankton. Nutrients contributed by
transient ducks, falling tree leaves, and ground water may be impor-
tant additions to the nutrient budget. Flow measurements are para-
mount in a study to quantitatively assess the respective amounts
contributed by various sources during different seasons and at different
flow characteristics. In the receiving lake or stream the quantity of
nutrients contained by the standing crops of algae, aquatic vascular
plants, fish, and other'aquatic organisms are important considerations.
A knowledge of those nutrients that are annually harvested through
the fish catch, or that may be removed from the system through the
emergence of insects will contribute to an understanding of the nutri-
ent budget.
For comparative purposes it is valuable to know nutrient concen-
trations that have been found in various lakes and streams, the loadings
to specific lakes under varying situations, and the retention in lakes
and ponds. The interaction of specific chemical components in water,
prescribed fertilizer application rates to land and to water, critical
nutrient values required for algal blooms, vitamins required, other
limiting factors, and the intercellular nitrogen and phosphorus con-
centrations are likewise important. Usually, it is necessary to deter-
mine that portion of the nutritive imput attributable to man-made
or man-induced pollution that may be corrected as opposed to that
imput that is natural in origin and, therefore, usually not correctable.
A nutrient budget is used to determine the annual imput to a system,
the annual outflow, and that which is retained within the water mass
to recycle with the biomass or become combined with the solidified
bottom sediments. Calculations can be made to determine those nutri-
ent portions that are incorporated in the standing crops of the respec-
tive biomass components within the system. Calculations can also be
made to determine the quantity of those nutrients that are in solution
within respective vertical strata of the system and to predict those
nutrient concentrations that will be immediately available for plant
growth during the critical spring season. Retention time or "flush-
ouftime may also be calculated.
In this publication, recorded data have been presented on these and
associated topics. A few of these data have been tabulated in the
accompanying table. More could be added but the subject index
presents an almost equally convenient method of comparing data and
has the added advantage of keeping it more meaningful and within
the context of the abstract.
-------
£ 1
1.1
1 I
w K
r
•si.*
515! a
IM^H >-*~'
i.af>it,S££i
ss^SsSs
gg-a'SS
5^
mS C
a M »|
2&:
S3
-------
If it is assumed that phosphorus is the key element in lake enrich-
ment and that 0.015 mg/1 soluble phosphorus at the beginning of the
active growing season will produce subsequent nuisance algal blooms,
then dilution becomes a prime factor of consideration. Assume, then,
that a treated domestic waste with a soluble phosphorus concentration
of 8.0 mg/l-P is discharged to a stream with a soluble phosphorus
concentration of 0.006 mg/1 soluble P. Since a lake is ultimately
influenced by the nutrient concentrations in its inflowing waters, the
8.0 mg/l-P waste must receive greater than a 888:1 dilution with
0.006 mg/l-P water to be below the critical algal growth value.
Considered another way, the inorganic nitrogen (NH3 — N~NO2—
N+NO3~ N) and soluble phosphorus concentration occurring during
the period of early spring growth that are believed to cause algal
nuisances are 0.8 and 0.04 pound, respectively, per acre-foot of lake
water. Thus, assuming a mean water depth of 15 feet, 12 pounds per
acre of inorganic nitrogen and 0.6 pound per acre of soluble phos-
phorus available for organism utilization in early spring might be
expected to stimulate troublesome nuisances. The treated domestic
contribution in sewage lies between 2 to 3 pounds per capita per year.
Assuming further that the soluble phosphorus within the water body
could be calculated at 0.006 mg/l-P, the amount within 15 acre-feet of
water would be 0.24 pound. With this amount present, the per capita
contribution would be theoretically sufficient to fertilize 7 acres of water
to a depth of 15 feet sufficient to produce algal nuisances. It becomes
imperative that quantities of nutrients, however small, must be kept
from natural watercourses.
From the standpoint of nutrient removal, harvesting the aquatic
crops annually would be advantageous. The economics of present
methods of harvesting and the scope of the problem, however, necessi-
tate a critical appraisal of the benefits versus the costs. The expected
standing crop of algae approaches 2 tons per acre (wet weight). Such
would contain only about 15 pounds of nitrogen and 1.5 pounds of
phosphorus. Submerged aquatic plants would be expected to ap-
proach at least 7 tons per acre (wet weight) and contain 32 pounds of
nitrogen and 3.2 pounds of phosphorus per acre. Values may be
higher under severe nuisance conditions.
Bottom-dwelling bloodworms (midge larvae) might be expected to
occur in population densities of 300 pounds per acre (wet weight).
If 6 percent of this population is annually lost as emerged insects out-
side the lake basin, this removes only % pound per acre of nitrogen and
possibly y10 as much phosphorus.
The nitrogen content of fish flesh is approximately 2.5 percent (wet
weight) and the phosphorus content 0.2 percent. Thus, to remove
40 pounds of fish would remove 1 pound of nitrogen, but 500 pounds
of fish must be removed to harvest 1 pound of phosphorus.
-------
Phosphorus occurs in rocks and soils primarily as calcium phos-
phate, Ca3(PO4)2. Since the phosphate rock is sparingly soluble,
leaching brings into solution small amounts of the phosphorus. In
natural waters the element exists as secondary calcium phosphate,
CaHP04, its form being determined by the pH of the water. The
low concentration of phosphorus available from geologic sources is
further reduced by biological systems, since the element is necessary
for all life processes. Thus in waters remote from human influence,
phosphorus exists in very low concentrations as the secondary phos-
phate ion and as organic phosphorus incorporated into biomass. Sea-
sonal changes in plant and animal production result in cyclic
utilization and release of phosphorus to the water.
The discharge of domestic sewage increases the concentration of
phosphorus markedly. Organic phosphorus in the sewage and sim-
ple and complex phosphates from synthetic detergents are the prin-
cipal contributions. Decomposition of the organic material, along
with soluble phosphates, results in phosphorus concentrations far
above the requirements for plant growth. Therefore, in most pol-
luted waters, soluble phosphorus is abundant. This readily available
form often furnishes a food supply for nuisance biological growths.
Nitrogen comes into solution in water as the result of nitrogen fixa-
tion from the air, ammonia from rain-out, organic nitrogen from
decomposing plants and animals, and land drainage. In water solu-
tion the element exists as organic nitrogen, ammonium ion, nitrite
ion, and nitrate ion. In the familiar nitrogen cycle, the proteinaceous
material is decomposed by bacterial action, resulting in the inorganic
ions, which are in turn incorporated into new cell material. The rela-
tive concentrations of the various forms of nitrogen depend upon the
biological systems involved, as influenced by environmental conditions.
When untreated domestic sewage is discharged to a watercourse,
organic nitrogen (proteins) and ammonia are the principal nitrogen
constituents. In the water, nitrifying organisms decompose the or-
ganic materials and oxidize the ammonia to nitrite and nitrate. Since
the nitrite ion is a transient form it is usually present in very low
concentrations.
Treated sewage has undergone partial oxidation in the treatment
process. Therefore the nitrite and nitrate forms are increased in well
treated sewage, while the organic nitrogen and ammonia are reduced.
The discharge of human wastes results in an abundance of nitrogen
in all forms, causing an abrupt change in the nutrient balance of
the stream.
771-090—^5 3
-------
Definitions and Equivalents
cfs=cubic feet per second; cfsX448.8=gallons per minute; cfs
X5.4X106=pounds per day
g/l=grams per liter; g/lXl,000=parts per million
g/m2=grams per square meter; g/m2X8.922=pounds per acre
ha=hectare; haX2.471=acres
kg=kilograms; kgX2.2=pounds
kg/ha=kilograms per hectare; kg/haX0.8922= pounds per acre
metric tonsX2,204=pounds
jug-at P/g=microgram atoms phosphorus per gram=31 parts per
million phosphorus
jug-at P/l=microgram atoms phosphorus per liter=31 parts per
billion phosphorus
jug/g=micrograms per gram=ppm
pg/l=micrograms per liter=ppb; /ng/lX10~3=parts per million
/ig/m2=micrograms per square meter; jug/m2X8.92X106—pounds per
acre
mg/g=milligrams per gram; mg/gX103=ppm
micromoles P per 100 grams X0.31=parts per million
mg/l=milligrams per liter=parts per million
mg/m3=milligrams per cubic meter; mg/m3X0.00272=pounds per
acre-foot
mg/m2=mi]ligrams per square meter; mg/m2X8,922=pounds per
acre
mg %=mil]igrams percent=milligrams in 100 grams=l part in
100,000 parts wet weight; mg %X0.1=ppm
mgd=million gallons per day; mgdX 1.547=cubic feet per second
ppb=parts per billion
ppm=parts per million
PiO5=phosphorus pentoxide; P2O5X0.436=P
PO4=phosphate; P04X0.326=P
NO3=nitrate; NOSX0.226=N
Parts per millionXcubic feet per secondX5.4=pounds per day
(gallons per minuteX2.228X10~3=cubic feet per second)
Parts per millionX8.34Xgallons per dayX10~6=pounds per day
(gallons per minuteXl,440=gallons per day)
As a handy reference, these definitions and equivalents are presented in a
fold-out sheet at the back of this book.
-------
Abbott, W. 1957.
Unusual Phosphorus Source for Plankton Algae. Ecology, Vol. 38,
pp. 152; Water Pollution Abstracts, Vol. 30, No. 8, Abs. No. 1248.
Tests were made to find the source of phosphorus used by planktonic
algae in Lake Houston, a new impounding reservoir in Texas. Chemi-
cal analyses of plankton and honcolloidal detritus from the lake were
made, but no phosphorus wTas detected in these samples. It was
observed that run-off from the watershed following rains produced
a high load of colloidal clay particles in the water. Samples were
taken, half of which were filtered and half still contained collodial
material before being analyzed for phosphorus. Samples containing
colloidal matter contained an average of 85 micrograms per liter of
phosphorus in the phosphate equivalent form while the filtered sam-
ples contained only minute quantities. It wras, therefore, deduced
that the planktonic algae were deriving their nutritive phosphorus
from complex polyphosphates or organic phosphorus compounds
without the aid of dissolved phosphate equivalent intermediate stage.
Allen, M. B. 1955.
General Features of Algae Growth in Sewage Oxidation Ponds.
California State Water Pollution Control Board, Sacramento,
California, Publication No. 13, pp. 11—34.
The maximum yield of algae obtainable from domestic sewage in
the laboratory was 1 to 2 grams dry weight per liter of sewage. The
element most severely limiting algal growth in the sewages studied was
nitrogen. To obtain any appreciable increase in algal production it
was necessary to supplement the sewage with nitrogen as well as with
carbon. The mass of algae present was determined by centrifuging
the cells from a known volume of medium, transferring to a tared
crucible, drying, and weighing.
Algal crops in the field are more difficult to evaluate because of
uncertainty as to whether all the suspended solids should be consid-
ered as algal cells, but 0.5 gram dry weight per liter appears to be the
maximum observed. Clilorella and Scenedesmus were the photo-
synthetic organisms most important in the functioning of the oxida-
tion ponds. It was found that these algae did not grow on sewage in
the dark and that they did not reduce the content of oxidizable mat-
-------
ter in sewage when growing on it in the light. Their development in
the oxidation ponds is thus possible only by photosynthesis, for which
they use carbon dioxide produced in the oxidation of organic; matter
by colorless organisms.
Anderson, G. C. 1961.
Recent Changes in the Trophic Nature of Lake Washington—A
Review. Algae and Metropolitan Wastes, U.S. Public Health
Service, SEC TR W61-3, pp. 27-33.
Lake Washington near Seattle, Washington, a lake of 21,641 acres
with a maximum depth of 214 feet, receives the treated sewage of
76,300 people; eutrophicatioii has resulted. In 1955, ". . . for the
first time, there appeared an increased growth of phytoplankton made
up mainly by the blue-green alga Oscillatoria rubescens, a notorious
indicator of pollution in many lakes." The nitrogen (N) loading on
the lake was 280 pounds per acre per year in 1957; the phosphorus
(P) loading was 12 pounds per acre per year. The hypolimnetic
oxygen deficit has increased from 105 pounds per acre per month in
1933 to 279 pounds per acre per month in 1955. The maximum
hypolimnetic concentration of phosphate (PO4—P) reached in the
deepest waters was 23 ppb in 1950, 89 ppb in 1957, and 74 ppb in 1958.
The standing crop of phytoplankton as indicated by measurements of
phytoplankton volume and chlorophyll measurements was 0.6 part
per million by volume in 1950,1.6 in 1955, and 4.2 in 1956.
Andrews, W. B. 1947.
The Response of Crops and Soils to Fertilizers and Manures. W. B.
Andrews, State College, Mississippi, 459 pp.
In North Carolina, when adequate phosphorus and potash were
used, 20 pounds of nitrogen per acre produced 32 bushels of corn, 60
pounds of nitrogen per acre produced 59 bushels, and 120 pounds of
nitrogen per acre produced 72 bushels.
In the process of becoming soluble, nitrogen is converted into nitric
acid which combines with important elements in the soil, such as cal-
cium and potassium, among other elements, to form soluble compounds
which are subject to leaching, thus causing the loss of these mineral
elements as well as nitrogen. In Kentucky, the pounds of nitrogen
leached per acre ranged from 0 to 10 for alfalfa, and 0.3 to 12.2 for
bluegrass to 29 to 165 where no crop was grown.
8
-------
The fertilizing elements removed in harvested crops were given
as follows:
Crop
Alfalfa -_
Corn __ __
Cotton _ ._
Potatoes . _ _
Soybeans
Tobacco
Part of crop
Hay
Grain
Stover. „
Lint
Seed
Stalks -
Potato .--
Tops
Hay
Seed
Leaves.- _____
Stalks
Yield per acre
4,000 Ibs
25bu_— —
1,667 Ibs
200 Ibs
360 Ibs
600 Ibs
200 bu_
2,000 Ibs
15 bu
1,000 Ibs
800 Ibs
Pounds of
nirtogen
93
24
16
14
10
43
40
50
66
37
17
Pounds of
phosphoric
acid (P.Oi)
25
14
6
g
3
17
7
12
16
7
7
Soils that have a high amount of nitrogen before being brought
into cultivation maintain a higher nitrogen content under cultivation
than do soils which have a low amount of nitrogen before being brought
into cultivation. The average nitrogen content in soil organic matter
in the surface 7 inches of 8 different soil types was 4,276 pounds per
acre for virgin soil and 2,781 pounds per acre for cultivated soil for a
35 percent loss in nitrogen through cultivation. Continuous cropping
of corn depleted the total nitrogen in the upper 7 inches of soil by 52
percent in the first 25 years and 5 percent in the second 25 years.
In the Southeast, 48 pounds of phosphate is generally recommended
each year for continuous cotton production. Fertile soils may contain
as much as 5,000 to 10,000 pounds of phosphate per acre to a depth
of 6% inches; however, most soils contain considerably less than
5,000 pounds. Most of the phosphorus in the soil is in a form which
is not available to plants, and the rate at which phosphorus becomes
available is too slow to supply the needs of crops on most soils.
The pounds of nitrogen, phosphate, and potash in 1 ton of manure
was given as follows:
Animal
Cattle:
Solid
Hens, solid
Hogs:
Solid
Liquid ...
Horses:
Solid
Liquid
Sheep:
Solid
Liquid
Pounds
dry matter
322
124
900
360
66
486
198
690
256
Nitrogen
6.4
19.0
20.0
12.0
6.0
10.0
24.0
13.0
33.6
Phosphate
4 2
6
16.0
9.2
2.4
6 0
Trace
9 2
.6
Potash
3.2
19.0
8.0
8.8
20.0
4.8
30.0
4.8
42.0
Normally 500 to 600 pounds of fish per acre are produced in well
fertilized ponds and 100 to 200 pounds in unfertilized ponds in Ala-
-------
bama. The fertilizers recommended for fishing ponds by the Alabama
Agricultural Experiment Station per acre of water were as follows:
40 pounds of sulfate of ammonia
60 pounds of superphosphate (16%)
5 pounds of muriate of potash
15 pounds of lime.
or
100 pounds of neutral 6-8-4
10 pounds of nitrate of soda.
Two to three fertilizer applications should be made at weekly inter-
vals of four weeks thereafter until October. When the water becomes
clear enough for the bottom of the pond to be seen through l1/^ to 2 feet
of water, fertilizer is needed.
Anon. 1949.
Report on Lake Mendota Studies Concerning Conditions Co'titribut-
ing to Occurrence of Aquatic Nuisances 1945—1947. Wisconsin
Committee on Water Pollution, Madison, Wisconsin, 19 pp.
(Mimeo.)
The soluble phosphorus contributions to Lake Mendota, Wisconsin,
from September 1945, through August 1946, was 4,198 pounds corre-
sponding to 0.43 pound per acre as P. The following year the contri-
bution was 7,137 pounds or 0.76 pound per acre. Soluble phosphorus
averaged 0.048 mg/1 for all streams entering the lake.
The inorganic nitrogen entering Lake Mendota was 203,609 pounds
corresponding to 20.8 pounds per lake acre as N. The contribution of
185,472 pounds during the second year was equivalent to 19.0 pounds
per acre.
During the survey, the arbitrary definition of 500 organisms of a
given species per ml as constituting an algal bloom was used with the
modification that those organisms were included whose population was
less than 500 but whose volume was 10,000 volumetric standard units
or more. The fertilization-bloom relationship using additional data
from Lackey and Sawyer (1945) was given as follows:
Lake
Mendota ^
Inorganic
nitrogen
(pounds per
acre per year)
19.9
81
435
162
Inorganic
phosphorus
(pounds per
acre per year)
0 59
7.5
62 8
35.9
Number of
f ,lgal blooms
per year
10
43
56
40
Since the concentration of inorganic nitrogen in Lake Mendota
varied between 0.15 and 0.58 mg/1 (N) from 1945 to 1947, and inor-
ganic phosphorus varied from 0.008 to 0.082 mg/1 (P), it may be
10
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concluded that a drainage area that is nonurban, such as that of Lake
Mendota, can supply by runoff through its drainage system sufficient
nutrients to fertilize the water to the nuisance-producing level.
Lackey, J. B. and C. N. Sawyer. 1945. Plankton Productivity of certain
Southeastern Wisconsin Lakes as related to Fertilization. Sewage Works
Journal, Yol. 17, pp. 573-585.
Anon. 1950.
Water Supply. Progress Report of the Committee on Water Sup-
ly of the American Public Health Association. American Journal
of Public Health, Vol. 40, No. 5, pp. 110-120; Water Pollution
Abstracts, Vol. 23, No. 8, Abs. No. 902.
The majority of cases of methemoglobinemia are associated with
water containing at least 60 mg/1 nitrate nitrogen, but some rural sup-
plies contain up to 500 mg/1 without the disease occurring.
Anon. 1964.
"Breakthrough" in Poultry Manure. Compost Science, Vol. 5, No.
2, p. 30.
A British firm, Hydraulics Developments Ltd., is reported to have
developed a process of drying poultry manure droppings and pro-
ducing a dry sterile powder for use as a natural organic fertilizer.
Ministry of Agriculture analyses of 10 samples gave an average read-
ing of 5.3 percent nitrogen, 5.1 percent phosphate, and 2.1 percent
potash.
Anon. 1964a.
Midwest Farm Handbook. The Iowa University Press, Ames, Iowa,
474 pp.
Recommendations for continuous fertilizer application to corn in
the midwestern States are about 80 to 100 pounds of nitrogen per
acre and 40 to 60 pounds of phosphate (P2O5) per acre; and to small
grains, about 20 to 50 pounds of nitrogen per acre and 40 to 60 pounds
of phosphate (P2O5) per acre. Some variation in the recommenda-
tions existed because of different soil types given consideration.
Anon. 1964b.
Activities Report, July 1, 1963—June 30, 1964. Basic and Applied
Sciences Branch, Division of Water Supply and Pollution Con-
trol, Public Health Service, 57 pp.
A year's measurements of storm runoff water quality and quantity
from a 27-acre residential-commercial urban area indicated annual
11
-------
amounts of PO4 and total N to be 9 and 11 percent, respectively, of
the estimated raw sewage content from sources on the area.
At Coshocton, Ohio, two storms with 2.21 to 5.09 inches of rainfall
per storm produced a runoff of 6,600 to 76,300 gallons per acre;
phosphate (PCX) in the runoff water ranged from 0.05 to 0.42 pound
per acre, and total nitrogen (N) ranged from 0.20 to 6.12 pounds per
acre.
Ball, R. C. 1949.
Experimental Use of Fertilizer in the Production of Fish-Food Or-
ganisms and Fish. Michigan State College Agricultural Experi-
ment Station Technical Bulletin No. 210, pp. 1-28.
Twenty-one ponds at three Michigan fish hatcheries were utilized
in the summer of 1946 for experimental work to determine the value
of fertilizers in the production of fish. Organic fertilizer in the form
of barnyard manure was applied early in the spring at the rate of
1 ton to each iyz acres of water surface. During the summer, in-
organic fertilizer (10-6^4) was applied at a rate of 33.3 pounds per
acre per week. The general indication was that there was a greater
production of fish in fertilized water. The production of invertebrate
organisms, as determined by dredge sampling, was 42 percent greater
in the fertilized ponds than in the nonfertilized ponds, and the pro-
duction of plankton organisms was 3.3 times greater.
Ball, R. C. 1950.
Fertilization of Natural Lakes in Michigan. Transactions American
Fisheries Society, Vol. 78 (1948), pp. 145-155.
Inorganic fertilizer (10-6-4) was applied to two state-owned lakes
in northern Michigan, one a 4.3-acre trout lake and the other a 27.5-
acre warm-water lake. Two nearby lakes were kept under observa-
tion as controls. Fertilization was carried out at a rate of about 100
pounds per acre from June until September, 1946, and from May until
August 20, 1947. Fertilizer brought about a plankton-algae bloom
the first summer in the warm-water lake and produced a heavy growth
of filamentous algae the second summer. No appreciable oxygen de-
pletion occurred during the winter following the first season of fer-
tilization. Chemical analysis in February of the second winter showed
severe oxygen depletion, with oxygen levels at less than 1 mg/1 at all
depths. An almost complete winterkill occurred in both fertilized
lakes. No winterkill occurred in the control lakes.
12
-------
Ban, R. C. and H. A. Tanner. 1951.
The Biological Effects of Fertilizer on a Warm-Water Lake. Michi-
gan State College, Agricultural Experiment Station, Tech. Bull.
223, pp. 1-32.
Inorganic fertilizer (10-6-4) was applied in the shoal areas of
North Twin Lake, which comprises 27.5 acres, at a rate of 100 pounds
every 3 weeks from early May until mid-September of 1946 and 1947.
A definite increase in plankton followed each application of fertilizer.
Heavy mats of filamentous algae appeared during the second summer
and were a nuisance to fishermen, overburdened higher aquatic plants,
and had an unpleasant odor as they decayed. A statistical analysis
of growth rates before and during fertilization showed a highly sig-
nificant increase in growth following fertilization for all major game
fishes and for all ages for which data were available. An almost
complete winter-kill of fish followed the second summer of fertilization.
Beard, H. R. 1926.
Nutritive Value of Fish and Shellfish. Report U.S. Commissioner
of Fisheries for 1925, pp. 501-552.
The approximate nitrogen content of fish flesh is 2.5 percent (wet
weight) and the phosphorus content 0.2 percent. Thus it would be
necessary to harvest about 1 ton of fish to remove 50 pounds of nitrogen
and 4 pounds of phosphorus; 40 pounds of fish would remove 1 pound
of nitrogen and 500 pounds of fish would remove 1 pound of
phosphorus.
Bennett, G. W. 1962.
Management of Artificial Lakes and Ponds. Reinhold Publishing
Corporation, New York, 283 pp.
The fertilization of ponds and lakes cannot be recommended as a
general fish management technique outside of the southeastern United
States, because the results are too variable and uncertain. Once the
fertility of small impoundments in productive soils has been built up,
this fertility may manifest itself in luxuriant annual crops of fila-
mentous algae, blue-green algae, or rooted aquatic vegetation. There
are already numerous examples of such ponds, most of which are
quite productive of fish; but they are problem waters because a treat-
ment to kill rooted vegetation will be followed by obnoxious blooms
of algae which in turn may require chemical treatment. These lakes
have reduced aesthetic values, and fishing and swimming are limited
by plant growths of one type or another. In ponds in some of the
13
-------
least productive soil types in Illinois the addition of recommended
amounts of inorganic fertilizer increased the average standing crop
of fish by only about 1.22 times. The improvement in fishing was
such that uninformed fishermen could not tell which ponds were fer-
tilized and which were not; yet in terms of total yield, rate of catch,
and average size, the fertilized ponds produced considerably better
bluegill fishing than did unfertilized control ponds. In contrast, the
controls usually produced a higher yield of bass, 10 inches or larger,
than did the fertilized ponds.
Benoit, R. J. 1955.
Relation of Phosphorus Content to Algae Blooms. Sewage and In-
dustrial Wastes, Vol. 27, No. 11, pp. 1267-1269.
The author cites Juday and Birge (1931) as reporting a mean of 23
parts per billion total phosphorus for 479 lakes of northeastern Wis-
consin, and Hutchinson (1941) as reporting a mean of 21 ps,rts per
billion total phosphorus for 23 analyses of the surface water of Linsley
Pond, North Branf ord, Connecticut.
An attempt is made to answer questions regarding the type of phos-
phorus for which to analyze by a definition of terms. Total phos-
phorus is determined by digesting an unfiltered sample and determin-
ing the phosphate content by the molybdate method. If a filtered
sample is digested, and the sample analyzed for phosphate, the total
soluble phosphate is determined. The difference between total phos-
phate and total soluble phosphate is termed particulate phosphate.
This form is not immediately suitable for algal metabolism, although
all phosphate is potentially available when released into solution by
the activity of bacteria.
Juday, 0. and E. A. Birge. 1931. A Second Report on the Phosphorus
Content of Wisconsin Lake Waters, Transactions Wisconsin Academy
Sci., Arts, Letters, Vol. 26, pp. 353-382.
Hutchinson, G. E. 1941. Limnological Studies in Connecticut: LV Mech-
anism of Intermediary Metabolism in Stratified Lakes. Ecological Mono-
graphs, Vol. 11, pp. 21.
Benoit, R. J. and J. J. Curry. 1961.
Algae Blooms in Lake Zoar, Connecticut. Algae and Metropolitan
Wastes, U.S. Public Health Service, SEC TR W61-3, pp. 18-22.
Lake Zoar was formed in 1919 by Stevenson Dam on the Housatonic
River and by 1947 algae were so plentiful that a serious nuisance was
created for lake-side property owners. The lake volume is estimated
to be 42,800 acre-feet and the average flow of the Housatonic River at
14
-------
Lake Zoar is 2,500 cfs, indicating a flow through time of 9 days. Dur-
ing the algal season, low monthly flows result in a replacement of the
lake volume every 40 days. About 183 pounds per day of phosphorus
(P) enter Lake Zoar giving rise to a concentration of 12 to 41 parts
per billion in the water mass.
Birge, E. A. and C. Juday. 1922.
The Inland Lakes of Wisconsin. The Plankton. I. Its Quantity
and Chemical Composition. Wisconsin Geological and Natural
History Survey, Bulletin No. 64, Scientific Series No. 13, pp.
1-222.
Computations based on the area and total volume of Lake Mendota,
Wisconsin, show that the largest standing crop of spring plankton
yielded 360 pounds while the largest autumn crop was 324 pounds per
acre. The smallest summer minimum amounted to 124 pounds per
acre and the smallest winter minimum, 98 pounds per acre. The aver-
age amount of organic matter yielded by the entire series of plankton
catches from Lake Mendota was 214 pounds per acre. These figures
represent the weight of the dry organic matter in the plankton; the
wet weight would be approximately ten times as large. In 166 analyses
over a 7-year period, the minimum mean annual percentage of total
nitrogen (N) varied from 3.92 to 6.60 percent (dry weight) and the
maximum mean annual percentage ranged from 7.02 to 9.97 percent.
The percentages of total nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) on a dry
weight basis are presented for a number of organisms:
Organism
MicTocystis
Anabaena - - - -
Volvox
Clddophofd - - -
MyTiophylluin
Cvclovs
Limnocal&nus
Daphnia pulex^ _ - -
Daphnia pulex _- __
Daphnia pulex _ - _
LeptodoTa - - - -- - -
CambaTus
Hyalella
Hirudineo,
ZyQovtera
Sialis
Chironomus tentans
Percentage of the dry
weight
N
9.27
8.27
7. 61
2.77
3. 23
9.57
7. 18
6.55
8.61
7.55
9.28
6.60
7.37
11. 13
10.62
8. 07
7.36
P
0 52
53
1 10
14
52
1 02
78
1 60
1 54
1 48
1 56
1 16
1 20
76
66
64
93
15
-------
Borgstrom, G. (Editor), 1961.
Fish as Food. Academic Press, New York. 725 pp.
In fish cultivation, 30 to 50 kg. of pure phosphoric acid per hectare
of water surface leads to a yield increase of about 100 kg. of fish flesh
per hectare. On the basis of numerous experiments, it may be ex-
pected that 1 kg. of phosphoric acid will render an additional yield of
2.1 kg. of fish flesh.
In general, the protein content is calculated by multiplying the
amount of nitrogen with the coefficient 6.25 although there is dis-
agreement on the specific coefficient. Protein nitrogen is by far the
most important nitrogen fraction. The distribution of nitrogen in
fish flesh was given as follows:
Species
Cod Atlantic
ITpp'lTijT, Atlantic
Haddock _
Lobster.-.. ^ _ ....
Total N
(%)
2 83
2.90
3 46
2.85
2.72
Protein N
(%)
2 47
2 53
2 97
2 47
2.04
Keference
Heay et al (1943)
Boury (1936)
Boury (1936)
Reay et al (1943).
Campbell 11935).
The reported acid-soluble total phosphorus of the fish muscle ranged
from 5,670 to 15,300 micromoles per 100 grams (approximately 1,814
to 4,896 parts per million wet weight or 0.18 to 0.49 percent; 200 to
600 pounds of fish would contain 1 pound of phosphorus).
Boury, M., 1936. Recherches sur 1'alteration du poisson. Rev. trav. office
peches maritimes, Vol. 9, pp 401-419.
Campbell, 3., 1935. The non-protein nitrogenous constituents of fish and
lobster muscle. J. Biol. Board Can., Vol. 1, pp 179-189.
Reay, G. A., C. L. Cutting, and J. M. Shewan, 1943. The Nation's Food.
VI. Fish as Food. II. The Chemical Composition of Fish. J. Soc. Chem.
Ind., Vol. 62, pp 77-85.
Bosch, H. M.; A. B. Rosenfield; H. R. Shipman, and F. L. Wood-
ward. 1950.
Methemoglobinemia and Minnesota Well Supplies. Journal Ameri-
can Water Works Association, Vol. 42, pp. 161-170; Water Pol-
lution Abstracts, Vol. 23, No. 11, Abs. No. 1283.
Because 139 cases of cyanosis of infants had occurred in Minnesota
since 1947 an investigation was made of well water supplies through-
out the state. Of the 125 dug wells and 4 drilled wells examined as
having been directly concerned in cases of the illness, none contained
less than 10 mg/1 nitrate nitrogen (NO3—N) and only 2 contained as
little as 10 to 20 mg/1. The average concentration of nitrate nitrogen
(NO3 — N) in all the wells suspected of being responsible for the devel-
16
-------
opment of methemoglobinemia was 102 mg/1. None of the wells
reached the standards for safe water supplies specified by the Minne-
sota Department of Health. Five hundred and fourteen municipal
supplies were examined throughout the state; of these 5.4 percent
contained over 5 mg/1 nitrate nitrogen, 3.1 percent contained 10 mg/1
or more, and the highest concentration determined was 27 mg/1 found
in a dug well in a section of the state from which most of the cases
of methemoglobinemia had been reported.
Burkholder, P. 1929.
Biological Significance of the Chemical Analyses. In: Prelimi-
nary Report on the Cooperative Survey of Lake Erie, Season of
1928. Bulletin Buffalo Society of Natural Science, Vol. 14, No.
3, pp. 56-72. [From Putnam and Olson, 1959]
Greatest concentration of ammonia was found at the surface of Lake
Erie in September (0.038 mg/1). At the bottom depth of 17 meters,
there was 0.08 mg/1. Average for all stations showed a marked in-
crease in ammonia content of the upper strata as the season advanced ;
in July it was 0.014 mg/1, in August, 0.015 mg/1, in September, 0.03
mg/1. Nitrates were more abundant than other forms of nitrogen.
The greatest amount was found at intermediate depths in July when
the value reached 0.20 mg/1. An average for all stations was 0.15
mg/1 in July, 0.123 mg/1 in August, and 0.137 mg/1 in September.
Burkholder, P. R. and L. M. Burkholder. 1956.
Vitamin B12 in Suspended Solids and Marsh Muds Collected Along
the Coast of Georgia. Limnology and Oceanography, Vol. 1, No.
3, pp. 202-208.
The vitamin B12 content of suspended solids in river and sea waters
and in marsh muds, collected along the coast of Georgia, was deter-
mined by means of the E. coli mutant assay. Appreciable amounts
of vitamin B12 are carried on suspended particles of river water, the
brown water types showing highest concentrations, up to 6.4 fig per
gram of solids. Vitamin B12 content of particulate matter in the sea
waters varied over the range 0.0027 to 0.130 jug per liter. Calculated
in relation to dried solids, the highest concentration of B12 was 0.736
/tg per gram of solids. It was concluded that suspended particles are
important in the vitamin nutrition of the sea and that bacteria are
significant producers and carriers of vitamin B12 in the marine
environment.
17
-------
Campbell, W. A. B. 1952.
Methemoglobinemia due to Nitrates in Well Water. British Medical
Journal, Vol. 2, pp. 371-373.
Cases of infantile nitrate poisoning have been reported to arise from
concentrations ranging from 15 to 250 mg/1 nitrate nitrogen
(NOs-N).
Chalupa, J. 1960.
Eutrophication of Reservoirs by Atmospheric Phosphorus. Sci.
Pap. Inst. Chem. Technol., Prague, Fac. Technol. Fuel. Wat., Vol.
4, Pt. 1, pp 295-308 (English summary); Water Pollution
Abstracts, Vol. 35, No. 5, Abs. No. 660.
Data collected over a 7-month period in 1958-59 at the Sedlice Keser-
voir, Czechoslovakia, show that the whole reservoir (35.8 ha) received
about % kg. of inorganic phosphorus (as P2O5) from the atmosphere.
This source of phosphorus is important in stimulating primary pro-
duction of organisms in the trophogenic zone during periods of normal
thermal stratification when the penetration of inorganic phosphorus
from the bottom layers cannot satisfy the demand of developing
organisms in the surface layers.
Chandler, D. C. and O. B. Weeks. 1945.
Limnological Studies of Western Lake Erie. V. Relation of Lim-
nological and Meteorological Conditions to the Production of
Phytoplankton in 1942. Ecological Monographs, Vol. 15, pp.
436-456. [From Putnam and Olson, 1959]
All analyses were made on composite samples prepared from surface
samples and from samples at 5 and 9 meter depths. All analyses were
completed within 6 hours of the time of collection.
Organic nitrogen varied from a high of 26 micrograms per liter on
August 26 to a low of 2 micrograms per liter on September 18; these
extremes coincided with a high and low level of phytoplankton,
respectively.
Soluble phosphate phosphorus values varied from 1 to 8 micrograms
per liter with the high point occurring at three times: (1) at the time
of greatest organic phosphorus concentration, (2) during a period of
increased turbidity which apparently resulted from increased river
discharge, and (3) two weeks following the cessation of the autumn
phytoplankton pulse. Lowest values occurred wThen the phytoplankton
population was decreasing. Twenty-nine percent of the total phos-
phorus content was in the soluble phosphate phosphorus state.
18
-------
Nitrate nitrogen varied from 0 to 1,400 micrograms per liter, am-
monia nitrogen from 8 to 120 micrograms per liter, and nitrite nitro-
gen from 0 to 38 micrograms per liter.
Chu, S. P. 1942.
The Influence of the Mineral Composition of the Medium on the
Growth of Planktonic Algae. Part I. Methods and Culture Media.
Journal of Ecology, Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 284-325.
With few exceptions the planktonic algae investigated grow equally
well in media supplied with nitrate and in those supplied with am-
monium salts as long as the N concentration is within the optimum
range, but in lower N concentrations growth is generally better when
nitrate is supplied. The requirements of N and P agree well among
the different planktonic algae, although there are minor differences in
the upper and lower limits that are suitable. All of the algae studied
flourished in media with N ranging from 1 to 7 and P from 0.1 to 2
mg/1 respectively. The algae are likely to suffer from a deficiency
when the concentration of N" is below 0.2 mg/1 and that of P below
0.05 mg/1 and from an inhibiting effect when the concentration of N"
and P exceed 20 mg/1. The optimum range of P concentration is
often wider when nitrate is used than when ammonium salt is used as
the source of N.
Chu, S. P. 1943.
The Influence of the Mineral Composition of the Medium on the
Growth of Planktonic Algae. Part II. The Influence of the Con-
centration of Inorganic Nitrogen and Phosphate Phosphorus.
Journal of Ecology, Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 109-148.
The upper limit of concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus for
optimum growth of the plankton organisms studied is always higher
than the highest concentrations occurring in ordinary waters, so that
their growth is unlikely ever to be unfavorably affected by too high a
concentration of nitrogen or phosphorus. On the other hand, the
concentration of nitrogen and phosphorus in nearly all natural waters
frequently falls below, or in some never reaches, the lower limits for
optimum growth. The lower limit of the optimum range of nitrogen
concentration differs for different organisms. It generally varies
approximately from 0.3 to 1.3 and sometimes to 2.6 or 5.3 mg/1 when an
ammonium salt is the source of nitrogen; and from 0.3 to 0.9 mg/1
when nitrate is the source of nitrogen. Below these limits the growth
rate decreases with decreasing concentration of nitrogen. The upper
limit of the optimum range of nitrogen concentration varies approxi-
19
-------
mately from 5.3 to 13 mg/1 when an ammonium salt is the source of
nitrogen, and from 3.5 to 17 mg/1 when nitrate is the source of. nitro-
gen. Beyond these limits there is an increasing inhibiting effect.
Optimum growth of all organisms studied can be obtained in nitrate-
nitrogen concentrations from 0.9 to 3.5 mg/1 and phosphorus con-
centrations from 0.09 to 1.8 mg/1, while a limiting effect on all orga-
nisms will occur in nitrogen concentrations from 0.1 mg/1 downward
and in phosphorus concentrations from 0.009 mg/1 downward.
The lower limit of optimum range of phosphorus concentration
varies from about 0.018 to about 0.09 mg/1; and the upper limit from
8.9 to 17.8 mg/1 when nitrate is the source of nitrogen, while it lies
at about 17.8 for all the planktons studied when ammonium is the
source of nitrogen. Low phosphorus concentrations may, therefore,
like low nitrogen concentrations, exert a selective limiting influence on
a phytoplankton population. The nitrogen concentration determines
to a large extent the amount of chlorophyll formed. Nitrogen con-
centrations beyond the optimum range inhibit the formation of
chlorophyll in green algae.
Comly, H. H. 1945.
Cyanosis in Infants Caused by Nitrates in Well Water. Journal
American Medical Association, Vol. 129, pp. 112—116.
The causative factor producing serious blood changes (methemoglo-
binemia) in infants was first reported in 1945 in polluted water con-
taining 140 mg/1 nitrate nitrogen (NO3—N) and 0.4 mg/1 nitrite
(NO2) ion in one case; in the second case, 90 mg/1 nitrate nitrogen and
1.3 mg/1 nitrite ion.
Cook, B. B. 1962.
The Nutritive Value of Waste-Grown Algae. American Journal of
Public Health, Vol. 52, No. 2, pp. 243-251.
The proximate analysis and amounts of calcium, phosphorus, iron,
carotene, ascorbic acid, and eight B-vitamins have been determined
in single-celled algae grown in symbiosis with bacteria in open, out-
door ponds, on sewage and organic wastes. Dried Scenedesmus
quadricauda and Chlorella were found to contain 40 to 50 percent
protein and extremely large amounts of minerals. Compared with
beef on a weight basis, the algae contained more of all the B-vitamins,
except B12, than did beef. Because of the unpleasant odor an.d flavor
of the algae, it would be extremely improbable that it would be eaten
unless effectively masked with other foods in combination.
20
-------
Curl, H., Jr. 1959.
The Origin and Distribution of Phosphorus in Western Lake Erie.
Limnology and Oceanography, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 66—76.
The phosphate phosphorus distribution in western Lake Erie in
May 1951 and the average concentration throughout 1950-1951 were
shown to be a result of the drift current pattern and the discharge
of the Maumee and Detroit Rivers. The bedrock in the lake appears
to provide negligible quantities. The Detroit River supplies 405
metric tons per year at an average concentration of 2.6 jug PO*—P/l,
and the Maumee Eiver supplies 125 tons per year at a concentration
of 16 fj.g PO*—P/l. There is a loss of soluble phosphorus, possibly
as precipitating ferric phosphate and by adsorption onto ferric hydrox-
ide. The bottom sediments contained an average of 56.9 nag P/g
of dried mud.
"Maumee River water averaged 50 /ig Fe+++/l in 1950-51, which
could be present as hydroxide or as ferric phosphate. In the latter
state 50 /*g of iron would be combined stoichiometrically with 27 /*g
of phosphorus. In an excess of ferrous ion, ferric hydroxide could be
adsorbed onto the colloid, and the complex would then precipitate.
A mechanism such as this would account for the high phosphorus
values of the lake sediments. If 27 /*g of the average of 43 jug PO4—
P/l in Maumee River water were to be combined as ferric phosphate
and lost by precipitation to the river and estuary bed, 16 ^g would
remain."
Phosphate phosphorus and turbidity in the lake are positively cor-
related and evidence from turbidity data indicates that the lake is
enriched by a thin-layered tongue of water from the south shore
streams which flows over or under the clearer, nutrient-poor water,
and then mixes vertically with it.
Removal of fish by man accounts for an annual loss of 29 metric
tons, or 6 percent of the average annual input. Approximately 94
metric tons may be held temporarily as phytoplankton. The density
of the diatom cells was taken as 1.1 and the average wet weight as
organic matter of freshwater and marine phytoplankton had been
found to be 5 percent.
Curry, J. J. and S. L. Wilson. 1955.
Effects of Sewage-borne Phosphorus on Algae. Sewage and Indus-
trial Wastes, Vol. 27, No. 11, pp. 1262-1266.
Since the formation of Lake Zoar on the Housatonic River in
Connecticut by the construction of the Stevenson Dam, the number of
algae and aquatic weeds in the lake have increased considerably, and a
771-096-^65 4
21
-------
study of the problem was carried out in 1954. Phosphorus concentra-
tions in the lake varied from 12 to 41 ppb and averaged about 25 ppb.
Preliminary studies using 200 mg/1 alum in 4,000-gallon batch treat-
ments with a mixing time of 10 minutes and a settling time of 2 hours
treating sewage plant effluents having a phosphorus content of 3.61
to 4.62 mg/1 gave 96.7 percent removal of phosphates.
Deevey, E. S., Jr. 1940.
Limnological Studies in Connecticut. V. A Contribution to Re-
gional Limnology. American Journal of Science, Vol. 238, pp.
717-741.
Examination of 49 lakes in Connecticut and New York provided
data showing a close relationship between the geology of the region
and the quantity of phytoplankton in the lakes. Lakes overlying
soluble sedimentary rocks, rich in iron, had abundant phytoplankton
and a high phosphorus concentration; those surrounded by meta-
morphic rock were poor in phytoplankton. In order of importance
in the control of phytoplankton growth was phosphorus first, followed
by nitrogen.
Lakes of Connecticut resemble those of northeastern Wisconsin with
respect to the amounts of soluble and total phosphorus. The lakes in
both regions "live beyond their means" with regard to their phos-
phorus content; under arctic conditions, the phosphorus oligotype
would result in oligotrophy.
DomogaUa, B. P. and E. B. Fred. 1926.
Ammonia and Nitrate Studies of Lakes Near Madison, Wisconsin.
Journal of the American Society of Agronomy, Vol. 18, pp.
897-911.
Surface and bottom samples of 2 to 5 liters taken each two weeks
were analyzed for organic nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, nitrate nitro-
gen, and phosphate phosphorus.
Of the five lakes examined, the water of Lake Waubesa (Madison,
Wisconsin) showed a consistently higher organic nitrogen content
than did the others and, also, the greatest concentration of phyto-
plankton. The range was 980 nag per cubic meter in June to 1,470 mg
per cubic meter in the latter part of August.
In all the lakes, ammonia concentration increased during March
and April but began to decrease with the increase in plankton
concentration.
22
-------
The nitrate changes followed the same variation as organic nitrogen
and ammonia. Concentration of phosphate phosphorus decreased
with increasing concentration of plankton.
Analysis of lake water following heavy rains showed a marked in-
crease in the concentration of soluble phosphorus and the different
forms of nitrogen.
Domogalla, B. P., E. B. Fred, and W. H. Peterson. 1926a.
Seasonal Variation in the Ammonia and Nitrate Content of Lake
Waters. Journal American Water Works Association, Vol. 15,
pp. 369-385. [From Putnam and Olson, 1959]
In Lake Mendota, Wisconsin, beginning with the fall overturn,
there was little change in soluble nitrogen until February and March;
by the time the spring overturn occurred in April, there was an
increase of 300 percent in free ammonia and 200 percent in nitrate
nitrogen in the bottom levels.
In Lake Michigan, at the surface, the concentration of ammonia
was 102 mg per cubic meter; nitrate was 50 mg per cu. m. At
72 meters depth, ammonia was 204 mg per cu. m.; nitrate was 79 mg
per cu. m.
Domogalla, B. P., C. Juday, and W. H. Peterson. 1925.
The Forms of Nitrogen Found in Certain Lake Waters. Journal
of Biological Chemistry, Vol. 63, pp. 269-285. [From Putnam
and Olson, 1959]
Lake Mendota, Wisconsin, contained more than 9 times as much
soluble nitrogen as it did total plankton nitrogen. Ammonia nitrogen
varied from 11.6 to 39.2 mg. per cu. m. during a 1-year period. Most
of the soluble nitrogen was formed at the bottom of the lake, spread-
ing upward toward the surface. At the spring and fall overturns,
the soluble nitrogen content of the lake was uniform. As soon as
stratification occurs, the concentration of soluble nitrogen in the
hypolimnion exceeds that in the epilimnion.
Donahue, R. L. 1961.
Our Soils and Their Management. The Interstate Printers and
Publishers, Inc., Danville, Illinois, 568 pp.
Nitrogen in representative surface soils varies from 0.2 percent in
the sandy soils of Florida and Virginia to approximately 0.15 percent
23
-------
in a limestone soil in the Lake States. The amount of nitrogen in a
soil is proportional to the amount of organic matter. The percentage
of nitrogen multiplied by 20 usually equals the percentage of organic
matter. Phosphorus varies from a trace to 0.3 percent in surface
soils. Nitrogen and phosphate in a productive soil average about
0.1 pound per cubic foot each.
The pounds of plant nutrients required per acre for good acre yields
were given as follows:
Nitrogen (N) . . .
Phosphate (PiOs)
Boron,
Nutrients per acre
Pine trees
(annual
growth)
24
4
Corn
(100 bushels)
160
55
0.15
Alfalfa
(0 tons)
300
76
0.7
As a general rule, 1 ton of livestock, regardless of kind, will void
about 1 ton per month of excrement based on an equivalent water
content of 65 percent. The average composition in pounds per ton
of fresh animal manures was given as follows:
Cattle
Hogs _--. -.__„
Sheep .. - _ _ - - .- -~ -_ ~
Poultry ,-. -
Nitrogen(N)
(pounds)
10
13
10
21
20
Phosphate
(PjOs)
(pounds)
4
5
7
6
16
Sawdust contains 4 Ibs N and 2 Ibs P2O5 per ton of dry material;
wheat straw 10 and 3 pounds, respectively; alfalfa hay, 48 and 10.
Activated sewage sludge contains 5.6 percent nitrogen (N) and 5.7
percent phosphorus (P205); digested sludge, 2.4 and 2.7 percent
respectively.
The pounds of fertilizer recommended per acre per year on grass-
land varies from 50 in the Pacific and Great Plains regions to 450
pounds in the northeast and southeast. The percentage of the recom-
mended amount that is applied varies from 0.8 to 16 percent in the
above named regions.
On the average 3,500 pounds of tree leaves per acre, on the oven-dry
basis, fall to the ground each year (Metz, 1954). This compares with
approximately 1,700 pounds from jack pines and red pine stands in
Minnesota (Alway and Zon, 1930) and between 3,000 and 4,000 pounds
from New England red pine forests (Lunt, 1948). The nutrients
24
-------
returned annually to the soil by forest tree leaves were cited as follows
(Chandler 1941 and 1943) :
Conifer __ _
Hardwood _
Pounds per acre returned
annually
Nitrogen
23.6
16.6
Phosphorus
1.8
3.3
Metz, L. J., 1954. Forest Floor of South Carolina Piedmont Stands. Soil
Sci. Soc. Amer. Proc.
Alway, F. J. and R. Zon, 1930. Quantity and Nutrient Content of Pine Leaf
Litter. Journ. Forestry, Vol. 28, pp. 715-727.
Lunt, H. A., 1948. The Forest Soils of Connecticut. Connecticut Agr. Exp.
Station Bui. No. 523.
Chandler, R. F., Jr., 1941. The Amount and Nutrient Content of Freshly
Fallen Leaf Litter in the Hardwood Forests of Central New York. Journ.
Amer. Soc. Agron., Vol. 33.
Chandler, R. F., Jr., 1943. Amount and Mineral Nutrient Content of Freshly
Fallen Needle Litter of Some Northeastern Conifers. Soil Sci. Soc. Amer.
Proc., Vol. 8.
Douglas, J. S. 1959.
Hydroponics
Oxford University Press, London, 144 pp.
The dry fertilizer salts, which are used in hydroponics, go into solu-
tion with the water present in the beds of aggregate forming a liquid
plant food. A suitable nutrient solution would contain:
Element
Mg./l.
200 to 400
100 to 200
80 to 100
60 to 100
300 to 500
Element
Boron .
Zinc
MB./I.
2 to 10
0. B to 6
0.5 to 5
0.5
1.0
Variations of these concentrations have been used with success, and
much depends on locality, climate, and light conditions.
Dugdale, V. A. and R. C. Dugdale. 1962.
Nitrogen Metabolism in Lakes. II. Role of Nitrogen Fixation in
Sanctuary Lake, Pennsylvania. Limnology and Oceanography,
Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 170-177.
A study of the rates of nitrogen fixation using N15 as a tracer was
made in Sanctuary Lake, Pennsylvania. The rates of fixation in the
25
-------
lake were found to be considerable (at least 1 percent per day of the
organic or "reduced" nitrogen already present at the beginning of the
experiment) during the summer and appeared to be correlated with
the presence of a dense population of Anabaena. Laboratory experi-
ments supported the idea that photosynthetic organisms were respon-
sible since a strong correlation with light was found.
Dugdale, V. A. and R. C. Dugdale. 1965.
Nitrogen Metabolism in Lakes. III. Tracer Studies of the Assimila-
tion of Inorganic Nitrogen Sources. Limnology and Oetsanog-
raphy, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 53-57.
The activity of the phytoplankton in Sanctuary Lake, Pennsyl-
vania, was found to fall in three clearly defined periods: (1) a spring
bloom when NH3 — N, NO3~ N, and N2—N are assimilated strongly
and in that order of importance; (2) a midsummer period when weak
assimilation of NH3 —N and N2—N, but not NO3 —N, occurred; and
(3) a fall bloom with intense nitrogen fixation and some NH3 — N
uptake, but characterized by low NO3—N activity. Nitrogen fixation
and NH3—N uptake appear to proceed concurrently, although am-
monia uptake dominates in spring and nitrogen fixation dominates
in fall.
Dugdale, R. C., J. J. Goering, and J. H. Ryther. 1964.
High Nitrogen Fixation Rates in the Sargasso Sea and the Arabian
Sea. Limnology and Oceanography, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 507-510.
Nitrogen fixation rates were measured in the Sargasso Sea and the
Arabian Sea using the N15 method. It was considered a virtual cer-
tainty that the large-scale blooms of TricTiodesmium from tropical
oceanic regions were nitrogen-fixing blooms analogous to those ob-
served in lakes associated with several species of Anabaena. The
ability to fix nitrogen was clearly shown to lie with the Trichodesmium
colonies (that is, the alga and any associated bacteria or fungi).
Dugdale, R. C. and J. C. Neess. 1961.
Recent Observations on Nitrogen Fixation in Blue-Green Algae.
Algae and Metropolitan Wastes, U.S. Public Health Service:, SEC
TR W61-3, pp. 103-106.
The authors cite necessary conditions for intense nitrogen fixation:
(1) the general physical and nutritional characteristics of the body of
water must be such as to encourage the growth of blue-green algae,
26
-------
(2) some factor(s) must operate to reduce the concentrations of the
various forms of combined nitrogen to very low levels, (3) an ade-
quate supply of phosphorus would appear to be critical, and (4)
certain elements (calcium, boron, and molybdenum) in trace amounts
are known to be specifically necessary to permit nitrogen fixation by
particular species of blue-green algae. Dilute sea-water is a reason-
ably good medium for nitrogen-fixing blue-green algae, perhaps be-
cause it contains favorable amounts of trace elements. It seems pos-
sible that some of these elements are concentrated in sewage, resulting
under certain circumstances in the stimulation of nitrogen fixation
by this material.
Engelbrecht, R. S. and J. J. Morgan. 1959.
Studies on the Occurrence and Degradation of Condensed Phos-
phate in Surface Waters. Sewage and Industrial Wastes. Vol.
31, No. 4, pp. 458-478.
Rudolfs (1947) reported an average phosphate concentration in
raw sewage of 5.2 mg/1 as P2O5. The average concentration in
effluents from biological treatment was 0.5 mg/1 as P205. Rudolfs
indicated that per capita phosphate contributions from domestic raw
sewage were from 3.3X10'3 to 7.5 XlO"3 Ib/day as P2O5. Sawyer
(1952) calculated that the contribution of phosphates used in the de-
tergent and water softening industry during 1950 amounted to
10 X10-3 Ib/day/cap as P2O5. Estimates by the Association of Amer-
ican Soap and Glycerine Producers indicated a synthetic detergent
consumption of 16 Ib/cap for the year 1955. This corresponded to a
contribution of 12 X1Q-3 Ib/day/cap as P2O5 to sewage by household
synthetic detergenl s a lone. Sawyer (1944) reported total phosphorus
land drainage of approximately 1.6 Ib/day sq mile, of which approx-
imately 75 percent was organic. Silvey (1953) observed that organic
phosphorus in plant leaves may be oxidized to soluble phosphates.
Sudden additions of water through rainfall could wash phosphates
to the stream. Dietz and Harmeson (1958) concluded that the aver-
age total phosphate concentration in Illinois surface waters was
0.648 mg/1 as P2O5. Solely on the basis of stream analysis data, they
estimated that the phosphate contribution from domestic sewage would
range from 7.07 X1Q-3 to 87.3 X10'3 Ib/day/cap.
Results from 9 samples collected at 8 lake and reservoir sources be-
lieved to be relatively free of domestic pollution gave a mean ortho-
phosphate concentration of 0.036 mg/1 P2O5 and a mean value of ortho-
phosphate plus the maximum inorganic condensed (hydrolyzable)
P,O5 of 0.081 mg/1.
The analytical results from 27 samples from streams in the major
Illinois River basin suspected to contain significant amounts of treated
27
-------
and untreated wastes gave an average orthophosphate concentration
of 0.411 mg/1 P2O5 and an average orthophosphate plus maximum
inorganic condensed P2O5 of 0.657 mg/1.
The mean orthophosphate concentration among 3 trickling filter
sewage treatment plant effluents and 1 activated sludge plant effluent
in Illinois in 1956 ranged from 11.6 to 24.2 mg/1 P2O5 and the per
capita contributions from 9.4 to 24.2 X10'3 pounds per day. In addi-
tion, the maximum inorganic condensed P2O5 concentration ranged
from 0.8 to 2.1 mg/1 and the per capita contribution from 0.7 to 2.25 X
10"3 pound per day.
Budolfs, W. 1947. Phosphates in Sewage and Sludge Treatment. I.
Quantities of Phosphates. Sewage Works Journal, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 43.
Sawyer, C. N. 1952. Some New Aspects of Phosphates in Relation to Lake
Fertilization. Sewage and Industrial Wastes, Vol. 24, No. 6, pp 768-776.
Sawyer, O. N. 1947. Fertilization of Lakes by Agricultural and Urban
Drainage. Jour. New England Water Works Assn., Vol. 61, No-. 2, pp.
109-127.
Silvey, J. K. G. 1953. Relation of Irrigation to Taste and Odors, Jour-
nal American Water Works Assoc., Vol. 45, No. 11, pp. 1179.
Dietz, J. O. and R. H. Harmeson. 1958. Phosphate Compounds Occurring
in Illinois Surface Waters. -Proceedings 12th Indiana Waste Conference,
Purdue University, Vol. 94, pp. 285.
Engelbrecht, R. S. and J. J. Morgan. 1961.
Land Drainage as a Source of Phosphorus in Illinois Surface Waters.
Algae and Metropolitan Wastes, U.S. Public Health Service, SEC
TR W61-3, pp. 74r-79.
Phosphorus carried to surface waters may be in the simple ortho-
phosphate form or as a soluble hydrolyzable phosphate, or it may be
adsorbed on clay particles. As adsorbed forms of phosphate increase
in amount their solubility in water increases rapidly. Results are re-
ported for 100 samples from the Kaskaskia River basin that has farm
lands containing 40 to 50 pounds of available P2O5 per acre, and are
drained by tile drains. High rainfalls and high rates of percolation
exist. At one station that receives no domestic sewage and receives
runoff from a cultivated drainage area of 11 square miles, ortho plus
hydrolyzable P2O5 averaged 0.1 pound of P2O5 per day per square mile
of drainage area. For the 100 samples, the calculated pounds of P2O5
per day per square mile varied from 0 to 58 for ortho plus hydrolyzable
with a mean of 1.4. The amount of agricultural phosphate transported
to streams undoubtedly depends upon the: nature and amount o f phos-
phates in the soil, mode of drainage, topography, intensity and distri-
bution of rainfall, rates of infiltration and percolation, and probably
other factors.
28
-------
Pippin, E. O. 1945.
Plant Nutrient Losses in Silt and Water in the Tennessee River Sys-
tem. Soil Science, Vol. 60, pp. 223—239.
The average loss of plant nutrients per acre of row crops in Tenn-
essee River System for the year 1939 was: 84.6 pounds of calcium, 97.9
pounds of magnesium, 212.2 pounds of potassium, 13.0 pounds of
phosphorus (all expressed as oxides) and 23.8 pounds of nitrogen.
Fitzgerald, G. P. 1965. Personal Communication.
The following data were supplied:
A. Concentration of Salts Used in Algal Media at University of Wisconsin
(mg./l.)
Salt
NH4C1 ..
NaNOs .. .
KNOi
KHjPO4
KjHPO4
MgClj . .
MgSOc7H20
CaClj-2HjO
Fe Citrate
FeCU
Fei(SO()s
NazSiOs-9HjO
NajCOs
Citric acid
Na citrate
EDTA .
Gerloff's '
124
10
25
36
3
58
20
3
ASM'
85
17.4
19
49
14.7
.32
7.4
Gotham's '
496
39
75
36
6
58
20
6
1
Allen's «
50
1 000
250
513
66
3
Myers' •
1,210
1 230
2 460
52
195
B. Concentration of Essential Ions in Media (mg./l.)
Ions
N
P
Fe _. . ...
Mg
Ca -
S --
E
Gerloff's
20
1.8
5
2 4
10
3 2
4. fi
ASM
14
3.1
.1
9.6
4.0
6.4
7.8
Gorbam's
82
7
1
7
10
10
17
Allen's
178
45
1
50
18
67
112
Myers'
168
295
15
243
323
353
' Fitzgerald, G. P., G. C. Gerloff, and F. Skoog, Studies on Chemicals with Selective Toiicity to Blue-
green Algae, Sew. and Ind. Wastes, jf£ 888-896 (1952).
' McLachlan, J. and P. E. Gorham, Growth of Microcystis aeruginosa Kutz in a precipitate-free medium
buffered with tris. Can. J. Microbiol., 7:869-882 (1961).
> Hughes, E. O., P. E. Gorham, U. A. Zehnder, Toxicity of a unialgal culture of Microcyitis aeruginosa,
Can. J. Microbiol., 4: 225-236 (1958).
• Allen, M. B., The Cultivation of Myxophyceae. Arch. Mikrobiol., 17:34-53 (1952).
»Burlew, J. S., Ed., Algal Culture: From Laboratory to Pttot Plant. Carnegie Inst. Wash., Pub. No. 600
(1953).
Flaigg, N. G. and G. W. Reid. 1954.
Effects of Nitrogenous Compounds on Stream Conditions. Sewage
and Industrial Wastes, Vol. 26, No. 9, pp. 1145-1154.
In laboratory experiments to determine which forms of nitrogen
were most readily utilized by microorganisms, concentrations up to
29
-------
about 15 mg/1 showed no significant difference in the utilization of
the three inorganic forms (nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia). Phos-
phorus was supplied by a solution of dibasic potassium phosphate.
With higher concentrations of nitrogen, growth of algae was accele-
rated and in practice this would tend to concentrate the organisms in
a shorter stretch of the stream.
Gerloff, G. C., G. P. Fitzgerald, and F. Skoog, 1950.
The Isolation, Purification, and Nutrient Solution Requirements of
Blue-green Algae. Symposium on the Culturing of Algae,
Charles F. Kettering Foundation, Dayton, Ohio, pp. 27—44.
The composition of basic culture solutions used for mineral nutrition
experiments with Coccochlons Peniocystis were given as follows:
Compound
NaNOs
NajHPOi
KC1 .
Mgdi-eHiO - - --- —
Naj SOi
CaClj'2HjO
Citric acid
Nai COs
NajSiOs -
Grams per
liter
0.0413
.0082
.0086
.0209
.0146
.0359
.003
.003
.02
.025
PPM of essential
elements
N
K
Mg
S
Ca
Fe - .
6 8
1 8
4 5
2.5
3 3
9 8
.56
Hoagland's A to Z solution is added to the culture solution, at y25
the strength specified for higher plants.
The minimum concentration of each element for the optimum
growth of Coccoc'hloris Peniocystis would have the following compo-
sition in ppm: nitrogen, 13.6; phosphorus, 0.45; sulfur, 0.83; potas-
sium, 2.25; magnesium, 0.13; iron, 0.03; and only traces of calcium
derived from the inoculum and from impurities in the nutrients.
Gerloff, G. C. and F. Skoog. 1954.
Cell Content of Nitrogen and Phosphorus as a Measure of their
Availability for Growth of Microcystis aeruginosa. Ecology, Vol.
35, No. 3, pp. 348-353.
The estimation of nutrient supplies by analysis of water collected
from the area in which the algae are present may be of little value
because the total supply of a nutrient element is dependent on the
total volume as well as the concentration of the solution from which
it is absorbed. This effective volume will vary with the extent to
which the algae are moved about and come in contact with different
30
-------
volumes of water. The concentration of nutrients in the water may
reflect only the level reached as a result of continuous withdrawal by
organisms and renewal by inflow and release from less available forms.
In laboratory experiments, maximum algal yields were associated with
a cell content of 4.0 percent total N although a maximum cell content
of 7.7 percent N was found when more nitrogen was available in the
culture with no yield increase. The increase in nitrogen content of
the cells represents luxury consumption. Likewise, the critical level
for maximum growth was associated with a phosphorus content in the
cell of 0.12 percent P and luxury consumption raised the P value to
0.46 percent with no yield increase. The mean total nitrogen (N) and
total phosphorus (P) contents of seven samples of Microcystis aeru-
ginosa collected from heavy algal blooms in three lakes in the vicinity
of Madison, Wisconsin, was 6.83 and 0.69 percent dry weight, respec-
tively.
Gerloff, G. C. and F. Skoog. 1957.
Nitrogen as a Limiting Factor for the Growth of Microcystis aerugi-
nosa in Southern Wisconsin Lakes. Ecology, Vol. 38, No. 4, pp.
556-561.
Laboratory experiments in which nitrogen, phosphorus or iron was
added to lake water singly and in combinations and the resultant algal
growth determined indicated that only nitrogen, phosphorus, and
iron need be considered possible limiting elements. Of these, nitrogen
is much more critical than either phosphorus or iron. Approximately
5 milligrams of nitrogen and 0.08 milligram of phosphorus were neces-
sary for each 100 milligrams of algae produced; a N: P ratio of 60:1.
Gerloff, G.C. and F. Skoog. 1957a.
Availability of Iron and Manganese in Southern Wisconsin Lakes
for the Growth of Microcystis aeruginosa. Ecology, Vol. 38, No.
4, pp. 551—556.
Comparisons were made of the cell content of iron and manganese
in cells of Microcystis aeruginosa collected from blooms in southern
Wisconsin lakes with critical levels of the elements for maximum
growth determined in the laboratory. These critical levels in the
algal cells as determined in the laboratory were approximately 100
mg/1 iron and 4 mg/1 manganese. The cell contents of the elements
in the lakes tested were in all cases so far in excess of these values that
it seems unlikely the availability of either element is a factor in the
development of blooms of this species in lakes.
31
-------
Goering, J. J. and J. C. Neess. 1964.
Nitrogen Fixation in Two Wisconsin Lakes. Limnology and Ocean-
ography, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 530-539.
Eates of biological nitrogen fixation in Lake Wingra and Lake Men-
dota, at Madison, Wisconsin, varied with light intensity. In Lake
Mendota, rates were erratic and did not follow a regular seasonal pat-
tern. Through the ice-free season, the rate of fixation was normally
zero, but positive rates did occur without obvious relation to the
concentrations of various forms of combined nitrogen. Significant
fixation rates were found in Lake Wingra from mid-February to late
October. The highest rate observed was 14.85 ^g of nitrogen fixed per
liter per 24 hours at a depth of 1 meter on July 26, 1961. Although
the rates were significant throughout the ice-free season, they often
fluctuated widely from date to date. Fixation occurred at times? when
nitrate and ammonia were present; however, maximum rates did not
develop until nitrate and ammonia concentrations were low or un-
detectable. Microcystis and Anabaena were predominant genera, pres-
ent, and Anabaena probably was the significant nitrogen fixer.
Gotaas, H. B. 1954.
Discussion. Sewage and Industrial Wastes, Vol. 26, No. 3, pp.
325-326.
Dry weight algal yields of over 2,000 pounds per million gallons of
primary sewage effluent have been obtained.
Grill, E. V. and F. A. Richards. 1964.
Nutrient Regeneration from Phytoplankton Decomposing iin Sea
Water. Journal of Marine Research, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 51—69.
A laboratory model of the regeneration of the inorganic nutrient
salts of phosphorus, nitrogen, and silicon from diatom cells decaying
in the dark while subject to bacterial attack was studied. The obser-
vations extended over a period of more than one year, but the signifi-
cant changes appeared to have been restricted to the first five months.
The sudden increase in dissolved organic phosphorus, the decrease in
particulate phosphorus, and the onset of silica re-solution after the
eighth day suggest the autolytic release of dissolved organic phos-
phorus compounds from a dying diatom population. A rapid bac-
terial modification apparently followed and quickly consumed the
dissolved organic phosphorus compounds, so that by the seventeenth
day they had been completely reassimilated into particulate matter.
At the end of the fourth week an abrupt decomposition of particulate
phosphorus and an increase in inorganic phosphate began. By this
32
-------
time particulate nitrogen had begun to break down into ammonia and
dissolved organic nitrogen compounds. Particulate phosphorus de-
creased until the fifth month but subsequently increased at the expense
of the dissolved organic fraction. At the end of the experiment, 64
percent of the phosphorus was dissolved inorganic phosphate, 32 per-
cent was particulate, and 4 percent was bound in dissolved organic
compounds.
Particulate nitrogen began to break down into ammonia and dis-
solved organic compounds after the second week. Ammonia increased
at a decreasing rate during the next 3 months and reached a maximum
after 104 days. At the end of the experiment about 33 percent of the
total nitrogen was ammonia, 39 percent was in particulate matter and
28 percent was in dissolved organic compounds; 40 percent of the par-
ticulate nitrogen present at the time of darkening had been converted
to ammonia, 10 percent to dissolved organic compounds, and 50 per-
cent remained in particulate form.
Guillard, R. R. L. and V. Cassie. 1963.
Minimum Cyanocolalamin Requirements of Some Marine Centric
Diatoms. Limnology and Oceanography, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp.
161-165.
Marine planktonic algae often require thiamine, biotin, or vitamin
B12 for growth. Based on the measurement of 10 cells randomly taken
from 7 laboratory flasks each containing a different species of alga,
the number of molecules of B12 required to produce one cubic micron
of cell varied only from 5 to 18 in the different species irrespective of
habitat or size, with an average of 10.1.
Harper, H. J. and H. R. Daniel. 1939.
Chemical Composition of Certain Aquatic Plants. Botanical Ga-
zette, Vol. 96, p. 186.
Submerged aquatic weeds were found to be 12 percent dry matter
and to contain an average of 1.8 percent total nitrogen (dry weight)
and 0.18 percent total phosphorus.
Harris, E. and G. A. Riley. 1956.
Oceanography of Long Island Sound, 1952-1954. Vffl. Chemical
Composition of the Plankton. Bull. Bingham Oceanogr. Coll.,
Vol. 15, pp. 315-323.
The authors report that 6.6 percent of the wet weight of marine phy-
toplankton is organic matter and that 1 percent of the organic matter
of diatoms is phosphorus.
33
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Harvey, H. W. 1960.
The Chemistry and Fertility of Sea Waters. Cambridge University
Press, American Branch, 32 East 57th St., New York 22, 240 pp.
Harvey states that although most of the phosphorus is absorbed by
phytoplankton as orthophosphate ions, there is reason to believe that
some may be absorbed as molecules of dissolved organic phosphate.
From observations on a few species of phytoplankton, it appears
likely: "(i) that they can absorb phosphate as quickly as they need it
for rapid growth when its concentration in the water exceeds a thresh-
old value whose magnitude lies in the region of 16 mg phosphate-P
per m3 [.016 mg/1]; (ii) that they can continue absorption of phos-
phate and its conversion into organic phosphorus compounds through-
out both day and night; and (iii) that they can build up a reserve of
storage product which cannot be used directly for further syntheses
without prior dephosphorylation, and that light sets free or activates
the phosphorylase concerned. ... In nature nearly all the phytoplank-
ton is eaten by animals, largely by zooplankton, and part is voided
without being digested. Analyses of the faecal pellets of copepods
indicate that most of the phosphorus does not remain in the voided par-
ticles of plants but dissolves in sea water. Part of this persists in the
sea for a time as dissolved organic phosphorus compounds, and part is
doubtless dephosphorylated by vegetable phosphorylases while in the
animals' guts or while in faecal pellets. Some of the phytoplankton
is digested and excreted by the animals as orthophosphate, excreted
continuously whether the animals are well fed or starved. . . .
"All three inorganic nitrogen compounds, ammonium, nitrate and
and nitrite, can be absorbed by phytoplankton, or at least by some
species. There is a very marked preferential absorption of am-
monium. . . . When the organisms become nitrogen-deficient, and
are supplied with a nitrogen source, they absorb ammonium and ni-
trate in the dark converting them into organic compounds in-
cluding chlorophyll. Nitrite cannot be utilized in the dark."
The proportion of nitrogen to phosphorus in phytoplanktcn is not
a fixed ratio. The author cites Ketchum (1939a, b) to the effect that
cells can be deficient in either and the ratio varies with the relative
concentration in the medium. Direct experiment with a mixed cul-
ture indicated that some nine times more nitrogen than phosphorus
was used. Experiments by Ketchum (1939b) with the diatom, PTiaeo-
dactylum, show a reduction in rate of cell division when phosphate
present in the medium is less than some 17 mg phosphate-P per m3.
One experiment also showed that, with a sufficiency of phosphate,
growth with as rapid in a sea water to which 47 mg nitrate-N per m3
had been added, as in waters with greater additions. In other experi-
ments the rate of nitrate absorption was reduced when the nitrate
34
-------
content of the medium was below 100-150 mg nitrate-N" per m3.
"There is indirect evidence that the growth rate of phytoplankton in
nature is reduced when the concentration of these nutrients falls be-
low the threshold values suggested by the above experiments."
Ketchum, B. H. 1939a. The Absorption of Phosphate and Nitrate by Illumi-
nated Cultures of Nitzschia closterium. American Journal of Botany,
Vol. 26, p. 399.
Ketchum, B. H. 1939b. The Development and Restoration of Deficiencies
in the Phosphorus and Nitrogen Composition of Unicellular Plants.
Journ. Cell. Comp. Physiol., Vol. 13, p. 373.
Hasler, A. D. 1947.
Eutrophication of Lakes by Domestic Sewage. Ecology, Vol. 28,
No. 4, pp. 383-395.
Eutrophication is defined as the intentional or unintentional enrich-
ment of water. Hasler lists 37 lakes throughout the world varying
in size from 9.4 to 1,500,000 hectares that show early eutrophy owing
to domestic drainage. The Ziirichsee, Switzerland, is composed of
two distinct basins. The larger basin, 6,700 hectares, has become
"strongly eutrophic" in the past 100 years owing to drainage from
urban effluents. The smaller upper basin, 2,000 hectares, receives no
major urban drainage and has retained its oligotrophic character-
istics. In 1898, Oscillatoria rubescens erupted in the lower basin and
has colored the outflowing stream copper-red on occasions since.
Water transparency has become reduced as has the percent dissolved
oxygen saturation in the deeper waters. Oscillatoria mbescens also
occurred in the Hallwilersee, Switzerland, and in the Rotsee, Switzer-
land. In 1938 Mortimer measured the contribution of nitrogen to
Lake Windermere, England, a lake of 1,482 hectares with a maximum
depth of 67 meters. The total nitrogen income from drainage was
326 metric tons (195 pounds per acre), the outflow was 318 metric
tons, and 8 metric tons were retained (2.4 percent) in the lake basin.
"The abnormal acceleration of a process which is regarded as normal
has had diverse effects, some of which are not for the best interests
of man. The problem is especially serious because there is no way
known at present for reversing the process of eutrophy."
Hasler, A. D. 1957.
Natural and Artificially (Air-Plowing) Induced Movement of Radio-
active Phosphorus from the Muds of Lakes. International Con-
ference on Radioisotopes in Scientific Research, UNESCO/NS/
RIC/188 (Paris), Vol. 4, pp. 1-16.
In an undisturbed mud-water system, the percentage, as well as the
amount of phosphorus which is released to the superimposed water
35
-------
is very small. In laboratory experiments, when P32 is placed at various
depths in the mud the diffusion into the overlying non-circulating
water is negligible if placed greater than 1 centimeter in the mud.
Application of lime to the water, or to the mud, reduces the amount
of soluble phosphorus available. Acidification of previously alkalized
mud will, upon agitation, increase the amount of phosphorus entering
solution. In an aquarium experiment, circulation of the water aboYe
phosphorus-rich mud with the aid of air bubbles increases the
phosphorus in solution.
Hasler, A. D. and W. G. Einsele. 1948.
Fertilization for Increasing Productivity of Natural Inland Waters.
Transactions of the Thirteenth North American Wildlife Confer-
ence, pp. 527—555.
On lakes with extensive littoral but small pelagic development, a
fertilization rate of about 12 kilograms P per hectare (10.7 pounds
per acre) is considered adequate if the growth of large aquatics is not
too extensive and the water is at least medium hard. One application
in the spring is sufficient. Large-scale fertilization is not generally
advised because of the eutrophication inherent in such a plan. In
lakes where a rapid change to eutrophy might be anticipated (i.e.,
where the hypolimnion in late summer may drop to 5 to 7 mg/1 oxy-
gen), the addition of normal aliquots of P (10.7 pounds per acre)
leads, according to experience, to immediate eutrophication. The
authors state that if the ratio of Fe to P is 2:1 or larger in the oxygen-
depleted hypolimnion, the entire P will be bound to the oxidized Fe
at turnover, thus FePO4; this is insoluble and goes into the sediment.
Hayes, F. R. and N. R. Beckett, 1956.
The Flow of Minerals Through the Thermocline of a Lake. Archiv
f. Hydrobiologie, Vol. 51, pp. 391-409 (from Putnam and! Olson,
1960).
If water in a lake is to reach equilibrium following spring mixing
and subsequent stratification, the salt concentration of the epilimnion
must become less than the amount of salt at deeper levels because of the
thermal gradient that is present. During summer stagnation, excess
soluble materials from bottom sediments will migrate upward to the
surface layers. If phosphorus or potassium is removed from the
surface layer by plant activity, there will be a movement of salts from
the bottom upward toward the surface.
Laboratory experiments were conducted in a refrigerated room
(3-5° C.). A knife-type heater was set in the cover of a Pyrex battery
36
-------
jar and sampling tubes were arranged with horizontal openings at
various depths in the jar so water could be removed without disturbing
the stratification. Convection currents set up by the heater produced
mixing of the epilimnion. The upper portion of the tank was insu-
lated, the lower portion being in contact with the cold air of the room,
with the result that a marked thermocline was quickly established. A
large (400 liter) aquarium tank was set up in much the same way as the
battery jar except for the series of sampling tubes. When salts were
added, they were first mixed with a red dye so their movement could
be traced. Chemical analysis of lake samples was made on a flame
photometer.
For determination of temperatures of actual lake waters in the
field, a portable conductivity bridge was used from a boat. The ap-
paratus has a 75-foot cable to which was fastened the cable from a
thermistor-type thermometer. By raising and lowering these cables,
several hundred readings were taken in succession.
When sodium chloride was added to the epilimnion, there was a
decline in concentration of the salt in the epilimnion at the end of
12 hours, accompanied by a corresponding increase in concentration
in the hypolimnion; by 60 hours there was approximate equality of
concentration of the salt throughout the tank. When salts were added
to the hypolimnion, 27 days elapsed before there was an approxi-
mately equal distribution throughout the tank.
When conductivity experiments were utilized in four selected lakes,
the data indicate that the equal distribution of base proceeded accord-
ing to results observed in laboratory experiments, with a maximum
at the bottom of the thermocline.
Production of minerals from bottom mud would result in diffusion
of these minerals toward the surface and removal of nutrients by
plants at the epilimnion will produce an upward flow of materials.
Hayes, F. R., J. A. McCarter, M. L. Cameron, and D. A. Livingstone.
1952.
On the Kinetics of Phosphorus Exchange in Lakes. Journal of
Ecology, Vol. 40, pp. 202-216.
One thousand millicuries of radioactive phosphorus were added to
the surface of an unstratified 10-acre lake having a depth of 22 feet
over a 5-hour period. At the time of the experiment the lake con-
tained 31 parts per billion of total phosphorus (3.7X103 grams in
lake); the added 40 g of KH2PO4 contained 9.1 g of phosphorus, in-
creasing the quantity in the lake by 0.25 percent. Mixing was prac-
tically complete on the first day, except in the deep hole where it took 3
days. After 8 days, the bottom water had more P32 than the rest of
771-098—05—5
37
-------
the lake. The loss of P32 for the lake as a whole was rapid at first
reaching a pleateau after a month. The phosphorus turnover time
was calculated at 5.4 and 39 days, respectively, for the water arid solids.
The gain by the bottom mud was greatest during the first 10 days
leveling off in a month. It was calculated that a layer of mud about 2
centimeters thick participated in the phosphorus exchange.
Hoagland, D. R. 1944.
Lectures on the Inorganic Nutrition of Plants. Chronica Botanica
Company, Waltham, Massachusetts, 226 pp.
Data from laboratory experiments provided evidence that with
respect to the ions studied (K, Ca, Mg, H2, PO4, NO3) their intake
by young barley plants over a 12-hour interval was nearly the same
during a dark period, with relatively small water absorption by the
plants, as during a period of illumination, with relatively large
absorption of water. It was not the movement of water that chiefly
determined the amount of salt absorbed, but rather the metabolic
activity of the plant.
Nitrate ions can be stored in plant cells, sometimes in large quan-
tities, but normally their ultimate fate is to be reduced. In nutrient
solution investigations the ammonium ion ordinarily can be completely
substituted for the nitrate ion. Nitrate is utilized by plants only
following its reduction, apparently through the stages of nitrite and
ammonia. Light is not essential as a direct factor in its reduction.
Excised barley roots and various other plant tissues can readily reduce
nitrate in darkness.
Hoffman, D. A. and J. R. Olive. 1961.
The Use of Radio-phosphorus in Determining Food Chain Relation-
ships in the Aquatic Environment. U.S. Atom. Energ. Gomm.,
TID-13108, 46 pp; Water Pollution Abstracts, Vol. 35. No. 2,
Abs. No. 270.
Experiments were carried out on the accumulation and concentra-
tion of phosphorus-32 by a simple food chain consisting of green algae,
microcrustacea, Daphnia, and green sunfish. The concentration
factors were found to be more than 25 at 10° C. The algae appeared
to increase the amount of phosphorus for Daphnia during the first 24
hours and to decrease it after longer periods. The amount of phos-
phorus-32 accumulated by Daphnia was found to be proportional to
the amount of surface area available for absorption of phosphorus.
38
-------
Holden, A. V. 1961.
The Removal of Dissolved Phosphate from Lake Water by Bottom
Deposits.
Verh. int. Ver. Limnol. 1959, Vol. 14, pp. 247-251; Water Pollu-
tion Abstracts, Vol. 35, No. 5, Abs. No. 889.
Experiments on the fertilization of Scottish locks and laboratory
experiments on the loss of dissolved phosphate from water overlying
mud deposits showed that aerobic bottom deposits can take up large
amounts of phosphate although the rate of absorption is slow. When
phosphate is added as a fertilizer, the rate of removal by the deposits
may be slower than the uptake by macrophytic and attached flora.
Most of the phosphate absorbed remains in the upper aerobic zone of
the mud and most of it is converted to organic forms so that only a
small proportion is available for release during periods of temporary
anaerobic conditions in the mud. When the concentration of dissolved
phosphate is high, there is some evidence of deeper penetration below
the aerobic zone even in the absence of bottom fauna, although the
burrowing organisms probably assist penetration. In unfertilized
lakes, the quantity of phosphorus in the mud surface is very high com-
pared with the equilibrium concentration in the overlying water. In
shallow fertilized lakes, where the upper 15 cm of the bottom deposit
may be involved in phosphate uptake, very large quantities can be
removed from solution and much of that removed may be converted to
forms which are unavailable for subsequent release to the water.
Hooper, F. F. and R. C. Ball. 1964.
Responses of a Marl Lake to Fertilization. Transactions of the
American Fisheries Society, Vol. 93, No. 2, pp. 164-173.
A shallow marl lake was fertilized during three consecutive years
with 10-10-10 or 12-12-12 at a rate of approximately 50 pounds per
acre. Application was made in midsummer and evaluation of its
effect was made by comparing data gathered in a pretreatment and a
posttreatment period each year. Fertilization brought an immediate
increase in suspended solids and a decrease in transparency. These
changes appeared to be caused by a coalescence of suspended marl
rather than by chemical precipitation or by an increase in phytoplank-
ton. The maximum concentration of phosphorus recorded after fer-
tilization was approximately the same value in all three years (45 to
47 parts per billion). This concentration represented approximately
52 percent of the phosphorus added in each of the years. In 1954 the
maximum concentration of nitrogen after fertilization was 65 percent
of the amount added to the water. In 1955 a maximum of only 37
percent of the added nitrogen appeared in samples. Fertilization did
39
-------
not substantially increase photoplankton but brought about a well
marked increase in the production of periphyton algae in all three
years.
Hooper, F. F. and A. M. Elliott. 1953.
Release of Inorganic Phosphorus from Extracts of Lake Mud by
Protozoa. Trans. Amer. Microscopical Society, Vol. 72, No. 3,
pp. 276-281.
Laboratory experiments suggest that certain benthic ciliates are
capable of splitting inorganic phosphorus from the rather dilute solu-
tions of organic phosphates that occur in lake and pond sediments.
Authors cite Cooper (1941) who indicated that bacterial decomposi-
tion of plankton brings about rapid liberation of inorganic phosphorus
in sea water; Renn (1937) who observed the release of phosphate from
autolyzing bacterial cells in sea water; Stevenson (1949) who observed
an increase in the phosphate content of sea water when agitated with
bottom mud and attributed this to the breakdown of bacterial cells ;
Hutchinson (1941) who stated that regeneration of phospha,te takes
place to a large extent at the surface of the bottom mud in fresh-water
lakes and involves the action of bacteria (Solimorskaja-Rodins,
1940); and Moore (1939) who reported an abundance of ciliates in
this microcosm indicating that this group also contributes heavily
to the decomposition processes taking place by metabolizing bacte-
rial cells and particulate plankton detritus. The Hooper and Elliott
experiments suggest that ciliates may also carry on a direct transfor-
mation of the dissolved organic phosphorus present in this habitat
that is independent of bacterial activity.
Cooper, L. H. N. 1941. The Rate of Liberation of Phosphates in Sea Water by
Breakdown of Plankton Organisms. Jour. Marine Biological Assoc. United
Kingdom, Vol. 20, pp. 197-220.
Hutchinson, G. E. 1941. Limnological Studies in Connecticut. VI. Mechanism
of Intermediary Metabolism in Stratified Lakes. Ecological Monographs, Vol.
11, pp. 21-60.
Moore, G. M. 1939. A Limnological Investigation of the Microscopic Benthic
Fauna of Douglas Lake, Michigan. Ecological Monographs, Vol. 9, pp. 537-
582.
Renn, C. E. 1937. Bacteria and Phosphorus Cycle in the Sea. Biological Bul-
letin, Vol. 72, pp. 190-195.
Solimorskaja-Rodins, A. C. 1940. The Mobilization of Phosphates In Water
Reservoirs. Mikrobiologiia, Vol. 9, pp. 471-479.
Stevenson, W. 1949. Certain Effects of Agitation upon the Release of Phos-
phate from Mud. Jour. Marine Biological Assoc. United Kingdom, Vol. 28,
pp. 371-380.
40
-------
Hutchinson, G. E. 1957.
A Treatise on Limnology. John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1015
pp.
Phosphorus is cited as the element most important to the ecologist,
since it is more likely to be deficient, and therefore to limit the biologi-
cal productivity of any region of the earth's surface, than are
the other major biological elements. The total phosphate in natural
waters varies from less than 1 milligram per cubic meter (0.001 mg/1)
to immense quantities in a very few closed saline lakes. The total
quantity depends largely on geochemical considerations, usually being
greater in waters derived from sedimentary rock in lowland regions
than in waters draining the crystalline rocks of mountain ranges.
Most relatively uncontaminated lake districts have surface waters con-
taining 10 to 30 mg P per m3, but in some waters that are not obviously
grossly polluted, higher values appear to be normal. The soluble
phosphate usually is of the order of 10 percent of the total. At the
height of summer there may be a great increase in total phosphorus
in the surface waters at times of algal blooms, though soluble phos-
phate is undetectable. One condition for the maximum development
of such blooms may well be rapid decomposition and consequent liber-
ation of phosphate in the littoral sediments during very warm weather.
The phosphate would be taken up so fast by the growing algae that
it never would be detectable. When massive amounts of soluble phos-
phate are added to a lake, it is rapidly taken up by the phytoplankton
and then sedimented. The productivity of a lake is increased, but
only for a time. The chemical relations of phosphorus in mud and
water evidently constitute a self-regulating system.
The phosphorus cycle exhibited during extreme summer stratifica-
tion is considered to involve the following processes:
1. Liberation of phosphorus into the epilimnion from the littoral,
largely from the decay of littoral vegetation.
2. Uptake of phosphorus from water by littoral vegetation.
3. Uptake of the liberated phosphorus by phytoplankton.
4. Loss of phosphorus as a soluble compound, less assimilable than
ionic phosphate, from the phytoplankton, probably followed
by slow regeneration of ionic phosphate.
5. Sedimentation of phytoplankton and other phosphorus-con-
taining seston, perhaps largely faecal pellets, into the hypolim-
nion.
6. Liberation of phosphorus from the sedimenting seston in the
hypolimnion or when it arrives at the mud-water interface.
7. Diffusion of phosphorus from the sediments into the water at
those depths at which the superficial layer of the mud lacks an
oxidized micro-zone.
41
-------
The mean ammonia-nitrogen content of rain falling in temperate
regions, omitting large industrial towns is 0.64 mg per liter; the mean
nitrate nitrogen content of the same samples is 0.196 mg per liter.
Ignatieff, V. and H. J. Page (Editors). 1958.
Efficient Use of Fertilizers. Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations, No. 43, 355 pp.
Between 1949 and 1958 the annual world consumption of fertilizers
increased from 11.5 to 20.2 million tons.
The weights of plant nutrient elements in kilograms contained in
good yields of common crop plants were given as follows:
Crop
Cotton . .. __
Hay (mixed)
Maize _._ _
Potatoes ._ _
Tobacco
Wheat
Yield per
hectare in
metric tons
1.1
5.0
3.8
20.2
1.7
1.7
2.0
Kilograms
N
73
85
106
140
140
90
56
P
28
35
39
39
45
22
22
Percent
N
6.6
1.7
2.7
6.9
8.2
5 2
2 8
P
2.5
.7
1.0
.2
2.6
1.2
1.1
On the average, fresh horse and cattle manures contain 20 to 25
percent dry matter, 0.30 to 0.60 percent nitrogen, 0.20 to 0.35 phos-
phoric acid (P2O5) and 0.15 to O.YO percent potash (K2O). Compared
with commercial fertilizers on a unit-weight basis, animal ma,nure is
low in plant nutrients, especially in phosphorus. Thus, it is cus-
tomarily applied at relatively much higher rates than fertilizers—-
probably 50 to 100 times higher.
Approximate composition of natural organic fertilizer materials
was given as follows:
Material
Fish scrap or meal, dried
Guano, bat
Manure, cattle, dried
Manure, goat, dried .„„
Manure, horse, dried
Manure, poultry, dried
Manure, sheep, dried
Seaweed, air-dry
Sewage sludge, dried
Soybean meal
Tankage, process
Wool waste .-- .
Percent total
nitrogen (N)
9 5
8.5
2.0
1.5
2.0
5 0
2.0
1.5
2.0
7.0
9.0
3.5
Percent total
phosphorus
psntoxide
(PzOj)
7.0
5.0
1.5
1.5
1.5
3.0
1.5
.5
2.0
1.5
.5
.5
42
-------
In the United States, the usual dressings of N, and available P2O6
in kilograms per hectare were given as follows:
Crop
Maize
Sugarcane.- - -- ~ - -. - -.
Wheat
Kilograms per hectare
N
25 to 100
100
fiO to 200
40 to 110 --.
20 to 60
P20S
25 to 100.
60.
40 to 100.
30 to 45.
20 to 60.
Johannes, R. E. 1964a.
Phosphorus Excretion and Body Size in Marine Animals: Micro-
zooplankton and Nutrient Regeneration. Science, Vol. 146, pp.
923-924.
Animal excretions are a major source of plant nutrients in the sea.
In marine animals the rate of excretion of dissolved phosphorus per
unit weight increases as body weight decreases. As a consequence
microzooplankton may play a major role in planktonic nutrient regen-
eration. A 12-gram lamellibranch released an amount of phosphorus
equal to its total phosphorus content every 438 days, the body-equiv-
alent excretion time of a 0.6-mg amphipod was 31 hours, and that of an
0.4 X1O3 /ig ciliate was 14 minutes. An animal weighing 1 /ig releases
approximately 50 times as much phosphorus per unit weight as a
100-mg animal, while the smaller animal consumes only 5 to 8 times
as much oxygen per unit weight.
Johannes, R. E. 1964b.
Uptake and Release of Dissolved Organic Phosphorus by Repre-
sentatives of a Coastal Marine Ecosystem. Limnology and
Oceanography, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 224-234.
A benthic diatom, a benthic amphipod, and mixed species of marine
bacteria were used in studies of the uptake and release of dissolved
organic phosphorus using the radionuclide P32. Over one-third of the
soluble phosphorus released by the amphipod was in organic form
(0.79 fig-sit, dissolved organic phosphorus per gram of animal per
hour). Marine bacteria utilized 80 percent of this. Thirty percent
was hydrolized in sterile media, possibly by alkaline phosphatase re-
leased by the amphipods. Bacteria-free diatoms released little dis-
solved organic phosphorus during growth, but released 20 percent of
their total phosphorus as dissolved organic phosphorus after growth
had ceased. Growing diatoms could reabsorb 40 percent of that re-
leased by senescent cells. Marine bacteria were able to absorb 92 per-
cent. No regeneration of dissolved inorganic phosphate from dis-
43
-------
solved organic phosphate in the presence of bacteria was observed.
Marine bacteria, living or dead, released very little dissolved organic
phosphate.
Johannes, R. E. 1964c.
Uptake and Release of Phosphorus by a Benthic Marine Amphipod.
Limnology and Oceanography, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 235—242.
Lembos intermedius released phosphorus fractions into the water
at the following rates: dissolved inorganic phosphate, 1.4 ^g-at./g of
animal (wet wgt.) per hr; dissolved organic phosphorus, 0.79 jwg-at./g
per hr; particulate phosphate, 7.9 /«g-at./g per hr. Both metabolic
waste phosphorus and phosphorus that had not been assimilated but
had simply passed through the gut are present in all three fractions.
The total phosphorus release rate drops by more than 50 percent in 2
hours when the animals are deprived of food. The physiological turn-
over time, the time it takes an amount of phosphorus equal to that in
the tissues of the animal to pass through these tissues was 41 hours.
The ecological turnover time, the time it takes an amount of phos-
phorus equal to that in the tissues to pass through the animal whether
or not it is assimilated was 6.6 hours.
Juday, C. and E. A. Birge. 1931.
A Second Report on the Phosphorus Content of Wisconsin Lake
Waters. Trans. Wis. Acad. of Sci., Arts and Letters, Vol. 26, pp.
353-382.
The mean quantity of soluble phosphorus in the surface waters
of 479 lakes in northeastern Wisconsin was 0.003 mg/1; the range
was from none in 9 lakes to a maximum of 0.015 mg/1 in one. The
mean quantity of organic phosphorus in the surface waters of these
lakes was 0.020 mg/1; the range was from 0.005 mg to 0.103 mg/1.
The soil and subsoil of the lake district as well as the underlying
strata through which the underground water passes are the chief
sources of lascustrine phosphorus. Nineteen wells located on the
shores of 13 widely distributed different lakes gave total phosphorus
values of 0.002 mg/1 to 0.197 mg/1 with a mean of 0.029 mg/1.
Juday, C., E. A. Birge, G. I. Kemmerer, and R. J. Robinson. 1927.
Phosphorus Content of Lake Waters of Northeastern Wisconsin.
Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Science, Arts, and
Letters, Vol. 23, pp. 233-248.
The quantity of soluble phosphorus in surface waters of 88 lakes
varied from none to 0.015 mg per liter. It was uniformly distributed
44
-------
from top to bottom during the spring circulation of the lakes but
during summer stratification there was an increase in concentration of
soluble phosphorus in the lower strata because of decomposition of
organic material; two to ten times the amount was found in the lower
levels than was present in surface waters.
Organic phosphorus varied from 0.007 mg per liter in the surface
water of one lake to a maximum of 0.12 mg in a sample from the 15-
meter level of another. In general, the amount of organic phosphorus
was two to ten times greater than the amount of soluble phosphorus.
Juday, C., E. A. Birge and V. W. Meloche. 1941.
Chemical Analyses of the Bottom Deposits of Wisconsin Lakes. II.
Second Report. Trans. Wls. Acad. Sci., Arts and Letters, Vol.
33, pp. 99-114.
Chemical analyses of the bottom deposits of 21 Wisconsin lakes
expressed in percentage of the dry weight of the samples gave P2O5
values ranging from 0.05 to 0.61 percent; organic carbon, 6.62 to 40.5
percent; organic nitrogen, 0.55 to 2.94 percent; and organic carbon
to organic nitrogen ratios from 7.5 to 14.4.
Kevern, N. R. and R. C. Ball. 1965.
Primary Productivity and Energy Relationships in Artificial
Streams. Limnology and Oceanography, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp.
74-87.
The mean percentage and standard deviation of organic phosphorus
in periphyton based on 113 samples collected on substrata in artificial
streams was 0.21±0.11. The nitrogen content of the periphyton was
estimated from the analysis of 62 samples, giving a mean percentage
and standard deviation of 3.29±1.63. The ratio of the nitrogen con-
tent to the phosphorus content was calculated at 15.9 for the overall
study.
The concentration of nutrients in mg/1 added to the streams was
as follows:
KNOa
KjHPOi
July 1959
114
8
May 1960
68
6
July 1960
2.7
.3
October 1960
2 7
.3
45
-------
Knight, A. and R. C. Ball. 1962.
Some Estimates of Primary Production Rates in Michigan Ponds.
Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters, Vol. 47, pp.
219-233.
Primary production rates were obtained from four ponds located on
the Michigan State University experimental farm. The methyl
orange alkalinity of these ponds varied between 46 and 96 ppm and
the pH varied from 8.1 to 9.8. A comparison of primary productivity
estimates for various ecosystems was presented as follows :
PRODUCTION RATE
Location
Pond A
Pond B
Pond C
Pond D _ . _
Blind Lake, Mich
Barents Sea
North Sea (annual
range).
South Atlantic
Red Cedar River, Mich.
Silver Springs, Fla _
Sargasso Sea
Seaweed Beds, Nova
Scotia.
Wheat (world average),.
Green Lake, Wis
Lake Mendota, Wis
Method
C»
CM
CH
Penphytou
accrual.
Organic weight-
Organic weight
Harvest
Harvest
Harvest
Harvest
Grains of organic;
matter per square
meter per day
Phyto-
plankton
0 30
.48
.44
.64
1.20
.56
. 20-3. 00
1. 00-8. 00
.26
Peri-
phyton
0.35
.30
.44
.88
56
Macrophytes
(dry weight)
Grams
per
square
meter
per day
1.45
3.27
2.83
6.00
7.40
1.00
2.30
Pounds
per
acre
1.047
2,360
2,042
4,328
1,580
1,801
Source
Schelske, 1980.
Corlett, 1957. «
Steel, 1957.1
Steeman, 1954.
Grzenda, 1960.
H. T. Odum,
1957.
Riley, 1957.
Tamiya, 1957.
Woytiasky &
Wo> tinsky,
1953
Ricfeett, 1924.
Rickett, 1922.
1 Quoted by Strickland, 1960.
Corlett, J. 1957. Measurement of Primary Production in the Western
Barents Sea. Paper presented at a Symposium of the International
Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Bergen, 1957. Preprint C/no. 8.
Grzenda, A. R., and Morris L. Brehmer. 1960. A Quantitative Method for
the Collection and Measurement of Stream Periphyton. Limnol. Oceanog.,
5:191-194.
Odum, H. T. 1957. Trophic Structure and Productivity of Silver Springs,
Florida. Ecol. Mono., 27: 55-112.
Rickett, H. W. 1922. A Quantitative Study of the Larger Aquatic Plants
of Lake Mendota. Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci., 20: 501-527.
Rickett, H. W. 1924. A Quantitative Study of the Larger Aquatic Plants
of Green Lake, Wisconsin. Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci., 21: 381-414.
Riley, Gordon A. 1957. Phytoplankton of the North Central Sargasso Sea.
Limnol. Oceanog., 2: 252-270.
Schelske, C. L. 1960. The Availability of Iron as a Factor Limiting
Primary Productivity in a Marl Lake. Doctoral dissertation, Univ. Mich.
46
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Steel, J. H. 1957. A Comparison of Plant Production Estimates Using C11
and Phosphate Data. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. United Kingdom, 36: 233.
Steeman, N. E. 1954. On Organic Production in the Oceans. J. Cons. Int.
Explor. Mer., 19(3) : 309.
Strickland, J. D. H. 1960. Measuring the Production of Marine Phyto-
plankton. J. Fish. Res. Boards of Canada, Bull. No. 122, 172 pp.
Tamiya, Hiroshi. 1957. Mass Culture of Algae. Ann. Rev. Plant Physiol,
8: 309-334.
Woytinsky, W. S., and E. S. Woytinsky. 1953. World Population and Pro-
duction. The Twentieth Century Fund, New York.
Kratz, W. A. and J. Myers. 1955.
Nutrition and Growth of Several Blue-green Algae. American
Journal of Botany, Vol. 42, No. 3, pp. 282-287.
Media and methods have been developed for the quantitative study
of growth of three b]ue-green algae, Anabaena variabilis, Anacystis
nidulans, and a strain of Nostoc mu&corum. Temperature optima for
the growth of all three species lie above 30° C. Anacystis nidulans
at 41° C. has the highest growth rate yet reported for an alga, a
generation time of about two hours. Both sodium and potassium
are required for maintenance of maximum growth rate of all three
species. Both ammonia and nitrate will serve as nitrogen sources
for all three species. Urea is used by two species, free nitrogen only
by one, Nostoc muscorum. All three species appear to be obligate
phototrophs.
Krauss, R. W. 1958.
Physiology of the Fresh-water Algae. Annual Review of Plant
Physiology, Vol. 9, pp. 207-244.
Phosphorus assimilation by P-deficient cells of Chlorella was meas-
ured by Al Kholy (1956) who found that growth continued until the
P content dropped to 1 x 10~7 /j.g per cell. Mackereth (1953) deter-
mined that Asterionella can take up and store P from a concentration
of less than 1 ppm. The limiting requirement is 0.06 j«.g P per 106 cells,
so l/*g P can produce 16 x 106 cells before limitation sets in. Harvey
(1953) has demonstrated that inositolhexaphosphate and glycero-
phosphate are absorbed by Nitzschia closterium in both light and dark-
ness, but Eice (1953) showed that little conversion of inorganic P to
organic compounds occurred in the dark.
Nitrogen fixation demonstrated among the algae only in the Nosto-
caceae, OsciUatoriaceae, Scytonemataceae, Stigonemataceae, and
47
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Rivulariaceae (Fogg, 1951; Wielding, 1941) has been studied from
economic as well as scientific points of view. Watanabe (1956) showed
that, in four years after innoculation with Tolypothrix tennis, fields
of rice yielded 128 percent more than uninnoculated controls. The
plants in the innoculated paddies contained 7.5 pounds more N per
acre than the controls (Watanabe, 1951). De and Mandal (1956)
also were able to obtain from 13 to 44 pounds of fixed nitrogen per
acre from unfertilized, waterlogged rice-soils. Fogg (1951) found
that Mastigocladus laminosus can fix 12.88 mg N per liter in 20 days.
Atmospheric nitrogen, however, is not generally as efficient as a source
for growth as NH3 or nitrate. Kratz and Myers (1955) showed that
N fixation in Nostoc supported only 75 percent of the growth obtained
on nitrate.
Al Kholy, A. A., 1956. Physiol. Plantarum, Vol. 9, pp. 137-143.
De, P. K. and L. N. Mandal, 1956. Soil Sci., Vol. 81, pp. 453-459.
Fogg, G. E., 1951. J. Exptl. Botany, Vol. 2, pp. 117-120.
Harvey, H. W., 1953. J. Marine Biol. Assoc., U. K., Vol. 31, pp. 475-476.
Kratz, W. A. and J. Myers, 1955. Am. J. Botany, Vol. 42, pp. 282-287.
Mackereth, F. J., 1953. J. Exptl. Botany, Vol. 4, pp. 296-513.
Kice, T. R., 1953. Fishery Bull, of the Fish and Wildlife Service, Vol. 54,
pp. 77-89.
Watanabe, A., 1951. Arch. Biochem. Biophys., Vol. 34, pp. 50-55.
Watanabe, A., 1956. Botan. Mag. (Tokyo), Vol. 69, pp. 820-821.
Wielding, S., 1941. Botan. Notiser, pp. 375-392.
Kuenzler, E. J. 1961.
Phosphorus Budget of a Mussel Population. Limnology and
Oceanography, Vol. 6, No. 4, pp. 400—415.
The phosphorus budget of a Modiolus demlssus Dillwyn population
in a Georgia intertidal salt marsh was studied. Percentage phosphorus
in mussel bodies decreased from 1 percent of the dry weight in small
individuals to 0.6 percent in adults. The standing crop of phosphorus
in the population was 37.2 mg P per m2, the body fraction comprising
67 percent, the shell 30 percent, and the liquor 3 percent. P'rorated
losses and elimination rates (/*g P/m2day) of the population were:
mortality 21; gametes 11; dissolved organic 23; phosphate 260; and
feces 460. Quantities of phosphorus present in natural marsh water
(mg P/m2) were: particulate 14; phosphate 19; and dissolved organic
6. The mussel population removed 5.4 mg P/m2 of particulate phos-
phorus and 0.07 mg/P/m2 of phosphate daily, of which 0.78 mg
P/m2 was required as food and 4.7 mg P/m2 was deposited as pseudo-
feces. The turnover time of phosphorus in the population was 115
days.
48
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Lackey, J. B. 1945.
Plankton Productivity of Certain Southeastern Wisconsin Lakes as
Related to Fertilization. II. Productivity. Sewage Works Jour-
nal, Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 795-802.
There is no definite criterion as to what actually constitutes a plank-
ton bloom; however, when an organism reached or exceeded 500 per ml
of raw water, it was termed a bloom. For very small organisms, as
Chlorella, this might not be noticeable in the water, but for organisms
such as Ceratium hirundinella or Pandorina morum vivid discolora-
tions of the water are evident. Four of the 17 lakes studied had a
collective total of 55 blooms during the 13-month study, whereas, 6
of the lakes did not have a single genus that showed 500 individuals
per ml in the samples examined.
Lackey, J. B. 1949.
Plankton as Related to Nuisance Conditions in Surface Water. Lint-
nological Aspects of Water Supply and Waste Disposal. Ameri-
can Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington,
D.C., pp. 56-63.
A bloom is an unusually large number of plankters, usually one or
a few species, per unit of the first few centimeters of surface water.
An arbitrary definition has set 500 individuals per ml as constituting
a bloom. In 16 southeastern Wisconsin lakes and three rivers in
1942—43, organism groups reached bloom proportions a total of 509
times.
Lackey, J. B. 1958.
Effects of Fertilization on Receiving Waters. Sewage and Indus-
trial Wastes, Vol. 30, No. 11, pp. 1411-1416.
Author lists ". . . benefits, at least from sewage, due to algal
growths." These include (a) reoxygenation, (b) mineralization, and
(c) production of a food chain. Three well recognized ills are: (a)
algal toxicity, (b) aesthetic harm, and (c) buildup of biochemical
oxygen demand. Green algae (Micractinum) growing in sewage in
an experimental lagoon at the University of Florida had a BOD of
77.8 mg/1 in five days. These algae, harvested from 500 ml of water,
produced a dry weight of 0.0848 gram representing protoplasm, cellu-
lose, and starch. Author cites Lackey et al., (1949) to the effect that
after the oyster industry was well established in Great South Bay,
the Long Island duck industry located around the Bay. The duck
excreta at once began to fertilize the Bay. A heavy algal bloom re-
sulted but the algae were not suitable food, or they produced external
metabolites that adversely affected the oysters; thus, an annual four
49
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million dollar industry was destroyed. Letts and Adeney (1908) were
cited as reporting on the pollution of estuaries and tidal waters by
sewage and trade wastes in Ireland and Great Britain and relating
the destruction of salmon and sea trout fisheries to the growth of
vast beds of macroscopic green alga, Ulva, and its subsequent decay.
That decay produced intolerable odors, blackened paint and silver in
homes, and generally was damaging to real estate values.
Lackey, J. B., G. Vanderborgh, Jr. and J. B. Glancy. 1949. Plankton of
Waters Overlying Shellfish Producing Grounds. Proc. National Shellfish
Assn.
Letts, E. A. and W. E. Adeney. 1908. Pollution of Estuaries and Tidal
Waters. Appendix VI, Fifth Report, Royal Commission on Sewage Dis-
posal. H. M. S. Stationery Office, London.
Lackey, J. B. and C. N. Sawyer. 1945.
Plankton Productivity of Certain Southeastern Wisconsin Lakes as
Related to Fertilization. I. Surveys. Sewage Works Journal,
Vol. 17, No. 3, pp. 573-585.
A review of the investigative work on the Madison, Wisconsin,
lakes problem is presented. Data are graphically plotted to show the
relationship of biological activity and inorganic nitrogen concentra-
tions in the water. As the biological activity is reduced during the
cold winter months, the concentration of inorganic nitrogen in the
surface water increases, and visa versa. The lakes below Madison,
Wisconsin, were receiving 73 to 422 pounds per acre per year of inor-
ganic nitrogen and 6.6 to 62.2 pounds per acre per year of inorganic
phosphorus. They were being fertilized from 2.5 to 15 times as heavily
as ordinary farm land. It was reported that, ". . . A normal appli-
cation of nitrogen and phosphorus to farm lands seldom exceeds 30
and 12 Ibs. per acre, respectively, and such applications are not usually
made more than once every 3 or 4 years."
Lea, W. L., G. A. Rohlich, and W. J. Katz. 1954.
Removal of Phosphates from Treated Sewage. Sewage and Indus-
trial Wastes, Vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 261-275.
Laboratory studies show it is possible to remove approximately 96
to 99 percent of the soluble phosphates from the effluent of a sewage
treatment plant in a coagulation process employing aluminum sulf ate.
50
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ferrous sulfate, ferric sulfate, or copper sulfate. The residual phos-
phate concentration of the effluent following coagulation with 200
mg/1 of alum was 0.06 mg/1 expressed as P. The aluminum hydrox-
ide floe resulting from the hydrolysis of alum may be recovered, puri-
fied by removing the adsorbed phosphates in the form of tricalcium
phosphate, and re-used for further phosphorus removal in the form of
sodium aluminate. This recovery and purification reduces by 80 per-
cent the cost of chemicals required to remove phosphates from sewage
treatment plant effluent. Pilot plant studies show that with the use
of the alum recovery process, from 77 to 89 percent of the soluble
phosphates can be removed. Filtering of the effluent showed that from
93 to 97 percent of the soluble phosphate can be removed. Concen-
trations of 0.578 to 0.80 mg/1 P would be expected to remain in the
unfiltered effluent and 0.022 to 0.088 mg/1 P in the filtered effluent.
As shown from pilot plant data, the cost of the chemicals per year, with
chemical recovery, for a plant designed to treat 14.4 mgd would be
$78,350 ($15perlm.g.).
Love, R. M., J. A. Lovern, and N. R. Jones. 1959.
The Chemical Composition of Fish Tissues. Dept. of Scientific
and Industrial Research Special Report No. 69, Her Majesty's
Stationery Office, London, 62 pp.
Fishes in general contain 80 to 85 percent water. There is about 1
percent of ash in the muscle. The amount of phosphorus (P) in fish
muscle from 49 specimens was reported to range from 68 to 550 mg %
and average 190 milligrams percent [19 parts per million, wet weight].
Low, J. B. and F. C. Bellrose, Jr. 1944.
The Seed and Vegetative Yield of Waterfowl Food Plants in the
Illinois River Valley. Jour. Wildlife Management, Vol. 8, No. 1,
p. 7.
Coontail growths in the Illinois River valley approached 2,500
pounds per acre (dry weight), Sago pondweed 1,700 pounds per acre,
and duckweed 244 pounds per acre. The authors found that the seed
production of wild rice approached 32 bushels per acre; of pondweed,
Potamogeton americanus, 20 bushels per acre; of Sago pondweed, 1.5
bushels per acre; and of coontail, 0.8 bushel per acre.
51
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Ludwig, H. F., E. Kazmierczak, and R. C. Carter. 1964.
Waste Disposal and the Future at Lake Tahoe. Journal of the
Sanitary Engineering Division, ASCE, Vol. 90, No. SA3, Proc.
Paper 3947, pp. 27-51 (June).
The extraordinary clarity of 192-square-mile Lake Tahoe is threat-
ened by the buildup of nitrogen and other nutrients reaching the lake
from community wastes produced in the Tahoe Basin. Lake Tahoe
has a maximum depth of 1,645 ft., and a volume of 122 million acre ft.
Complete overturn of the water has not been observed but could possi-
bly occur during unusually severe winters. Maximum transparency
observed by Secchi disc was 136 feet, the minimum 49 feet. Primary
productivity (rate of photosynthetic carbon fixation) of Lake Tahoe
was 39 g C per sq. m. per yr. or an average of 99 mg C per sq. m. per
day. Oligochaeta was found to be the dominant class of benthic or-
ganism ranging from a concentration of less than 1 per liter of sedi-
ment to 77 per liter of sediment. The nutrient balance for Lake Tahoe
indicates that 706,200 pounds of chloride, 255,200 pounds of nitrogen,
and 46,200 pounds of phosphorus enter the lake each year; and that
719,400 pounds of chloride, 28,600 pounds of nitrogen, and 3,300
pounds of phosphorus leave the lake. [Ketention within the lake
basin is 89 percent for nitrogen and 93 percent for phosphorus. The
nitrogen loading to the lake is 2 Ibs. per acre per yr.]
Mackenthun, K. M. 1962.
A Review of Algae, Lake Weeds, and Nutrients. Journal Water
Pollution Control Federation, Vol. 34, No. 10, pp. 1077-1085.
Paper summarizes nutrient information from several sources.
for several fertile Wisconsin streams are presented:
Data
Stream
Crawfish River at mouth:
March
Book River below Jefferson:
Normal - -- -
Yahara River:
Normal
March
Door Greet:
Badfish Creek: Normal _ -
Flow
C.I.S.
300
1,800
1,400
6,600
30
47
15
60
31
Nutrient loading (Ib./yr./c.f.s.)
Inorganic N
950
4,250
470
4,160
457
6,350
7,740
13,350
4,616
Total P
1,160
1,980
990
3,280
140
512
Soluble P
370
£50
290
590
86
100
115
215
150
52
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Nutrient loadings and retentions (annual averages) for eutrophic algal
producing Wisconsin lakes and oxidation ponds are presented:
Nutrient loading and retention (annual average)
Site
Date
Inorganic nitrogen
Loading
(Ib./yr./acre)
Retention
(Percent)
Soluble phosphorus
Loading
(Ib./yr./acre)
Retention
(Percent)
(a) LAKES
Kegonsa —
1942-43 .
1943-44
1942-43
1943-44
1942-43—
1943-44
1959-60
20
73
90
422
448
168
156
90
48
70
60
64
44
61
80
0.6
7
9
62
64
34
38
40
64
88
-26
25
-21
12
30-70
(b) OXIDATION PONDS
Jet. City
New Auburn
Spooner __
1957 ...
1959
April
August-^ . _-
December
August. .
2,427
3,760
4,000
4,600
3,614
3,430
97
85
6
98
65
93
402
3,680
767
1,350
1,168
1,680
94
80
0
58
0
66
Mackeiithun, Kenneth M. Unpublished Data.
Pentavalent arsenic will appear as phosphorus in the standard phos-
phorus determination. False soluble phosphorus determinations pro-
duced by known concentrations of pentavalent arsenic in distilled
water as demonstrated in the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene
were as follows:
As (mg./l.)
0
0.016
0.033
0.05
0.065
0.1.
Apparent P
(mg./l.)
0
.01
.02
.03
.03
.06
As (mg./l.)
0.163
0.2
0.326
0.4
0.5-
0.65
Apparent P
(mg./l.)
.08
11
16
20
.24
S3
As (mg./l.)
0.7
1 0
1.3
20
3.0
Apparent P
(mg./l.)
.34
.43
.54
.78
1.08
Aquaria tests indicate that a 5-mg/l concentration of trivalent
arsenic will produce the same pseudo phosphorus reading as a 5-mg/l
pentavalent arsenic concentration in 15 days in full sunlight at room
temperature. This transition may take 40 days in the dark under cooler
temperatures. In a vessel filled with lake water to which only sodium
arsenite was added, the arsenic content remained relatively constant
throughout the forty-day period. On the other hand, when lake water
was superimposed upon 3 inches of lake bottom mud, arsenic and
pseudo phosphorus concentrations diminished rapidly, especially after
771-09 6^65
53
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10 days. A small amount of arsenic remained in solution in the
aquaria at the end of 40 days, but much had been absorbed by the
layer of mud on the bottom.
Lakes that have received sodium arsenite for the control of aquatic
vegetation may contain sufficient arsenic in solution to interfere with
phosphorus determinations.
Mackenthun, K. M., W. M. Ingram, and R. Forges. 1964.
Limnological Aspects of Recreational Lakes. U.S. Public Health
Service Publication No. 1167,176pp.
Moyle (1961) quotes a number of investigators converting their data
on bottom fauna standing crop to pounds per acre (wet weight). Some
typical values include 248 pounds per acre from a Minnesota pond
(Dineen, 1953); 67 to 82 pounds per acre in an unfertilized Michigan
pond, and 101 to 127 pounds per acre in a fertilized Michigan pond
(Ball, 1949) ; 124 pounds per acre in Lizard Lake, Iowa (Tebo, 1955) ;
398 pounds per acre in the Mississippi River system with no weeds,
and 1,143 pounds per acre in the Mississippi River system in weeds
(Moyle, 1940) ; and as much as 3,553 pounds per acre in a Ohara bed
in a slow stream in New York (Needham, 1938). Borutsky (1939)
working on the deepwater benthos of a lake in Russia, concluded that
throughout the year 6 percent of the biological productivity was lost
as emerged insects that perished outside the lake basin, 14 percent was
eaten by fish, 55 percent was returned to the lake as dead larvs,e, cast
skins, etc., and 25 percent remained to assure the continuation of the
species the following year.
Basic sources of nutrients to lakes and reservoirs are (a) tributary
streams carrying land runoff and waste discharges (b) the interchange
of bottom sediments, and (c) precipitation from the atmosphere.
Studies of Wisconsin waste stabilization ponds indicate annual per
capita contributions of 4.1 pounds of inorganic nitrogen and 1.1 pounds
of soluble phosphorus (Meckenthum and McNabb, 1961). The Nine-
Springs Sewage Treatment Plant provides primary and secondary
treatment for all wastes from Madison, Wis., metropolitan area of 85
square miles with a population of about 135,000. The effluent from the
secondary processes—one-fourth settled sewage from trickling filters
and three-fourths from activated sludge—has an annual per capita
contribution of 8.5 pounds of inorganic nitrogen and 3.5 pounds of
soluble phosphorus.
Land runoff may often be the major contributor of nutrients to the
tributary stream. The annual loss of nitrogen and phosphorus per
acre from a planting of corn on a 20 percent slope of Miami silt loam
was found to be 38 and 1.8 pounds, respectively; on an 8 percent, slope,
54
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this was reduced to 18 pounds of nitrogen and 0.5 pound of phos-
phorus (Eck et al. 1957). In a study of the lower Madison lakes,
Sawyer et al. (1945) found that the annual contribution of inorganic
nitrogen per acre of drainage area tributary to Lake Monona was 4.4
pounds, Lake Waubesa, 4.9 pounds, and Lake Kegonsa, 6.4 pounds.
Sawyer et al., (1945) found the nitrogen and phosphorus content
of the bottom muds in the Madison lakes to be 7,000 to 9,000 jug/g dry
weight and 1,000 to 1,200 /xg/g dry weight, respectively.
As fixed nitrogen enters the reservoir, it is incorporated in the bio-
mass as an element of protein. Upon death or excretion, nitrogen is
liberated for reuse. During this process some is lost: (a) in the lake
effluents (as much as 40 percent), (b) by diffusion of volatile nitrogen
compounds from surface water, (c) by denitrification in the lake, and
(d) in the formation of permanent sediments.
Likewise, phosphorus, taken up in the web of life, is liberated for
reuse upon death of the organism (Cooper, 1941). Some may settle
into the hypolimnion with the sedimentation of seston (all living and
nonliving floating or swimming plants or animals) or in fecal pellets,
and some may be released at the mud-water interface (Hooper and
Elliott, 1953).
The Madison Lakes problem at Madison, Wisconsin, has been a sub-
ject of nationwide discussion, intensive investigation, and legislative
and legal action for many years. The series of Yahara River lakes
at Madison, Wisconsin, includes Lake Mendota, Lake Monona, Lake
Waubesa, and Lake Kegonsa, respectively. Madison, Wisconsin, is
located between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona. In the early his-
tory of the city, Lake Monona received raw sewage and later treated
sewage effluent from the City of Madison. In 1926, the Nine-Springs
Sewage Treatment Plant was placed in operation and the effluent
from this installation was carried via Nine-Springs Creek to the Ya-
hara River above Lakes Waubesa and Kegonsa. The enrichment of
these lower Madison Lakes by the highly nutritious effluent produced
nuisance algal growths, offensive odors, and periodic fish kills. These
conditions led to innumerable complaints, much debate, and even-
tually, in December 1958, legislative and legal action forced the di-
version of the effluent from the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage
District's Nine-Springs Treatment Plant around the lower Madison
Lakes.
The 1942-43 report to the Governor's Committee on a study of the
Madison Lakes (Sawyer et al., 1945) contained results of over 15,000
chemical determinations mostly on nitrogen and phosphorus, along
with appropriate flow data. Algal counts were also made and cor-
related with nutrients found. Major conclusions reached were that
(1) the biological productivity of the local lakes is a function of the
loading of inorganic nitrogen on each lake, (2) the soluble phosphorus
55
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content of the water may be a factor in limiting the rate of biological
activity and in determining the nature of the growths when its con-
centration drops below 0.01 mg/1, (3) drainage from improved marsh
land is approximately two to three times as rich in inorganic nitrogen
as drainage from ordinary farm land, and (4) high biological pro-
ductivity and nuisance conditions do not always occur simultaneously.
The 1943-1944 report, which gives the results of over 21,000 chem-
ical determinations and complementary biological studies, ". . .
strengthen the conviction that inorganic forms of nitrogen and phos-
phorus are the main factors in providing fertilizing elements for algal
blooms."
The nutrients' stimulation of algal production can lead to the for-
mation of a mass of organic matter greater than that of the original
waste source (Renn, 1954). In an enriched environment, algae re-
spond so well to incoming nutrients that the oxygen required i'or the
respiration of the resultant algal mass alone surpasses the biochemical
oxygen demand (BOD) of the incoming food material. Lake. Win-
nebago, Wisconsin (area 213 square miles), produces heavy algal
populations. In July, when the lower Fox River carried a heavy
algal load from Lake Winnebago, the ultimate BOD in the river above
the sources of industrial and municipal wastes ranged to 660,000
pounds of oxygen demand each day (Scott et al., 1956).
Ball, R. C., 1949. Experimental Use of Fertilizer in the Production of Fish-
Food Organisms and Fish. Michigan State College Agricultural Experi-
ment Station, East Lansing, Tec. Bull. 210,28 pp.
Bush, A. F. and S. F. Mulford, 1954. Studies of Waste Water Reclamation
and Utilization. California State Water Pollution Control Board, Sacra-
mento, Publication No. 9, 82 pp.
Cooper, L. H. N., 1941. The Rate of Liberation of Phosphates in Sea Water
by Break-down of Plankton Organisms. Jour. Marine Biological Asso-
ciation, United Kingdom, 20 :197-220.
Dineen, C. F., 1953. An Ecological Study of a Minnesota Pond. Am. Midi.
Nat, 50(2) : 349-356.
Eck, P., M. L. Jackson, O. E. Hayes and C. E. Bay, 1957. Runoff Analysis as
a Measure of Erosion Losses and Potential Discharge of Minerals and
Organic Matter into Lakes and Streams. Summary Report, Lakes Inves-
tigations, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 13 pp. (mimeo).
Hooper, F. F. and A. M. Elliott, 1953. Release of Inorganic Phosphorus
from Extracts of Lake Mud by Protozoa. Trans. Am. Micr. Soc., 72(3) :
276-281.
Mackenthun, K. M., L. A. Lueschow and C. D. McNabb, 1960. A Study of the
Effects of Diverting the Effluent from Sewage Treatment upon the Receiv-
ing Stream. Wis. Acad. Sci., Arts and Letters, 49: 51-72.
Mackenthun, K. M. and C. D. McNabb, 1961. Stabilization Pond Studies in
Wisconsin. Jour. Water Pollution Control Federation, 33(12) : 1234-1251
Metzler, D. F., et al., 1958. Emergency Use of Reclaimed Water for Potable
Supply at Chanute, Kans., Jour. Am. Water Works Association, 50(8) :
1021-1060.
56
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Moyle, J. B., 1940. A Biological Survey of the Upper Mississippi River
System (in Minnesota). Minn. Dept. Cons. Fish. Inv. Rept. No. 10, 69 pp.
Moyle, J. B., 1961. Aquatic Invertebrates as Related to Larger Water
Plants and Waterfowl. Minn. Dept. Cons, Inv. Rept. No. 233, pp. 1-24
(mimeo.).
Needham, P. R., 1938. Trout Streams. Comstock Publishing Co., Ithaca,
N.Y., 233 pp.
Sawyer, C. N., J. B. Lackey and R. T. Lenz, 1945. An Investigation of the
Odor Nuisances Occurring in the Madison Lakes, Particularly Monona,
Waubesa and Kegonsa from July 1942-July 1944. Report of Governor's
Committee, Madison, Wisconsin, 2 Vols. (mimeo.).
Scott, R. H., B. F. Lueck, T. F. Wisniewski and A. J. Wiley, 1956. Evalua-
tion of Stream Loading and Purification Capacity. Committee on Water
Pollution, Madison, Wis., Bull. No. 101 (mimeo.).
Tebo, L. B., 1955. Bottom Fauna of a Shallow Eutrophic Lake, Lizard Lake,
Pocahontas County, Iowa. Am. Midi. Nat, 54 (1) : 89-103.
Mackenthun, K. M., L. A. Lueschow, and C. D. McNabb. 1960.
A Study of the Effects of Diverting the Effluent from Sewage Treat-
ment upon the Receiving Stream. Trans. Wisconsin Acad. Sci.,
Arts, Letters, Vol. 49, pp. 51-72.
Samples from a 26 bi-weekly period from the receiving streams were
analyzed both before and after diversion of 20 million gallons per day
of primary and secondary treated sewage from Madison, Wisconsin,
from a population of about 135,000. The first receiving stream, Bad-
fish Creek, is approximately 16% miles long and has an average slope
of about six feet per mile. Biological and chemical data for a point
about mid-way down Badfish Creek before (1956) and after (1959)
diversion were summarized as follows:
Pounds per day
Soluble P — -.
Dissolved oxygen.. ._
Flow (c f 9 )
Range
1956
56-791
13-71
89-143
7-12
39-113
386-636
8-10
1959
247 1 435
206-447
2, 171-4, 246
996-1, 701
755 2 333
413-1, 749
40-48
Mean
1956
259
30
110
9
75
475
9
1959
622
286
3,153
1,351
1,602
904
43
Following diversion, long streamers of filamentous green algae
(Stigeoclonium and RJiizoclonium), some of which were estimated to
be 50 feet in length, were attached to bottom materials at numerous
locations in Badfish Creek. Oscillatoria covered the bottom in the
upper area. Severe stream degradation following diversion was indi-
cated by the community of stream biota.
57
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MacPherson, L. B., N. R. Sinclair, and F. R. Hayes. 1958.
Lake Water and Sediment, in. The Effect of pH on the Partition
of Inorganic Phosphate Between Water and Oxidized Mud! or its
Ash. Limnology and Oceanography, Vol. 3, pp. 318—326; Water
Pollution Abstracts, Vol. 32, No. 4, Abs. No. 622.
Dried and reconstituted mud from primitive, medium, productive,
and acid bog lakes was shaken with water to achieve phosphorus
equilibrium. Minimal phosphorus was released from the mud at pH
5.5 to 6.5, and the concentration varied from scarcely detectable up to
0.2 mg/1 in productive lakes. Greater acidity caused a slight increase
of phosphorus in the water, up to 0.3 mg/1, and alkalinity a larger
increase, up to 0.5 mg/1. At all pH values the amount of phosphorus
released increased in the order of lake type from primitive to acid
bog. When 1 mg/1 phosphorus was added to the water before shak-
ing, it was not taken up by muds from acid bog and productive lakes,
while unproductive lake muds removed most of the added phosphorus
under acid conditions, but not at pH values of 7.0 or more.
Malhotra, S. K., G. F. Lee, and G. A. Rohlich. 1964.
Nutrient Removal from Secondary Effluent by Alum Flocciilation
and Lime Precipitation. International Journal of Air and Water
Pollution, Vol. 8, Nos. 8 and 9, pp. 487-500.
The removal of phosphorus and nitrogen compounds from bio-
chemically treated wastewater effluents by alum flocculation and lime
precipitation was investigated. Samples of secondary effluent were
flocculated or precipitated in accord with conventional jar test pro-
cedures. The phosphorus removal was found to be highly pH-
dependent with an optimum pH of 5.57±0.25. At this pH an alum
dose of 250 mg/1 removed 95% of total phosphorus, 55% of the chemi-
cal oxygen demand, 60% of the organic nitrogen, 25% of the NO3-N
and NO2-N, 17% of the apparent ABS, and none of the ammonia-N.
A dose of 600 mg/1 Ca(OH)2 raised the pH of the sample to 11.0
and removed 99% of the total phosphorus.
The estimated chemical costs for removal of 95% of the phosphorus
by lime and alum were $32 and $73 per million gallons, respectively.
Matheson, D. H. 1951.
Inorganic Nitrogen in Precipitation and Atmospheric Sediments.
Canadian Journal of Technology, Vol. 29, pp. 406—412.
In an investigation covering 18 months, daily determinations were
made of the inorganic nitrogen contained in precipitation and atmos-
58
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pheric sediments collected at Hamilton, Ontario. The nitrogen fall
for the whole period averaged 5.8 Ib. N" per acre per year. Sixty-one
percent of the total nitrogen was collected on 25 percent of the days
when precipitation occurred. The balance, occurring on days without
precipitation, is attributable solely to the sedimentation of dust.
Ammonia nitrogen averaged 56 percent of the total.
McGauhey, P. H., R. Eliassen, G. Rohlich, H. F. Ludwig, and E. A.
Pearson. 1963.
Comprehensive Study on Protection of Water Resources of Lake
Tahoe Basin Through Controlled Waste Disposal. Prepared for
the Board of Directors, Lake Tahoe Area Council, Al Tahoe,
California, 157 pp.
The amount of nitrogen from pollen may be as high as 2 to 5 kg
nitrogen per hectare per year in a forested area. The pollen contains
chloride and phosphate in addition to nitrogen, but as a significant
amount of pollen was seen to be intact in the sediments it cannot be
assumed that these materials are released to the lake water.
The nitrogen and phosphorus content in trout is about 3 percent
N and 0.2 percent P by weight, giving a maximum amount of 300 kg
N and 20 kg P taken out of Tahoe Lake annually as fish.
Results of 14 samples of the upper 10 cm of Lake Tahoe sediments
indicate a moisture content ranging from 17.5 to 84.5 percent, Kjeldahl
nitrogen from 0.06 to 16.6 mg/g dry weight, total carbon 0.06 to 198.0
mg/g dry weight, and carbon nitrogen ratios from 3.7 to 28.4.
It was assumed that the average per capita refuse produced in the
watershed (originating from food and other materials imported into
the watershed) is 2 pounds per day of which 1.0 percent is nitrogen
(as N) and 0.5 percent is phosphorus (as P).
Unit design factors suggested for domestic wastes were as follows:
Average sewage flow, gallons per capita per day :
Residential and commercial areas 90
Recreational areas 30
BOD, mg/1 250
Phosphate, mg/1 P 8
Total Nitrogen, mg/1 N 45
Passage of water to the ground by infiltration from ponds has little
or no effect on nutrient concentrations, and subsequent flow through
the ground effects only partial removal of nutrients. Nitrate appears
to be transported by ground waters without significant reduction by
earth materials. Percolation of water through the ground does not
materially reduce the concentrations of various chemical constituents
introduced.
59
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Consideration was given to tertiary waste treatment methods. The
known methods which might be feasible may be classified as follows:
1. Preblooming using algae ponds.
2. Physical-chemical methods: These include nitrogen removal by air
stripping of ammonia and/or by ion exchange; phosphate removal by pre-
cipitation with lime, alum, ferric iron, or other precipitating agents; and
complete distillation.
3. Controlled biological methods.
Tertiary Treatment by Preblooming
"Nutrient removal by preblooming in ponds involves conversion of
waste nutrient materials present to algal cell material through photo-
synthesis followed by the removal of the algal cells from the pond
effluent. Removal of cells from the waste effluent may be accomplished
by centrifuging, filtering, or coagulation. Coagulation may have an
added advantage in obtaining a higher degree of removal of residual
phosphates.
"Nutrient removal in such processes is a function of the size of the
algae crop. Factors affecting production of algae are nutrient con-
centrations, sunlight, and other environmental characteristics such
as depth and temperature. Climate may place severe restrictions on
the size of the algae crop and hence reduce nutrient removal efficiency.
Investigations by Fitzgerald show clearly that in favorable summer
conditions high decreases in inorganic nitrogen occurred (13-6). For
the most of the year however, nitrogen removal was less than 50
percent and even negative values were recorded in the winter-time.
There were only 33 days in 1956 and 76 days in 1957 when nitrogen
removals were greater than 50 percent. The nitrogen removals
averaged about 30 percent for the year. Phosphate reductions were
high during periods of high algae productivity, coinciding with high
pH values, indicating phosphate precipitation. This was borne out
by the fact that winter effluent phosphate concentrations frequently
surpassed inffluent levels, a phenomenon probably due to the dissolu-
tion of the phosphate previously precipitated. The data presented by
Fitzgerald were confirmed by the observations of Parker (13-7) whose
study involved a series of eight ponds used in series. The decrease
in nitrogen content was only about 51 percent during the summer
(average temperature 70° F) and 12 percent during the winter (aver-
age temperature 48° F). Experimental studies conducted by Oswald
et al (13-8) on the use of "high-rate" ponds for the commercial pro-
duction of algae showed about 70 percent nitrogen removal and 50
percent phosphate removal due to algal action alone, and near-complete
removal of phosphate was possible through harvesting by means of
coagulation with alum. These results, however, were obtained under
very favorable climatic conditions.
60
-------
"Considering the climatic conditions within the Tahoe Basin, it is
obvious that the degree of nutrient removal which could be anticipated
during the winter months would be negligible, and reasonably success-
ful operation could only take place during the summer months (June
through August). As in land disposal by cropping, therefore, winter
storage facilities would be needed, and the entire yearly flow would
have to be treated in a three-month period. Using the most efficient
type of high-rate ponds, the area requirement is approximately 10
acres per mgd of waste effluent. The ponds would be about 8 to 12
inches deep completely lined and equipped with low head pumps for
recirculation. The estimated cost of such ponds is $20,000 per acre
including land. Based on the ultimate average flow estimated for
El Dorado County (11 mgd) and assuming an operational period of
three months (not including the two week start-up period normally
required), approximately 440 acres of ponds would be required. The
cost of the ponds alone (including land) would be about $8,800,000.
In addition to the ponds and storage facilities, the complete system
would require pretreatment facilities, and algae removal system con-
sisting of coagulation and sedimentation basins, and a system for de-
watering and drying the algae cells.
Physical-Chemical Methods
"Physical-chemical tertiary treatment methods meriting considera-
tion include nitrogen removal by ion exchange, air stripping of am-
monia, phosphate removal by using the Foyn Cell or by coagulation,
and complete demineralization through distillation.
"Nitrogen Removal Using Ion Exchangers: Studies carried out by
Nesselson (13-9) at the University of Wisconsin indicate that strongly
basic anion exchangers perform satisfactorily for the removal of ni-
trate nitrogen, and that removal of ammonia may be accomplished
using a cation exchange resin. The ion exchange process may be used
to remove these nutrients from the effluents of conventional secondary
treatment plants (activated sludge or trickling niters). Inasmuch
as almost 60 percent of the nitrogen in raw sewage is in the form of
ammonia, and because this percentage can be increased through con-
trolled operation of conventional biological processes (through con-
version of organic nitrogen to ammonia), use of a cation exchanger
in series with the conventional plant may remove a major fraction of
the nitrogen.
"Nesselson indicates that Nalcite HCE has an exchange capacity
of 16 to 22 kilograms per cu ft (as Ca CO3) when used for the removal
of ammonia nitrogen from activated sludge effluents. The exchanger
operates with an efficiency of 1.4 to 2.5 Ibs of salt (Nad) per kilogram
of cations removed. Amberlite IE-120 has corresponding values of
13 to 17 kg per cu ft and 1.3 to 2.6 Ibs NaCl per kg of cations removed.
61
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A minimum volume of 6 percent of the influent feed was required for
regeneration. This quantity of water (60,000 gallons per mg of water
treated) must be disposed of somehow, preferably by evaporation.
This problem, plus the fact that the process has never been developed
beyond the laboratory stage, and moreover would be more costly than
competitive biological processes not employing resins, rules out the
use of ion exchangers at Tahoe.
"Nitrogen Removal % Air Stripping of Ammonia: Because
ammonia nitrogen represents the greater portion of nitrogen present
in sewage and sewage effluents, air stripping of this component as a
nitrogen removal method has been considered. Kuhn (13-10), in
laboratory studies at the University of Wisconsin on air stripping in
packed towers, found that about 92 percent removal of ammonia
nitrogen could be obtained in a percolation tower seven feet high with
air to liquid loadings of about 520 to 550 cu ft per gallon of flow. In
an activated sludge plant, normal air requirements vary from about
0.2 to 2.5 cu ft per gallon of sewage treat ed. These figures show that
although the process is technically sound it is economically prohibitive.
"Phosphate Removal Using the Foyn Cell: Dr. Ernst Foyn at Oslo,
Norway, has developed a process referred to as 'electrolytic' sewage
purification (13-11). A divided container is equipped with electrodes
connected to the negative and positive poles of a battery. One portion
of the chamber contains sea water, the other a mixture of sewage with
10 to 15 percent sea water. Chlorine is developed at the graphite
anode and hydrogen and alkali in the chamber containing the iron
cathode, thus creating chemical conditions necessary for the precipita-
tion of phosphate. The phosphate is adsorbed on the magnesium
hydroxide floe or precipitated and floated to the surface by the hydro-
gen bubbles. Pilot plant investigations showed that a detention period
of about 1.5 hrs resulted in phosphate removal of 60 to 80 percent and
a reduction in Kjeldahl nitrogen of about 60 percent. It is apparent
that because of the sea water requirement (115 percent of the volume
of sewage treated) the Foyn Cell is scarcely feasible for use at Tahoe.
"Removal of Phosphate l>y Precipitaiion: A series of laboratory
and pilot plant studies were conducted by the University of Wisconsin,
both in the laboratory and at the Nine Springs Treatment F'lant in
Madison, Wisconsin, on phosphate removal by precipitation using
ferrous sulfate, ferric sulfate. cupric sulfate, diatomaceous earth, and
aluminum sulfate as coagulation agents (13-11). As a result of these
studies the following conclusions were made:
(1) Under laboratory conditions it is possible to remove 96 to 99
percent of the soluble phosphates from sewage treatment plant
effluents. This removal can be accomplished in a precipitation
or coagulation process employing any of a number of coagulants
(alum, ferrous sulfate, ferric sulfate, or copper sulfate).
62
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(2) Alum appears to be the most suitable coagulant for the follow-
ing reasons: (a) The residual phosphate concentration of the
effluent following coagulation with 200 ppm of alum is, on the
average, 0.06 ppm (expressed as P); (b) the optimum pH
range for the removal of phosphates through coagulation with
alum is 7.1 to 7.7; and (c) the aluminum hydroxide floe result-
ing from the hydrolysis of alum may be recovered, purified by
removing the absorbed phosphates in the form of tricalcium
phosphate, and re-used for further phosphorus removal in the
form of sodium aluminate. This recovery and purification re-
duces the overall cost of chemicals by 80 percent.
(3) Pilot plant studies show that with the alum recovery process,
from 77 to 89 percent of the soluble phosphates can be removed.
By filtering the effluent up to 93 to 97 percent can be removed.
Improved settling facilities should give intermediate levels of
removal.
"In experiments conducted by Wuhrmann (13-12) at Zurich it was
shown that lime was the most economical precipitating agent, espe-
cially with the extra addition of a small amount of ferric iron as a
coagulant aid. Also, the lime precipitate showed superior settling
rates and produced a slurry much easier to dewater than sludge from
alum or iron coagulation. Although the alkalinity of the water used
in the Zurich experiments (200 mg/1) was much higher than at Tahoe,
it appears that lime precipitation might prove to be advantageous
to alum or iron for use at Tahoe. Owen (13-13) has also reported on
the use of lime for removing phosphorus from sewage.
"Pitcon Process: A tertiary process which includes this type of phos-
phate removal, known as the "Pitcon" process, has recently undergone
a series of pilot scale tests at the South Tahoe Public Utility District
(13-14). The pilot scale tests were carried out by Cornell, Howland,
Hayes, and Merryfield in cooperation with Clair A. Hill and Asso-
ciates, for the purpose of developing design criteria and cost data.
The tertiary plant tested at STPUD included two basic processes, the
first being phosphate removal by alum coagulation (with the aid of
polyelectrolytes) followed by filtration through a series of activated
carbon columns to remove ABS (alkyl benzene sulfonates).
"In November 1962 a special test run of the pilot facility was ar-
ranged by Cornell, Howland, Hayes, and Merryfield, during which
members of the Board of Consultants and of the staff of Engineering-
Science, Inc., were present as observers. At this time composited
samples (comprising several grab samples) were taken of the process
influent (activated sludge effluent) and process effluent. These were
analyzed by Engineering-Science, Inc., with results as shown in Table
13-11. These data indicate the process accomplished a removal of
about 96 percent of both total and soluble phosphates, within the
63
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expected range. With respect to total nitrogen, the process effected
little if any removal, the principal effect being conversion of organic
nitrogen to ammonia. The total nitrogen was 28.9 mg/1 (as N) in the
influent and 28.8 mg/1 in the effluent.
"Distillation: Distillation, although very expensive, does presently
possess one major advantage over all other tertiary treatment methods,
namely its ability to completely demineralize the waste thus producing
an effluent practically devoid of all nutrients such as nitrogen,, phos-
phorous, vitamins, micronutrients, iron, etc., all or any of which might
influence algae production.
"Although considerable cost data are available for the distillation of
sea water, there has been little experience in the distillation of wastes
on which reliable cost estimates may be based. Preliminary estimates
have been made by the Advanced Waste Treatment Program of the
U.S. Public Health Service (13-15), based on comparisons with sea
water. These studies indicate waste distillation costs would be ap-
proximately one-third lower than for sea water. Waste distillation
costs (including amortization and operation and maintenance) were
estimated at approximately $1.00/1,000 gallons for flows less than 1
mgd, and about $0.75/1,000 gallons for flows greater thun 10 mgd.
The residual total solids would be in the range of 3 to 5 mg/1.
Table 13-11.—RESULTS OF SAMPLES FOR EVALUATING PITCON PROCESS (November 1962)
Location
Effluent
Total
phos-
phate
mg.A
as P.
9 8
0 4
Soluble
phos-
phate
mg.A
as P.
7.2
0 3
Nitrate
nitrogen
mg.A
asN.
1.3
Nitrite
nitrogen
rng.A
asN.
0.2
1 9
Am-
monia
nitrogen
mg.A
asN.
4.0
26.5
Organic
nitrogen
mg.fl
asN.
23 4
0 4
Chloride
mg.A
33.65
33 65
ABS
mg.A
3.90
0.01
Biological Methods of Nitrogen Removal
"In the two most common biological treatment methods, the trick-
ling filter and the activated sludge processes, two different reactions
are responsible for the decrease in total nitrogen concentration. These
are conversion of nitrogen into organic cell material and microbial de-
nitrification. Of the two processes, microbial denitrification is the
more important and is largely responsible for the decreases in ni trogen
concentration observed in many biological treatment plants (13-15).
"Denitrification refers to that stage of the nitrogen cycle in which
nitrates are reduced to gaseous nitrogen. The essential condition for
this reaction is anaerobiosis. The first step involves the extension of
oxidation in a conventional biological process to the point at which
dissolved nitrogen compounds are transformed to nitrite or nitrate.
Experience demonstrates that it is relatively easy to operate a,n acti-
vated sludge plant to obtain 90 percent conversion to nitrates, For
64
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the second step, denitrification, all necessary conditions are present in
normal activated sludges and when such sludges are subjected to an-
aerobiosis such reduction occurs.
"Wuhrmann (13-16) has performed field experiments on pilot plant
scale to investigate the limitations of the process and to establish de-
sign criteria. The test units in his investigations were large enough to
permit extrapolation to full-size plants. In all experiments sewage of
the city of Zurich was used after primary treatment. This sewage
was primarily of domestic origin and following primary clarification
had a BOD of from 110 to 130 ppm, total nitrogen 25 to 30 ppm,
and total phosphorus 4 to 7 ppm. Between the aeration tank and
secondary clarifier of a conventional activated sludge plant, an addi-
tional basin was placed in which the mixed liquor from the aerator
was stored for a short time. In this tank the activated sludge was kept
in suspension by a submerged paddle wheel. The detention time was
made sufficient to bring the oxygen-containing effluent of the aeration
tank to anaerobic conditions and to allow for full denitrification of
the nitrates present in the mixed liquor. Anaerobiosis was reached
automatically by the respiration of the activated sludge.
"An additional experiment compared the nitrogen elimination in a
conventional complete treatment plant with the results accomplished
using an identical system with an additional unit for the anaerobic
treatment phase. The conventional plant gave an amount of nitrogen
elimination in full agreement with experience, i.e., the effluent con-
tained a total nitrogen concentration of 12 to 15 ppm, representing
an elimination of 40 to 50 percent (based on settled sewage nitrogen
content). The effluent of the denitrification plant showed a very con-
stant low level of nitrogen compounds; there were nitrate ions which
had escaped denitrification, and some organic nitrogen in the micro-
organisms suspended in the final effluent. The BOD values of both
plant effluents were almost the same and varied between 6 and 12
ppm.
"In the experiments cited above an additional unit was used for re-
moving phosphorus by precipitation. The final effluent of the deni-
trification plant was submitted to this treatment. In removing nearly
all of the remaining suspended organic solids from the final effluent
of the denitrification unit by this precipitation process, the nitrogen
concentration was again lowered by 1 to 2 ppm, and consequently an
effluent with only about 2 ppm of total nitrogen resulted after phos-
phate precipitation."
(13-6) Fitzgerald, G. P., "Stripping Effluents of Nutrients by Biological
Means," Transactions 1960 Seminar, Taft Sanitary Engineering
Center, Technical Rep. W 61-3,136-139.
65
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(13-7) Parker, C. D., "Microbiological Aspects of Lagoon Treatment,"
Journal Water Pollution Control Fed., 34,149-161 (1962).
(13-8) Oswald, W. J., Golneke, C. G., Cooper, R. C., Cree, H. K., and
Brenson, J. C., "Water Reclamation, Algal Production and Methane
Fermentation in Waste Ponds," Manuscr. No. 25, Int. ConC. Water
Pollution Res., London (1962).
(13-9) Nesselson, E. J., "Removal of Inorganic Nitrogen from Sewage
Effluents," PhD Thesis, University of Wisconsin (unpublished)
(1954).
(13-10) Kuhn, P. A., "Removal of Ammonia Nitrogen from Sewage Ef-
fluent," M. S. Thesis, University of Wisconsin (unpublished)
(1956).
(13-11) Rohlich, G. A., "Chemical Methods for the Removal of Nitrogen
and Phosphorus from Sewage Plant Effluents," Transactions 1960
Seminar, Taft Sanitary Engineering Center, Technical Rep. W61-
3,130-135.
(13-12) Wuhrmann, Karl, private communication to H. Ludwig (6 May
1963).
(13-13) Owen, R., "Removal of Phosphorus from Sewage Efflufoit with
Lime," Sewage and Industrial Wastes, 25, 5, 548 (May 1853).
(13-14) Cornell, Howland, Hayes and Merryfleld, "Preliminary Report on
a Tertiary Waste Treatment Plant," prepared for the South Tahoe
Public Utility District (Jan. 1963).
(13-15) Weinberger, Leon, private communication (1 April 1963).
(13-16) Wuhrmann, K., "Nitrogen Removal in Sewage Treatment Process,"
XVth Congress of Limnology, Madison, Wisconsin (Aug. 1962).
Mclntire, C. D. and C. E. Bond. 1962.
Effects of Artificial Fertilization on Plankton and Benthos Abun-
dance in Four Experimental Ponds. Transactions of the Ameri-
can Fisheries Society, Vol. 91, No. 3, pp. 303-312.
The effects of phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizers on the abundance
of fish food organisms were investigated in four newly excavated
ponds. Before fertilization the ponds were characterized by low nitro-
gen and phosphorus concentrations, pH values near neutrality, low
total alkalinities, and dissolved oxygen concentrations near satura-
tion. After fertilizers were added to three ponds, chemical and physi-
cal conditions were altered considerably by the production of large
quantities of plankton organisms. Establishment of plankton popula-
tions was followed by development of benthic communities, especially
in the two ponds receiving both nitrogen and phosphorus. The benthic
community developed most rapidly, and the biomass became greatest in
the pond receiving the heaviest applications of nitrogen and phos-
phorus. In ponds which received no phosphorus, benthic production
was low.
66
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McKee, H. S. 1962.
Nitrogen Metabolism in Plants. Clarendon Press, Oxford, Eng-
land, 728 pp.
Bineau (1865) showed that fresh-water algae used ammonium and
nitrate. Chu (1942) found that many planktonic algae including
Oscillatoria rubescens and several diatoms used both nitrate and ammo-
nium. The only species showing a definite preference for either form
of nitrogen was Botryococcus braunii, which grew better with nitrate.
Most species grew equally well with either nitrate or ammonium at
optimum levels of supply, but better with nitrate when the nitrogen
supply was restricted. Chlorella is reported by Cramer and Meyers
(1948) to use ammonium exclusively when nitrate is also available.
Absorption of phosphate by the marine diatom Nitzschia closterium
increased with the nitrate content of the medium, but nitrate absorp-
tion was independent of phosphate level (Ketchum, 1939).
Nitrate reduction, being endothermic, must be directly or indirectly
coupled with respiration in tissues where this is the only source of
energy. Warburg and Negelein (1920) formulated the reduction of
nitrate by Chlorella pyrenoidosa as follows:
HNO3+H2O+20 = NH3 + 2CO2 +162,000 cal,
the carbon being at the oxidation level of carbohydrate.
Nitrogen-fixing species occur in the genera Anabaena, Anabaenopsis,
Aulosira, Calothrix, Cylindrospermum, Mastigocladits, Nostoc, Oscil-
latoria,, and Tolypothrias (Fogg and Wolfe, 1954). Some blue-green
algae are incapable of fixation. Most species utilize varied nitrogen
sources, including ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, amino-acids, and protein.
Most species use inorganic sources, but Synechococcus cedrorwm ap-
pears to require organic nitrogen (Allen, 1952). Molybdenum is
essential for nitrogen fixation in Anabaena and Nostoc.
Hausteen (1899) found that the aquatic angiosperm Lemna used
urea, asparagine, or ammonia, but not nitrate, for protein synthesis
in the dark.
The total atmospheric nitrogen reaching the soil per unit area tends
to increase with the annual rainfall. The amount of nitrogen reaching
the soil as nitrate and ammonium lies usually betwen 2 and 10
kg/ha/year in Europe. Several observers have found appreciable
amounts of organically combined nitrogen (usually cited as albumi-
noid N) in rain. Much of the organic nitrogen of the atmosphere
is in small particles such as pollen, spores, bacteria, and dust carried
from the earth's surface by ascending currents.
Addition of superphosphate to a small fresh-water lake (Einsele,
1941) led to a substantial increase in its total nitrogen content, pre-
sumably through the increased activity of nitrogen-fixing bacteria
67
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or blue-green algae. The effect appears analogous to that occurring
on land when legume-containing pastures are fertilized with
superphosphate.
Bineau, A. 1856. Observations sur 1'absorption de I'ammoniaque et des
azotates par les vegetations cryptogamiques. Ann. Chim. Physs. 3 S6r.,
Vol. 40, p. 60.
Chu, S. P. 1942. The influence of the mineral composition of the medium
on the growth of planktonic algae. Part I. Methods and culture media.
Journal of Ecology, Vol. 30, p. 324.
Cramer, M. and J. Meyers. 1948. Nitrate reduction and assimilation in
CliloreUa. J. Gen. Physiol., Vol. 32, p. 93.
Ketchum, B. H. 1939. The Absorption of Phosphate and Nitrate by Illumi-
nated Cultures of Nitzchia closterium. Amer. J. Bot, Vol. 26, p. 399.
Warburg, O. and E. Negelein. 1920. tlber die Reduktion der Salpetersaure
in griinen Zellen. Biochem, Z., Vol. 110, p. 66.
Fogg, G. E. and M. Wolfe. 1954. The Nitrogen Metabolism of the Blue-
Green Algae (Myxophyceae). In: Auto trophic micro-organisms. Cam-
bridge.
Allen, M. B. 1952. The Cultivation of Myxophyceae. Arch. Mikrobiol.,
Vol. 17, p. 34.
Hausteen, B. 1899. tlber Eiweisssynthese in griinen Phanerogamen. Jb.
Wiss. Bot., Vol. 33, p. 417.
Einsele, W. 1941. Die Umsetzung von Zugefiihrtem, anorganischen Phos-
phat im eutrophen See und ihre Ruckwirkung auf seinen Gesamtliaushalt.
Z. Fisch., Vol. 39, p. 407.
McVicker, M. G. L. Bridger, and L. B. Nelson. 1963.
Fertilizer Technology and Usage. Soil Science Society of America,
Madison 11, Wisconsin, 464 pp.
Nitrogen consumption as fertilizer in the United States in 1850
was 3,000 tons. In 1950, it was about 1 million tons; in 1960, 3 million
tons. Projected figures for 1970 are about 5 million tons. Phosphate
consumption in fertilizer has increased steadily from about 390,000
tons of P in 1940 to 1.3 million tons of P in 1960.
Menzel, D. W. and J. P. Spaeth. 1962.
Occurrence of Vitamin B12 in the Sargasso Sea. Limnology and
Oceanography, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 151-154.
The concentration of vitamin B12 occurring in Sargasso Sea surface
waters during 1960 ranged from undetectable amounts to 0.10 /*g/l.
Authors suggest that it does not appear likely that B12 itself ever
directly limits primary production in the Sargasso Sea, but it is quite
probable that the concentration of this growth factor exerts a signifi-
cant and perhaps controlling influence upon the species composition of
the phytoplankton.
68
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Meyer, J. and E. Pampfer. 1959.
Nitrogen Content of Rain Water Collected in the Humid Central
Congo Basin. Nature, Vol. 184, p. 717.
During April 1958-March 1959, rain water in Yangambi, Belgian
Congo, was examined to determine content of inorganic N. Total N
brought down by rain was very small; and, contrary to previous
assumptions, it appeared to be of doubtful significance for agriculture
and for balance of N in arable soil. About 59 percent of total inorganic
N in rainfall was ammoniacal N", and nitrous N did not exceed 3
percent of the nitric N. In examination of individual downpours, it
was found that the smaller the downpour, the higher the concentration
of N, especially of ammoniacal N; and that during heavy downpours
concentration of ammonia decreased.
Mikkelsen, D. S., B. A. Krantz, M. D. Miller, and W. E. Martin.
1962.
Cereal Fertilization. California Agricultural Experiment Station
Extension Service, University of California Leaflet No. 147.
Results of a series of 221 field tests conducted over 5 years in 38
counties indicate that nitrogen and phosphorus are the nutrients most
likely to give response in commercial grain fields. In this group of
tests, 32 percent gave significant yield increases from nitrogen alone,
15 percent from phosphorus alone, and 26 percent from a combination
of nitrogen-phosphorus treatments. Eegrouping these results, 58
percent of these grainland soils were deficient in nitrogen and 42 per-
cent were deficient in phosphorus. Only 25 percent of the tests showed
no benefit from fertilization. In a number of areas, experiments
indicate that sulfur may also be deficient.
GENERAL GUIDE TO CEREAL FERTILIZATION
Cropping patterns
Nonlrrigated Grain:
Annually rrnppft^
After fallow
Irrigated:'
Following nonlegume
Following legume or heavily fertilized crop
Pfiftt. and miip.k- anils
Rainfall
Inches
Below 12
Above 12
Below 10
Above 10.
Fertilizer
Nitrogen
(N)
Pounds per acre
Oto20
20 to 50
None
10 to 20
40 to 100
0 to 40
0 to 40
Phosphorus '
-------
MUlar, C. E. 1955.
Soil Fertility. John Wiley and Sons, New York, 436 pp.
The statement that later gave rise to the law of the minim am was
issued by Liebig (1849), "by the deficiency or absence of one necessary
constituent, all the others being present, the soil is rendered barren
for all those crops to the life of which that one constituent is indis-
pensable."
Arnon and Hoagland (In: Soil Sci., 50: 463, 1940) found that to-
mato plants growing in unaerated culture solutions absorbed smaller
quantities of all nutrients than, plants in aerated solutions. The limit-
ing influence on nutrient absorption of a low oxygen supply or of a
high carbon dioxide content in the growth has been demonstrated by
several investigators, and it is established that different plant species
vary in their response to given concentrations of the two gases.
The nitrogen content of various plants in percentage of dry matter
was given as follows:
Alfalfa:
Prebud -. -
Kentucky bluegrass:
Rye:
Percent N
(dry weight)
3.41
2 08
2.83
1.72
2. BO
0.24
Nitrogen in the soil varies with texture. In black clay loams, the
nitrogen in the upper 6% inches of soil was 7,230 pounds per acre;
brown silt loams, 5,035; brown loams, 4,720; brown sandy loams, 3,070;
yellow fine sandy loams, 2,170; and sand plains and dunes, 1,440.
The nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium contents of average yields
of a number of crops including corn, oats, barley, rye, wheat, and pota-
toes ranges from 18- to 78-N, 3- to 12-P, and 10- to 100-K pounds per
acre, respectively.
The highest, lowest, and average number of pounds of nitrogen
found in a ton of mixed manure are reported by Van Slyke (1932) to
be 16, 8, and 10, respectively. Of the animal manures, that from
poultry is the highest in nitrogen content with 1.0 to 1.5 percent;
sheep manure contains about 0.9 to 1.0 percent.
The total quantity of nitrogen brought to the earth in precipitation
varies from around 2 to about 20 pounds per acre per yea,r. The
average for localities not very close to cities or industrial sites lias been
found to be around 4 to 6 pounds.
The phosphorus content of the surface 6% inches of 11 sandy loams,
19 loams, 24 silt loams, and 19 silty clay loams in Iowa was 864,1,205,
1,288, and 3,089 pounds per acre, respectively.
70
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The pounds of fertilizer recommended for different crops in various
geographical regions were given as follows:
Region
Cornbelt
Appalachian
Southeast - - - -
Delta
Mountain. _ _ , - - -
Pacific
Pounds per acre of
Grassland
30
14
63
73
62
18
1.4
11.3
16.1
460
150
300
450
275
50
50
50
50
Corn
1254 450
i 80 175
1 285 500
1290 500
1 118 500
1 38 175
18 50
i 11 100
136 75
Wheat
300
250
400
400
70
50
70
50
Cotton
300
600
600
475
175
100
100
i Used, 1950.
The quantities of manure excreted by 1,000 pounds of live weight
of different animals and the nutrient content of the manure were given
as follows:
Animal
Cow
Swine
Sheep. _
Poultry
Pounds
excreted
per year
18, 000
27, 000
30, 600
12, 600
8 600
Dry matter
pounds per
year
3 960
3 780
3,978
4,032
3 870
Pounds
nitrogen
128
156
150
119
85
Pounds
phosphorus
19
17
45
43
63
Average farm manure as applied to the field contains approximately
10 pounds of nitrogen, and 2.2 pounds of phosphorus per ton.
Liebig, J. 1849. Chemistry and its Relation to Agriculture and Physiology.
John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Van Slyke, L. L. 1932. Fertilizers and Crop Production. Orange Judd
Publishing Co., New York.
Miller, R. B. 1961.
The Chemical Composition of Rain Water at Taita, New Zealand,
1956—58. New Zealand Journal of Science, Vol. 4, p. 844.
Kain water was collected monthly for 3 years at Taita Experimental
Station of New Zealand Soil Bureau near Wellington, and analyzed
for main elements present. The salt found, excluding bicarbonate,
was about 190 pounds per acre per year, of which nearly 80 percent
was sodium chloride; significant amounts of sulfate and magnesium
were also present, and phosphate was very low (less than 1 pound
per acre per year). Total nitrogen was measured in some of the
samples and was found to be about double the concentration of in-
organic and albuminoid nitrogen; contributions from rain water to
nitrogen in soil would probably be not less than 3 pounds per acre per
71
-------
year. Ionic ratios showed that in periods of southerly storms salt
tended to approach composition of sea water, and at other times
calcium and potassium (and to lesser degree magnesium and sulfate)
reached high proportions.
Moore, H. B. 1958.
Marine Ecology. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 493 pp.
Phosphorus may be present in the form of either organic or in-
organic compounds, and both in particulate form and in solution.
Within living tissues it is present mainly in organic compounds, and
it is released back into the water by their excretions and decay in either
particulate or soluble form. There is evidence that some organic
phosphorus compounds can be utilized by algae, but most of it is
broken down to phosphate by bacterial action, and then utilized as such
by the algae. Riley et al. (1949) are cited as assuming the critical
level for phosphate to be at a concentration of 0.55 mg.-atoms of
phosphorus per cubic meter in the productivity of plankton popula-
tions. Rohde (1948) found that the optimal concentration of phos-
phate for growth varied in different species of algae and that a given
concentration might be optimal for one, sub-optimal for another, and
supraoptimal for yet another.
Allee et al. (1949) are cited as giving the amount fixed by the action
of lightening and falling as nitrate on one sq. km. of ocean surface as
175 kg. per year.
Allee, W. C., A. E. Emerson, O. Park, T. Park, and K. P. Schmitt. 1949.
Principles of Animal Ecology, Saunders, Philadelphia, pp. 1-837.
Riley, G. A., H. Stommel, and D. F. Bumpus. 1949.
Quantitative Ecology of the Plankton of the Western North Atlantic. Bull.
Bingham Oceanog. Coll., Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 1-169.
Eohde, W. 1948.
Environmental Requirements of Fresh-water Plankton Algae. ISymbolae
Botan. Upsalinenses, Vol. 10, pp. 1-149.
Moyle, J. B. 1956.
Relationships between the Chemistry of Minnesota Surface Waters
and Wildlife Management. Jour. Wildlife Management, Vol. 20,
No. 3, pp. 302-320.
The author reasons that the size of population of mixed fish is related
to the water fertility and conditions associated with it and that the
structure of a fish population adjusts itself until it consists of those
species that can best utilize a specific degree of fertility and conditions
associated with it. A relationship was found between the total phos-
phorus concentration and the standing crop of fishes in Minnesota sur-
72
-------
face waters. On the basis of surveys it was estimated that Mississippi
headwater lakes support about 90 pounds of fish per acre; the summer
surface waters of these lakes have a mean total phosphorus content of
about 0.034 mg/1. In central Minnesota the mean total phosphorus
content of fish lakes is 0.058 mg/1, and the average fish production
capacity is estimated at 150 pounds per acre. In southern Minne-
sota, the total phosphorus content is 0.126 mg/1; seining in 40 fish lakes
showed an average standing crop of 280 pounds of rough fish per acre
plus about 90 pounds of other fishes, a total of 370 pounds per acre.
Miiller, W. 1953.
Nitrogen Content and Pollution of Streams. Gesundheitsing, Vol.
74, p. 256; Water Pollution Abstracts, Vol. 28, No. 2, Abs. No.
454.
The author concludes that excessive growths of plants and algae
in polluted waters can be avoided if the concentration of nitrate nitro-
gen is kept below about 0.3 mg/1 and the concentration of total nitro-
gen is not allowed to rise much above 0.6 mg/1.
Neess, J. C. 1949.
Development and Status of Pond Fertilization in Central Europe.
Transactions American Fisheries Society, Vol. 76 (1946), pp.
335-358.
Phosphorus is undoubtedly the most important single fertilizer.
It has frequently appeared to assume the role of limiting factor.
Phosphorus may be removed from solution by a number of mechanisms
which do not act independently of one another. In alkaline waters
where there is an excess of calcium, phosphorus may precipitate as
tricalcium phosphate [Ca3(P(X)2]. This salt is converted to the
more soluble di- and mono-calcium phosphates as the pH of the water
is reduced. In the presence of iron, insoluble ferric phosphate may be
formed. In addition, it may be adsorbed directly on organic soil
colloids (humus) whose nature is not clearly understood. Under these
circumstances, phosphorus will tend to accumulate in the bottom in
insoluble forms where it is not available to the phytoplankton in gen-
eral, although some algae may be able to use adsorbed phosphorus more
or less directly. Bacteria can use particulate phosphorus in a micro-
zone surrounding the cell and thus the element may be passed on
through food chains. Increased solubility of strongly basic phos-
phates may be the result of local acidity from base-exchange. Be-
neath the surface of the soil where oxidation-reduction potentials are
lowered, collidal complexes of ferric iron are made soluble by reduc-
tion and phosphorus adsorbed on them is released.
73
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Neil, J. H. 1957.
Problems and Control of Unnatural Fertilization of Lake Waters.
Engineering Bulletin, Proceedings of the Twelfth Industrial
Waste Conference, Purdue University, pp. 301-316.
In one of the first plant-scale experiments in the removal of phos-
phorus from a primary sewage treatment plant by chemical precipi-
tation using a combination of alum and activated silica, soluble
phosphorus was reduced by about 98 percent and combined phos-
phorus by 81 percent. That which was lost was contained as fines
of the floe or particulate matter which did not settle. In addition to
the improvements noted for phosphorus, a 35 percent reduction in
Kjeldahl nitrogen was noted.
The average sewage flow was 1.27 mgd and contained 166 pounds
of phosphorus per million gallons. The average concentrations of
alum and silica applied were 94.0 mg/1 and 3.4 mg/1, respectively.
The cost of alum, silica, soda, and trucking per million gallons of
sewage was $25.75.
In the two years before chemical precipitation was begun, the aver-
age soluble phosphate content in the river one-half mile downstream
from the disposal plant was 0.6 mg/1. During the period that con-
tinuous precipitation was applied, the average soluble phosphate
concentration dropped to 0.05 mg/1.
Odum, E. P. in collaboration with H. T. Odum. 1959.
Fundamentals of Ecology. W. B. Saunders Company, Philadel-
phia, 546 pp.
Turnover rate is a fraction of the total amount of a substance in a
component which is released (or which enters) in a given length of
time. Turnover time is the reciprocal of this, the time required to
replace a quantity of substances equal to the amount in the com-
ponent. For example, if 1,000 units are present in the component and
10 go out or enter each hour, the turnover rate is 10/1,000 or 0.01 per
hour. Turnover time would then be 1,000/10 or 100 hours.
Basic or primary productivity of an ecological system is defined
as the rate at which energy is stored by photosynthetic and chemo-
synthetic activity of producer organisms (chiefly green plants) in the
form of organic substances which can be used as food materials.
Gross primary productivity is the total rate of photosynthesis includ-
ing the organic matter used up in respiration during the measurement
period. Net primary productivity is the rate of storage of organic
matter in plant tissue in excess of the respiratory utilization by the
plants during the period of measurement. Gross primary produc-
tivity, net primary, and secondary productivity of various ecosystems
are recorded by Odum in the following tables:
74
-------
Gross primary productivity of various ecosystems as determined ~by gas exchange
measurements of intact systems in nature
Ecosystem
Averages for long periods— 0 months to 1 year:
Texas estuaries, Laguna Madre * - --_-..__,
Clear, deep (oligotrophic) lake, Wisconsin *
Shallow (eutrophic) lake, Japan 6 „ - _.
png labft Oftiiar "Rng T.alrp., Minnesota (phytnplanktnTl only) ^
Lake Erie, summer B -- -
Silver Springs, Florida ' . ... . - - -
Values obtained for short favorable periods:
Fertilized pond, N.C. in May "_ _ _ ----- . _ - -
Silver Springs, Florida, May 9
Estuaries, Texas4 - _ _, -----
Rate of produc-
tion gms/M2/ Kohn and
Helfrich (1957). " Hoskin, 1957 (unpublished). 12 Steeman-Nielsen (1955). '» Bartsch and Allum
(1957). « H. T. Odum (1957a). >s Tamiya (1957).
Annual net primary productivity of various cultivated and natural ecosystems
as determined ~by use of harvest methods
Ecosystem
Net primary production
grams per square meter
Per year
Per day
Cultivated crops:'
Wheat, world average.
Wheat, average in area of highest yields (Netherlands)
Oats, world average
Oats, average in area of highest yields (Denmark)
Corn, world average
Corn, average in area of highest yields (Canada)
Rice, world average -
Rice, average in area of highest yields (Italy and Japan)
Hay, U.S. average
Hay, average in area of highest yields (California)
Potatoes, world average
Potatoes, average in area of highest yields (Netherlands)
Sugarbeets, world average -
Sugarbeets, average in area of highest yields (Netherlands)
Sugarcane, world average..
Sugarcane, average Hawaii
Sugarcane, maximum Hawaii under intensive culture s
Mass algae culture, best yields under intensive culture outdoors,
Tokyo1
Noncultivated ecosystems:
Giant ragweed, fertile bottomland, Oklahoma *
Tall Spartma salt marsh, Georgia'
Forest, pine plantation, average during years of most rapid growth
(20-35 years old), England «
Forest, deciduous plantation, England, comparable to the above pine
plantation '
Tall grass prairies, Oklahoma and Nebraska 8
Short grass grassland, 13 in. rainfall; Wyoming"
Desert, 5 inches rainfall, Nevada «
Seaweed beds, Nova Scotia »
344
1,250
359
926
412
790
497
1,440
420
940
38D
845
765
1,470
1,725
3,430
6,700
4,530
1,440
3,300
3,180
1,560
446
69
40
358
0.94
3 43
.98
2.54
1.13
2.16
1.36
3.98
1.15
2.58
1.10
2.31
2.10
4 03
4 73
9 40
18 35
*( 2.3)
( 8.3)
( 2.4)
(6.2)
( 2 3)
( 4 4)
( 2.7)
( 8.0)
( 2 3)
( 5 2)
( 2 6)
( 6 6)
( 4.3)
( 8.2)
(4.7)
( 9.4)
(18.4)
12.4 (12.4)
*Values in parenthesis are rates for growing season only, which is often less than a year.
1 Values for crops obtained from Woytmsky (1953) and from 1957 U.S. Government "Statistical Abstracts"
and corrected to include dry weight of unharvested parts of plant and to exclude water in case of crops such
as potatoes, sugarcane, etc., which are harvested "wet." All averages are for several post-war years.
2 Based on Burr, et a!, (1957) who gives dry weight data on an exceptionally large crop. »Tamiya
(1957). «Penfound (1956). ' E. P. Odum & Smalley (1957). « Ovington (1957). ' Ovington &
Pearsall (1956). "Penfound (1956) and Weaver (1954). • Lang & Barnes (1942). « E. p. Odum
(unpublished). « MacFarlane (1952).
75
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Secondary productivity as measured, in fish production
Ecosystem and trophic level
I. UNFERTILIZED NATURAL WATERS
Herbivore-carnivore composition:
North Sea '
World marine fishery (average) 2 - - -
Great Lakes 3
U.S. small lakes (sports fishery) *
Stocked carnivores: U S. fish ponds (sports fishery) >
II. FERTILIZED WATERS
Stocked carnivores: U.S. fish ponds (sports fishery) 1 *
Stocked herbivores:
III. FERTIIIZED WATERS AND OUTSIDE FOOD ADDED
Carnivores: 1-acre pond, United States 8
Herbivores:
South China ' «
Man's harvest
Gms per M' per year
1 68
0.05
0 09 to 0 82
0 16 to 25.2
0 21 to 18.1
4.5 to 16.8
11 2 to 39.0
22 4 to 56.0
50 4 to 101 0
99 7 to 157.0
227.0
224 0 to 448.0
112.0 to 1,540.0
392
Pounds per acre per
yesir
15.
0.45.
0.80 to 7.3.
1.40 to 225.
1.90 to 162.
40 to 150.
100 to 348.
200 to 500.
450 to 900.
890 to 1,400.
2,027.
2,000 to 4,000.
1,000 to 13,JiOO (average
4,000).
3,500.
1 Hickling (1948). * Cutting (1952). 3 Eawson (1952).
(1947). »Viosca(1935).
* Bounsefell (1946). ' Swingle and Smith
Bartsch, A. F. and Allum, M. O. 1957. Biological factors in the treatment
of raw sewage in artificial ponds. Limnol. and Oceanogr., 2: 77-84.
Burr, G. O., Hartt, H. E., Brodie, H. W., Tanimoto, T., Kortschak, H. P.
Takahashi, D., Ashton, F. M., and Coleman, E. E. 1957. The sugar cane
plant. Ann. Rev. Plant. Physiol., 8: 275-308.
Cutting, 0. L., 1952. Economic aspects of utilization of fish. Biochem.
Soc. Symposium No. 6. Biochemical Society. Cambridge, England.
Hickling, C. F., 1948. Fish farming in the Middle and Far East. Nature,
161: 748-751.
Hogetsu, K., and Ichimura, S. 1954. Studies on the biological production
of Lake Suwa. VI. The ecological studies on the production of phyto-
plankton. Japanese J. Bot, 14: 280-303.
Juday, Chancey. 1940. The annual energy budget of an inland lake. Ecol.,
21: 438-150.
Kohn, A. J., and Helfrich, P. 1957. Primary organic productivity of a
Hawaiian Coral Reef. Limnol. and Oceanogr., 2 : 241-251.
Lang, R., and Barnes, O. K. 1942. Range forage production in relation to
time and frequency of harvesting. Wyo. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. No. 253.
Lindeman, R. L. 1941. Seasonal food-cycle dynamics in a senescent lake.
Am. Midi. Nat., 26: 636-673.
MacFarlane, Constance. 1952. A survey of certain seaweeds of com-
mercial importance in southwest Nova Scotia. Canadian J. Bot.,
30: 78-97.
Odum, E. P. and Smalley, A. E. 1957. Trophic structure and productivity
of a salt marsh ecosystem. Progress report to Nat. Sc. Foundation
(mimeo).
Odum, H. T. 1957. Trophic structure and productivity of Silver Springs,
Florida. Ecol. Monogr., 27: 55-112.
Odum, H. T. 1957a. Primary production measurement in eleven Florida
76
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springs and a marine turtle-grass community. Limnol. and Oceanogr.,
2:85-97.
Ovington, J. D., and Pearsall, W. H. 1956. Production Ecology. II. Esti-
mates of average production by trees. Oikos, 7: 202-205.
Ovington, J. D. 1957. Dry matter production by Pinus sylvestris. Annals
Bot. n.s., 21: 287-314.
Penfound, W. T. 1956. Primary production of vascular aquatic plants.
Limnol. and Oceanogr., 1: 92-101.
Rawson, D. S. 1952. Mean depth and the fish production of large lakes.
Ecol., 33: 513-521.
Riley, G. A. 1956. Oceanography of Long Island Sound, 1952-54. IX.
Production and utilization of organic matter. Bull. Bingham Oceanog-
raphic Coll., 15-324-344.
Riley, G. A. 1957. Phytoplankton of the north central Sargasso Sea.
Limnol. and Oceanogr., 2: 252-270.
Rounsefell, G. A. 1946. Fish production in lakes as a guide for estimating
production in proposed reservoirs. Copeia, 1946: 29-40.
Steemann-Nielson, E. 1955. The production of organic matter by phyto-
plankton in a Danish lake receiving extraordinary amounts of nutrient
salts. Hydrobiologia, 7: 68-74.
Swingle, H. S., and Smith, E. V. 1947. Management of farm fish ponds
(Rev. Ed.). Alabama Polytechnic last. Ag. Exp. Sta. Bull. No. 254.
Tamiya, Hiroshi. 1957. Mass culture of algae. Ann. Rev. Plant Physiol.,
8:309-334.
Verduin, Jacob. 1956. Primary production in lakes. Limnol. and Oceanogr.,
1:85-91.
Viosca, Percy, Jr. 1935. Statistics on the productivity of inland waters,
the master key to better fish culture. Tr. Am. Fish Soc., 65: 350-358.
Weaver, J. E. 1954. North American Prairie. Johnsen Publ. Co., Lincoln,
Nebraska.
Woytinsky, W. S., and Woytinsky, E. S. 1953. World Population and Pro-
duction. The Twentieth Century Fund, New York.
Ohle, W. 1953.
Phosphorus as the Initial Factor in the Development of Eutrophic
Waters.
Vom Wasser, Vol. 20, pp. 11-23; Water Pollution Abstracts, Vol.
28, No. 4, Abs. No. 893.
When oxygen is present at the surface of the sediment in a lake,
iron phosphate and iron hydroxide are formed and dissolved phos-
phate is absorbed. The pH value of the sludge is generally between
6 and Y, at which value absorption of phosphate by ferric hydroxide
is active. Experiments showed that maximum absorption takes
place at pH 5.9 and there is a decrease above and below this value.
Sewage treatment by sedimentation and percolating filters was
found to have little eifect on the total phosphorus concentration.
It appears that the nitrogen demand of both oligotrophic and
eutrophic waters can be satisfied under natural conditions but the nat-
ural supply of phosphate is small and the optimum amount for vigor-
77
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ous algal growth is only reached by addition of wastes. Phosphate
must thus be regarded as the initial factor in the development of
eutrophic conditions.
Overbeck, J. 1961.
The Phosphatase of Scenedesmus quadricauda and their Ecological
Importance.
Verh. Int. Ver. Limnol. 1959, Vol. 14, pp. 226-231; Water Pollu-
tion Abstracts, Vol. 35, No. 8, Abs. No. 1497.
Determinations of inorganic and total dissolved phosphorus in the
water of an artificial pond, which was refilled at regular intervals
with water from the river Havel, showed a concentration of over 5
mg/1 phosphorus, mainly present in the combined form. Experiments,
using Scenedesmus quadricauda, were made to determine to what
extent the combined phosphorus could be utilized by algae. Phos-
phorus was taken up immediately from potassium phosphate, to a
small extent from sodium pyrophosphate, and not at all from sodium
glycerophosphate, calcium phyate, and sodium nucleinate. By addi-
tion of a bacterial suspension, phosphate was enzymatically released
from sodium glyeerophosphate and made available to the alga. It
was concluded that the strain of /Scenedesmus quadricauda used could
utilize combined phosphorus only through the intervention of water
bacteria.
Owen, R. 1953.
Removal of Phosphorus from Sewage Plant Effluent with Lime.
Sewage and Industrial Wastes, Vol. 25, No. 5, pp. 548—556.
Analysis of samples of domestic sewage from communities in Min-
nesota, with populations varying from 1,200 to 940,000, showed that
the raw sewage of these communities contained 1.5 to 3.7 grams, with
a median of 2.3 grams of phosphorus per capita per day (1.9 pounds
per year). The amount of phosphorus removed by sewage treatment
varied from 2 to 46 percent with an average of 23 percent. Laboratory
and pilot plant studies showed that phosphorus could be "almost com-
pletely" removed by adding lime in controlled dosages to an effluent
after mixing and allowing the resulting precipitate to settle under
quiescent conditions. Removals of phosphorus from 6 ppm to 0.015
ppm were obtained under laboratory conditions and from 7.4 ppm
to 1.7 ppm under plant-scale tests. Cost would approximate $7,600
per year for 0.5 mgd of sewage treal ed with unslaked lime.
78
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Paloumpis, A. A. and W. C. Starrett. 1960.
An Ecological Study of Benthic Organisms in Three Illinois River
Flood Plain Lakes. American Mildland Naturalist, Vol. 64, No.
2, pp. 406-435.
The authors consider wild duck nutrient contributions to 3,500-acre
Lake Chautauqua in Illinois. Since domestic ducks are fed large
quantities of prepared feeds by man, their wastes would be expected
to be higher in nutrients than those of wild ducks. Therefore, a factor
of 0.5 was used to determine that the annual nutrient contribution
to Lake Chautauqua resulting from the wild duck population was 12.8
pounds of total nitrogen (N), 5.6 pounds of total phosphorus (P), and
2.6 pounds of soluble phosphorus per acre of water.
Parker, C. D. 1962.
Microbiological Aspects of Lagoon Treatment. Journal Water
Pollution Control Federation, Vol. 34, No. 2, pp. 149-161.
High algal populations are uniformly present in unicell aerobic
stabilization ponds, but are much more variable and are at a lower
level in multicell ponds. By the use of multicell ponds in series it is
possible to obtain relatively clear effluents free from objectionable
algal turbidity. In the multicell aerobic ponds there was a steady
reduction in count from pond to pond irrespective of the number of
algae present. There appears to be no evidence to support the view
that the release of bactericidal substances from algal material is re-
sponsible for the reduction in count.
In aerobic unicellular ponds with detention times ranging from 10
to 37 days the algal counts ranged from 2.2 X105 to 8.36 X 105, respec-
tively. In aerobic multicell stabilization ponds (8 cells in series), un-
der summer conditions the following nutrient and algal conditions
were noted:
Org.-N (mg./l.)
NHVN (mg.A.)-
NOs-N (mg./l.)
Algae (No./ml.)
Kaw
Sewage
26.3
32.4
0
Nil
Ponds
1
12.5
46.4
0
7X103
2
14.5
52.5
0
7.1X10«
3
11.2
48.7
.3
2.4X10'
4
13.7
45.0
.5
1.4X10'
5
16.4
42.5
.2
1.2X10'
6
8.9
40.0
.5
7.2X103
7
8.1
28.1
.2
2.9X103
8
7.5
18.9
.8
8.5X103
No mention is made of the length of time that the ponds have been
in operation.
79
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Phinney, H. K. and C. A. Peek. 1961.
Klamath Lake, an Instance of Natural Enrichment. Algae and
Metropolitan Wastes, U.S. Public Health Service, SEC TR W61-3,
pp. 22-27.
For at least 60 years the algal populations of Upper Klamath Lake
have been sufficiently large to cause comment and speculation as to the
cause and effects of the growth. The prime offender in the summer
bloom has been Aphanizomenon. Partial analysis of freshly dried
algae showed 61.1 percent crude protein, 5.73 percent ash, and 0.60
percent phosphorus. ". . . there are no inorganic chemical constitu-
ents that could be singled out as being responsible for this condition"
[algal production]. It was the authors' belief that the action of the
humates as chelating and buffering agents was primarily responsible
for the observed stimulation.
Pomeroy, L. R., H. M. Mathews and H. S. Min. 1963.
Excretion of Phosphate and Soluble Organic Phosphorus Com-
pounds of Zooplankton. Limnology and Oceanography, Vol. 8,
p. 55.
The amount of phosphorus excreted daily by marine zooplankton
has been found to be nearly equal to its total phosphorus content,
slightly more than half excreted phosphorus was phosphate and re-
mainder was soluble organic phosphorus. It was suggested that
phosphorus excreted by zooplankton may constitute a significant
fraction of that required by phytoplankton for photosynthesis.
Porges, R. and K. M. Mackenthun. 1963.
Waste Stabilization Ponds: Use, Function, and Biota. Biotechnol-
ogy and Bioengineering, Vol. 5, pp. 255—273.
Photosynthesis and its dependence upon the algal mass, suitable
temperature, incident light penetration, nutrient supply, and induced
vertical mixing by wind are of prime importance in the stabilization
mechanism. Odors are associated with prolonged anaerobic condi-
tions, and these may persist up to 4 weeks following extended ice cover
in cold climates, if BOD loadings are 25 Ibs. per acre per day or
greater. Nitrogen and carbon may be limiting factors in the develop-
ment of an algal mass. A striking similarity exists generally among
the algal speciation in stabilization ponds, regardless of geographic
location. The algal mass is, however, dependent upon unique pond
conditions and location, and may vary upwards to nearly 5 million
80
-------
algal cells per milliliter, 34,000 ppm by volume, or 30-35 tons per
acre per year.
Nutrients, because of their potential for creating biological nuisance
growths, are becoming increasingly important as factors to be con-
sidered in the discharge of wastes or treated effluents. Under climatic
conditions found in Wisconsin, organic nitrogen formed the bulk
of the total nitrogen in the stabilization pond, with the exception of
high (30 mg. per liter) wintertime concentrations under ice when the
ammonia nitrogen increased until it made up nearly 80 percent of the
total nitrogen. Removals were as low as 6 percent in winter and 80-90
percent in summer. Phosphorus concentrations were lowest in sum-
mer and fall and highest in late winter. There was no phosphorus
reduction through the stabilization pond in winter. Summertime
reductions ranged from 58 to 80 percent or higher, dependent upon
loading. At the Fayette, Missouri, installation nitrogen reduction
was found to be 94-98 percent and phosphorus reduction, 83-92 percent
(Neeletal.,1961).
Neel, J. K., J. H. McDermott, and C. A. Monday, Jr., 1961. Experimental
Lagooning of Raw Sewage at Fayette, Missouri. Journal Water Pollution
Control Federation, Vol. 33, No. 6, pp. 603-641.
Pratt, D. M. 1950.
Experimental Study of the Phosphorus Cycle in Fertilized Salt
Water. Sears Foundation: Journal of Marine Research, Vol. 9,
No. 1, pp. 29-54.
The rates at which phosphorus is (1) assimilated by phytoplankton,
(2) released into solution from dead cells, and (3) regenerated to
inorganic state, were measured in outdoor concrete tanks containing
sea water fertilized with inorganic phosphate and nitrate. Bottles
wrapped in black cloth and bottles exposed to the light were filled with
the tank water and suspended in the tanks; the three rates in the P
cycle were calculated from the observed changes in the concentrations
of inorganic and particulate P in the bottles. The maximum recorded
rates were: assimilation=0.36 jug-at. P/l of sea water in the tanks/
day; solution=0.38 jug-at./1/day; regeneration=0.13 /xg-at./1/day.
In 18 series of measurements, during which phytoplankton increases
predominated over decreases, the following relations were observed
between the rates of phosphorus transformations and the size and
absolute change of size of the phytoplankton populations: (1) The
rate of phosphorus assimilation was significantly correlated with the
size of the phytoplankton standing crop and showed an even stronger
dependence upon the increment of growth. (2) The rate at which par-
ticulate organic phosphorus was released into solution was intimately
81
-------
related to the size of the standing crop and was independent of the
change in population size (which in most cases was an increase)'. (3)
The regeneration of dissolved inorganic phosphate from dissolved
organic phosphorus depended upon the phytoplankton standing crop
and showed no relation to the change in population size. If attached
algae were allowed to grow on the sides and bottom of the tanks, in
less than one month they removed three-fourths of the added phos-
phate from the water-phytoplankton system. Where attached algae
were largely prevented from growing, four-fifths of the phosphorus
originally present was detected in the water at the end of four weeks.
Prescott, G. W. 1960.
Biological Disturbances Resulting from Algal Populations in Stand-
ing Waters. The Ecology of Algae, Spec. Pub. No. 2, Pymatuning
Laboratory of Field Biology, University of Pittsburgh, pp. 22—37
(1959).
Of all the nutritive elements and dissolved substances known to be
used by algae, those which are most often critical are phosphorus and
nitrogen. When these nutrients are present in unusual quantities, a
lake can support tremendous populations of algae that recur yea,r after
year. Algal distrubances occur in relatively shallow lakes where it is
possible for nitrates and phosphates to be recirculated from bottom de-
composition. Excessive and troublesome growths can occur only in
lakes which are amply supplied with CO2 or with bicarbonates from
which carbon dioxide necessary for photosynthesis can be extracted.
Most likely the response of some species by producing bloom popula-
tions, and no such response from other species, is related in part to
the high reproductive rate possessed by particular plants. The repro-
ductive rate is usually paralleled by the speed with which nutrients
are absorbed.
The protoplasm of most blue-green algal species is highly proteina-
ceous. Crude protein analyses (dry weight) show that Microcystis
aeruginosa is 55.58 percent protein; Anabaena ftos-aqtiae is 60.156 per-
cent and Aphanisomenon flos-aquae is 62.8 percent. Hence their re-
quirement for nitrates for the elaboration of proteins is much greater
than that of green algae such as /Spirogyra, for example, which is
23.82 percent protein, or Cladophora, 23.56 percent. Nitrogen alone
in Aphanisomenon amounts to 10.05 percent (dry weight) as compared
with 3.81 percent in Spirogyra.
It has been demonstrated in laboratory cultures and inferred from
numerous water and plankton analyses that phosphorus is more
critical than nitrogen in determining phytoplankton production.
Atkins (1923) found that 1.12 mg of P2O5 was used to produce 1X109
82
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diatoms during the first phase of growth. One gram of P2O5 suffices
for 9X1011 diatoms. Atkins (1923, 1925) found that in the sea one
liter of water can produce 26.8 million diatoms for each 0.03 mg. of P
consumed.
Plankton populations in eutrophic lakes where electrolytes are
abundant are characteristically greater than in oligotrophic lakes
where electrolytes and CO2 content are low. Rawson (1953) meas-
ured 10 to 14 Kg of plankton per hectare in Canadian oligotrophic
lakes as compared with 100 Kg per hectare in eutrophic lakes. He
refers to Lake Mendota (Wisconsin) in which Birge and Juday
measured 177 Kg of plankton per hectare.
Atkins, W. R. G. 1923. Phosphate Content of Water in Relationship to
Growth of Algal Plankton. Journal Marine Biological Association, U. K.
Vol. 13, pp. 119-150.
Atkins, W. R. G. 1925. Seasonal Changes in the Phosphate Content of
Sea Water in Relation to the Growth of Algal Plankton during 1923 and
1924. Journal Marine Biological Association, U. K., Vol. 13, pp. 700-720.
Provasoli, L. 1961.
Micronutrients and Heterotrophy as Possible Factors in Bloom Pro-
duction in Natural Waters. Algae and Metropolitan Wastes, U.S.
Public Health Service, SEC TR W61-3, pp. 48-56.
Of 154 algal species, 56 require no vitamins and 98 species require
vitamin B12, thiamin and biotin, alone or in various combinations.
Those blue-green algae not requiring B]2 employ it readily as a cobalt
source; since cobalt is generally scarce in water, even organisms not
requiring B12 may compete for it. A great part of the vitamins in
fresh-waters and in the littoral zone of the sea can be assumed to come
from any soil run-off especially during the spring floods. Muds are
another source of vitamins. A third source is the vitamins present as
solutes in water. Fungi and many bacteria also produce B12
Provasoli, L. 1963.
Organic Regulation of Phytoplankton Fertility. In: The Sea, Vol. 2,
The Composition of Sea-Water, Comparative and Descriptive
Oceanography, M. N. Hill, General Editor, Interscience Publish-
ers, N.Y., pp. 165-219.
Birge and Juday (1934), in grouping the data from several hundred
lakes according to total organic carbon, found a C/N ratio of 12.2 for
lakes containing 1.0 to 1.9 mg C/l. In the North Atlantic deep waters
of similar C content a C/N ratio from 2.5 to 6.5 with a mean of 2.7
has been found.
83
-------
Extra-cellular nitrogenous products have been noted frequently in
cultures of bacteria or blue-green algae fixing nitrogen. As much as
50 percent of the total nitrogen taken up by Anabaena cytindrica was
excreted during the early logarithmic growth; 10 to 20 percent at half
growth; and moribund material liberates large quantities of soluble
organic nitrogen (Fogg, 1952). The extra-cellular nitrogenous sub-
stances may or may not serve as nutrients to other organisms.
The important nutritional characteristics of the environment for
phytoplankton include nitrogen, phosphorus, vitamins and trace
metals. It seems probable that in inshore waters B±2 is rarely limit-
ing and not a constraint on fertility. But when the quantities of B12-
like cobalamins are far lower, as in the open sea, the specificity of the
various algae toward the different cobalamins may be decisive.
Birge, B. A. and C. Juday, 1934. Particulate and Dissolved Organic Matter
in Inland Lakes. Ecological Monographs, Vol. 4, pp. 440-474.
Fogg, G. B. 1952. The Production of Extracellular Nitrogenous Substances
by a Blue-green alga. Proceedings Eoyal Society of London, B 139,
pp. 372-397.
Provasoli, L. and I. J. Pintner. 1960.
Artificial Media for Fresh-water Algae: Problems and Suggestions.
The Ecology of Algae, Spec. Pub. No. 2, Pymatuning Laboratory
of Field Biology, University of Pittsburgh, pp. 84-96 (1959).
Most algae utilize nitrates except the euglenoids which, so far as is
known, prefer ammonia or amino acids. Ten to 20 mg. percent n itrates
are in general well tolerated. Ammonia tends to become toxic above
3 to 5 mg. % in alkaline media except for eurybionts living in polluted
water. Mineral phosphates should be avoided because they cause
precipitates, especially in alkaline media. Glycerophosphates have
been found adequate in concentrations of 0.5 to 3 mg.%.
Provost, M. W. 1958.
Chironomids and Lake Nutrients in Florida. Sewage and Indus-
trial Wastes, Vol. 30, No. 11, pp. 1417-1419.
Florida has experienced an increasing problem with "blind mos-
quitoes" (Glyptotendipes paripes). Preliminary investigation showed
that the heaviest midge producing lakes were those likely to receive
the most inorganic nutrients, providing that the right kind of bottom
was present. A larval control method using water-wettable BHC
applied in the wake of a motorboat was developed; however, the= midge
larvae developed sufficient tolerance to BHC to make lake treatment
ineffective. Results of further study revealed EPN to be a good
84
-------
larvacide, but this was effective only a year and a half during which
the midge larvae developed a resistance. No control concentrations
were stated.
Putnam, H. D. and T. A. Olson. 1959.
A Preliminary Investigation of Nutrients in Western Lake Superior
1958-1959. School of Public Health, University of Minnesota,
32 pp. (Mimeo.)
Analyses of surface and subsurface samples from Lake Superior
showed that ammonia nitrogen was present in trace amounts only,
usually less than 0.1 mg/1. Low concentrations of organic nitrogen
were present in Lake Superior throughout the year but persisted at
a higher level in the epilimnion than in deeper layers. The range was
from 0.08 mg/1 in the hypolimnion to 0.28 mg/1 at the surface. The
bulk of the nitrogen in the lake existed in the form of nitrate and
ranged from 0.93 mg/1 at the surface to 1.15 mg/1 in the hypolimnion.
Nitrite was practically undetectable.
Seventy to 100 percent of the phosphorus in Lake Superior appears
to be present in the organic form. Values ranged from 0.18 to 0.46
microgram atoms of total phosphorus per liter.
The water that enters Lake Superior from its tributary streams
contains very little free ammonia. The highest value, 0.1 mg/1, was
obtained on August 12 in the Amnicon River. Nitrate concentrations
in the rivers were lower than that observed in the lake and varied from
0.16 mg/1 to 0.47 mg/1. Nitrite was absent or present only in trace
amounts.
Total phosphorus levels in the streams were higher than those
observed in the lake. In August the concentration of phosphorus
along the north shore varied from 1.0 in the Poplar River to 1.46
microgram atoms per liter in the Baptism River. On the south shore
the Brule River contained 1.70 microgram atoms which was the maxi-
mum for August.
Putnam, H. D. and T. A. Olson. 1960.
An Investigation of Nutrients in Western Lake Superior. School
of Public Health, University of Minnesota, 24 pp. (mimeo.)
In more than two-thirds of the samples from Lake Superior it was
found that the nitrate nitrogen concentrations were directly related
to the depth of the sample and in no case was the concentration lower
in the deeper water layers than near the surface. Concentrations of
NO3-N varied from 0.28 to 0,36 mg/1 at the surface and from 0.32 to
0.47 mg/1 below the thermocline. Only traces of ammonia and nitrite
771-096—65—8
85
-------
were found In the lake water during the 1958 investigation and were
not included in the 1959 study.
The nitrate nitrogen in all streams, except one, was considerably
lower than that observed in the lake. In August, the range was 0.01
to 0.44 mg/1. The overall mean total phosphorus concentration for
north shore streams was O.Y2 microgram atom per liter while that for
the south shore tributaries was 1.36 microgram atoms per liter. In-
organic phosphorus constituted 38.5 percent of the total value (1.56
fig at/1) in the St. Louis Eiver, and 67.0 percent of the total phos-
phorus concentration in the Black River (3.0 ^g at/I).
Eainwater from selected points within the Duluth area contained
significant levels of nitrogen but only traces of other nutrient ma-
terials. The ammonia concentration ranged from 0.24 to 0.59 mg/1.
Eeduction of the ammonia level from 0.59 to 0.20 mg/1 in samples
from two consecutive days suggested that nitrogen was washed from
the atmosphere rather quickly. Organic nitrogen ranged from 0.26
to 0.60 mg/1; 0.22 mg/1 nitrate was found in one sample.
Redfield, A. C., B. H. Ketchum and F. A. Richards. 1963.
The Influence of Organisms on the Composition of Sea-Water. In:
The Sea, Vol. 2, The Composition of Sea-Water, Comparative and
Descriptive Oceanography, M. N. Hill, General Editor, Inter-
science Publishers, N.Y., pp. 26—77.
The proportions in which the elements of sea-water enter into the
biochemical cycle is determined by the elementary composition of the
biomass. Atomic ratios of the principal elements present in plankton
are as follows:
Zooplankton
Phytoplankton _ _ .
Carbon
103
108
106
Nitrogen
16.6
15.5
16
Phosphorus
1
1
1
It has been demonstrated repeatedly in culture experiments that the
elementary composition of unicellular algae can be varied by chang-
ing the composition of the medium in which they grow. If one ele-
ment is markedly deficient in the medium, relative to its need by the
organism, cell growths and cell division can proceed for a limited pe-
riod of time. The cells produced under these conditions contain less
of the deficient element than do normal cells. When an element is
provided in excess in the medium, luxury consumption can increase its
content in the cells. Experimental variation of the C: N: P ratios (by
86
-------
atoms) in culture of the freshwater alga Chlorella pyrenoidosa (after
data of Ketchum and Eedfield, 1949) were given as follows:
Condition
Normal cells
Phosphorus deficient eel
Nitrogen deficient cells
s._
C
47
231
75
N
5.6
30.9
2 9
P
1
1
1
Liebig's law of the minimum implies that in a growth of a crop of
plants, when other factors such as light and temperature are favorable,
the nutrient available in the smallest quantity relative to the require-
ment of the plant will limit the crop. Nitrogen and phosphorus
appear to occur in sea-water in just the proportions in which they are
utilized by the plankton, a fact first noted by Harvey (1926).
Phosphorus
Nitrogen
Carbon ,
Availability in
"average" sea -water
mg A/ra3
2.3
34.5
2,340
ratio
1
15
1,017
Utilization
by plankton
ratio
1
16
106
Ryther (1960) has estimated that the plankton of oceans as a whole
contains 3 g/m2 carbon. Assuming this to be concentrated in the upper
100 m, the wet weight of plankton in the water would be equivalent
to about 1 part in 3 million.
Harvey, H. W. 1926. Nitrate in the Sea. J. Mar. Bio. Assoc. U. K., n. s.,
Vol. 14, pp. 71-88.
Ketchum, B. H. and A. C. Redfield. 1949. Some Physical and Chemical
Characteristics of Algae Grown in Mass Culture. J. Cell. Comp. Physiol.,
Vol. 33, pp. 281-300.
Ryther, J. H. I960. Organic Production by Planktonic Algae and its
Environmental Control. The Pymatuning Symposium in Ecology.
Pymatuning Laboratory of Field Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Special
Pub. No. 2, pp. 72-83.
Rice, T. R. 1953.
Phosphorus Exchange in Marine Phytoplankton.
Fish and Wildlife Service, Fishery Bulletin #80, pp. 77-89.
The author cites Ketchum (1939a) as showing that Nitzschia cells
absorb more phosphorus when grown in medium containing high
phosphorus concentrations. Since the amount of phosphorus entering
the cells is proportional to the concentration in the medium, it neces-
sarily follows that any phosphorus entering the cell in excess of that
which the cell can convert into the organic state, will remain in the
87
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inorganic state. Ketchum (1939b) has shown that phosphate-deficient
cells contain only a small fraction of the phosphorus found in non-
deficient cells, and that more phosphorus is absorbed by deficient cells
when again placed in medium containing phosphorus. Kice showed
that phosphate-deficient cells grown in low concentrations of phos-
phorus absorbed more phosphorus than nondeficient cells grown in
a similar concentration of phosphorus. It was assumed that the
metabolic rate of the phosphate-deficient cells was higher tha,n that
of the nondeficient cells. Cells grown in the high concentration of
phosphorus absorbed more phosphorus than those grown in the low
concentration. The high concentration contained 1,137.5 /*g At P/l
and the low concentration contained 45.5 /tg At P/l. Ketchum (1939b)
has shown that nondeficient cells will not absorb phosphorus from
medium in the dark and phosphate-deficient cells placed in the dark
will continue to absorb phosphate only for about 10 hours. In experi-
ments performed by Eice, cells kept in the dark converted very little
intracellular inorganic phosphorus into the organic state.
Two ways in which phosphorus may enter a cell are discussed by
Kamen and Spiegelman (1948). One method is believed to be dif-
fusion through the cell membrane of phosphorus as inorganic ortho-
phosphate to combine with the intracellular orthophosphate. In-
organic orthophosphate is assumed to be the source of phosphorus for
the various organic phosphates in the eel]. The other method is the
entry of phosphorus into the cell through esterification at the cellular
interface. Intracellular inorganic orthophosphate would then arise
primarily from the breakdown of organic phosphate. From their
experimental data with yeast these investigators concluded that the
primary mechanism of the entrance of phosphate is by esterification.
Kamen, M. D. and S. Spiegelman. 1948
Studies on the Phosphate Metabolism of Some Unicellular Organisms. Cold
Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology, Vol. 13, pp. 151-163.
Ketchum, B. H. 1939a.
The Absorption of Phosphate and Nitrate by Illuminated Cultures of
Nitzschia closterium. Amer. Journ. Bot., Vol. 26, pp. 399-407.
Ketchum, B. H. 1939b.
The Development and Restoration of Deficiencies in the Phosphorus and
Nitrogen Composition of Unicellular Plants.
Jour. Cell, and Comp. Physiol., Vol. 13, pp. 373-381.
Rickett, H. W. 1922.
A Quantitative Study of the Larger Aquatic Plants of Lake Memdota.
Trans. Wisconsin Acad. Sci., Arts, Letters, Vol. 20, pp. 501—522.
In Lake Mendota, Wisconsin, the 0- to 1-meter zone contained 1,600
pounds of submerged plants per acre on a dry weight basis; the 1- to
3-meter zone, 2,400 pounds; and the 3- to 7-meter zone, 1,300 pounds.
88
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Rickett,H.W. 1924.
A Quantitative Study of the Larger Aquatic Plants of Green Lake,
Wisconsin. Trans. Wisconsin Acad. Sci., Arts, Letters, Vol. 21,
pp. 381-414.
Plants were collected at the time of flowering from a i/2 meter square
iron frame with the aid of a diving hood. The average yield from
Green Lake was as follows:
Depth
0-1 meter . „
1-3 meter _-_--_ _ -„
3-8 meter
All depths-
Pounds per acre
Wet
4,580
15,440
14,380
13, 540
Dry
600
1,960
1,580
1,590
The downward limit of plant growth appeared to be controlled by the
transmission of 1 percent of the surface incident light.
Rigler, F. H. 1956.
A Tracer Study of the Phosphorus Cycle in Lake Water. Ecology,
Vol. 37, pp. 550-562; Water Pollution Abstracts, Vol. 29, No. 11,
Abs. No. 1850.
Using radioactive phosphorus a study was made of the phosphorus
cycle in a small acid bog in Ontario. Of the total concentration of
phorphorus-32 added to the surface of the water, 77 percent was lost
from the water to plankton in 4 weeks, but only 2 percent was lost
through the outlet from the lake and only 3 percent to the bottom mud.
It was concluded that there was a turn-over of "mobile" phosphorus
of the epilimnion with the phosphorus of the littoral organisms, this
exchange taking 3.5 days. Several days after the addition of phos-
phorus-32 to a lake, 50 percent had passed into the fraction of plankton
recovered by a Foerst centrifuge. When complete removal of plank-
ton was achieved by filtering water through a Millipore filter, it was
found that over 95 percent of the added phosphorus-32 was taken up
by plankton within 20 minutes. The turn-over period of inorganic
phosphate in the surface \vater of the lake was approximately 5 min-
utes. Under natural conditions, the turn-over of phosphate appeared
to be caused primarily by bacteria, and it was concluded that aquatic
bacteria might compete with algae for inorganic phosphate.
89
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Rigler, F. H. 1964.
The Phosphorus Fractions and the Turnover Time of Inorganic
Phosphorus in Different Types of Lakes. Limnology and Ocean-
ography, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 511-518.
Soluble phosphorus in the trophogenic zone of lakes occurs in the
inorganic form as orthophosphate and in a soluble organic phosphorus
form. That inorganic phosphorus is readily used is beyond dispute.
The orthophosphate in the trophogenic zone of lakes is continually
taken up and released by plankton, the turnover time of this fraction
being as short as 3.6 minutes (Eigler, 1956).
Using a Millipore filter with pore diameter of 0.45 /x, to separate
seston from the water, the mean percentage of the total phosphorus of
epilimnetic water for 8 Ontario lakes was 5.9 percent for the inorganic
fraction, 28.7 percent for the soluble organic fraction, and 65.4 per-
cent for the seston fraction. This compares to 9.5,28.5, and 62 percent.
respectively, found by Hutchinson (1957) for Linsley Pond, Connecti-
cut. The average turnover time of dissolved inorganic P ranged from
1.9 to 7.5 minutes in summer and from 7 to 10,000 minutes in winter
for the 8 Ontario lakes. The Ontario lakes ranged in area from 0.5 to
2,180 hectares, and in depth from 6 to 53 meters. The fraction of the
total phosphorus that can accurately be described as soluble organic P
is still unknown. Half of the phosphorus described as soluble organic
may be neither soluble nor colloidal, but associated with pa,rticles
between 0.1 n and 0.45 /* diameter.
Hutchinson, G. E. 1957. A Treatise on Limnology, Volume I, 1015 pp.
Rigler, F. H. 1956. A Tracer Study of the Phosphorus Cycle In Lake Water.
Ecology, Vol. 37, pp. 550-562.
Rodale, J. I. (Editor), 1960.
The Complete Book of Composting. Rodale Books, Inc., Emmaiis,
Pa., 1007 pp.
The percentage nitrogen and phosphoric acid composition of various
materials was given as follows:
Material
Apple leaves, fresh. ..
Apple skins, ash..
HantAlnnpa rinds, nsh
Cattail reed and water lily stems. .. .. ._. .. . ..
Cattle manure, fresh ..
Dnr.lr manure, fresh
Milk
Potato tubers, fresh
Potato skins, raw (ash)
Seaweed (Atlantic City)
Sewage sludge, fresh.. .
Sludge, activated, heat treated
Sweet potato skins, boiled (ash)
Percentage
N
1.00
2.02
.29
1.12
6.60
.60
.35
1.68
2.00
S.OO
PjOs
0.15
3.08
9.77
.81
.17
1.44
3.75
.30
.15
5.18
.75
1.90
3.25
3.29
90
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Dried manures contain amounts up to 5 times higher in nitrogen, and
phosphoric acid.
The chemical composition of certain sewage sludges was given
as follows: (Analyses were on a moisture-free basis)
Activated sludges
Chicago HI
Chicago 111
Houston, Tex - -
Milwaukee, Wis
Percentages
Nitrogen (N)
Total
4.81
5.60
5 n
5 68
5.96
Phosphoric
acid (PiOs)
total
6.86
6.97
a. os
7.38
3.96
Rohlich, G. A. 1961.
Chemical Methods for the Removal of Nitrogen and Phosphorus
from Sewage Plant Effluents. Algae and Metropolitan Wastes,
U.S. Public Health Service, SEC TR W61-3, pp. 130-135.
Laboratory studies show it is possible to remove approximately 96
to 99 percent of the soluble phosphates from the effluent of a sewage
treatment plant. This removal can be accomplished in a coagulation
process employing any of the following coagulants: (a) aluminum
sulfate, (b) ferrous sulfate, (c) ferric sulfate, or (d) copper sulfate.
Filter alum appears to be the most suitable coagulant because: (a)
The residual phosphate concentration of the effluent following coagu-
lation with 200 ppm of alum is, on the average, 0.06 ppm, expressed
as P. (b)The optimum pPI range for the removal of phosphates
through coagulation with alum is 7.1 to 7.7. (c) The concentration
of aluminum hydroxide in the effluent of the coagulation process is
approximately 1.0 to 1.5 ppm and represents a loss of only 0.75 percent
of the coagulant, (d) The aluminum hydroxide floe resulting from
the hydrolysis of alum may be recovered, purified by removing the
absorbed phosphates in the form of tricalcium phosphate, and re-used
for further phosphorus removal in the form of sodium aluminate.
This recovery and purification reduces by 80 percent the cost of
chemicals required to remove phosphates from sewage treatment plant
effluent.
Pilot plant studies show that with the use of the alum recovery
process, from 77 to 89 percent of the soluble phosphates can be re-
moved. Filtering of the effluent showed that from 93 to 97 percent
of the soluble phosphate can be removed. Improved settling facilities
should give phosphorus removals that lie between the unfiltered and
filtered values obtained in the pilot plant study.
91
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Much less attention has been given to the removal of nitrogen from
sewage and sewage effluent by chemical means obviously because soluble
nitrogen compounds are least affected by precipitation processes.
Rudolfs, W. 1947.
Phosphates in Sewage and Sludge Treatment. Sewage Works Jour-
nal, Vol. 19, No. 1, p. 43.
An average phosphate concentration in raw sewage of 2.3 mg/1 as P
was reported. The range was 1.7 to 4.0 mg/1 as P. The average con-
centration in effluents from biological treatment was 0.22 mg/1 as P.
The indicated per capita phosphate—P contributions from domestic
raw sewage were 0.53 to 1.20 pounds per year. Settling removed 50
to 60 percent; filtration, 75 to 80 percent; and activated sludge, 80 to
90 percent.
Ryther, J. H. 1963.
Geographic Variations in Productivity. In: The Sea, Vol. 2, The
Composition of Sea-water, Comparative and Descriptive Oceanog-
raphy, M. N. Hill, General Editor, Interscience Publishers, N. Y.,
pp. 347-380.
Rich fertile soil contains about 5 percent organic humus and as
much as 0.5 percent nitrogen. This and the accompanying nutrients
in a cubic meter of rich soil, together with atmospherically supplied
carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, can support a crop of some 50 kg of
dry organic matter, an amount equivalent to more than 200 tons per
acre of soil 3 feet deep. Under optimal conditions plants are capable
of converting the solar energy falling on a square meter of surface to
an organic yield of the order of 10 g/day in excess of their own
metabolic requirements. If terrestrial plants can sink their roots
into 3 feet of rich soil, they have access, then, to enough nutrients to
grow at their maximum potential rate for periods of several to many
years.
The richest ocean water, exclusive of local polluted areas, contains
about 60 /ng atoms/1, or 0.00005 percent nitrogen. A cubic meter of
this sea-water could support a crop of no more than about 5 g of dry
organic matter.
According to Riley, 1951, a 100-meter euphotic zone contains
nitrogen at a concentration of about 15 fig atoms per liter and repre-
sents a reservoir of 21 g of nitrogen in a 1-m2 column. Thus, the
relationships between chlorophyll, standing crop of organic matter,
92
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transparency, organic production and nitrogen availability and re-
quirements were given as follows:
Chl. a ell
0
0.1 _
0 5
1.0
2.0 -
5.0 - -
10.0 „ -
20.0 - .
Standing
crop mg/m»
dry wt.
0
10
50
100
200
500
1,000
2,000
Depth
euphotic
zone, m
120
66
36
24
15
10
6
3 5
Calo. org
Prod., g
dry wt,
m^/day
0
0.20
0 50
0 75
1 00
1 40
1 80
2 20
N initially
available
in euphotic
zone, mg
25, 300
13,800
7,600
5 000
3, loo
2,100
1,200
735
N required
to produce
existing
population
mg
0
66
180
240
300
500
600
700
N require-
ment,
mg/day
0
20
50
75
100
140
180
220
By the time a phytoplankton crop of 2 g/m3 has developed, the
euphotic zone is limited to 3.5 m and the nitrogen in the water is
exhausted.
Riley, G. A. 1951. Oxygen phosphate, and nitrate in the Atlantic Ocean.
Bull. Bingham Oceanog. Coll., Vol. 13, pp. 1-126.
Sanderson, W. W. 1953.
Studies of the Character and Treatment of Wastes from Duck
Farms. Proc. 8th Ind. Waste Conf., Purdue Univ. Ext. Ser., Vol.
83, pp. 170-176.
The raw wastes produced daily by 1,000 domestic ducks contained
an average of 5.7 pounds of total nitrogen (N), 7.6 pounds of total
phosphate (PO4), and 3.6 pounds of soluble phosphate. Each do-
mestic duck annually contributes 2.1 pounds of total nitrogen (N),
0.9 pound of total phosphorus (P), and 0.4 pound of soluble
phosphorus.
Sattelmacher, P. G. 1962.
Methemoglobiiiemia from Nitrates in Drinking Water. Schriften-
reihe des Vereins fur Wasser—Boden-und Lufthygiene, No. 20,
35 pp.
After considering 249 references, it is the author's opinion that
the limiting value in drinking water for nitrate (NO3) should be
30 mg/1.
Saunby, T. 1953.
Soilless Culture. Transatlantic Arts Inc., New York, 104 pp.
For many years soilless culture has been employed in the study of
plant physiology, but during recent years this method of growing
93
-------
plants has been adopted by commercial and amateur growers as a
means of producing crops of high yields and quality cheaply and
cleanly. The basic nutrient solution for soilless culture contains 130
mg/1 N, 120 mg/1 K20,100 mg/1 P2O5, 40 mg/1 MgO, and 3 mg/1 Fe.
When the solution is compounded from sodium nitrate, potassium
sulfate, superphosphate 16% P2O5, magnesium sulfate and ferrous
sulfate, the following quantities are required:
4 ounces.
\i ounce.
100 gallons.
Sawyer, C. N. 1947.
Fertilization of Lakes by Agricultural and Urban Drainage. Journ.
New England Water Works Assn., Vol. 61, No. 2, pp. 109-127.
Ammonia nitrogen is the most important nitrogen stimulant to ex-
plosive algal growths (compared with nitrate nitrogen) and may
be a factor in determining the type of bloom produced. All the evi-
dence obtained in the Madison survey lends support to the belief that
phosphorus is a key element in determining the biological activity in
a body of water. ". . . Nuisance [algal] conditions can be expected
when the concentration of inorganic phosphorus exceeds or equals
0.01 ppm." A critical level of 0.30 mg/1 of inorganic nitrogen was
indicated.
Agricultural drainage in the Madison, Wisconsin, area was found
to contribute approximately 4,500 pounds of nitrogen and 225 pounds
of phosphorus per square mile of drainage area per year. Biologi-
cally treated sewage was found to supply approximately 6.0 pounds
of nitrogen and 1.2 pounds of phosphorus per capita per year. The
lakes at Madison downstream from the city were found to be fer-
tilized by nitrogen in amounts ranging from 127 to 588 pounds per
acre per year and by phosphorus in amounts ranging from 19.0 to
88.6 pounds per acre per year. The lakes retained 30.4 to 60.5 per-
cent of the nitrogen they received. These lakes were rich producers
of nuisance blue-green algal blooms.
Sawyer, C. N. 1952.
Some New Aspects of Phosphates in Relation to Lake Fertilisation.
Sewage and Industrial Wastes, Vol. 24, No. 6, pp. 768-776.
In analyzing data from 17 lakes in southern Wisconsin with respect
to biological behavior, the conclusion is reached that concentrations
in excess of 0.01 mg/1 of inorganic phosphorus and 0.30 mg/1 of
inorganic nitrogen at the time of spring overturn could be expected
94
-------
to produce algal blooms of such density as to cause nuisance. Labora-
tory experiments were performed with one source of natural water:
Mixture with lake water
Control
10 percent sewage effluent added
10 percent effluent minus N and P , - - - - - - -
10 percent effluent minus N
Period
(days)
167
181
170
188
Total nitrogen (mg/1)
Start
0.51
2.67
.67
.67
Finish
2.61
4.39
2.17
11.85
Gain
2.10
1.72
1.50
11.81
"From the fact that a heavy growth of blue-green algae did occur in
the presence of a plentiful supply of phosphorus and a deficiency of
nitrogen and that nitrogen was simultaneously fixed from the atmos-
phere, it may be concluded that phosphorus is a key element in the
fertilization of natural bodies of water and that any deficiency of nitro-
gen can be obtained from the atmosphere." Author quotes Rudolfs
(1947) who reported on the removal of phosphates from sewage by
coagulation with lime and found that the total soluble phosphorus
content could be reduced to about 0.5 mg/1 by lime treatment. Ferric
salts and aluminum sulfate have been proposed for coagulation of
phosphates from sewage (Sawyer, 1944); both coagulants are highly
effective but the coagulant requirements are markedly increased by
the amount of phosphate present. Alum has been proposed by Lea
and Eohlich (1950) as the most suitable coagulant because the alu-
minum can be recovered from the sludge by treatment with caustic
to form sodium aluminate which is re-usable.
Ordinarily domestic sewages contain from 15 to 35 mg/1 of nitro-
gen and from 2 to 4 mg/1 of phosphorus. A large percentage of these
fertilizing elements exist in a readily available condition or become so
during biological treatment or while undergoing stabilization by
microorganisms in the receiving body of water.
Rudolfs, W. 1947. Phosphates in Sewage and Sludge Treatment. I. Quan-
tities of Phosphates. Sewage Works Journal, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 43^7.
Sawyer, C. N. 1944. Biological Engineering in Sewage Treatment. Sew-
age Works Journal, Vol. 16, No. 5, pp. 925-935.
Lea, W. L. and G. A. Rohlich, 1950. Phosphate Removal by Coagulation.
Paper read before Div. of Water, Sewage, and Sanitation Ohem., ACS
Detroit Meeting.
Sawyer, C. N. 1954.
Factors Involved in Disposal of Sewage Effluents to Lakes. Sewage
and Industrial Wastes, Vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 317-325.
When the "cash in the bank" assets of inorganic nitrogen and phos-
phorus exceed 0.30 and 0.01 mg/1 respectively, at the start of the active
growing season, a season with nuisance blooms may be anticipated.
95
-------
Several factors affecting lake biological productivity are cited. Lake
area becomes a critical factor because of the tendency of blue-green
odor-producing nuisance algae to float, thus large lakes often have a
bad history even with relatively light inflows of nutrients. The shape
of the lake determines in some degree the amount of fertilizing matter
it can safely assimilate. A round lake with minimum dimensions
would provide the least opportunity for the collection of floating algae,
whereas one with a long wind sweep would provide greater oppor-
tunity for accumulation. Prevailing winds and wind intensity are
important factors as is the depth-area-volume relationship.
Sawyer, C. N. and A. F. Ferullo. 1961.
Nitrogen Fixation in Natural Waters under Controlled Laboratory
Conditions. Algae and Metropolitan Wastes, U.S. Public Health
Service, SEC TR W61-3, pp. 100-103.
In the laboratory studies, no attempt was made to ascertain whether
nitrogen fixation was due to algal or bacterial action. It seems im-
portant to note, however, that whenever unusual amounts of nitrogen
were fixed, blue-green algae were found in the test specimens. The
dominant genus noted was Aphanizomenon. It was concluded that:
(1) phosphorus is a key element in nitrogen fixation, (2) fertilization
of aquatic areas by domestic wastes stimulates biological productivity,
(3) sewage plant effluents contain phosphorus in excessive amounts,
(4) the excess phosphorus can stimulate extensive blooms of nitrogen
fixing blue-green algae, and (5) the productivity of most aquatic areas
is probably related to their phosphorus budgets.
Sawyer, C. N., J. B. Lackey, and R. T. Lenz. 1945.
An Investigation of the Odor Nuisances Occurring in the Madison
Lakes, Particularly Monona, Waubesa and Kegonsa from July
1942—July 1944. Report of Governor's Committee, Madison,
Wisconsin, 2 Vols. (Mimeo.)
The average annual concentration of inorganic nitrogen in the efflu-
ent of 17 southeastern Wisconsin lakes ranged from 0.10 mg/1 in
oligotrophic Eock and Geneva lakes to 0.79 mg/1 in highly eutrophic
Waubesa Lake that was receiving the treated sewage effluent from
Madison, Wisconsin. Highest inorganic nitrogen concentrations in
the latter body of water occurred in February and March (1.15 and
1.24 mg/1, respectively). The average annual inorganic phosphorus
concentration in the same lakes ranged from <0.01 mg/1 in 8 of the
lakes to 0.38 in Lake Waubesa.
96
-------
Schuette, H. A. 1918.
A Biochemical Study of the Plankton of Lake Mendota. Trans.
Wisconsin Acad., Sci., Arts, Letters, Vol. 19, pp. 594-613.
Analyses were made of composite plankton samples obtained by
pumping up water from different levels of the lake and straining it
through a plankton net. In 7 samples, total nitrogen ranged from
4.51 to 9.94 percent dry weight with an average of 7.55 percent while
the available protein nitrogen ranged from 2.82 to 8.67 percent and
averaged 4.55 percent. Forty to 87 percent of the total nitrogen
was in the available form. Total phosphorus ranged from 0.92 to
1.57 percent and averaged 1.26 percent.
Schuette, H. A. and H. Alder. 1928.
Notes on the Chemical Composition of Some of the Larger Aquatic
Plants of Lake Mendota. II Vallisneria and Potamogeton.
Trans. Wisconsin Acad. Sci., Arts, Letters, Vol. 23, pp. 249-254.
Plants were hand-picked, air-dried, and desiccated at 60° C.
Ash - .- --. —
Total nitrogen (N)
Sand-free basis
Vallisneria
Percent
25.19
1.88
.23
Potamogeton
Percent
11.42
1.28
.13
Schuette, H. A. and H. Alder. 1929a.
Notes on the Chemical Composition of Some of the Larger Aquatic
Plants of Lake Mendota. Ill Castalia odorata and Najas flexilis.
Trans. Wisconsin Acad. Sci., Arts, Letters, Vol. 24, pp. 135—139.
Ash
Total nitrogen (N) -- _ -
Castalia
Percent
11 21
2.78
27
Najas
Percent
19 16
1 86
30
Schuette, H. A. and H. Alder. 1929b.
A Note on the Chemical Composition of Chara from Green Lake,
Wisconsin. Trans. Wisconsin Acad. Sci., Arts, Letters, Vol. 24,
pp. 141-145.
Ash, 41.22 percent; total nitrogen, 0.72 percent to 4.50 percent; total
phosphorus, 0.06 percent. (Sand-free basis.)
97
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Stumm, W. and J. J. Morgan. 1962.
Stream Pollution by Algal Nutrients. Twelfth Annual Conference
on Sanitary Engineering, University of Kansas, pp. 16—26.
(Harvard University Sanitary Engineering Reprint No. 45.)
Present day aerobic biological treatment mineralizes substantial
fractions of bacterially oxidizable organic substances but is not capable
of eliminating more than 20 to 50 percent of nitrogenous and phos-
pliatic constituents.
The P-content of domestic sewage is about 3 to 4 times what it was
before the advent of synthetic detergents, and it is not unlikely that
the P-content of sewage may continue to rise. Since the ability to
assimilate elementary nitrogen by certain blue-green algae has been
demonstrated to be of importance in fresh water, phosphorus is a key
element in the fertilization of natural bodies of water. If phosphorus
(as P) is the predominant limiting factor, 1 mg of phosphate (as P)
released to the surface water in one single pass of the phosphorus cycle
is capable of accompanying the production of about 75 mg of organic
material.
Assuming a sustained annual net algal production of 5 gm/m2/day
in a stabilization pond, the required pond area for the autotrophic
stripping of 7 mg P/l in a sewage flow of 1 mgd (corresponding to
roughly 10,000 inhabitants) would be 100 acres. Harvesting of the
algal crop would be necessary for efficient nutrient removal.
Swingle, H. S. and E. V. Smith. 1939.
Fertilizers for Increasing the Natural Food for Fish in Ponds.
Trans. American Fisheries Soc., Vol. 68, pp. 126-135.
In pond waters a 4: 2:1: 8 ratio of N-P-K-CaCO3 (mixture of com-
mercial fertilizer) gave a fish production of 578 pounds pesr acre
compared to 134 pounds per acre in the unfertilized control. The
amounts of commercial fertilizers used per acre per application were:
40 pounds sulfate of ammonia, 60 pounds superphosphate (16 per-
cent), 5 pounds muriate of potash, and 30 pounds basic slag (or 15
pounds CaCO3).
Sylvester, R. O. 1961.
Nutrient Content of Drainage Water from Forested, Urban and
Agricultural Areas. Algae and Metropolitan Wastes, U.S. Public
Health Service, SEC TR W61-3, pp. 80-87.
Nutrient data are presented from major highways, arterial and
residential streets anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours after
98
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a rainstorm had commenced;* from three streams containing large
reservoirs, roads and some logging but no human habitation as they
emerge from forested areas;** from the Yakima River Basin irriga-
tion return flow drains,*** and from Green Lake**** in Washington.
Mean nutrient concentrations (ppb)
Streams from forested areas** _
Subsurface irrigation drains***,. . .
Surface irrigation drains***
Green Lake****
Total
phosphorus
m
208
154
69
216
' 251
76
Soluble
phosphorus
(P)
78
22
7
184
162
16
Nitrates
(N)
527
420
130
2,690
1,250
84
Total kjeldahl
nitrogen (N)
2,010
410
74
172
205
340
"Nuisance algal blooms were observed to commence in Seattle's Green
Lake (a very soft-water lake) when nitrate nitrogen levels were
generally above 200 ppb and soluble phosphorus was greater than
10 ppb."
Sylvester, R. O. and G. C. Anderson. 1964.
A Lake's Response to its Environment. Journal of the Sanitary
Engineering Division, ASCE, Vol. 90, No. SA1, pp. 1-22 (Feb-
ruary) .
Two-hundred-fifty-six acre Green Lake in Seattle, Washington, has
an unusually wide diversification of recreational use that has been
retarded by seasonal algal blooms, littoral vegetation, and outbreaks
of swimmer's itch. Samples of fresh and aged wild fowl excrement
were found to average 1.43 milligrams of nitrates, 10.3 milligrams of
organic nitrogen, and 0.91 milligram total phosphorus. Bottom sedi-
ments were analyzed; decomposition of organic matter is brought
about by bacterial action, but a significant fraction remains and, as
the sediments are built up yearly, the underlying fraction is sealed
off and further degradation ceases. The uppermost layer of bottom
mud was found to contain 1.67 milligrams total phosphorus (P) per
gram (parts per billion) of dry solids, 7.0 milligrams total nitrogen
(N) per gram of dry solids, 8.94 percent solids of wet weight, and
27.6 percent volatile solids (dry weight). C. H. Mortimer was credited
with finding that in aerated tank water or in a lake, well supplied
with dissolved oxygen, the exchange of solutes and nutrients between
mud and water was slight. As oxygen depletion continued in water
overlying mud, reducing conditions began in the mud, and solutes
were released in increasing quantities to the overlying water. "A
yearly catch of 100,000 trout, each averaging about 0.3 Ib, would
99
-------
contain about 292 mg P per 100 g of fish, for a total of 88 Ib per year
of P removed in the fish catch." The total P input was 4.8 pounds
per surface acre and 55 percent annually was retained in the lake.
Sylvester, R. O. and R. W. Seabloom. 1963.
Quality and Significance of Irrigation Return Flow. Journal of the
Irrigation and Drainage Division, ASCE, Vol. 89, No. IRS, Proc.
Paper 3624, pp. 1-27 (September).
A study was made of irrigation return flow in the Yakima River
Basin, Washington, for an irrigated area of 375,280 acres during an
irrigation season whose principal months extend from April through
September. Average water diversion was 6.6 acre-feet per acre per
year of which approximately 4.25 acre-feet per acre was apiplied to
land, the remainder being lost in canal seepage, canal evaporation,
and wastage. The evapo-transpiration loss in itself would result in
a salt concentration increase of 1.7 times in the irrigation return water.
Chemical constituent increases occurring in the subsurface drainage
water because of evapo-transpiration, leaching and ion exchange, ex-
pressed as number of times greater than in the applied water were as
follows: bicarbonate alkalinity, 4.8; chlorides, 12; nitrate, 10; and
soluble phosphate, 3.2. During the irrigation and nonirrigarion sea-
sons, the approximate contribution of ions or salts in pounds per acre
resulting from irrigation were, respectively, bicarbonate, 575 and
715; chloride, 37 and 63; nitrate, 33 and 35; and soluble phosphate,
1 and 1.2.
Tamm, C. O. 1951.
Removal of Plant Nutrients from Tree Crowns by Rain. Physi-
ologia Plantarum, Vol. 4, pp. 184—188. (From Putnam and Ol-
son, 1960.)
The study area was the experimental forest of the Forest Research
Institute, Bogesund, Sweden.
Analysis of pure rainwater samples collected in an open area in
October and November provided the following data:
Organic matter..
Calcium
Potassium
3 to 10 mg/1.
0.4 to 0.6 mg/1.
0.2 mg/1.
Sodium
Total nitrogen..
Phosphorus
0.4 to C.7 mg/1.
0.2 mg,l.
0.03 m:;/l.
100
-------
Tamm, C. O. 1953.
Growth, Yield, and Nutrition in Carpets of a Forest Moss. Medde-
landen fran Statens Skogsforskning Institut, Vol. 43, pp. 1—140.
(From Putnam and Olson, 1960.)
Rainwater was collected in an open field using funnels and flasks of
stainless steel. Analysis of the collected rainwater yielded the fol-
lowing data (mg/1) :
Nov 1 17 1951
Nov 17-24 1951
July 17 Aug 12 1952
Aug 12 15 1952
NHs-N
0 8
.2
g
.5
P
0 1
.1
K
0 6
.3
3
3
Na
1 0
.7
3
5
Ca
0.7
.2
5
.2
Fe
0 02
.02
Mn
0
0
SiOi
0 4
During the summer and autumn of 1952, rainwater was collected
during five different periods, using glass funnels and flasks. A total
of 227 mm of water fell during the sampling period carrying down,
as an average from three different sampling vessels, 0,97 mg K, 1.41
mg Na, and 0.91 mg Ca per dm2.
Tanner, H. A. 1960.
Some Consequences of Adding Fertilizer to Five Michigan Trout
Lakes. Transactions American Fisheries Society, Vol. 89, No.
2, pp. 198-205.
Inorganic fertilizer (10-6-4) was applied to four of a group of six
Michigan trout lakes ranging in size from 2.6 to 5.9 acres at rates
varying from 80 to 650 pounds per acre. The thermocline in the
three lakes receiving the most fertilizer shifted to a more shallow
position. Three of the fertilized lakes decreased in total alkalinity
at a greater rate than did the two lakes not fertilized. Fertilization
resulted in the oxygen being depleted from the hypolimnion and some
oxygen reduction occurred in the thermocline. The volume of oxy-
genated water remaining under the ice during the critical period of
late winter was reduced in the fertilized lakes, and lakes fertilized
at the highest rate very nearly approached winterkill conditions. The
reduction of oxygen both in summer stagnation periods and in late
winter was more severe after the second season of fertilization. Author
cites Einsele (1938) as indicating that, in general, when iron is present
in the hypolimnion, it combines with phosphorus as ferric phosphate
in the presence of oxygen. The precipitate formed is insoluble and
results in the removal of phosphorus from the lake water. If, however,
oxygen is absent when the iron and phosphorus combine, the product
is a soluble ferrous phosphate, some of which will be reused. Mortimer
(1941) has indicated that the processes of reduction usually return
771-096^65
101
-------
the nutrient material in forms more usable by plants and bacteria than
do the processes of oxidation. Eutrophication is extremely slow while
the lake is oligotrophic. When the lake assumes the characteristics of
a eutrophic lake, which includes lack of oxygen in the hypolimnion
during the summer stagnation period, continued eutrophication and
extinction become rapid.
Einsele, TV. 1938. Tiber chemische und colloidale-chemische Vorgange in
Eisen-Phosphor-Systemen unter limnochemlschen und limnogeologischen
Gesichspunken. Arch. f. Hydrobiol., Vol. 33, pp. 361-387.
Mortimer, C. H. 1941. The Exchange of Dissolved Substances between Mud
and Water in Lakes. I and II. Journal of Ecology, Vol. 29, No. 2, pp.
280-329.
Tucker, A. 1957.
The Relation of Phytoplankton Periodicity to the Nature of the
Physico-Chemical Environment with Special Reference to Phos-
phorus. I. Morphometrical, Physical and Chemical Conditions.
American Midland Naturalist, Vol. 57, pp. 300-333.
The investigation was carried on for 16 months at Douglas Lake,
Michigan, with water samples being collected and phosphorus deter-
minations being made every two weeks.
At the surface, total phosphorus fluctuated between 7 and 14 micro-
grams per liter, at the 12-meter depth (lower limit of the epilimnion)
between 7 and 15 micrograms per liter. At the 20-meter depth, be-
tween July 3 and September 16, the amount of total phosphorus in-
creased from 10 micrograms per liter to 641. Seasonal ATariation in
inorganic phosphorus (soluble) followed closely the variation in total
phosphorus, although smaller in amount. Analysis of a vertical series
of samples showed that the most constant fraction of phosphorus was
the soluble organic phosphorus, never exceeeding 9 micrograms per
liter regardless of the depth at which the sample was taken.
The pH was 8.0-8.4 in the epilimnion and between 7.0 and 8.0 in
the hypolimnion.
Tucker, A. 1957a.
The Relation of Phytoplankton Periodicity to the Nature of the
Physico-Chemical Environment with Special Reference to Phos-
phorus. II. Seasonal and Vertical Distribution of the Phyto-
plankton in Relation to the Environment. American Midland
Naturalist, Vol. 57, pp. 334-370.
Toward the end of the summer, oxygen was absent at the bottom of
the hypolimnion in Douglas Lake, Michigan, but phosphorus could not
be detected in this bottom area until about 8 weeks after tlie disap-
102
-------
pearance of the oxygen. It was concluded that the reason for the lack
of analyzable phosphorus was that iron and phosphorus can exist in-
dependently only when oxygen is absent and that if oxygen is intro-
duced, the iron and phosphorus will combine to form an insoluble
ferric phosphate precipitate. When oxygen disappears from bottom
waters, the ferric complexes are reduced, forming ferrous complexes
which are soluble.
Tucker, J. M., D. R. Cordy, L. J. Berry, W. A. Harvey, and T. C.
Fuller. 1961.
Nitrate Poisoning in Livestock. California Agricultural Experi-
ment Station Extension Service, University of California Circular
506, 9 pp.
Nitrates, absorbed from the soil by most plants, serve as a source
of nitrogen which plants convert into proteins and other nitrogen-
containing compounds. Normally functioning plants usually contain
relatively small amounts of nitrate because the nitrate is converted into
other nitrogenous compounds almost as soon as it is absorbed. Under
certain conditions, however, some plants may accumulate fairly high
concentrations of nitrate. While these concentrations are not toxic to
the plant itself, animals feeding on such plants may sometimes suffer
fatal poisoning.
Nitrate itself is not very toxic, but is readily converted into nitrite.
Probably most of the conversion of nitrate to nitrite takes place in the
animal digestive tract, although some field studies indicate that nitrite
may already be present in the plants before they are eaten. Nitrite
converts the hemoglobin in red blood cells to methemoglobin, which
cannot transport needed oxygen from the lungs to the body tissues.
Thus, animals affected with nitrate poisoning show general symptoms
of oxygen deficiency.
Ruminants, particularly cattle, are the principal victims of nitrate
poisoning because of the large amounts of plant material they eat and
the action of microorganisms in the rumen. Sheep and swine are
less susceptible. There appears to be few recorded cases of horses
dying from nitrate poisoning under pasture or range conditions.
Factors affecting nitrate accumulation in plants include the stage of
the plant's growth (the pre-blooming period has the highest accumu-
lation), an ample supply of available nitrate in the soil, an adequate
moisture supply, an acid rather than an alkaline soil, relatively low
temperatures (around 55° F), and reduction in light intensity. An
excess of phosphate tends to retard nitrate absorption.
Plants are considered as potentially toxic if they contain nitrate
amounting to more than 1.5 percent expressed as KNO3 on a dry
weight basis. This is 15,000 ppm KNO3 or 2,078 ppm N.
103
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Plants that have been involved in nitrate poisoning or are capable
of accumulating appreciable amounts of nitrate include:
PLANT COMMON NAME
Amaranthus blitoides Prostrate pigweed.
A. graecizans Tumbling pigweed.
A. retroflexus Bough pigweed.
Ammi majus Bishop's weed.
Amsinckia douglasiana Douglas' flddleneck.
A. intermedia Common flddleneck.
Apium graveolens Celery.
Avena sativa Oats.
Beta vulgaris Sugar beet.
B. vulgaris var. rapa Mangel.
Bidens frondosa Beggar-ticks.
Brassioa campestris Turnip.
B. napobrassica Rutabaga .
B. napus Rape.
B. oleracea vars Brocolli, Kale, Kohlrabi.
B. rapa Turnip
Bromus catharticus Rescue grass.
Clienopodium album Lamb's-quarters.
0. ambrosioides Mexican tea.
0. californicum Soap plant.
0. murale Nettle-leaf goosefoot.
Cirsium arvense Canada thistle.
Cleome serrulata Rocky Mountain bee plant.
Conium macula-turn Poison hemlock.
Convolvulus arvensis Wild morning-glory.
Cuoumis sativa Cucumber.
CucurMta maxima Hubbard squash.
Daucus carota Carrot.
Eleusine intlioa Goose grass.
Euphorbia maculata Spotted spurge.
G-lycine max Soybean .
Gnaphalium purpurcum Purple cudweed .
Haplopappus venetus Coast goldenbush.
Helianthus annuus Common sunflower.
Helianthus t-uberosus Jerusalem artichoke.
Hordcum vulgare Barley.
Kochia americana Fireball.
Laotuca sativa Lettuce.
L. scariola Prickly lettuce.
Linum- usitatissim-um Flax .
Ualva parviflora Cheeseweed.
Melilotus offloinalis Yellow sweet clover.
Montia perfoliata Miner's lettuce.
Panicum capillare Witch grass.
Parkinsonia aculeata Horse bean.
Pastinaca sativa Parsnip.
Plaaiobothrys sp Popcorn flower.
Raflnesquia californica California chicory.
Raphanus sativus Radish.
Salsola kali Russian thistle.
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PLANT COMMON NAME
Secale cereale Rye.
Silybum marianum Milk thistle.
Solanum carolinense Carolina horse nettle.
S. nigrum European black nightshade.
Sonchus asper Prickly sow-thistle.
S. oleraceus Common sow-thistle.
Sorghum halepense Johnson grass.
S. sudanense Sudan grass.
S. mils/are Sorghum.
Thelypodium lasiopJiyllum California mustard.
Tritulus terrestris Puncture vine.
Triticum acstivum Wheat.
Verbesina enccliodes Crownbeard.
Zea mays Corn.
Vaccaro, R. F. 1964.
Available Nitrogen and Phosphorus at the Biochemical Cycle in the
Atlantic of New England. Journal of Marine Research, Vol. 21,
No. 3, pp. 284-301.
During August, when only trace amounts of nitrate persist in the
photic layer, ammonia appears to be the major source of available
nitrogen. By late summer, nitrogen assimilation by marine phyto-
plankton in the surface waters oil New England had reduced nitrate
to trace amounts close to the limit of sensitivity of the analytical
method employed. Ammonia persists throughout the summer at about
half of its winter concentration, and by August it has become the most
abundant source of plant nitrogen. Conversely during winter, al-
though higher concentrations of each type of nitrogen are present,
nitrate-nitrogen is five or six times more abundant than ammonia.
It appears that the relative abundance of ammonia as opposed to
nitrate during summer in the euphotic waters off New England coin-
cides with maximum stratification of the water column because of
increased surface temperatures. Until the occurrence of active nitrifi-
cation within the upper layer is more conclusively demonstrated, it
must be assumed that, at such times, the major impetus to the nitrogen
cycle is provided by ammonia because of its more rapid exchange
between organisms and environment and because of its direct addition
from the atmosphere in association with rain. The annual variation
in available phosphorus within these waters, unlike that of nitrogen,
is much less pronounced, and excess amounts are the rule throughout
the year.
The analyses of particulate nitrogen and phosphorous provide a
quantitative basis for assessing the extent of seasonal adaptation to the
summer supply of available nitrogen and phosphorus. When nitrate
was virtually absent from the upper fifty meters during August, the
105
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phytoplankton contained nitrogen and phosphorus on a dry weight
basis at a ratio corresponding to 12:1. This condition was accom-
panied by generally higher ratios up to 20:1 in the coarser net
material. Competent ratios measured by Harris and Riley (1956)
were cited for Long Island Sound as 12.6:1 for August phytoplankton
and 20.6:1 for July zooplankton. For March of the same year, when
large amounts of available nitrogen were present, the same authors
reported a ratio of 17.2:1 for Long Island Sound phytoplankton.
Harris, E. and G. A. Riley. 1956.
Oceanography of Long Island Sound, 1952-54.
VIII. Chemical Composition of the Plankton.
Bull. Bingham Oceanogr. Coll., Vol. 15, pp. 315-323.
Vallentyne, J. R. 1952.
Insect Removal of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Compounds From
Lakes. Ecology, Vol. 33, pp. 573-577; Water Pollution Ab-
stracts, Vol. 26, No. 11, Abs. No. 1861.
To determine the amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus removed
from lakes by aquatic insects which leave the water in the adult stage,
a study was made of the concentration of total nitrogen anil phos-
phorus in adult insects trapped as they emerged from the water in
Lake Opinicon, Ontario. On an average, 136 insects emerged per day
per square meter of surface and these had a fresh weight of (39.2 mg
and contained 2.26 mg of total nitrogen and 0.15 mg of total phos-
phorus. It is calculated that in Winona Lake, Indiana, where the
amount of organic sediment has been determined, the loss of organic
matter by emergence of insects was less than 1 percent of the amount
of organic sediment deposited annually.
VanVuran, J. P. J. 1948.
Soil Fertility and Sewage. Dover Publications Inc., Ne>v York,
236 pp.
The average human inhabitant of a European city excretes 107
pounds per year solids and 964 pounds per year liquids for a total of
1,071 pounds. This contains 75.8 pounds of dry matter, 11.4 pounds of
nitrogen and 2.6 pounds of phosphoric acid. The average composition
of fresh human feces is 1 percent nitrogen and 1.10 percent phosphoric
oxide (PO); the composition of urine is 0.6 percent nitrogen and 0.17
percent PO.
The quantity of manure voided by animals varies with type, climate
and food. Roughly for 1,000 pounds of live weight, cows excrete
22,000 pounds of solids and 6,800 pounds of liquids per year; horses,
106
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13,000 and 2,600 pounds, respectively.
were given as follows:
Yearly fertilizer constituents
Cow
Sheep
Pig
Nitrogen
(pounds)
128
166
119
160
Phosphoric
acid (pounds)
43
38
44
104
The water hyacinth was first introduced into the United States from
Venezuela and exhibited at the New Orleans Cotton Exposition in
1884. Its rapid spread in the new environment soon made it a nui-
sance. Random samples of a compost manure of water hyacinth have
shown a nitrogen percentage of 1.12 on a dry weight basis. Under
optimum conditions the nitrogen percentage may range to 2.23 percent
on a dry weight basis and the phosphoric oxide 0.86 to 8.0 percent.
Based on the average weight of plants per square foot, half an hour
after their removal from water, it was calculated that an acre of well-
grown plants would weigh approximately 96 tons. The yield was
assumed to range fom 4.3 to 6.7 tons of dry matter per month. It was
postulated that as a true water plant, water hyacinth was especially
suitable for effluent lakes with its major difficulty being its bulk and
high percentage of water. Under suitable climatic conditions, one
acre with cropping would remove 3,075 pounds of nitrogen per year,
the discharge of 220 persons per annum.
Voigt, G. K. 1960.
Alteration of the Composition of Rainwater by Trees.
Midland Naturalist, Vol. 63, pp. 321-326.
American
The investigation was concerned with the nutrient content of rain-
water, its modification by three forest cover types, and the net nutrient
return to forest soils resulting from the addition of rainwater.
The area of study was located in southern Connecticut, a region
which receives about 45 inches of precipitation per year. The water
samples were collected from two storms, one in May and one in
September.
The composition of rainwater collected in an open area in mg/1 was
as follows:
Nitrogen (total)
May
0.05
.01
September
0.07
01
Potassium
May
0.3
6
September
0.6
g
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The differences in potassium and calcium content between May
and September are probably related to the proximity of the study
area to the highly industrial region of the east. This, together -with
differences in wind direction and storm movements, could cause
great differences in the amount of air pollution.
Walton, G. 1951.
Survey of Literature Relating to Infant Methemoglobinemia Due to
Nitrate-Contaminated Water. American Journal of Public
Health, Vol. 14, No. 8, pp. 986-996.
Although methemoglobinemia may result from congenital heart
diseases, or from the ingestion, inhalation, or absorption, or the
medicinal administration, of any one of several drugs or chemicals,
an important cause of cases in infants is the ingestion of water high
in nitrate.
The permissible nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) concentration in water
which may cause infant methemoglobinemia when used in a feeding
formula is dependent on the individual's susceptibility, the increase in
nitrate-nitrogen concentration that is due to boiling the water, the
quantity of boiled water consumed per day per unit weight of the
infant, the duration of exposure to the high nitrate water, and possibly
other factors.
Comly (1945) considered it inadvisable to use well water containing
more than 10 or 20 mg/1 nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) in preparing an
infant's feeding formula. No cases have been reported which were
associated with water containing 10 mg/1 nitrate nitrogen or less,
and the nitrate nitrogen content was less than 20 mg/1 for only 2.3
per cent of the cases for which data are available.
According to Sarles, et al. (1940), the principal sources of nitrog-
enous matter in the soil are the decomposition products of plants,
animals and microorganisms; the liquid and solid wastes of animal
metabolism; and fertilizers added to enrich the soil. The possibility
of geological formations containing appreciable amounts of nitrates
must also be considered. Since bacteria are essential in the produc-
tion of nitrates from organic nitrogen, factors influencing their
activity affect the nitrate content of the soil. Sarles, et al. (1940),
note that nitrification takes place only when the soil contains buffering
substances which neutralize the nitric acid and maintain a pH around
6.5 to 8.0; when aerobic conditions, such as result from plowing,
cultivating, etc., are maintained; when soil contains only 50 per cent
108
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of its water-holding capacity; when ammonia salts and other nutrient
elements are present in the soil; and at temperatures above 50° and
below 100° F.
Comly, H. H. 1045.
Cyanosis in Infants Caused by Nitrates in Well Water.
Journal American Medical Association, Vol. 129, pp. 112-116.
Sarles, W. B., Frazier, W. C., and McCarter, J. B. 1940.
Bacteriology (Rev. Ed.), Madison, Wis.: Kramer Business Service.
Webster, G. C. 1959.
Nitrogen Metabolism in Plants.
Illinois, 152 pp.
Row, Peterson and Co., Evanston,
The nitrogenous substances assimilated by plants can be divided
into four major classes: organic nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, nitrate
nitrogen, and molecular nitrogen. Although a few plants (certain
bacteria and algae) can assimilate all four forms of nitrogen, the
great majority can utilize only nitrate, ammonia, and various forms
of organic nitrogen as shown in the following table :
Utilisation of various forms of nitrogen 'by plants
Organism
Organic
nitrogen
X
X
X
X
Ammonia
nitrogen
X
X
X
Nitrate
nitrogen
X
X
Molecular
nitrogen
X
Weibel, S. R., R. J. Anderson, and R. L. Woodward. 1964.
Urban Land Runoff as a Factor in Stream Pollution. Journal Water
Pollution Control Federation, Vol. 36, No. 7, pp. 914-924.
Stormwater runoff from a 27-acre residential and light commercial
drainage basin with separate sewers in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area
contained 2.5 and 8.9 pounds per acre per year PO4 and total nitro-
gen-N, respectively. Based on a population density of 9 persons
per acre and a flow of 100 gallons per capita per day, the comparative
raw sanitary sewage would contain 27 and 81 pounds per acre per
year PO4 and total N, respectively. Phosphates in stormwater runoff
constituted 9 percent of the phosphates in the calculated raw sanitary
sewage and total nitrogen-N composed 11 percent of the total nitro-
gen in sewage.
109
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Whipple, G. C., G. M. Fair, and M. C. Whipple. 1948.
The Microscopy of Drinking Water. John Wiley and Sons, New
York, 586 pp.
Free ammonia indicates organic matter in a state of decay. Nitrates
tend to increase in cold weather after the growing season, and free
ammonia and nitrites decrease because of inhibited bacterial action.
In the spring ammonia and nitrites usually increase in advance of
growing plant life.
"Putrefaction and decay of dead organisms and waste materials
give rise to ammonia compounds that are assimilated by some plant
organisms; usually the nitrogen of the ammonia compounds is carried
to nitrites and nitrates by oxidizing bacteria. The oxidized nitrogen
becomes one of the chief foods of plants in building up protein. To
a slight extent oxidation is sometimes reversed and nitrates are reduced
to nitrogen that may be dissolved in the water or escape to the air, thus
representing a loss. Plant protein becomes animal protein. Finally
death of both plants and animals returns nitrogen to the process of
putrefaction and decay. A short circuit in the cycle is the digestion
of protein with elimination of urea, from which ammonia is derived
without putrefaction."
Whitford, L. A. and R. C. Phillips. 1959.
Bound Phosphorus and Growth of Phytoplankton. Science, Vol.
129, No. 3354, pp. 961-962.
No correlation was found between phytoplankton pulses in four
North Carolina ponds and variations in bound (total) phosphorus.
It was concluded that the interaction of a complex of chemical and
physical factors produces both seasonal fluctuations and sporadic
blooms of phytoplankton.
Winks, W. R., A. K. Sutherland, and R. M. Salisbury. 1950.
Nitrite Poisoning in Pigs. Qd. J. Agric. Sci., Vol. 71, pp. 1—14;
Water Pollution Abstracts, Vol. 25, No. 10, Abs. No. 1528.
Pigs fed with soups prepared with well water containing 1,740 to
2,970 mg/1 sodium nitrate died from methemoglobinemia. Experi-
ments showed that 0.09 grams of sodium nitrite per kg. of body weight
was fatal to pigs and it was concluded that poisoning was due to
nitrites derived from the nitrates.
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Wurtz, A. G. 1962.
Some Problems Remaining in Algae Culturing. Algae and Man
(D. F. Jackson, editor), Plenum Press, pp. 120-137 (1964).
In ponds, the introduction of phosphates into the water raises the
pH of the mud, accelerating the reactions of decomposition in the
mud, and liberating from the mud not only inorganic but also organic
nitrogen.
Zicker, E. L., K. C. Berger and A. D. Hasler. 1956.
Phosphorus Release from Bog Lake Muds. Limnology and Ocean-
ography, Vol. 1, No. 4, pp. 296-303.
In laboratory experiments the percentage, as well as the amount of
phosphorus released to the water from radioactive superphosphate
fertilizer placed at various depths below the mud surface in an undis-
turbed mud-water system was indicated to be very small. There was
virtually no release of phosphorus from fertilizer placed at depths
greater than one-fourth inch below the mud surface. There was a
higher percentage of soluble phosphorus contained in the water sam-
ples taken near the mud surface than in water samples taken at greater
distances above the mud surface. The radiophosphorus placed one-
half inch below the mud surface showed only a very slight tendency
to diffuse into the water, while the radiophosphorus placed at the one-
inch depth did not diffuse into the water at all.
Zilversmit, D. B., C. Entenman, and M. C. Fishier. 1943.
On the Calculation of "Turnover Time" and "Turnover Rate" from
Experiments Involving the Use of Labeling Agents. Journal of
General Physiology, Vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 325-331.
The term "turnover" refers to the process of renewal of a given
substance which may be accomplished by (1) the incorporation of
labeled atoms into a substance, (2) the entering of a labeled substance
into a tissue, or (3) a combination of the above twro processes. The
"turnover rate" of a substance in a tissue is the amount of the substance
that is turned over by that tissue per unit of time. The "turnover
time" of a substance in a tissue is the time required for the appearance
or disappearance of an amount of that substance equal to the amount
of that substance present in the tissue. If the rate of appearance of
a substance in a tissue is "a" and the amount of that substance present
in that tissue is "b," the turnover time is—'
111
U.S GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFF1CE:196S
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