Phosphorus (P) characteristics in eutrophic lakes change during algal growth. Furthermore, algae have a significant relationship with the microbial communities of lake sediments. This study addressed the influence of algal growth and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) concentrations on P characteristics within the sediment-water-algal (SWA) system. Results indicated that the SWA system simulating a high algal bloom level (SWA-HAB) had a correspondingly high SRP concentration (258.9 μg L-1), and that algal growth promoted a high SRP concentration in the overlying water. The high SRP concentration in overlying water could support algal growth, resulting in a high chlorophyll a (Chl-a) concentration (285.23 mg L-1). During algal growth, the P release flux was high in sediments from the high-SRP SWA system, with the highest P release flux measured at 0.982 mg m-2 day-1. Furthermore, microbial community abundance had a significant relationship with Chl-a concentrations in overlying water (p < 0.05) and increases with algae growth.
Keywords: Algal bloom; Microbial community; Overlying water; Phosphorus; Pore water; Sediment.