Qualitative and quantitative changes in phenology of chlorophyll a concentrations during the transition from eutrophy to oligotrophy

Abstract

The PEG (Plankton Ecology Group) model predicts differences in phenology between eutrophic and oligotrophic lakes regarding the occurrence, timing and magnitude of annual chlorophyll maxima and minima. While these predictions have been tested between lakes, hardly any tests exist using long-term data. We test these predictions using chlorophyll time-series (1980–2019) from Lake Constance in which trophic status shifted from eutrophic to oligotrophic conditions. We show that oligotrophication subsequently resulted in reduction of the summer and spring blooms, and finally the loss of the clear-water phase. In contrast to the PEG model the spring bloom was not delayed, but advanced with oligotrophication. Warming modified the seasonal patterns via advancing clear-water timing. Oligotrophication did not only influence phenologies, but also the importance of independent variables driving phenologies. Thus, the decline of nutrients was the dominant factor in shaping the seasonal patterns of chlorophyll in Lake Constance during the last four decades.