Sedimentary phosphorus dynamics in epicontinental systems: A literature review

Sedimentary phosphorus dynamics being a very complex process involving a large number of different mechanisms, literature data present a wide range of variations both from the quantitative and from the qualitative point of view. Three main aspects are considered in this paper: the range of sedimentary phosphorus observed in lakes worldwide and relationships with other lake characteristics such as trophic status, depth, sedimentary iron and organic matter; phosphorus release rates and factors controlling them, and forms in which phosphorus is bound in sediments and their ecological significance. Because of the complexity of the mechanisms involved, no general conclusions valid for any kind of lakes may be drawn on the basis of the information now available.