Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 24, 2025

Laboratory-determined Phosphorus Flux from Lake Sediments as a Measure of Internal Phosphorus Loading
Published on: March 6, 2014
Oyster culture changed the phosphorus speciation in sediments through biodeposition
Qi Yan1, Zhipeng Jia2, Junting Song2
1School of Life Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100083, PR China.
Abstract:
Phosphorus speciation in the sediments is regulated by a series of physicochemical and microbial processes, and directly affects water phosphorus pool. However, the influence of culture activities and microbial metabolism on the sedimentary phosphorus speciation is poorly studied. In this study, we compared the abundance of distinguishable phosphorus phases and other physicochemical properties of sediments from oyster-farming areas and reference areas. The Geochip 5.0 technique was introduced to reveal the microbiological mechanisms of phosphorus metabolic alteration. The results showed that oyster culture enhanced the bioavailability of phosphorus in sediments. The free organic phosphorus was reduced significantly, whereas the free inorganic phosphorus and iron-bound phosphorus greatly increased in the oyster culture area (P ≤ 0.05). Moreover, the results of Geochip showed that the oyster culture reshaped the microbial network structure in sediments, with typical phosphate-solubilizing and phosphorus-accumulating microbes being enriched by 17.76% and 10.60%. The abundance of functional genes related to the main phosphorus cycle pathways were also significantly increased (P ≤ 0.05) in the culture area compared to the reference area. This work suggested that oyster culture can greatly improve the microbial phosphorus metabolism and provided insights into the environmental recovery and reconstruction from marine aquaculture activities.
Related Concept Videos
The Phosphorus Cycle
Bioremediation
Metabolism of Chemolithotrophs
Factors Affecting Solubility
What are Biogeochemical Cycles?
Primary Production

